NYCB's program of contrasts makes a full-course meal

The other night at Carnegie Hall I saw a program that paired two diametrically opposite pieces: Beethoven’s delicate, joyful Piano Concerto No. 4 with Shostakovich’s mysterious Symphony No. 15. It was an odd pairing, yet it worked. Sometimes contrast in programs is like a full-course meal. Instead of one big steak, you get three different dishes.

So it was with NYCB’s rather vaguely named “Innovators and Icons” program. Balanchine’s Scotch Symphony, Justin Peck’s Belles-Lettres, and Jerome Robbins’Glass Pieces are so different in style and substance that one wonders who came up with the idea to put them on one program. Yet it worked. You got to see the range of NYCB dancers. It was a full-course meal. 

The program had one performance that was a genuinely exciting event: Emma Von Enck’s spectacular debut in Scotch Symphony. This exquisite dancer is for whatever reason undercast. But she had the lightness and charm for Balanchine’s La-Sylphide-inspired ballet. Her jump is airy and ethereal. She had a lovely way of wafting her arms upwards as her tulle skirt also flew upwards. But her harebell delicacy belied a surprising strength. In the allegro finale, her manège of chaîné turns flew around the stage. 

Unfortunately, her partner Jules Mabie was not at her level on this occasion. He struggled with the double tours en l'air to arabesque and the pirouettes in his solo, and also didn’t exude much romantic warmth in the pas de deux. Emma Von Enck’s sister Claire however was charming in the brief, Scottish folk-inflected kilt solo. 

Belles-Lettres is an unusual ballet for Justin Peck. Instead of Copland or Sufjan Stevens, Belles-Lettres uses a romantic piece of music from César Franck. The women wear long romantic dresses. There are no sneakers anywhere. The mood of the ballet is also very atypical for Peck: four waltzing couples, a lot of swooning and twirling. The women even come back into the ballet with hair loosened at the end, Serenade-style.

Despite all the sturm-and-drang, Justin Peck never did romance well. This is no exception. The four couples aren’t well differentiated. They waltz on and offstage. The solo jester role is fun to watch (and KJ Takahashi was spectacular), but who is he? A small quibble: I do wish Takahashi would clean up his arms. They tend to flail when he jumps.

Nevertheless, this is one of the more enjoyable Justin Peck pieces because it’s so atypical. The music is dreamy and lush, the ballerinas all look gorgeous with their hair loosened, I call it Liebeslieder at a Gathering. Besides KJ Takahashi, I also noticed brand-new corps member Mia Williams as one of the waltzing girls. She is absolutely tiny but already dances with an impressive expansiveness.

Glass Pieces  is a popular closer ballet that nonetheless has had some anti-climactic performances in recent years. Last night was not such a performance. From the opening Rubric (which mimics a busy NYC intersection), the dancers looked sharp. The central pas de deux received an excellent portrayal by Ashley Hod and Aarón Sanz. Both are tall and sculptural dancers who really leaned into the Egyptian accents of the pas de deux. The final movement, with the relentless drums, was full of life and energy. 

As I said, the program felt like a diverse, full-course meal. The corps de ballet was allowed to shine. The leads were a mix of principals, soloists and promising corps members. The program showed the health of the company.