ADVERTISEMENT
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISEMENT & PAID CONTENT OPPORTUNITIES
SUBSCRIBE NOW
No Result
View All Result
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
The Ballet Herald®
  • HOME
  • BALLET MAGAZINE
    • Ballet Performance Reviews
    • Interviews with Ballet Professionals
    • The Latest Ballet News
    • Feature Ballet Stories
    • On This Day in Ballet History
    • Ballet Schools & Training
    • Opinions
  • BALLET PERFORMANCE CALENDAR
  • BALLET SHOWS IN…
    • Ballet Shows in London
    • Ballet Shows in New York City
    • Ballet Shows in Paris
    • Ballet Shows in Washington, D.C.
  • FAMOUS BALLETS
    • Cinderella
    • Coppélia
    • Don Quixote
    • Giselle
    • La Bayadère
    • La Sylphide
    • Romeo and Juliet
    • Swan Lake
    • The Nutcracker
    • The Sleeping Beauty
  • 2023 BALLET SUMMER INTENSIVE RESOURCES
    • 2023 Ballet Summer Intensive Programs
    • How to Successfully Prepare for Ballet Auditions
    • How to Organize Your Ballet Auditions
  • MORE
    • Ballet Books & Gifts
    • Dance Jobs
    • List of Ballet Companies
    • 2023-2024 Ballet Company Seasons
  • HOME
  • BALLET MAGAZINE
    • Ballet Performance Reviews
    • Interviews with Ballet Professionals
    • The Latest Ballet News
    • Feature Ballet Stories
    • On This Day in Ballet History
    • Ballet Schools & Training
    • Opinions
  • BALLET PERFORMANCE CALENDAR
  • BALLET SHOWS IN…
    • Ballet Shows in London
    • Ballet Shows in New York City
    • Ballet Shows in Paris
    • Ballet Shows in Washington, D.C.
  • FAMOUS BALLETS
    • Cinderella
    • Coppélia
    • Don Quixote
    • Giselle
    • La Bayadère
    • La Sylphide
    • Romeo and Juliet
    • Swan Lake
    • The Nutcracker
    • The Sleeping Beauty
  • 2023 BALLET SUMMER INTENSIVE RESOURCES
    • 2023 Ballet Summer Intensive Programs
    • How to Successfully Prepare for Ballet Auditions
    • How to Organize Your Ballet Auditions
  • MORE
    • Ballet Books & Gifts
    • Dance Jobs
    • List of Ballet Companies
    • 2023-2024 Ballet Company Seasons
No Result
View All Result
The Ballet Herald®
Home Ballet Magazine Ballet Performance Reviews

American Ballet Theatre Review: A Colorful Program of Dance

byCherilyn J. Lee
October 26, 2019
in Ballet Performance Reviews
Reading Time: 3 mins read
American Ballet Theatre Review

American Ballet Theatre Review

American Ballet Theatre Review: The New Romantics
October 25, 2019 | David H. Koch Theater – New York, NY, USA

Heading into the final weekend of their fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, American Ballet Theatre performs their The New Romantics program; it features a New York Premiere and a World Premiere that sandwich a new audience favorite. All three works demonstrate a youthful energy by this generation of dancers and choreographers, and it’s wonderful to see that the nation’s ballet company is giving opportunities and taking chances.

ADVERTISEMENT

When the curtain rises, we are greeted by a tableau that at the same time feels familiar and foreign; it is reminiscent of Jules Perrot’s 19th century Pas de Quatre in formation and dress yet with a more contemporary indigo palette and design.

Principal Dancer James Whiteside’s New American Romance, which is his first ballet created for the company (which had its premiere at the Vail Dance Festival earlier this summer), also hearkens another iconic romantic ballet, George Balanchine’s Serenade. The nod to this 20th century iconic work is evident in several instances of port de bras.

Organized into four movements featuring three relationships of varying temperament, the uniformity of the aforementioned indigo costumes is an aesthetically-pleasing thread that ties the piece together. It is a pleasant discovery of its effectiveness in representing an emotional span that ranges from sweet to humorous to tender; with billowing sleeves and romantic-style tutus, the eight dancers masterfully execute Whiteside’s very musical choreography.

Devon Teuscher is especially stunning in the third movement. She is beautifully strong and sure while carrying a confident grace and femininity – a wonderful example for any budding ballet dancer.

As a related aside, at the end of the ballet I couldn’t help wondering why New American Romance replaced the scheduled Dream within a Dream (deferred) by Michelle Dorrance. The program was originally titled “Women’s Movement”, so this change resulted in a transformation of the essence of what was to be an appreciation of female choreographers.

ADVERTISEMENT

Choreographer Jessica Lang collaborated with designer Sarah Crowner to create a set for Garden Blue that makes the audience feel as if they have stepped into the surrealistic world of a miniature figure photograph.

Sky blue serves as the backdrop for the huge wing-like wooden structures that occupy the stage (one airborne, the other two on the ground) flecked with pairs of dancers clad in vibrant magenta, red, and yellow-orange unitards. Perhaps they are little insects or buds of flowers that interweave their lovely dancing with repositioning of the sculptures to construct different playgrounds.

