THE HANGOVER REPORT – City Ballet celebrates 21st century choreographers, to mixed results

IMG_4452Last night, City Ballet staged an impressive five ballets from five different contemporary choreographers. I wish I could report that at least one of these dances was destined for classic status. But alas, this was not to be. That’s not to say that there were no redeeming qualities among them. On the contrary, each piece encouragingly showed the choreographer to be reaching for new forms of expression. So despite the uneven results, I would definitely say that contemporary ballet is in good hands.

“Polaris” with choreography by Myles Thatcher set to the music of William Walton was the weakest of the lot. Despite a spirited turn by Tiler Peck, Mr. Thatcher’s work struck me as second-rate Justin Peck, particularly his sculptural use of the corps.

Next up was Robert Binet’s “The Blue Distance” with music by Ravel. This is a delicate piece, and Sterling Hyltin (who is impressing me consistently these days) and Sara Mearns looked lovely in it. However, this is a slight piece that dissipated soon after I watched it.

Probably my favorite work of the night was Troy Schumacher’s “Common Ground” set to the music of Ellis Ludwig-Leone. Despite there only being seven dancers in the piece, there’s a freedom and expansiveness to Mr. Schumacher’s work here that kept me enthralled throughout. New principal Anthony Huxley, in particular, impressed me with his lightness and expressivity.

Justin Peck’s futuristic “New Blood” set to the bright, insistent music of Steve Reich closed out the first act. Even if it isn’t the most complex or interesting work I’ve seen from this prodigiously talented choreographer (the ballet is essentially a series duets bookended by group work), it had a clear point of view and logic within its universe. If the point of the piece is to highlight the beauty in both individuality and duplicity, then I would have to say its goal was well met.

After the intermission, we were treated to the world premiere of Kim Brandstrup’s nourish “Jeux”, set to the music of Debussy. Unlike the previous pure dance pieces, Mr. Brandstrup’s ballet attempted to tell a story – in this case, the story concerned a passionate, dangerous ménage à trois (seductively danced and acted by Sterling Hyltin, Sara Mearns, and Aama Ramasar). Even if the choreography seemed at times to be a bit repetitive, the ballet was beautifully designed and, of course, danced – particularly Ms. Mearns, who danced as if her life were at stake.

RECOMMENDED

 

NEW YORK CITY BALLET: 21ST CENTURY CHOREOGRAPHERS
Dance
David H. Koch Theater
2 hours (with one intermission)
Three more performances on October 9, 16, and 17

Categories: Dance

Leave a Reply