New York City Ballet: Divertimento No. 15, La Stravaganza and Symphony in Three Movements

Thurs, May 7 - There were three ballets at tonight's very good performance: an encore of Balanchine's Divertimento No. 15, French contemporary choreographer Angelin Preljocaj's La Stravaganza, and closing with Balanchine's Symphony in Three Movements.

Divertimento No. 15 was even better tonight than it was last week. The tentativeness that I saw in the solo variations last time was gone tonight: Ana Sophia Scheller, Tiler Peck and Megan Fairchild were particular bright spots in the cast (though Yvonne Borree was still despairingly weak and her arms were physically shaking in her solo and pas de deux). Fairchild was particularly impressive with her fleet footwork and musicality. I can't wait to see her in more roles as the season progresses. The corps was more secure and playful tonight. I loved this performance.

La Stravaganza was choreographed for NYCB in 1997 by choreographer Angelin Preljocaj. The works of his that I have seen before might be best described as postmodern: they start with the audience's prior knowledge of a piece or visual image, then goes on to reinterpret it through Prelojcaj's own, contemporary frame of view. Several years ago, I saw his Rite of Spring (which his company Ballet Preljocaj was performing on a US tour) where the sacrificial victim is stripped naked and dances frantically on a mound of grass - a modern take on the ancient ritual depicted in the original ballet, perhaps? And then there was Preljocaj's Afternoon of a Faun, which I saw on video in a dance history class: at the end of the ballet, the protagonist dives into a giant box of tissues, referencing the "climax" that the faun reaches at end of the original Faun.

La Stravaganza does not directly reference a prior ballet in the same manner, but still plays with notions of past and present as it mashes up 17th century traditions against modern society. It is danced to recorded Baroque orchestral music by Vivaldi (the titular Stravaganza), the sounds of which are placed against contemporary, scratchy soundscapes by Evelyn Ficarra, Robert Normandeau, Serge Morand and Ake Parmerud. Interestingly, the four couples in modern dress are the ones who dance to the 17th century music in expansive, classically oriented choreography, while the 17th century couples, dressed in what might describe as Pilgrim clothing, dance to the contemporary score in stilted, deconstructed modern steps. The two groups eye each other suspiciously as they move around the stage: when a man from the 17th century and a woman from the contemporary groups meet, their pas de deux is a sudden release of energy. I liked the choreography in Stravaganza; if it lacks the structural unity of Balanchine, it instead has an intriguing, tense quality. The dancers looked spectacularly committed to the choreography in a way that they usually don't in some of the company's more usual repertory. Tiler Peck and Benjamin Millepied led the cast.

Symphony in Three Movements was still underwhelming tonight, much as it was last week. It still feels terribly dated, and its visual effects were lumbering rather than surprising. Not that Daniel Ulbricht and Sterling Hyltin didn't jump their hearts out as one of the demi-solo couples. The magic spark that was there when Miami City Ballet did this work in January was not been there for New York City Ballet's performances this season. Too bad.

Photos by Paul Kolnik: (1) Megan Fairchild and Jonathan Stafford in Balanchine's Divertimento No. 15. (2) The company in Anjelin Preljocaj's La Stravaganza.