Last night I went to the Kennedy Center to see the New York City Ballet for the fifth year* in a row! I went with a friend who hadn't been to a ballet since she was a child, and certainly had never seen the ballet at this remarkable venue. So I was excited to share the experience with her!
There were four pieces in last night's performance. Here's a little taste of each of them:
This piece was choreographed by Gianna Reisen, who is only 19 years old! This is quite the accomplishment! But, I will say that her inexperience showed in the piece. I didn't feel a sense of cohesion throughout the performance; things felt a bit disconnected and didn't flow as well as I'd like. And some of the moves were a bit too literal, like dancers pointing at each other. And this is not a reflection on Reisen, but a few of the ballerinas had permanent smiles on their faces, even during the darker parts of the show; it was like they were trained as pageant contestants, always smiling no matter if it's inappropriate for the moment. But there were positives to the youthfulness of the piece. Because younger dancers from the corps de ballet were dancing, I felt like I was watching the emotions of teenagers, from flirtation to angst. There was definitely a fun energy about the piece overall. And the costumes were lovely!
See what I mean? Image found here (photo by Paul Kolnik)
While the first piece was the most amateur, this may have been my least favorite part of the night. The two ballerinas, Abi Stafford and Teresa Reichlen, wore ponytails instead of chignons, which was very distracting, and their costumes were a little too child's-sailor-dress for me. I appreciated the militaristic uniformity of the men's movements (which never turned homoerotic, surprisingly), but the juxtaposition of that with silly moves like heel-toe steps and skipping around stage was jarring. Joseph Gordon and Russell Janzen, the two highlighted male dancers, were so clearly principals compared to the other men on stage; I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing...
This piece opened up with the principal Gonzalo Garcia, and I was immediately blown away. He was AMAZING! He is incredibly strong and muscular, and so in control of his body. Sterling Hyltin, his female counterpart, didn't stand a chance in holding a candle to him. I love when male dancers wear white tights! But I did enjoy the purple costumes, which included shades of lavender, lilac, and eggplant (although the other men wore white socks, which made them look like Jazzercise instructors). There were fun parts to this piece, like when the men would dance for the women and vice versa, and there were parts where the moves just seemed to say, "I just want to dance it out!" I think this was my favorite part of the show.
This Balanchine piece was actually performed by the New York City Ballet the first time the company performed at the Kennedy Center, which was in 1974. But these were updated costumes, bedazzled with Swarovski crystals. I am a sucker for a sparkly tutu and tiara, so I was in heaven as they glittered in the light, even when the dancers were standing still. However, other than the costumes, I actually don't remember anything about the piece being particularly striking. I don't recall any pas de deux moves that were out-of-this-world, or any lifts to write home about. While I was completely enamored with the costumes, a dance cannot rely solely on that to be interesting. AND one girl fell. Oops!
If you want to get really old-school, you can watch this piece from a 1973 performance:
There were so many curtain calls throughout the performance that my friend joked, "My hands are bleeding!" But, even still, the company will return for the 2019-2020 season, and I guarantee I'll be buying tickets!
*Please read my blog posts about the other times I saw this company perform in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.
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