by Leigh Witchel
At New York City Ballet Thursday night, “Emeralds” were a girl’s best friend. And “Diamonds” were forever . . . unfortunately.
Starting with the good, Chun Wai Chan made an auspicious debut in “Diamonds.” He has strong, easy technique in a role that can make use of it. He began his solo turns in second position, sped up gradually to a ripping tear and pulled in for a perfect finish.
The man in “Diamonds” has more stylistic latitude; if he’s a great partner we’ll likely forgive and forget anything else. The woman, well, it was Suzanne Farrell’s quintessential role. If you can’t do what she did, you have to bring something as magical to the table.
Isabella LaFreniere is a strong technician; she and Chan opened walking towards one another with pacing and weight. She deployed the Ballerina Gaze, staring out to the heavens but in a role tailored to Farrell’s gifts for risk and dancing off balance, she was on her leg the whole time. Even the flat-footed dives didn’t dive, they lowered. She remained absolutely stable and in control. Leaning back into Chan’s arms as he brought her round, she was still somehow on her leg. In the braced penchée, the same.
Go. Off. Your. Leg. Without instability and risk, it’s just another Big Pas de Deux.
Technically it was correct. Conceptually it was all wrong. Was LaFreniere to blame? Who cast her in this, and why did they think it was a good part for her? LaFreniere would look better in “Emeralds”; Phelan got closer but would do better in either “Emeralds” or “Rubies.” Now we have two new “Diamonds” ballerinas who aren’t naturals in a part that’s central to the brand of the company.
“Rubies” had more sparkle. All three leads made their debut. In the solo ballerina role, Christina Clark is a long drink of water who has extravagant facility, but she’s yet not in control of her lines. At the end of the first movement, her exit penchée was wobbly and low-ish. She flung herself into the third movement. She had the extension, but didn’t quite have the coordination to get her leg sky high. Her body was stretchy and pliable, because of that she didn’t point her feet yet all the way to the end of her toes. That sort of physique takes time to get strong.
Emma Von Enck and Jovani Furlan danced the main couple. The two made their pairing into a competition, all in fun, but keeping a sharp eye on what the other was doing. She powered through the attitude turns and flexed foot poses. Furlan was leaning into the humor of the shimmies, or stomping down a path. In the last movement he gave a quick nod to the male ensemble before they charged through another diagonal: “Follow me!”
Von Enck approached the role through technique and attack. You can do that with “Rubies.” She spun through precise turns as Furlan galloped on and she ripped through her final diagonal of piqués. She felt like a small, sharp pen knife making precise cuts.
Early on, Furlan popped her into the air. She’s tiny so he had some bulk on her, and could handle her with ease. If Peck and Mejia didn’t emphasize the erotic in “Rubies,” Von Enck really downplayed it. She barely leaned back on Furlan in a section that often looks like arousal. Instead, she made it about laughter. In a friendly rivalry, they could handle each other.
Of the crop of new principals, the one who has fantasy is Mira Nadon. You would expect her debut in “Emeralds” to be memorable, and it was. She took the first pas moderato, not going for drama as Ashley Bouder did the night before.
We knew there was more, and in her solo, there it was. She drifted from side to side, waving and arching, almost flirting with us when she took a moment at the front. There was focus, fantasy and a sense of delectable mystery as she floated an attitude before bowing to an imaginary partner. She ended with delicate bourrées to a kneel. If Nadon’s fantasy lies in her presence, it’s also in her extravagance. Her back is so mobile, and yet it always feels as if there were more where that came from.
Hypermobility isn’t her only option. She stayed upright in her second duet with Davide Riccardo dancing regally to the spacious music. He acted smitten, heading to a kneel to give her a place to perch. Riccardo danced the first duet as a quest, searching avidly for her through the corps though she was right there. He was anything but an invisible partner. To him, it was his story.
You only needed to see Mary Thomas MacKinnon’s joyous smile making her debut in the trio to recognize her. Next to her and also on her first outing, India Bradley was all limbs and glamour, where MacKinnon was all fantasy, whirling and arching before she left. Escorting them, Spartak Hoxha had done his part before, and his lanky, slim build with a tight axis helped with his beats and turns.
In the Mimi Paul role Megan LeCrone had the mystery but not the abandon. She may have been thrown by a partner swap; Adrian Danchig-Waring was announced for Aarón Sanz. She grabbed at Danchig-Waring’s hand in a balance; they almost tripped one another at the bows.
If it’s not clear exactly what kind of ballerina LaFreniere or Phelan is, Nadon is coming vividly into focus. She would be a no-brainer for “Diamonds.” It would be a loss to be robbed of her “Emeralds,” but if that meant we got her “Diamonds,” it would be worth the sacrifice to romance the stone.
copyright © 2023 by Leigh Witchel
“Jewels” – New York City Ballet
Lincoln Center, New York, NY
September 21, 2023
Cover: Mira Nadon and Davide Riccardo in “Emeralds.” Photo © Erin Baiano.
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