A matinee performance on Saturday, May 20 (officially titled Here/Now No. 9) was perhaps the single most dispiriting afternoon I've ever spent at NYCB. The program presented six different works. By the end of the fourth week of the Here/Now festival the number of injuries was staggering -- every week had a multitude of casting changes. The dancers, usually so chipper on social media, had resorted to venting and more venting. Georgina Pazcoguin's wry line "To those who fell, to those who made it (extra kudos) and to those ballets we will never see again..." pretty much summed it up.
The first work on this program was something called Red Angels. Four dancers in red unitards stood in four separate spotlights and gyrated for 10 minutes. It actually pained me to see Tess Reichlen and Preston Chamblee, both so gorgeous in physique, reduced to this sort of junk. Then we had Varied Trio, in which …show more content…
By the time DSCH rolled around there were so many defections the third ring (where I was sitting) was practically empty. What's more, the dancers looked tired and sluggish. Even in the irrepressible DSCH (Ratmansky's most charming work) there was a feeling that they were simply going through the motions. When Ashley Bouder seems like she's out of gas, there's a problem. The corps guy who keeps jumping up and down with joy in the first movement was the only sign of life. Of the 43 ballets, I'd say the number that were worth reviving was maybe uh, 15 to be generous? All five Ratmansky ballets (Concerto DSCH, Namouna, Pictures at an Exhibition, Russian Seasons, Odessa), some of Justin Peck's works, and the odd charmer here and there (Lauren Lovette's For Clara didn't make much of an impression in the fall but in the spring amongst all the trash it was looked like a masterpiece in comparison). I just hope that none of the injuries are career-ending. This was a major miscalculation on the part of Peter
The first work on this program was something called Red Angels. Four dancers in red unitards stood in four separate spotlights and gyrated for 10 minutes. It actually pained me to see Tess Reichlen and Preston Chamblee, both so gorgeous in physique, reduced to this sort of junk. Then we had Varied Trio, in which …show more content…
By the time DSCH rolled around there were so many defections the third ring (where I was sitting) was practically empty. What's more, the dancers looked tired and sluggish. Even in the irrepressible DSCH (Ratmansky's most charming work) there was a feeling that they were simply going through the motions. When Ashley Bouder seems like she's out of gas, there's a problem. The corps guy who keeps jumping up and down with joy in the first movement was the only sign of life. Of the 43 ballets, I'd say the number that were worth reviving was maybe uh, 15 to be generous? All five Ratmansky ballets (Concerto DSCH, Namouna, Pictures at an Exhibition, Russian Seasons, Odessa), some of Justin Peck's works, and the odd charmer here and there (Lauren Lovette's For Clara didn't make much of an impression in the fall but in the spring amongst all the trash it was looked like a masterpiece in comparison). I just hope that none of the injuries are career-ending. This was a major miscalculation on the part of Peter