New York City Ballet Spring Season
Variety without cohesion
by Leigh Witchel
It’s cause for rejoicing when a festival of new works produces something that can last beyond the festival. I wouldn’t put money on Mauro Bigonzetti’s ballet “In Vento” (“In the wind” in Italian) persisting in repertory; the score of the same name is another matter. It is composed by Bigonzetti’s frequent collaborator Bruno Moretti and is sonorous, danceable and quite beautiful. Commissioned by NYCB for the Diamond Project and scored for orchestra, the music deftly walks the line between classical and contemporary by seeming not to concern itself with being either traditional or cutting edge. It’s just good work. READ MORE
More "Midsummer" Debuts
by Michael Popkin
The run of George Balanchine’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” that opened the Spring at New York City Ballet concluded this week with a flurry of debuts by young dancers. The most newsworthy were the young Andrew Veyette going into the role of Oberon on Tuesday night opposite Sofiane Sylve as Titania, and the even younger Sara Mearns' dancing Titania on Saturday afternoon opposite Joaquin de Luz. Tuesday night’s performance also included eight other debuts: Melissa Barak and Sterling Hyltin as Helena and Hermia; Seth Orza and Amar Ramassar as Lysander and Demetrius; Gwyneth Muller as Hippolyta; Max van der Sterre (still an apprentice) as Theseus; Tiler Peck as the Lead Butterfly; and Robert La Fosse (a retired principal dancer appearing as a guest artist) as Bottom. Besides de Luz as Oberon, the cast behind Mearns on Saturday afternoon was largely that which had danced in the Darci Kistler performances the previous week: Teresa Reichlen as Hippolyta; Rebecca Krohn and Rachel Rutherford as Helena and Hermia, Jason Fowler and Stephen Hanna as Demetrius and Lysander. READ MORE