by Leigh Witchel
After the opening night fireworks to celebrate New York City Ballet’s 75th anniversary season, the company settled into a week-long run of “Jewels.” Several debuts happened on the following nights, sprinkled in with veteran performances.
Ashley Bouder danced the Violette Verdy role in “Emeralds.” There was a lot of eyebrow dancing in her first duet with Chun Wai Chan, with faraway gazes and coming through the ensemble of women to pose, almost miming “STOP” as if she were a backup Supreme. Her arabesque also felt restricted, and it made all the acting feel as if she were trying to distract us.
The Bouder we knew showed up in her solo; the cat-that-ate-the-canary smile, the flashes of avidity, the joy at just being there. She’s not yet back where she wants to be, but there has been improvement. Hopefully, this is another point on the road home.
Ashley Laracey has gone from being one of the company’s occasional show ponies to a work horse. Tutu roles look more angular on her, but she softened her edges musically in Mimi Paul’s part, hovering suspended in an attitude pose to the front. She also dipped into an extended, consuming fantasy. Her diffuse gaze made everything seem miles away; we weren’t there to her, and she barely was as well. Her pas de deux with Peter Walker had a similar fantasy, as if she were dreaming of being a doll she had as a child.
Except for the two lead Ashleys, the rest of the soloists in “Emeralds” made their debuts. Chan partnered Bouder beautifully; Walker tapped into the music’s tristesse at the very end, when suddenly a sense of inchoate loss clouded his vision. In the trio, KJ Takahashi again showed himself to be a prince on the rise, with the right tone and purity; a gallant, noble bearing as well as powerhouse technique. His gravity contrasted nicely with Baily Jones’ warmth and Alexa Maxwell’s attack and risk.
Unity Phelan made a high-pressure debut in “Diamonds” squired by Joseph Gordon. Unlike Sara Mearns, who feeds on pressure, Phelan often plays it safe on opening nights. She and Gordon met, slowly pacing towards one another with slow breathy ports de bras and open chests. The duet was largely clean but she was in and out: her penché braced by Gordon as he knelt felt careful and slightly shaky. But she hit the scale she needed when she posed arched before she threw her chest open wider and rushed to Gordon. The climactic side extension was done with passion as Phelan reached to Gordon for his hand. But then she was cautious trying to avoid him pushing off for an unsupported turn in arabesque.
Nothing went wrong, it was just the kind of first night performance Phelan has had before. As usual, once the worst was out of the way, her solo was more relaxed, and she was more willing to go off balance in her extensions. These problems could easily solve themselves, but to lead that massive finale she’s going to have to up the scale to larger-than-life.
Gordon has his prince act nailed, right down to the the floppy hair and the elegant swagger as he gestured to Phelan. His solo was precise, with gorgeous double saut de basques in his manège. When the stage cleared he did turns in second as the violins chattered excitedly, followed by a clean finish. He was the noble center of a vortex, and that’s how he sees himself. How will Phelan see herself?
Even without any debuts, “Rubies” was the gemstone of the night.
Emily Kikta has polished her confidence as the solo ballerina. She was sanguine at the close of the last movement even when one of the guys let her leg clunk down from a high extension, and lowered herself into a final penché that stayed on balance even as she splayed to 180°. Whacking her way through the finale, with her legs almost touching her head front and side she turned into Ms. KICKTA!
After a season where she seemed physically out of sorts, Tiler Peck looks fabulous – in fighting form. Form isn’t a question of weight, though Peck did lose weight. It’s the abandon and generous scale of her movement. She looks once again as if she’s not holding back. If you look, you can still see her arabesque isn’t sky high – but it never was, and realistically, that may be what it is after a serious injury. But because everything else is in better shape, it’s easy to look past it.
This part has Roman Mejia’s name on it – his last name especially. His Dad did it half a century ago. But this wasn’t nepotism. The younger Mejia’s tone is perfect. Force should come before line in “Rubies,” and he struck the right balance of brash classicism: a street kid in a tunic.
He and Peck had real chemistry, but a very public chemistry. Unlike the intimacy of “Emeralds,” they seemed to be showing off for us: Look at this foot! Now look at this pose! But they had something to show off. They both went balls to the wall in the finale playing an even more intricate game of footsie with one another, then Mejia started slowly rotating to exit until it turned into a whirlwind. Peck had the advantage of being on pointe, so she turned even faster. In the piqué turns with retracted arms that have caused so many wipeouts, she nailed them, and spotting front no less. Of course. Turns are her specialty.
In the main duet, even when Peck lounged back on Mejia in arousal, the pas de deux was more about mischief and a blur of happy feet. Then, on the last pose, when they were almost lip to lip, she brought her finger slowly towards his palm, then plonk! It was sexuality laced with mischief.
copyright © 2023 by Leigh Witchel
“Jewels” – New York City Ballet
Lincoln Center, New York, NY
September 20, 2023
Cover: Roman Mejia and Tiler Peck in “Rubies.” Photo © Erin Baiano.
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