by Leigh Witchel
Change at New York City Ballet can be measured in debuts. Who gets a new part, who retires one: it’s not just the mark of careers, but dance generations. When a ballet comes back into repertory with a new cast, it’s a marker of where things were, where they are, and what needs to be done.
“Scotch Symphony” had several debuts and newer dancers in it, and it was performed emphatically. Mendelssohn’s symphony is emphatic itself, filled fanfares and marches. With the corps punching the phrasing, and men wrenching up into assemblées, the opening movement was a measure of the overlay of Peter Martins’ style on Balanchine’s.
And yet in her debut in the first movement lead, Baily Jones had the opposite issue. A slip of a woman, when she traveled through the stage, she left no wake. She didn’t seem to have gotten past the steps, and made little impression, either on the space or on us, yet. When Joseph Gordon entered as she left, she bowed, but as choreography: in his direction rather than to him. Gordon didn’t take off in his debut until the third movement, sailing out for his entry and slicing into sharp beats from side to side. That’s when you saw why he was cast.
Ashley Bouder danced the second movement as a classical gloss on “La Sylphide”: a Russian version, not a Danish one. She showed every step and focused on the shape of the choreography from moment to moment. A developpé hit the ankle, hit the knee and continued up and out. Every intermediate position was shown. But there was little arc, narrative or physical. When she exited the stage before the men blocked Gordon it didn’t have much impact because instead of leaving him, she exited because the choreography was that she should leave on count six.
That’s not something she dreamed up out of thin air, though. Balanchine put that in the ballet himself. What is the group adagio finale but a display of clean positions? Maybe that’s always been the problem with “Scotch.” It follows the musical score at the expense of making sense, which would be fine if Balanchine wasn’t also throwing narrative hints into the mix throughout the adagio movement, and dropping them in the finale.
“Stravinsky Violin Concerto” had a lighter touch. No surprise, it was danced by a more experienced corps and it’s hard to dance Stravinsky emphatically. Balanchine followed Stravinsky’s cues, but not slavishly. In the opening movement. the music changed and he swapped out squadrons, but a few phrases after Stravinsky.
Going in for Ask la Cour, Russell Janzen made his debut in Peter Martins’ role. He was gentle with Sterling Hyltin – interesting in a duet that is one of the most imposing in modern ballet. Adrian Danchig-Waring took similar care of Maria Kowroski, but exploded into a boneless doll-like solo.
The women weren’t as on this performance; Kowroski’s legs got mushy in the opening and instead of doing extensions in her back, Hyltin did them with her neck. But all four of them had the right folk dance feel in the finale.
Pinch-hitting for Tiler Peck, Lauren Lovette made her New York debut in “Sonatine.” You’d think having programming a piano pas de deux back-to-back with “Duo Concertant” would look cloying, but they look fine together: similar but with different landscapes. “Sonatine” is a much more straightforward duet.
Lovette had a beautiful combination of lightness but control as she floated a balance, but brought it to the floor with no extraneous movement. Not a walk or pose got fluffed. Partnering her, Gonzalo Garcia was more emphatic; he jumped up and SLAPPED his thighs.
Tucked in among the debutants, one of the nicest performances was by the vets in “Duo.” The best surprise of the year has been the rise of Anthony Huxley. He’s always been a gifted and versatile soloist, particularly in contemporary ballet. His solo was both sharp, with quick sissonnes and rond de jambes, yet fluid. He always dances full phrases, not individual steps. Still, his height seemed to limit him in classical and partnering roles. There’s every reason for Huxley not to be a good partner, but surprise, he is. With Megan Fairchild, he wasn’t handsy and he didn’t fidget. Fairchild looked free and relaxed, and always knew where she was. Fairchild is in the Indian summer of her career, looking pleasingly coltish and mature at the same time. She’s never been an emphatic dancer; here she was moving on top of the music rather than bang on it, and she and Huxley had light chemistry, even the jokey refusal to give her hand didn’t look forced. They didn’t overplay the end either.
Huxley has had a lot thrown at him in what seems to be a move from a specialty principal to one holding up core repertory. Brian Seibert reported that Huxley fell in his debut in “Theme and Variations.” A day later the performance was solid. As exciting as debuts are, it’s less telling how the first performance looked, but the second, and third, and tenth . . .
copyright © 2019 by Leigh Witchel
“Scotch Symphony,” “Duo Concertant,” “Sonatine,” “Stravinsky Violin Concerto” – New York City Ballet
Lincoln Center, New York, NY
April 30, 2019
Cover: Ashley Bouder and Joseph Gordon in “Scotch Symphony.” Photo © Paul Kolnik.
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