An Evening of Jerome Robbins!
An evening of Jerome Robbins! A treat for New York City Ballet fans, a dance history lesson for a new generation of viewers, a glimpse of structural choreographic perfection, and a touch of nirvana for me. Christmas came in June; a rainy dismal June evening when leaping off curbs and landing in puddles was a matter of course. Wet feet didn't matter. Put up the umbrellas, because Jerome Robbins repertory was being performed inside the New York State Theater. Four ballets, only a smattering of the body of work Robbins put forth in his seventy some years, yet this evening's program was enough to leave no doubt that he was, and will continue to be, the premiere American choreographer of
this century.
The curtain lifted, and the star-lit backdrop for "In The Night" began to twinkle. The pianist (Nancy McDill) seated herself under a spotlight to the side of the stage. Rachel Rutherford and Tyler Angle entered walking backwards onto the stage from the wings. The magic was about to begin. Suddenly Rutherford was sailing through space lifted by Angle's capable hands, urged on by the Chopin piano music. One of Robbin's great assets was how he brought his dancers on stage and how he took them off. Whether thrown into the waiting arms of an unseen corps person in the wings, ("New York Export Opus. Jazz" 2nd section) or lifted to inches below the overhead lights by a partner ("In the Night" first section) Robbins versatility was always enervating as he discovered a clincher entrance or exit that invariably brought gasps from the audience. In his hands an arabesque (that "must have" high back leg stretch without which ballerinas are doomed to mediocrity) became an unexpected memorable moment. And he used them a lot, yet it was always a surprise how he structured the choreography, always challenging the male to get his ballerina balanced and presented at her best.
The second section was danced with special verve by Sofiane Sylve, her attentive escort Charles Askegard, and other members of the company. But what of Sylve? Is she not the jewel of NYCB, her staccato attack as pristine as expensive cut glass? Did anyone expect to see her held upside down while her one leg beat lightening quick against the other, tossing it off as if it were as easy as -- just another arabesque?
The third couple, Jenifer Ringer and Amar Ramasar, squabbled then made up. They couldn't quite decide whether to stay together or separate (which they do) until she begged forgiveness and fell into his arms. For the spectacular finish the three couples re-entered, not together as a reprise, but one, then another-- three women, three men, mix and match meetings, discovering one another, then returning to their original partners and lifted into the wings like one grand last breath. What a Night!
After the serenity of "In The Night" came Robbins' great ballet originally done for ABT's Nora Kaye. "The Cage" is a mythical tale of females (in this instance spiders) who devour their male partners after mating. It all takes place beneath a tangle of ropes hanging from the ceiling - a spider web, and the ballet is full of dark and violent movement. Once the Novice is introduced to the female clan she is put to the test. A male intruder enters and she chokes him between her strong, clenched legs. However, the second intruder is about to evoke softer feelings from the Novice. Some say the Wilis act of "Giselle" was the inspiration for the action here. The Wilis force Giselle to stop protecting Albrecht. He is released never again to be reunited with his true love. Robbins gave his "intruders" no such respite. Despite the Novice's inclination towards tenderness, she too, is given her rules. Get rid of him, say the women and do not disobey us. In this work Robbins showed his leanings towards modern dance, but the women are on pointe, using razor-sharp, powerful stomping choreography. When the ropes came down around the Novice and her mentor the Queen and the wild Stravinsky music ended, the Novice had been initiated, and she takes her place in the group.
A trifle pas de deux "Andantino" was all staccato steps, jumps and joyous play between two young innocents. As performed by Megan Fairchild and Joaqin De Luz it was filled with all the proper zest and joie de vivre two strong dancers on the smallish side can ably invest.
Over twenty-five years ago Jerome Robbins presented his brilliant chamber company Ballets: U.S.A. at the Spoleto Festival with subsequent New York and touring seasons. The dancers costumed in cowl neck tees, black tights, and matching sneakers, crouch low in demi-plie skimming the stage-- one foot crossing in front of the other, gliding through a history-making take on choreography. Dated? Maybe, but when you consider that this style had already made history in "West Side Story," the impact of Robbins' effort - to bring jazz dance to the concert stage -- cannot be underestimated. With a symphonic jazz score by Robert Prince and Ben Shahn's backdrop of crisscrossed black lines simulating TV antennas across a city skyline, "N.Y. Export.." had a specific raison d'etre. It was Mr. Robbins reorganizing his 1957 magical musical without the poignant narrative, transferring sneakers and finger snapping to the ballet stage with flawless expertise.
Toward the end of the '80's Jerome Robbins took segments of his successful Broadway musicals and compiled them into one two hour and fifty minute production, calling it "Jerome Robbins' Broadway." New York City Ballet put four ballets into one evening, and the program was a packet of riches for the rain-drenched audience. I wonder how many umbrellas were left under the seats as the audience, moved to a level of wonderment, filed out.