New York City Ballet (NYCB) performs at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. through Sunday with two programs: Ash/After the Rain Pas de Deux/The Infernal Machine/Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2/The Most Incredible Thing and Bournonville Divertissements/La Sylphide. Here are several reviews: Sarah Kaufman …
Category: NYCB
NYCB: Not So Incredible
“The Most Incredible Thing”
Justin Peck’s first full-length NYCB effort The Most Incredible Thing features numerous divertissements, colorful costumes, and innovative sets, but falls substantially short in the story telling department. The Hans Christian Andersen tale centers around a contest to do the most incredible …
Balanchine Basics
NYCB Jan 30, Feb 5
I took my 11-year old daughter to her first New York City Ballet performance Saturday evening January 30 to see the classical mixed rep program All Balanchine II. Before the performance, she inquired, “Why is Balanchine a big deal?” Having …
NYCB Review: Music Director’s Choice, Jan. 28
NYCB’s theme Thursday was Music Director’s Choice, curated by newly appointed Music Director Andrew Litton. The evening honored three American composers whose works had a major impact on his career: Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, and George Gershwin. Broadway sounds dominated …
NYCB Review: Ballet Masters, Jan. 22
The New York City Ballet Masters at Work program this Winter presents two works for which I have polar opinions: Balanchine’s 1960 Liebestlieder Walzer and Robbins’ 1983 Glass Pieces. I find Liebestlieder Walzer very dull, a challenge to stay awake. It is very …
2015 Balletfocus Highlights
Thanks for tuning in this past year and hope you enjoyed the ballet coverage as much as I had fun reporting and reviewing performances. Thanks also to those that provided their thoughts in interviews: ABT’s Gillian Murphy on pirouettes; NYCB’s Emily …