Classic NYCB I... Or when the middle act is really the closer

Sometimes, the programming gods will totally confound me. I’ll have no idea why three ballets are put on the same program. Such was the case with NYCB’s “Classic NYCB I” evening, which consisted of Balanchine’s Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Alexei Ratmansky’s Concerto DSCH, and Justin Peck’s Everywhere We Go. There was no rhyme or reason to this other than the ballets meant that the evening lasted roughly two hours.

I’ll never complain about seeing Violin Concerto or DSCH. Both are classics that bear repeated viewing. On the other hand, Justin Peck’s Everywhere We Go checks off several boxes of Justin Peck ballet pitfalls. Too long? Check. (The 40-minute ballet has about three fake endings before it actually ends.) Bombastic, unappealing Sufjan Stevens commissioned score? Check. Endless, frenetic series of group formations so one doesn’t know where to look? Check.

That said, Everywhere We Go does highlight the unflagging energy of NYCB’s dancers who threw themselves into the ballet. The featured roles were taken by a mix of veteran principals and younger soloists. Miriam Miller stood out for the beauty of the shapes she made onstage, as well as a creamy phrasing that made me want to see her in things like the adagio of Symphony in C. Andrew Veyette, a 23-year veteran of the company, showed off his incredible strength – he could still lift women like they were paper.

One last rant about Everywhere We Go: after a fairly upbeat 40 minutes, why the dark ending? One by one, everyone falls to the ground, dead. Why did this ballet close the evening? Make it make sense.

The opening ballet was Balanchine’s Stravinsky Violin Concerto, a well-loved masterpiece. The heart of the piece is two contrasting “arias” that study the male/female relationship. In Aria I, Sara Mearns and Taylor Stanley sparred as almost hostile strangers. Mearns was imperious and implacable as she used back handspring walkovers and other contorted gymnastics moves to reject Stanley’s advances. This is a dance of equals, a battle of wills.

Aria II is the flip side of Aria I. It is full of moves that demonstrate the female submitting to the male’s will – one of the most famous is the woman buckling at the knees and the male straightening her legs out again In Aria II, Ashley Laracey was sweet and pliant. Joseph Gordon was miscast in the role originated by Peter Martins – Gordon dances beautifully, but doesn’t have the authority to capture the gender dynamics of Aria II.

Alexei Ratmansky’s Concerto DSCH is his masterpiece. He’s choreographed many enjoyable works, but none are as cohesive and inventive as DSCH. The ballet seems to exist in a happy little ecosystem which draws the audience in and holds them there for twenty joyful minutes. Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto no. 2 is the perfect ballet score, tuneful, rhythmic, full of contrasting moods and clever melodic riffs.

The main roles in the ballet are the youthful “blue” team (two males and a female) and the more mature “green” team. Representing the blue team: KJ Takahashi, Sebastian Villarini-Velez and Emma von Enck. They were irrepressible. All are fairly young dancers. They jumped high, they ran fast and at the end of the first movement von Enck launched herself across the stage to be caught by Takahashi and the audience went wild. Sterling Hyltin and Adrian Danchig-Waring were the “green” team. They were lovely in the andante second movement, romantic and serene. When Hyltin was lifted in the air her skirt billowed slightly as if there was an actual breeze. Hyltin will be missed in this ballet.

Concerto DSCH received a raucous reception during curtain calls. It’s a classic closer for an evening in that it sends everyone home happy. It doesn’t belong as the middle ballet. Programming gods at NYCB, are you listening?