New York City Ballet, Fall Season Week 3, A Review

Week Three of New York City Ballet’s Fall Season offered audiences plenty of stellar performances. While the choreography may be familiar, fresh faces and new pairings yielded novel perspectives.

In an odd pairing of two mega works — Jerome Robbins’ The Goldberg Variations and George Balanchine’s Tschaikovsky Suite №3 — the Masters at Work program was a monumental, all hands on deck affair. Warnings from the Koch Theater staff of The Goldberg Variations’ eighty-minute length were unnecessary, it’s some of Robbins’ best work — a choreography master class — and with a high caliber cast the ballet flies by. Bach’s only work structured in the form of a theme and variations was played on piano by William Wolfram.

Christina Clark and Alec Knight commenced and closed the piece. Lengthy, elongated Clark dances with articulated nuance. Emma Von Enck in Part I is discovering a newfound calm sensitivity, adding complex shading with every performance to her already razor-sharp work. Ashley Hod, a bounding standout, out-jumps the men with strength and pliability.

An unexpected pairing of Dominika Afanasenkov and Peter Walker was surprisingly balanced. The unlikely pair negotiating the challenging partner work with aplomb; this could be a partnership to watch.

Tschaikovsky Suite №3 stood as a strong contrast. It’s well-known Theme and Variations (or Ballet Imperial, as its sometimes referred to) becomes more vibrant against the first three movements. The costuming by Nicolas Benois for the first movements (they’re danced behind the scrim giving a sense of fogginess) could use a refresh. By the time the final movement arrives it feels more like time travel out of a dated era rather than an elevation.

Peter Walker and Emily Kikta, dancing the Élégie, were fluid and hypnotic. Walker brought a searching quality to his movements. The ethereal nature continued into the Valse Mélancolique where Ashley Laracey was particularly waif-like and ethereal, dancing with Alec Knight. The Scherzo, danced by KJ Takahashi and India Bradley was void of any connection, here were two dancers instead of a pair, as found in the previous movements. Bradley struggled with the technical demands of the section.

Tiler Peck and Roman Meija brought the expected technical bravado to the Tema con Variazioni but didn’t quite capture the regality of the moment. The pas de deux lacked musical phrasing and felt static. While technically faultless, the pair lacked the restraint and refinement to crown the sparkling corps de ballet. Alexa Maxwell was particularly brilliant along with Owen Flacke and Charlie Klesa.

The All Balanchine II program continued the trajectory of strong individual performances. Emma Von Enck and Taylor Stanley, paired together in Balanchine’s Square Dance, were a pleasing balance of contrasts. Von Enck continues to find new softness and nuance in her dancing to contrast her powerful dynamics — exponential growth in a principal dancer is worth coming back to the theatre for night after night. Airy, crisp entrechat six and buoyant gargouillades solidified Von Enck’s peak technical abilities. Stanley, with magnetizing presence, is an interesting balance to Von Enck. The contrasting pair mesh to a pleasing equilibrium of strengths. The corps de ballet framed the pair well, although their jumps felt heavy at times compared to Von Enck. Apprentice Keenan Kiefer was an eye-catching presence in the corps with intriguing fluidity and clear technique.

Balanchine’s Episodes, set to music from the orchestral works of Anton von Webern, offered highs and lows. Tyler Angle and India Bradley in Symphony, Opus 21 failed to stand out from the corps de ballet or create much of an impact; their partnership leaden by an unnatural connection. Bradley, perhaps from fatigue, gradually lost rotation resulting in some jarringly parallel moments.

Owen Flacke and Christina Clark, were a mesmerizing highlight in Five Pieces, Opus 10. Aptly paired, the lengthy duo danced in and out of the light with a captivating solemness. With even more confidence it will be exciting to see how this partnership develops.

In the final movement Miriam Miller and Aron Sanz didn’t fully live in the possible extremities but, with moments gazing to the audience, are a gripping pair to watch.

Balanchine’s Western Symphony, to music by Hershy Kay, was a perfect crowd pleasing closer for the evening. The well-matched opening quartet of men (Oscar Estep, Owen Flacke, Eli Raphael Gruska and Samuel Melnikov) seemed unsure of embracing the caricature of America’s Wild West until Alexa Maxwell entered. Her entrance got the show underway with vibrancy and dynamism. Olivia MacKinnon and Victor Abreu were delightfully charming. McKinnon, in particular, has a knack for playing with the audience. Isabella LaFreniere and Ryan Tomash, fully embraced the spirit of the piece to bring it to a rousing closure. Tomash, a welcome addition to the company, brought the most verve and full-fledged gusto to the stage of all the dancers. He is a testament that fresh blood is needed to infuse the often too insular world of the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet. With every wink, shoulder shrug and torpedoed tour en l’air, Western Symphony was his star performance.