Reviewing the Drama: Broadway, Off-Broadway, Ballet, Movies, and TV Reviews

History was made at New York City Ballet on Thursday (April 2 7 ) night as the venerable dance company presented its first–ever all–Peck program, an evening dedicated to ballet's golden boy, Justin Peck , a soloist with the company and its resident choreographer. It was a momentous occasion for the toast of the town, who, still under 30, is seen as a ballet wunderkind and, perhaps, the superhero who is going to bring ballet back to popular culture. Peck has been choreographing for NYCB (and others) for just five years, yet he's already created 13 ballets for the company (with a 14th set to premiere in May), including one that was the subject of the documentary Ballet 422 , his ode to his hometown, Paz de la Jolla . Peter Martins had his pick of Peck's many creations, but for the first all–Peck program, he chose four works: In Creases , the first ballet Peck made for NYCB; The Dreamers , a pas de deux; New Blood , one of Peck's collaborations with fashion designer...

New York City Ballet's winter season is almost over, but Saturday afternoon I got to see five ballets during the 21st Century Choreographers program, bringing my season to a close on a high note. First were three shorter ballets. Peter Martins 's Ash got things going. Or, more accurately, the music did. Ash is set to an eponymous composition by Michael Torke , and was Martins's fourth ballet set to Torke's music. I found the music—especially the percussion section—to be more interesting and engaging than the choreography and dancing. Unfortunately, the ensemble (Sara Adams; Spartak Hoxha; Laine Habony; Sebastian Villarini-Velez; Ashley Hod; Devin Alberda; Unity Phelan; and Cameron Dieck) looked a little sloppy in the chaotic choreography. This is unusual for the venerable Company. Soloists Ashley Laracey and Zachary Catazaro were the featured dancers. They were good together, but they couldn't do much to make this ballet interesting. As I've noted ...

My final ballet outing of the 2014-2015 season was a mixed repertory program that included my favorite, NY Export: Opus Jazz . But before that Jerome Robbins classic were works by Mr. B and Peter Martins. First up was George Balanchine's Raymonda Variations . In the program notes, Balanchine is quoted as saying the Alexander Glazounov score for the three-act Raymonda  ballet is "some of the finest ballet music we have," and Mr. B's adoration of the music shows in his choreography. In Balanchine's plotless ballet (having nothing to do with the original ballet), we are treated to, as the title suggests, variations on a theme. The piece begins with the curtain down and the orchestra playing the musical theme, an overture for the ballet, if you will. Once the curtain rises, the ensemble (all women) enter for a pretty group dance, and then soloist Erica Pereira and principal Andrew Veyette perform a nice pas de deux. Then come the nine variations, all bri...

It's almost unheard of for New York City Ballet to import a ballet, yet sometimes exceptions are made. This spring brought the premiere of La Slyphide , a seminal work from Danish choreographer August Bournonville , to City Ballet, under the vision of Ballet Master in Chief, and fellow Dane, Peter Martins. The Bournonville program began with Bournonville Divertissements , set to music by Edvard Helsted and Holger Simon Paulli . This iteration was staged by Nilas Martins , Peter's son and former NYCB principal, after Stanley Williams's staging of Bournonville's choreography. It includes four movements, and is a fairly typical selection of divertissements. Diversissements are meant to entertain; there's no story and no through line. Such is the case with the Bournonville Divertissements . Throughout, the scenery and costumes are rather drab and muted, as is the choreography in the first and third movements. (The first movement, Ballabile, was led by soloists...