New York City Ballet, June 21 and 22, 2006

New York City Ballet
New York State Theater
June 21 and June 22, 2006

Russian Seasons
In Memory Of…
Western Symphony
(June 21)

Slice to Sharp
The Cage
Andantino
Western Symphony
(June 22)

Two new ballets on these programs and yet the most exciting piece each night was Western Symphony, of all things. It seems crazy—when I think of Western Symphony I think kitschy tunes and kitschier costumes, I’ve seen it before—and yet the choreography is not at all kitsch; it is serious stuff, and here were two of the freshest performances, showing the ballet to be sparkling, witty, utterly charming, and first-rate entertainment. The Wednesday performance, with Somogyi and Martins, Fairchild and Hendrickson, and Kowrowsky and Woetzel, was excellent; it hit all the right notes, and was danced to the hilt by all, but particularly Woetzel and Kowroski. The Thursday performance, with Ringer and Martins, Hyltin and Evans, and Reichlin and Askegard, was slightly less sparkling, but well done nonetheless. It was instructive to compare Fairchild and Hyltin in the “ballerina/lady of the evening” role; Fairchild has really matured over the past year, and has become a very secure dancer. Hyltin was making her debut in the role. She is a very good dancer, but she struggled a bit; to see a young, very good dancer struggling with a role, both technically and artistically, is a good reminder of how hard all this is. She will have it all down by next year. Albert Evans tends to play up the pimp aspect of this role, but he pulls it off well without being offensive. Woetzel is just great with all those tricky leaps, and he can really carry the bravura aspects of the role, and Kowroski matched him very well. Reichlin is also very good here. The ending, with 30 people doing very fast pirouettes from fifth position as the curtain comes down, is just brilliant. [A note: Thursday night my view was not from the fourth ring, but from the second ring, first row; and it was most excellent.]

More later—particularly about the new ballets.