I've been really enjoying this thread and your discussion of swan Lake convinced me to sign up. I'm not usually this negative, but here's a bit I wrote about the NYCB costume gala...
I saw the NYCB costume gala program (not on the gala night). I thought Justin Peck's Pulcinella was very well crafted. It's great to see him tackling Stravinsky, classicism and tutu ballets. In my opinion, the costume gala is always a gamble. One example is Liam Scarlett's duet where the woman is so dwarfed by her costume that the real drama onstage is her fight with her gown. Why cover a ballerina's feet? The yards of ruffles defeated poor Gretchen Smith, while Tiler Peck, even though she's shorter, was able to wrestle the gown to a draw. I'm torn between hoping the costumes for Pulcinella go the way of Kurt Seligmann's costumes for The Four Temperaments (Google it if you've never seen them) and thinking that they might just grow on me. At least in Pulcinella you can see the bodies.
I've enjoyed …show more content…
Black and white costumes; all the men in black pants and white Ts, all the women in fitted black jackets with white skirts. The dancers flew across the stage in swoopy movement full of suspensions and unexpected stops on a dime. The relationships between them were clear, and the partnering for Taylor Stanley and Preston Chamblee's duets truly moving. I hope it stays in the repertory for a bit, it is worth future viewings. Lovette has guts and skill as a choreographer. The NY Times article about same sex partnering and gender neutral casting was well deserved. It's more than a gimmick. It looks modern and revolutionary, as if ballet is finally coming into this century. I thought Lovette's description of the process really astute. She was looking for a movement quality, Taylor had it so she cast him. She said, "So I put two men together. Suddenly, they could just be themselves." Doesn't the best art reveal an unexplored
I saw the NYCB costume gala program (not on the gala night). I thought Justin Peck's Pulcinella was very well crafted. It's great to see him tackling Stravinsky, classicism and tutu ballets. In my opinion, the costume gala is always a gamble. One example is Liam Scarlett's duet where the woman is so dwarfed by her costume that the real drama onstage is her fight with her gown. Why cover a ballerina's feet? The yards of ruffles defeated poor Gretchen Smith, while Tiler Peck, even though she's shorter, was able to wrestle the gown to a draw. I'm torn between hoping the costumes for Pulcinella go the way of Kurt Seligmann's costumes for The Four Temperaments (Google it if you've never seen them) and thinking that they might just grow on me. At least in Pulcinella you can see the bodies.
I've enjoyed …show more content…
Black and white costumes; all the men in black pants and white Ts, all the women in fitted black jackets with white skirts. The dancers flew across the stage in swoopy movement full of suspensions and unexpected stops on a dime. The relationships between them were clear, and the partnering for Taylor Stanley and Preston Chamblee's duets truly moving. I hope it stays in the repertory for a bit, it is worth future viewings. Lovette has guts and skill as a choreographer. The NY Times article about same sex partnering and gender neutral casting was well deserved. It's more than a gimmick. It looks modern and revolutionary, as if ballet is finally coming into this century. I thought Lovette's description of the process really astute. She was looking for a movement quality, Taylor had it so she cast him. She said, "So I put two men together. Suddenly, they could just be themselves." Doesn't the best art reveal an unexplored