Swans at the Met, Fairies at the Koch

 

Misty Copeland (Odette) and James Whiteside (Prince Siegfried) in Swan Lake.  Photo: Gene Schiavone.
Misty Copeland (Odette) and James Whiteside (Prince Siegfried) in Swan Lake. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

Misty Copeland had her long-awaited New York début in Swan Lake on June 24, with ABT. How did she do? Here’s my review, for DanceTabs.

And here’s my review of the Royal Ballet—visiting New York for the first time in 11 years— in a double-bill at the Koch. The two works were Ashton’s The Dream and Kenneth MacMillan’s Song of the Earth.

Marianela Nuñez and Nehemiah Kish in Song of the Earth. Photo by Dave Morgan, courtesy the Royal Opera House
Marianela Nuñez and Nehemiah Kish in Song of the Earth. Photo by Dave Morgan, courtesy the Royal Opera House

 

 

Everywhere He Goes

On May 8, New York City Ballet  held its spring gala, marking fifty years since the opening of the State Theatre. Along with a toast, a short film, and a song from “Carousel,” the evening included two ballets: Balanchine’s whirling “Allegro Brillante” and the première of Justin Peck’s new “Everywhere We Go.”

Here‘s my review, for DanceTabs:

And a short excerpt:

“Peck has the mind of a mathematician; he finds ways to subdivide the stage and keep the eye continually guessing. Shapes appear momentarily and dissolve, only to reappear again somewhere else. Soloists weave in and out of the ensemble. The body is also subdivided in surprising ways: sometimes only the arms move, in complex phrases combining staccato and stretched combinations; other times, just the torso, or just legs.”

 

A Little Find

As I was doing a bit of research online, I came upon this video of the opening of Balanchine’s Apollo, with Jacques d’Amboise. Ruth Sobotka is Apollo’s mother, Leto.

I can’t resist sharing!