Last Updated on February 23, 2025
Welcome to the NYCB dancers; sensitive, speedy and spectacular
The New York City Ballet (NYCB) has returned to London after sixteen years, performing from 7-10 March in Sadler’s Wells Theatre. The company was last in London in 2008 and has been greatly missed, so there was a great air of expectation in the audience last night as they gathered in the theatre before the show. To add to the excitement, the NYCB is also celebrating its 75th anniversary season; it was founded by the renowned choreographer George Balanchine in 1948 and is considered one of the foremost ballet companies in the world, famous for its dancers who are athletic and musical, technically excellent, precise and stylish. The ballets of George Balanchine are central to the NYCB and show his neoclassical style, a combination of his Russian classical technique and American speed and pzazz. The NYCB commissions many works from contemporary choreographers and this current programme presents four ballets, one favourite from Balanchine and three new works, which continue in his spirit whilst integrating their own inventiveness.
Rotunda was the opening work and was choreographed by Justin Peck who is the NYCB’s Resident Choreographer and Artistic Advisor. The music, named Cascades, is by the American composer Nico Muhly who writes for a small orchestra and I particularly liked the vibrancy and instrumentation of this music, especially its combination of woodwind, bass trombone, strings and percussion. The ballet had its premiere on February 26, 2020 in New York.
It is set for twelve dancers who wear tight-fitting, almost practice costumes of blues, whites, greys, reds, and some pink, brown and black; the costumes were by Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung. They come together in a circle, go out again, dance together. Fast-paced and joyful, they mirror each other, catch a dancer off-balance in two groups, leap in attitude, turn, and then break out into different groups; captivating duets, trios, quintets, solos, but always coming back to their rotunda formation, forming a sense of togetherness despite the comings and goings. The dancing was fabulous, quick clean and expressive; the solo by Daniel Ulbricht was strong and very elegant and the pas de deux by Megan Fairchild and Gilbert Bolden III was beautiful.
Duo Concertant, by George Balanchine, was set to the music of Igor Stravinsky and premiered in 22 June 1972 in New York. It is an animated dance for a neoclassical couple with two onstage musicians, a pianist and a violinist, played wonderfully by Elaine Chelton (piano) and Kurt Nikkanen (violin). The couple were danced by Megan Fairchild and Anthony Huxley who were elegant, lyrical and very expressive.
The dancers start the ballet standing behind the piano and they listen attentively to the piano and violin. They respond in the style suggested by the music, which at first was fun, fast and cheeky, and they periodically stop and listen to the musicians again and then dance in a different appropriate style. I loved the dramatic style dance channelling Swan Lake and Giselle, which leaves the male partner all alone on the stage, until thankfully the ballerina returns and the ballet finishes with the dancers raising up their right arms together bathed in the moonlight. The very effective lighting was by Mark Stanley who also designed the lighting for Rotunda.
Gustave de Gray No.1 was the next ballet, choreographed by Pam Tanowitz with music by Caroline Shaw (New York City Ballet premiere on 22 April 2022). Tanowitz, a holder of many fellowships and awards, is the founder of Pan Tanowitz Dance, is based in New York and is in high demand as a choreographer.
For this ballet, the piano remained on stage and was played admirably by Stephen Gosling. There are four dancers dressed in quite amazing costumes of bright red with draperies hanging from their shoulders and attached to the bottom of their legs, making all their movements very interesting and softening their stark lines. These amazing costumes were designed by Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung. I loved this dramatic, very intricate and highly synchronised ballet with amazing footwork, arm movements, leg extensions and powerful and sharp poses. It had a funny moment to lighten the mood, when the dancers ‘stole’ the piano and moved it across stage with the pianist still playing, apparently unperturbed. The lighting was by Davison Scandrett.
The concluding ballet was Love Letter (on shuffle), choreographed by Kyle Abraham and premiered at the Fall Fashion Gala, on 28 September 2022, in New York. Kyle Abraham has his own company, A.I.M., which he founded in 2005 and he
choreographs for many dance companies, and recently produced works for The Royal Ballet, including Optional Family. A Divertissement (premiered May 2021) and The Weathering (premiered March 2022).
Love Letter (on shuffle) is a ballet for sixteen dancers, dressed in the most fabulous, Baroque-style costumes by fashion designer Giles Deacon, featuring coloured multicoloured all-in-ones, tutus, long full skirts, white ruffs and bows, feather headdresses and dancer Taylor Stanley in puffy shorts, or are they breeches? It is set to music by the singer, songwriter and producer James Blake, and the music is an interesting combination of electronics and vocals. The dancing itself was exciting and beautifully performed showing off the dancers’ wonderful technique, athleticism and flair. There was an amusing moment when a female trio danced some of the Cygnets variation from Swan Lake and I liked the trio of two male dancers in headdresses, Christopher Grant and Peter Walker, and the dancer Malorie Lundgren. There was an amazing solo by Taylor Stanley at the beginning and a very sensitive pas de deux between him and Jules Mabie at the end. Dan Scully was responsible for the lighting.
George Balanchine, considered to be one of the most influential choreographers of the 20th Century, was born on 22 January 1904 in St. Petersburg and died in New York on 30 April 1983. Originally Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze, he attended the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg. He changed his surname to Balanchine while in Paris with Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes, for which he was Choreographer and later Ballet Master. He went to New York, invited in 1933 by Kirstein Lincoln and it was there that he created his signature neoclassical style, which fused his classical training with other schools of movement which he had seen in America. Together with Lincoln, he founded the New York School of American Ballet in 1934 and the New York City Ballet in 1948. He was the artistic director of the NYCB for 30 years.
New York City Ballet’s performances at Sadler’s Wells finish on 10th March which is all too short. I hope that the company comes back to our UK shores soon and goes on tour here so that many more people will be able to savour their wonderful dancing.
New York City Ballet Mixed Bill
Sadler’s Wells Theatre,
Rosebery Avenue,
London EC1R 4TN
Thursday 7 – Sunday 10 March 2024
Tickets: £15 – £85
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