New York City Ballet - Fall 2023

New York City Ballet – 75th Anniversary

 Fall 23

The Foundation  

My first Fall in the US, I was exceedingly fortunate to see three Balanchine programmes – I, II, and III. Celebrating their 75th anniversary, this season is devoted to Balanchine, the company’s founder. Balanchine’s choreography has been a source of fascination for me, ever since I was training at the Royal Ballet School. Our teachers would talk of the Balanchine method, the style of his choreography, the energy and athleticism required of his dancers. I don’t think I truly grasped what that meant and how it was different to our training in London, until this month.

George Balanchine’s influence on 20th century ballet is undisputed. He moved to the US in the 1930s and set up the School of American Ballet in 1934. This is a time period for ballet that fascinates me: in fact, my novel The Dance of the Dolls is set in London in 1933 and is centred around the beginnings of the Vic-Wells Ballet, now the Royal Ballet. In my novel, Balanchine’s company Les Ballets 1933 has a few very brief mentions.

Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein formed Ballet Society in 1946, which was renamed New York City Ballet in 1948. As ballet master of the company for more than 30 years, Balanchine created hundreds of ballets. This year, with the company’s 75th anniversary, we are treated to a large selection of Balanchine’s works, some familiar, others less frequently performed.

I was also lucky to have the opportunity to watch the company take open class on stage. It was a privilege to be granted access to this daily ritual, usually a private space for the company to prepare mentally and physically for the day.

Below is a summary of my thoughts on the ten ballets I have seen over the past two weeks. If I had to choose a favourite, it would be AGON, with APOLLO in a close second.

BALANCHINE I

WESTERN SYMPHONY, with music by Hershy Kay, is full of wit and fun, colourful costumes that make playful nods to Old West cowboy films and dance hall girls. While the choreography is rooted in classical ballet technique (with some very challenging pointe work), there is reference to American folk dancing, with popular American songs infused within the score. An allegro, adagio, and rondo section, this is a ballet where the women are on show, constant hops, jumps and relevés en pointe. The ending is spectacular, the curtain closing on rows of dancers performing pirouettes over and over again.

THE UNANSWERED QUESTION is a short atmospheric ballet, with music by Charles Ives. A woman in a simple white leotard is held aloft for the entire piece, four men, unlit and in black, keeping her in the air. A man dances beneath her, the expression of his movement full of yearning. The ballet is sensual and slow, shifting between a dream and a nightmare.

TARANTELLA is a fun, energetic ballet, a pas de deux with tambourines and playful flirtation. Balanchine’s choreography demands a lot from his dancers, technical, dynamic, fast, musical, and all performed with character and wit.

STARS AND STRIPES is an iconic ballet, testament to Balanchine’s love of America. The music is a series of marches by John Philip Sousa and the costumes are gorgeous and bright. A corps de ballet in their colourful dresses, white gloves, white socks and pointe shoes, the little flourishes of feathers and tassels and velvet, is a bold sight. There are five ‘campaigns’, each bringing new energy and excitement, ending with a spectacular finale with every ‘regiment’ on stage. The ballet is a powerful and joyful combination of military precision with the famous Balanchine athleticism.

BALANCHINE II

BOURRÉE FANTASQUE is quintessential ballet: it’s got the sparkling tutus, the perfect rows of corps de ballet, fast paced pointe work and stunning adagios. It’s almost a satire of itself, a witty take on many of the traditions of classical ballet. This was so much fun, ending with a spectacular finale, the stage packed with stunning formations of dancers, shifting and changing in mesmerising unison.

AGON is the ideal contrast to the first act of the production, with its pared back costumes, strong lines of the body, and controlled, beautifully crafted shapes. The pas de deux at the end of part 2 is an exercise in strength, flexibility and control, performed exquisitely by Miriam Miller and Peter Walker.

SLAUGHTER ON TENTH AVENUE makes direct nods to the conventions of Broadway; it is a raucous ballet with an entertaining story. The opening sequence in front of the curtain sets the scene for a story-ballet set in a New York strip joint. Sara Mearns as the striptease girl brings remarkable energy and character.

 BALANCHINE III

APOLLO is the oldest Balanchine ballet in the repertoire, first created for the Ballets Russes in 1928. I love the Balanchine quotation in the programme, about how he was inspired by the Stravinsky score: ‘It seemed to tell me that I could dare not to use everything, that, I, too, could eliminate.’ The ballet, with just four dancers - Apollo and the three muses – is controlled, expressive, beautiful shapes, lines, and emotions building between the dancers. I have longed to see this ballet for many years: what a privilege to see it performed by the New York City Ballet!  

LA SONNAMBULA is set at a masked ball, and features a coquette, a poet, and a sleepwalker. The ballet has the sensation of a strange dream, shifting between the party and the exquisitely realised night time wonderings of the sleepwalker. The pas de deux between the poet and the sleepwalker is haunting and tragic.

TSCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2 gives us lines of corps de ballet who sparkle in thousands of Swarovski crystals. Created in the style of Petipa and the Russian tradition, this is an aesthetically pleasing ballet, a feast for the senses with the stunning piano score performed by Hanna Hyunjung Kim.