LINCOLN CENTER

Metropolitan Opera House
American Ballet Theater

http://cafeluxembourg.com/

 

 

One of the surprises of attending performances in New York is how much we enjoy ballet.  It's pleasant, civilized, creative, musical, theatrical, and is mercifully short.  A hoot!

 

I'm arriving at what performances mean the most to me. 

 

When a person plays a piano, a violin, a trumpet, or an oboe, it is the instrument making the sound.  When a person sings, it is the human body making the sound.

 

Dancing is simply movement of the human body.  It can be made interesting and artistic or it can be clumsy and childish.

 

When a runner runs a 400 meter dash, it is nothing more than a body in movement.  Baseball involves a bat, glove, and a ball.  Running is pure.

 

I'm determining that performance by the human body alone means the most to me.

 

Theater is the human body with intellect.

 

Singing is the human body with sound.

 

Ballet is the human body with movement.

 

The other arts are good, but these three are the best.

 

 

Classic Spectacular

 

Theme and Variations 
Running Time: 23 minutes
Cast:
Sarah Lane, Herman Cornejo

Synopsis:
Balanchine's love for Tchaikovsky and Petipa is reflected in his Theme and Variations, capturing the 19th-century glamour and majesty of the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg. Set in a grand ballroom, this ABT commission dazzles the eye with a labyrinth of diamond-sharp choreography.

Choreography by: George Balanchine
Music by: Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (Suite No. 3 for Orchestra, final movement)

Duo Concertant 
Running Time: 17 minutes
Cast:
Paloma Herrera, James Whiteside

Choreography by: George Balanchine
Music by: Igor Stravinsky

Gaîté Parisienne 
Running Time: 42 minutes
Cast:
Veronika Part, Jared Matthews

Choreography by: Leonide Massine
Music by: Jacques Offenbach