Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The premiere of Justin Peck’s beguiling new ballet headlines NEW YORK CITY BALLET’s Balanchine-less winter season opener

• By drediman
• January 28, 2022
• No Comments

Last night at the David H. Koch Theater, New York City Ballet’s winter season opened with an unusually eclectic “New Combinations” program featuring the debut of Justin Peck’s new ballet. Overall, the performance – which happily reintroduced intermissions (if not concessions) into the program – was a refreshing reminder that the city’s flagship company can excel in ballets other than George Balanchine’s. Each of the three ballets danced in the season opener boasts terribly distinctive styles of movement, which when viewed back-to-back, is an ideal way to appreciate and bask in the wonderful versatility of City Ballet’s dancers (which I often overlook).

The main attraction of the bill was the unveiling of Peck’s new ballet Partita, which opened the evening. In short, the work is among Peck’s stronger, more beguiling offerings, especially as of late (remember the frustratingly generic Rotunda?). Set to Caroline Shaw’s “Partita for 8 Voices” – vividly performed live by the ensemble Roomful of Teeth – the ballet is technically one of the choreographer’s “sneaker” ballets, but it transcends genre’s narrow connotations. There’s a haunting, timeless quality to Peck’s choreography for an ensemble of eight (the mostly young but superb group was led by the seasoned Tiler Peck and Taylor Stanley) that’s far removed from the specificity and carefree joy I typically associate with sneaker ballets. Peck’s distinctly phrased, calligraphic aesthetic seems ideal for Ms. Shaw’s evocative composition for voice, and they inform each other in consistently haunting ways. Additionally, the ballet is gorgeous to look at, thanks to Eva LeWitt’s colorful, sculptural set design.

The evening also included Merce Cunningham’s Summerspace and Christopher Wheeldon’s DGV: Danse à Grande Vitesse, two other visually striking ballets. Although the Cunningham piece is an emphatic departure from the brand of beauty usually championed by classical ballet, it drew me in with its rigor and unorthodox movements (the statuesque Adrian Danchig-Waring was particularly mesmerizing in it). The program concluded with the crowd-pleasing DGV, which included a whole host of debuts (notably the arresting young dancer Mira Nadon, who was just promoted to soloist last week), although it did seem a bit under-rehearsed overall.

RECOMMENDED

NEW YORK CITY BALLET: NEW COMBINATIONS
Dance
David H. Koch Theater
Approximately 2 hours (with two intermissions)
City Ballet’s winter season concludes on February 27