THE HANGOVER REPORT – AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE continues its fall season showing off its versatility in a slew of signature works

American Ballet Theatre performs Twyla Tharp’s “In the Upper Room” at the David H. Koch Theater (photo by Marty Sohl).

Over the past week or so at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, I had the chance to further immerse myself in American Ballet Theatre’s fall season, which commenced a few weeks back with a program headlined by two notable premieres (Gemma Bond’s La Boutique and Kyle Abraham’s Mercurial Son; you can read my review of these new works here). For its subsequent programs, the company has turned its attention to performing some of its signature works, in the process showcasing Ballet Theatre’s versatility and storied history (the company closes out the fall season next week in intriguing fashion with another premiere, Helen Picket’s full-length dance adaptation of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment).

George Balanchine featured prominently with a pair of works that pointed to the company’s early association with the legendary choreographer. First up was Sylvia Pas de Deux starring veteran principal Gillian Murphy, who paired comfortably with the sturdy and stately Daniel Camargo. Although she’s no longer quite the masterful technician she once was, Murphy remains a compelling dancer, having developed at the twilight of her career into a dancer of considerable sensitivity. The other Balanchine on the docket was Ballet Imperial, a large scale work choreographed by Balanchine in 1941 for the company that would become Ballet Theatre. The piece would later be adapted for New York City Ballet as Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2, which was also performed on the Koch stage earlier this fall. Suffice to say, it was fascinating to experience these ballets in relatively close succession, especially being able to contrast Ballet Theatre’s steady, controlled progression of clearly delineated tableaus (ably led by Isabella Boylston, Skylar Brandt, and James Whiteside) with the sweeping movements and athleticism of City Ballet’s version.

Then came a pair of indisputable Twyla Tharp classics. Truncated from Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs, Sinatra Suite is a wonderful sampling from that beloved one-act work set to the Frank Sinatra songbook. At the performance I attended, the piece was magnificently danced by the perfectly-matched duo of Herman Cornejo and Cassandra Trenary. Both gutsy and beautifully athletic dancers, they threw themselves into the pas de deux with abandon without sacrificing technical precision nor sense of character. Then there was the kinetic wonder that is In the Upper Room. Driven by a propulsive Philip Glass score (alas, pre-recorded), the work is an invariable crowd-pleaser — a barrage of playful variations that playfully mesh jazz and classical ballet, culminating in an ecstatic climax. Once again, Cornejo and Trenary were standouts, as were Jake Roxander Duncan Mellwaine, and Skylar Brandt, completing a sensational “sneaker” bunch.

For many Ballet Theatre fans, perhaps the most anticipated bit of programming was The Kingdom of the Shades from the now problematic story ballet La Bayadère. Given that we probably won’t see the entirety of that ballet performed any time soon (without some major overhaul, that is), the closest we’ll probably get to experiencing the magic of the ballet is through excerpts like this one — in this case, one of the most iconic sequences in all of classical ballet. The corps de ballet proved to be a vision, breathing as one as they delicately bloomed in pairs into opposing arabesque positions. On Saturday night, we got a preview of incoming principal Isaac Hernández (filling in for visiting Royal Ballet principal Reece Clarke, who was sadly injured), who impressed with his youthful bravado. Also stepping in last minute (for Christine Shevchenko) was longtime principal Hee Seo, whose restrained elegance was complimented by the dynamic classicism of Yoon Jung Seo, Sierra Armstrong, and SunMi Park — who each sparkled brilliantly in their respective variation.

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AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE
Dance
David H. Koch Theater
Each program approximately 2 hours (with intermissions)
The fall season concludes on November 3

Categories: Dance

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