Ratmansky’s Solitude illuminates wartime tragedy

Joseph Gordon in Alexei Ratmansky's Solitude

New York City Ballet in Alexei Ratmansky's Solitude

Unity Phelan and Taylor Stanley in Jerome Robbins' Opus 19/The Dreamer

New York City Ballet in George Balanchine's Symphony in Three Movements

By Carla Escoda, 18 February 2024

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“women drop onto their sides one by one, as if felled by machine gun fire, their partners stricken”

Reviewed at Lincoln Center: David H Koch Theater, New York City on 15 February 2024

Opus 19 / The Dreamer (Jerome Robbins)

Solitude (World premiere) (Alexei Ratmansky)

Symphony in Three Movements (George Balanchine)

New York City Ballet

Ben Benson, Costume Designer

Ronald Bates, Lighting Designer

Mark Stanley, Lighting Designer

Joseph Gordon, Dancer

Sara Mearns, Dancer

Mira Nadon, Dancer

KJ Takahashi, Dancer

Isabella LaFreniere, Dancer

Adrian Danchig-Waring, Dancer

Taylor Stanley, Dancer

Understatement and spectacle at New York City Ballet

Carla Escoda, 26th February

Jerome Robbins' Dances at a Gathering and George Balanchine's Diamonds make a study in contrasts. With lots of debuts in the former and seasoned leads in the latter.

*****

Irresistible: Justin Peck’s The Wind-Up premieres at NYCB

Carla Escoda, 29th January

Never has Justin Peck seemed more compositionally assured, and paradoxically freer, than in his latest ballet, breaking the mold of past work that mostly celebrated the camaraderie of his generation.

****1

Dutch National Ballet's opener in New York: meandering and unfocused

Ivy Lin, 20th November

Dutch National Ballet returning to New York after more than 40 years should have been thrilling. The opening program, whilst beautifully danced, was somewhat muted.

***11

London City Ballet at the Linbury: joy and sorrow at its best

Deborah Weiss, 19th November

London City Ballet move into a new venue with absolute confidence and gravitas in a quadruple bill that says everything about their future and success.

*****

The Australian Ballet in Melbourne: three prismatic worlds

Ruth Ridgway, 4th October

In its triple bill Prism, The Australian Ballet gives the audience three different dance and sound worlds as well as showcasing fleet, athletic and precise dancing.

****1

Contrasting splendors at New York City Ballet: Robbins and Balanchine

Carla Escoda, 30th September

A sublime Robbins-Balanchine pairing at New York City Ballet, it was Robbins’ Goldberg Variations that came off best.

*****

More reviews...

Carla Escoda

Born in the Philippines, Carla trained as a ballet and modern dancer with the Alice Reyes Dance Company in Manila. She has lived and worked in Asia and the U.S. and has written about the arts for Bachtrack, KQED (the northern California public media broadcaster), Dance International, dance journal/hk, the Huffington Post, Dance Europe and ballettothepeople.