Brittany DeGrofft and Thomas Forster are a standout couple, their lines and movements synchronous and elegant. DeGrofft is the 2019 Jennifer Alexander Dancer, a title bestowed on a corps de ballet member that shows promising potential – her performance in Garden Blue shows how she is very much deserving.

 

A silhouetted opening to Gemma Bond’s A Time There Was gradually comes to light to reveal a company in seemingly Venetian-influenced corsets posed in an industrial (grayscale lighting on a half drawn scrim framed by lanterns rigged on exposed horizontal lighting bars) setting.

The cultural juxtaposition extends to the principal couple’s costume palette mimicking the colors of the Irish flag who are dancing to music of English heritage. These curious artistic choices create a bit of sensory confusion, but perhaps that is the intention?

Blaine Hoven‘s dancing is the highlight of the piece. As he also did in Garden Blue, Hoven embodies how emotions can guide how the body moves rather than cerebral direction as impetus. The result is an audience who is invested in the dancer, one that sits a little more erect in their seats because they are paying such close attention, one that doesn’t want to miss a beat.

ADVERTISEMENT

ABT closes the fall season on Sunday, October 27 at 2:00pm with The New Romantics.  

Featured Photo for American Ballet Theatre Review: A Colorful Program of Dance of American Ballet Theatre in Jessica Lang’s Garden Blue © Rosalie O’Connor

Tags: A Time There WasAmerican Ballet TheatreBlaine HovenBrittany DeGrofftDavid H. Koch TheaterDevon TeuscherGarden BlueGemma BondJames WhitesideJessica LangNew American RomanceThomas Forster
Cherilyn J. Lee

Cherilyn J. Lee

Cherilyn's lifelong passion for ballet has opened the door to the next chapter of her journey. Her strong foundation includes training at the School of American Ballet, being a featured dancer with Hartford Ballet and Carolina Ballet, and being co-director/owner of City Ballet Raleigh. She was granted the Affiliate Teacher Award after successfully completing the ABT National Training Curriculum®. A professional career in the industry along with extensive global travel provide her with a unique set of experiences to draw upon as a journalist and audience member. Cherilyn is excited to be sharing her insight about ballet around the world.

Related Posts

New York City Ballet 21st Century Choreography II Review - May 2023
Ballet Performance Reviews

New York City Ballet 21st Century Choreography II Review: A Fortuitous Program

May 16, 2023
New York City Ballet Balanchine + Ratmansky I Review
Ballet Performance Reviews

New York City Ballet Balanchine + Ratmansky I Review: Sweet Combinations

May 7, 2023
New York City Ballet 2023-2024 Season
The Latest Ballet News

New York City Ballet 2023-2024 Season

April 24, 2023
American Ballet Theatre 2023 Summer Season
The Latest Ballet News

American Ballet Theatre 2023 Summer Season

April 17, 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

The most interesting ballet news and stories of the week

Receive a roundup of news & upcoming performances direct to your inbox.

Order Now!

Mr. B


Being a Ballerina


Grand Jeté and Me

Popular Stories

Ballerina with Alzheimer’s: The Untold Story of Marta Cinta

Nutcracker Ballet Quiz: Test Your Knowledge!

The Professional Ballet Community Adapts in a Pandemic World

Ballet Books for Your Reading List

Gargouillade Gate: Everything You Need to Know About the American Ballet Theatre and Dutch National Ballet Feud

ADVERTISEMENT
Facebook Twitter Instagram RSS
No Result
View All Result

The most interesting ballet news and stories of the week

Receive a roundup of news & upcoming performances direct to your inbox.

The Ballet Herald

  • Privacy Policy

© 2023 The Ballet Herald™ by BalletNomad, LLC®

No Result
View All Result
  • ➩ Subscribe Now
  • Home
  • ☀️ 2023 Ballet Summer Intensives Resources
    • 2023 Ballet Summer Intensive Programs
    • How to Successfully Prepare for Ballet Auditions
    • How to Organize Your Ballet Auditions
  • Ballet Books & Gifts
  • Dance Jobs
  • Ballet Magazine
    • Ballet Performance Reviews
    • Interviews with Ballet Professionals
    • The Latest Ballet News
    • Feature Ballet Stories
    • On This Day in Ballet History
    • Ballet Schools & Training
    • Opinions
  • Ballet Performance Calendar
  • Ballet Shows In…
    • Ballet Shows in London
    • Ballet Shows in New York City
    • Ballet Shows in Paris
    • Ballet Shows in Washington, D.C.
  • Famous Ballets
    • Cinderella
    • Coppélia
    • Don Quixote
    • Giselle
    • La Bayadère
    • La Sylphide
    • Romeo and Juliet
    • The Nutcracker
    • Swan Lake
    • The Sleeping Beauty
  • Ballet Companies
  • 2023-2024 Ballet Company Seasons
  • ⊙ About
  • ⊙ Contact
  • ⊙ Advertisement & Paid Content Opportunities

© 2023 The Ballet Herald™ by BalletNomad, LLC®