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Some excellent individual performances but a disappointing program for Contemporary Choreography I with New York City Ballet.

New York City Ballet offered a few exhilarating moments in a mishmash of a program from the company with arguably the greatest rep in the world.  

What took so long, you may wonder, to get three female choreographers on a triple bill at New York City Ballet. This one yielded three keepers. 

Although Glass Pieces and Pictures at an Exhibition are on the surface very different ballets, they both draw us into their world. I wish NYCB had been able to find more compelling middle ballets.

Contemporary ballet often shies away from unabashed romance. Kyle Abraham instead leans into the love story. 

The ending of Stars and Stripesis a sure-fire applause machine. The lowering of the flag while all the regiments march and salute onstage is so corny that only Balanchine could have choreographed it with a straight face. And yet it worked in 1958 and it works in 2019. 

As City Ballet grapples with lawsuits and lurid accusations, and the loss of an unprecendented number of male principals, new works by Kyle Abraham, Gianna Reisen, and Matthew Neenan stoke inspired performances from the dancers. 

This program was a good one to inspire your confidence about the future of choreography.