LINCOLN CENTER
David Koch Theater
New York City Ballet
Click on the Pink title to see more of each ballet.
Serenade
- Music by: Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky
- Choreography by: George Balanchine
- Principal Casting: MAY 17, : Sara Mearns, Tiler Peck*, Megan LeCrone, Jared Angle (replaces Zachary Catazaro), Adrian Danchig-Waring (replaces Ask la Cour)
The first ballet Balanchine choreographed in America, Serenade is a romantic work of immense sweep, set to a transcendent Tschaikovsky score.
Hallelujah Junction
- Music by: John Adams
- Choreography by: Peter Martins
- Principal Casting: MAY 17: Lauren Lovette, Gonzalo Garcia, Daniel Ulbricht
Martins’ Hallelujah Junction is a living locomotive of propulsive vitality, set to a pulsing John Adams score played by two onstage pianists.
Duo Concertant
- Music by: Igor Stravinsky
- Choreography by: George Balanchine
- Principal Casting: MAY 17: Sterling Hyltin, Robert Fairchild
Set to onstage piano and violin accompaniment, Duo Concertant is a lively dance for two, ending with a poignant play on light and shadow.
Western Symphony
- Music by: Traditional American melodies orchestrated by Hershy Kay
- Choreography by: George Balanchine
- Principal Casting: MAY 17: Abi Stafford, Taylor Stanley, Brittany Pollack* (replaces Ana Sophia Scheller), Jared Angle, Teresa Reichlen, Andrew Veyette
Western Symphony is a rodeo of frisky fillies with a spirited ending that captures the entire cast of over 30 dancers onstage.
Review: Taylor Stanley Rises in City Ballet’s ‘Hallelujah Junction’
Peter Martins, the ballet master in chief of New York City Ballet, loves to give his dancers happy surprises. On Tuesday evening, moments before the curtain rose on “Hallelujah Junction,” Mr. Martins’s brisk, galvanic work set to John Adams, he promoted Taylor Stanley, one of its leads, to principal dancer. Filling in at the last minute for an injured Gonzalo Garcia, Mr. Stanley was making his New York debut in the role, at the David H. Koch Theater.
Mr. Martins’s decision was spontaneous, a City Ballet publicist said. But it makes sense: The debonair Mr. Stanley has an affinity for speed and drama and has been frequently featured in the ballets of Justin Peck, the company’s resident choreographer. His sharp attack was apparent in “Hallelujah”; later that night, in “Western Symphony,” George Balanchine’s 1954 homage to the Wild West, he showed some spunk, loosening up to find the cowboy within.
In that ballet, which remains a delight, Brittany Pollack made her debut in the second movement opposite Jared Angle, gamely leaping headfirst into his arms with little fear and an ever-gleaming smile. (Her perpetually happy expression can seem one-note.) In the final movement, the willowy Teresa Reichlen, though she faltered uncharacteristically in her fouetté turns, and a devilish Andrew Veyette imbued their frisky pas de deux with a spirit that showed they weren’t just executing moves, but reacting to each other.
The program, which included Sterling Hyltin and Robert Fairchild in an admirable rendition of Balanchine’s 1972 “Duo Concertant,” led with his “Serenade.” It, too, featured a debut, this time by Tiler Peck in the role that is traditionally called the Russian girl. In 2004, Ms. Peck made a glittering impression in the part at her School of American Ballet workshop performance.
This time, she brought a lilting, sleek maturity to the role, which gave breadth to her turns, at times so fast that she seemed to lift off the floor in a swirl of pale blue tulle. There was dramatic sensitivity, too, especially when she brushed the back of her hand against her forehead and fell to the floor.
Later, the Waltz girl, portrayed by the ravishing, space-gulping Sara Mearns, echoed that moment when she dropped to the floor herself; in “Serenade” especially, the scope of her dancing is full of suspense, tender, electric. As the Dark Angel, Megan LeCrone took a spectacular spill herself — this time it wasn’t intentional, but in that moment she held nothing back. So what if dancers fall when they dance like this? The performance was alive.
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