March 3, 2006
New York City Ballet at the Kennedy Center
At an intermission for the New York City Ballet's performance at the Kennedy Center Wednesday evening, a friend asked how it could be that the Ballet could perform such perfection, while the U.S. Olympic figure skaters could not manage a perfect long program last week. Clearly there is greater issue at play here: Whoever decided that the combination of ice, sharp blades and humans would make a fine sporting event must have been deranged. Then again, ballet involves balancing on toes encased in shoes of wood and satin. Perplexing sport-related questions aside, the New York City Ballet's opening night performance highlighted the history, creativity and brilliance of a company known for greatness.
Complimented by the skill of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, the All-Russian program began with Balanchine's Allegro Brillante, with music by Tchaikovsky. The flawless Principal Dancers Miranda Weese and Damian Woetzel, supported by an elegant corps de ballet, was impressive. Weese's arms floated so delicately during the piece that one wondered if they in fact weighed nothing.
One of the most creative pieces was Duo Concertant, with music by Stravinsky. While the rest of the night's orchestral arrangements rose from the depths of the orchestra pit, violinist Arturo Delmoni and pianist Susan Walters joined principal dancers Yvonne Borree and Nikolaj Hübbe on stage. The precision of the musicians as they matched the movement of the dancers showcased the synergy and syncopated rhythm between the two elements of the ballet. Two performances later was a gorgeous version of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, performed by Stephanie Sungre and Sébastien Marcovici.
The last performance of the evening, Balanchine and Jerome Robbins' fairytale-esque story of Firebird (pictured above), was fantastic. The classical ballet skill of Sofiane Sylve, Jonathan Stafford and Rachel Rutherford combined with a vibrant cast, set and costumes to create a captivating performance. The vibrant set, designed by Marc Chagall in 1945 and executed by Volodia Odinokov, proved a fanciful backdrop for the skilled dancers. The majestic costumes, also designed by Chagall, executed by Karinska and under the current direction of Holly Hynes, were pieces of art unto themselves. Firebird lets you regale, for a moment, in the tomfoolery and whimsy of fantasy.
The New York City Ballet remains in the District until March 5th.
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I went to Thursday nights performance, but the program was entirely different than what you described above.
It was an All-European program that startd with Ballo della Regina (Verdi) which was straight classical ballet - minimal but beautiful, a nice set-up for the rest of the night.
Klavier (Beethoven) was a modern piece - which was like an exercise in symmetry with lots of duets and group movement.
The final ballet was Union Jack, a celebration different cultural dance, from Scottish miltary marches which has a bit too long of an introduction, to a vaudeville-like British Music Hall duet complete with a real donkey, British Navy jigs and hand flags. It was fun and grand, but the highlight of the evening was Klavier.