VIEWPOINTS – City Ballet’s winter season continues with its enchanting SLEEPING BEAUTY and a new Peck, among other works

And so New York City Ballet’s winter season continues – with its stylistic range on full display after opening the season with a pair of timeless, soul-enriching all-Balanchine programs (one set to the music of Stravinsky, the other to Tschaikovsky).

New York City Ballet dances Justin Peck's "Principia" at the David H. Koch Theater.

New York City Ballet dances Justin Peck’s “Principia” at the David H. Koch Theater.

First up was a program entitled New Combinations (RECOMMENDED), a set most significant for debuting the latest Justin Peck/Sufjan Stevens work. Mr. Peck, the current darling choreographer of the ballet world, has received some of his most notable acclaim with his collaborations with alternative art music maker Mr. Stevens (“Year of the Rabbit”, “Everywhere We Go”). Their latest, “Principia”, follows in pretty much the same mold as those past successes, including their strengths and weaknesses. Once again, Mr. Peck shows his extraordinary ability to move and sculpt the corps de ballet, creating breathtaking patterns that are at once intricate and clearly defined. But also once again, his solos and pas de deux oddly fall flat, which is surprising given his inspired pas de deux work in the year-and-a-half-old “Pulcinella Variations”, which I had hoped signaled an evolution in his craft.

The eclectic evening also included “Herman Scherman” choreographed by William Forsythe and and “The Runaway”, the divisive Kyle Abraham piece largely set to the music of Kanye West that premiered at the fall gala. “Herman Scherman” was vintage Forsythe, complete with jutting, angular choreography and a haunting, slinky electronic soundtrack. When I saw “The Runaway” in the fall, I was baffled but intrigued. Seeing the Mr. Abraham’s work for the second time, I began to accept it for the unruly, exciting collage that it is. This choreographer works in the same style as iconic Israeli choreographer Ohad Nahrin – visceral, highly theatrical, and defiantly uncompromising. Although I question whether a predominantly classical ballet company is the right instrument for the up-and-coming choreographer’s vision, I still applaud both City Ballet and Mr. Abraham for going out on a limb with this partnership. Although all three pieces in the program were danced with commitment and conviction, special mention must go out to principal dancer Taylor Stanley – who was featured in both “Principia” and “The Runaway” – for enhancing both works with his meticulous musicality and exuberance.

Tiler Peck and Tyler Angle in New York City Ballet's production of "The Sleeping Beauty" at the David H. Koch Theater.

Tiler Peck and Tyler Angle in New York City Ballet’s production of “The Sleeping Beauty” at the David H. Koch Theater.

The season continued on a vastly different gear with a two week run of City Ballet’s enchanting production of The Sleeping Beauty (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), perhaps the supreme model of the classical ballet idiom. Aside from the company’s legendary production of Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, its Sleeping Beauty, as staged by former artistic director Peter Martins, is a superb achievement – charmingly and tastefully designed, and distilled to just the right balance between pure dance and mime. I saw two casts, both quite excellent. The first cast was led by the extraordinary Tiler Peck as Princess Aurora, who is currently dancing at the very peak of her abilities, and who might just be, right now, the most virtuosic ballerina in the world. It was a joy and a thrill to see her completely in command of every moment of her performance, as if she were in control of music itself (courtesy of Tschaikovsky, in one of very finest ballet scores ever composed). Ms. Peck was partnered beautifully by the understated but nonetheless regal Tyler Angle. The rest of this first cast included a devilishly expressive Sara Mearns as Carabosse and a solid if unremarkable Ashley Laracey as the Lilac Fairy.

Although the second cast didn’t have the breathtaking Ms. Peck, I would argue that the subsequent viewing boasted a more ideally balanced cast. Sterling Hyltin led the company with a steady and confident performance as Aurora. I’ve never thought of her as a particularly fine actress, but her facial expressions and general demeanor were just captivating and absolutely perfect for the role. Her prince was the stately but sometimes unsteady Russell Janzen, who was looking the best I’ve seen him. Rounding out the principal cast, Maria Kowroski seemed to be having a fine old time portraying the evil Carabosse, and Teresa Reichlen danced a close-to-definitive Lilac Fairy with her majestic and ethereal performance. After its run of The Sleeping Beauty this weekend, City Ballet’s winter season concludes with a mixed bill entitled Classic NYCB, an all-Robbins program, and another all-Balanchine set.

 

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY & NEW COMBINATIONS
Dance
New York City Ballet at the David H. Koch Theater
Approximately 2 hours, 30 minutes (varies depending on the program)
The Sleeping Beauty continues through February 24, and the winter season concludes on March 3

Categories: Dance

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