New York Ciity Ballet - Michael Popkin

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“Monumentum Pro Gesualdo,” “Movements for Piano and Orchestra,” “In Vento,” “Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet”
New York City Ballet
New York State Theater
New York, NY
May 17, 2006

by Susan Reiter
copyright ©2006, Susan Reiter

It is quite amazing to experience the lean, rarefied clarity of “Monumentum Pro Gesualdo,” having viewed the exquisite, leisurely unfurling of intensely romantic limpidity that is “Liebeslieder Walzer” the previous evening, and to grasp that both works were created simultaneously by George Balanchine, premiering six days apart in 1960. (Not to mention that he unveiled a buoyant bauble of delightful verve called “Donizetti Variations” on the same evening as “Monumentum.”) One is always aware of the scope and stature of the Balanchine repertory, but to have three such enduring — and completely different — works all in active repertory at the same time certainly reinforces that reality.

In recent memory, “Monumentum” has been regularly paired with “Movements for Piano and Orchestra,” another compact Balanchine-Stravinsky work created three years later. Back when Suzanne Farrell would perform in both (simply removing the practice skirt from over her white leotard during the brief pause), the combination proved quite a tour de force. Over the years, the casting varied, with the two split between different women (and, less often, men) as often as they were performed by a single dancer, as Darci Kistler did last season. Lately, the two works had often looked tired and badly in need of some re-energizing.

They got that, to generally positive effect, on Wednesday evening, thanks to three debuts. Teresa Reichlen brought the impressive reach of her beautifully stretched limbs, and her supple phrasing, to the more contemplative, elegiac “Monumentum.” You could sense the air being pressed and pushed as she unfurled her elegant arms and legs, appropriately softening her usually bracing attack for this more meditative homage to a more simply, courtly time. Albert Evans was her intent, vibrantly alert partner, and together they made one take new note of momentary details — he kisses her hands; both place their hands to their ears in the mime gesture for “listening” that appears in “Les Sylphides.” The ensemble of six couples flowed in and out of their sculptural shapes and positions with dignified calm.

In the final moments of “Monumentum,” the lead couple, though at the center of the other six, is absorbed into the final pattern, as that grand diagonal of penchée-ing women and their flexed feet like the clappers of bells resolves into a solemnly harmonious unified ensemble design. In “Movements” — where the skirts come off, and the six lean, angular women have no more need for men — the central couple remains very much the primary focus, with brief, surprising solos interspersed during the five sections. The couple’s partnering has an edgy, confrontational tone, as though they are testing each other’s limitations (and their own) in the same way that Stravinsky’s acerbic, elusive score explores musical possibilities and extremes.

One certainly felt the contrast on this occasion. The tense, nervous energy of Movements” bristled excitingly as Rebecca Krohn and Evans took over the lead roles. Krohn invested the choreography’s spiky angularity with an air of cool hauteur and a hint of glamour. She seemed to delight in the strangeness and unpredictability of the movement, so that the ballet became a fascinating process of investigation, with no certainly at any point of what lay ahead. Evans, a veteran of many knotty “leotard ballet” roles, invested his role with intriguing tension. Both the roles he performed have usually been taken by taller men, bu ton this occasion the ballerinas tended to loom over him.

With these two small but crucial Balanchine works freshened up in this way, one could appreciate who “Movements” carries on from “Episodes,” and perhaps hints at what’s to come in “Kammermusik No. 2,” while “Monumentum has a degree of connection to “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” another very pure, courtly work that is set to an homage to an earlier composer.

Mauro Bigonzetti’s “In Vento” followed, garnering a prolonged, enthusiastic ovation that indicated this sleekly efficient, emotionally aimless work makes a strong connection to the audience. It givers the dancers plenty of opportunity to twist and stretch, but there were passages during which they looked rather bored — or perhaps amazed that dancers with ballet training were being asked to wind their way across the stage in a monotonous linked line. It has a touch more soul than some other coolly hip works in the Forsythe vein, and it benefits from being set to Bruno Moretti’s plangent, varied score. But Bigonzetti’s dedication of the work to Balanchine, and the inclusion of a few heavy-handed quotes from the master’s work, are jarringly inappropriate.

“Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet” felt particularly lush and generous following the black-and-white (or purely black, in the case of “In Vento”) spareness that had preceded it. Kyra Nichols danced with luminously fulsome elegance in the first movement, with a rather ragged Charles Askegard as her cavalier. Reichlen (closing out her evening’s deft hat trick, appearing in three contrasting roles) swept through expansively as the proud, assertive soloist. It’s nice to see her learning how to fill space and emphasize the amplitude and breadth of her elongated physique. Sara Mearns and Amar Ramasar led a dashing final movement, staying clear of the potential for kitschiness in the gypsy-flavored movement, but enjoying its full capacity for energetic daring. This was my first glimpse of Mearns in a major role, and from the deft musicality and glorious phrasing she delivered, it was clear to see that she is ready for the spotlight.

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