ABT Fall Season 2014 - Jardin Aux Lilas and more!

Why, hello there!  Have you missed me?  Have you been frantically searching, waiting for my post about my vacation to Woodstock?  Well, I'll just say that my sister and I did NOT make it to Woodstock, we instead had a medical adventure I could've lived my life without experiencing.  All is relatively well now, my sister is feeling much better, thank heavens, but rest assured, I will be blogging about it shortly.  Probably later this week.  It will take more than one post to give the whole crazy time the perspective it deserves.  In the meantime, here is a quick review of a ballet performance I went to last weekend, sneaking out of the apartment and leaving my poor sister to convalesce alone for one night...

I bought my tickets to this ABT performance months ago - my Impossibly Handsome Ballet Buddy (remember him? of course you do!) and I picked a date sort of randomly, though we both wanted to see Jardin Aux Lilas and/or Fancy Free - how happy were we that we could find a free night that featured both!  : )  It was a gorgeous night, so we walked around the Lincoln Center plaza for a few minutes, checking out the giant digital art installation.  It's quite fascinating and my photos don't do it justice. 

Tickets seemed to be extra expensive this year, so our seats were in the Fourth Ring.  Aisle seats, which was very nice, but still a little further back than we're accustomed.  The Fifth Ring was completely empty, which was odd.  The orchestra and lower rings seemed full though, and the audience was very enthusiastic about each piece.  I loved all three - they were so different, we got the full gamut of styles and music, which was fantastic.  Of course, I'm always inclined to enjoy myself, but that's a good thing, right?

photo credit: Paco Ruiz

First up was Sinfonietta, choreography by Jiri Kylian and music by Leos Janacek.  I am unfamiliar with both artists' work, so this was completely new to me.  I enjoyed it very much - it was quite modern and freestyle, with lots of leaps and air.  The men were the stars, especially in the exuberant first movement.  I was especially taken with Calvin Royal, whose joie de vivre when dancing is very enjoyable, and Thomas Forster, who is quickly becoming one of my favorites.  I did also particularly enjoy the pas de deux in the third movement, which had a lot of push/pull and longing in them.  It's a lovely piece, maybe not a definitive classic, but very enjoyable nonetheless.  I also enjoyed the extra horn section that was placed on stage, more brass is always a good idea.  I forgot to get a photo at curtain call, but this photo is from the internet (it's a different cast than the one we saw, but oh well)...

The second piece was the one I was most looking forward to, Jardin aux Lilas, choreographed by the great Antony Tudor.  His story ballets are really remarkable, with such detail and cohesion with the music.  I've heard about this piece a lot over the years, but I've never seen it.  I'm not familiar with the composer Ernest Chausson, but the music is gorgeously evocative and fits in beautifully with the choreography.  A young bride-to-be is at a party, and she is having trouble saying goodbye to the man she loves (who is not her betrothed).  Also, her fiance's mistress is at the party.  There's much intrigue and lovely pas de deux between all the various couples.  Roman Zhurbin, who can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned, was fantastic as the fiance.  Severe, yet you could see the passion underneath, especially when Veronika Part as his mistress danced his way.  Part was glorious, very imperious and demanding, but also vulnerable and oh so stunningly gorgeous.  Devon Teuscher was lovely as the young bride-to-be, though she could probably find more shadings in her characterization.  Cory Stearns was again his terrifically danced, rather stalwart self, but it fit in perfectly with his role as the young soldier.  I really loved finally seeing Jardin aux Lilas and I look forward to catching it again next year during ABT's spring season.  

The last piece was the big crowd pleaser, Fancy Free, of course choreographed by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein.  It's fun that this ballet is being danced now while On the Town is playing on Broadway.  I hope I get to see On the Town sometime soon.  Anyway, this Fancy Free was terrific, with the wonderful Herman Cornejo and Marcelo Gomes as two of the sailors, and Cory Stearns as the third (replacing David Hallberg, who is recovering from surgery).  I actually thought Cory showed an excellent sense of looseness and fun, along with some vulnerability in this piece, so I'm hopeful he'll grow out of the stalwart phase and into something more.  Herman and Marcelo were perfection, as expected, and Stella Abrera and my favorite, Julie Kent, were terrific as the gals the sailors try to pick up.  It was breezy and fun, with an undercurrent of nervous energy underneath.  It was really fantastic and a great way to end the evening.  My IHBB and I had a grand time as always, even from the not-so-cheap-seats upstairs.  I have tickets for this Saturday's performance as well, which I'm looking forward to.  It won't be as fun to sit all the way up there by myself, but I'll learn to cope... :)