THE HANGOVER REPORT – After an uninspired start, City Ballet’s ALL-BALANCHINE program ends triumphantly

IMG_4434Yesterday evening, I found myself back at the David H. Koch Theater to take in some more of City Ballet’s fall season. The program was entitled “All-Balanchine”, and was comprised of two of the master’s works, separated by an intermission. And what a wild journey it was.

Last night’s performance began with Balanchine’s “Liebeslieder Walzer”, which is set to a two-part piano duet and vocal quartet by Brahms. To say the least, the performance was a little concerning. In the piece’s first half, which depicts Viennese social dance in the mid-nineteenth century, yesterday’s cast seemed uneasy in their roles, unable to give a sense of their characters’ internal lives. The usually passionate Sara Mearns, in particular, seemed bored and uninterested in the whole thing. Even when things picked up in the second half, during which the dancers were given more opportunity for expressivity, things still fell a bit flat. Only the lovely and lyrical Sterling Hyltin gave any sense of individuality and playfulness among the whole dour affair.

City Ballet was more in its element with their meticulous rendition of Balanchine’s “Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3”, dancing with a fire and intensity severely lacking in the first piece. The tone shift between the darkly romantic, almost spectral, first three movements and the gleaming classicism of the majestic fourth movement has always ravished me. Last night was no exception. The fourth movement was spectacularly led by Tiler Peck and Andrew Veytette, who were the very model of perfection – they sparkled and drove into their intricate steps with vitality and playfulness. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen this final movement (individually known as “Theme and Variations”) danced better. Ah, what a difference an intermission can make!

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NEW YORK CITY BALLET: ALL-BALANCHINE
Dance
David H. Koch Theater
2 hours, 15 minutes (with one intermission)
One more performance on October 11

Categories: Dance

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