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

The New York City Ballet fall season is well under way. For the Company's fall gala (held September 23), choreographers once again teamed up with fashion designers to either refresh older works or complement new ones. (Scroll down to watch the Designing the Dance featurette.) That program was repeated last night, with an additional new ballet added to the program. Opening the evening was Morgen , the 2001 Peter Martins ballet set to selections from Richard Strauss 's "Songs for Soprano and Orchestra." ( Jennifer Zetlan was the featured soprano.) Though the ballet premiered 13 years ago, this "revival" comes with a facelift. Designer Carolina Herrera created new costumes; the women's costumes are light and flowy, with unobtrusive sparkle details adding visual interest. The ballet itself is sort of like that sparkle detail: pretty but unobtrusive. I felt rather disengaged throughout. A series of pas de deux for six dancers, the partners chang...

Well, unfortunately, it’s time to say a brief farewell to the New York City Ballet. This weekend marked the end of the Company’s winter season but the spring season is just around the corner, with performances starting on April 29. This weekend also marked, however, the farewell performances of beloved principal dancers Janie Taylor and Sebastien Marcovici. The couple is moving out to LA, where Marcovici will be a ballet master for the LA Dance Project, which was founded by former NYCB dancer Benjamin Millepied. While I didn’t attend their final performance, I was there for their penultimate performance, and it was great to see them on stage one last time. (The photo above was taken as they took their farewell bows, and was shared on the Company's Facebook page .) But the afternoon began with a repeat performance of Liam Scarlett ’s Acheron . When I booked my season a year ago, this spot on the program was supposed to be filled with a new Peter Martins piece, the one that...

It’s been too long since I’ve seen the New York City Ballet (the fall season ended in October), so it was particularly nice to dive back in with a New Combinations program on Saturday afternoon. First on the bill was Vespro , a Mauro Bigonzetti ballet set to a Bruno Moretti score that was commissioned by NYCB for this ballet. I found Vespro to be incredibly fascinating. It was like a Pinter play—it means whatever it means to you. I feel like I would interpret this differently depending upon my mood. I was in a good mood on Saturday, so this is the Vespro I saw. Vespro starts with a single dancer (Andrew Veyette) on stage. He marks time and seems to be exploring the space, testing the boundaries. An ensemble makes its way out (throughout, they help to transition from section to section), as do two couples: Maria Kowroski + Tyler Angle and Ashley Bouder + Gonzalo Garcia. The dichotomy of the two couples is stunning. They do some of the same choreography but differently a...