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IMPRESSIONS: American Ballet Theatre's First Gala Evening with New Artistic Director Susan Jaffe
By Henning Rübsam
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Published on November 28, 2023
ABT's Fall Gala "Pièce d’Occasion." Photo: Rosalie O’Connor
Turning Partygoers Into Dance Enthusiasts
American Ballet Theatre
Fall Season, October 18 - 29, 2023
David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center, New York City
Gala night on Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Gowns galore! New York society turned out for American Ballet Theatre’s sold-out fall gala, on Tuesday, at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater. Honoring Katie Couric and The Shubert Foundation, the mix of art and entertainment worlds attracted fashionistas in their finest fripperies. I spotted Mick Jagger, Annette Bening, Candace Bushnell, Zac Posen, and Molly Ringwald. ABT knows how to throw a party, but even better: new artistic director Susan Jaffe has a sure hand and knows how to program such a festivity.
After the obligatory speeches and acknowledgments, the world premiere of a Pièce d’Occasion for well over 140 young dancers fills the stage with talent, poise, and enthusiasm. Under the baton of David LaMarche, the choreography by Lauren Lovette and Ruben Martin to excerpts from Camille Saint-Saëns “Carnival of the Animals” inspires the children and adolescents to shine. Wearing brightly colored costumes by Isaac Mizrahi, originally designed for Mark Morris’s Gong, the apprentices of the main company and members of the ABT Studio Company stand out from the students of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, who mostly sport class uniforms. The young and joyful dancers have the audience on their feet. It’s a successful, grand-scale collaboration of the choreographers with Stella Abrera (School Director), Sascha Radetsky (Studio Company Dir.), Yan Chen, Leann Underwood, and pianists Nuno Marques and Evangelos Spanos.
Principal dancers Devon Teuscher and Thomas Forster take the stage for the featured third-act pas de deux and coda from Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty. Staged by Jaffe and Irina Kolpakova, I am happy to see the dancers look both beautiful and comfortable in the late Willa Kim’s vibrant costumes. Teuscher is such a soulful dancer, and Forster partners her without a glitch. After seeing the promising youngsters in the opening number, this first pas de deux affirms that American Ballet Theatre has awakened from a spell.
To the sweeping sounds of Sergei Prokofiev’s music, Cassandra Trenary and Calvin Royal III declare their love for one another in the balcony pas de deux (sans balcony) from Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet. The two look so lovely (in the original 1965 costume design by Nicholas Georgiadis) that you can’t help but root for them. However, just about 30 seconds before the end there is a fall. Not on stage, but in the audience, a gentleman collapses in the aisle as he tries to leave the auditorium. After yet another fall and about ten minutes of medical attention, he is able to walk out with the assistance of a medical team.
The program resumes with one of the most iconic duets in the ballet canon. Twenty-six additional dancers in white tutus enhance the Act II pas de deux from Swan Lake for Christine Shevchenko and James Whiteside. This Petipa/Lev Ivanov classic to Tchaikovsky’s music is seen here in its Kevin McKenzie treatment with costumes by Zack Brown.
Undoubtedly the choreographic highlight of the evening, a pas de deux from The Leaves are Fading, Antony Tudor’s 1975 masterwork, transports the audience. The suppleness of the dancers’ upper bodies works in beautiful harmony with the footwork propelling the dancers through space. The way ankle and knee joints respond softly to each running step lets one experience an imaginary forest floor. Expertly coached by Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner, dancers Skylar Brandt and Joo Won Ahn make a strong case to have Tudor’s work seen more often. Here is the magic moment in which everything fits, including the costumes by Patricia Zipprodt. Antonín Dvořák’s music sounds dreamy, played by the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra under Charles Barker’s baton.
The evening’s premiere, Danzón No.2, to music by Arturo Márquez, arranged by Yuja Wang with costumes by Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung, and choreographed by Whiteside, proves to be a futile exercise in cabaret for Isabella Boylston and Aran Bell. Tony Siqi Yun (piano) and James Musto (percussion) accompanied the dancers.
Thankfully, the soon-to-be 57-year-old Concerto, choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan to Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2, turns out to be another modern classic. The gala program only showcases the work’s second movement, which MacMillan created for his muse, the incredible Lynn Seymour, and Rudolf Holz. Reviews of the original cast comment that he “has not more to do than…partner” which is not the case with ABT’s gala dancers Hee Seo and Cory Stearns. Dressed in deep orange unitards by Jürgen Rose, the dancers appear to be descendants of the sun. Stearns’ quiet intensity makes this duet sizzle with heat. He spins her, supports her, gets close and with the next breath releases her into her next movement. He takes partnering seriously and with every sculptural move, he carves out a path for the couple’s journey. What a fine artist he is! Jacek Mysinski plays the piano.
The Act III pas de deux and coda from Petipa’s and Alexander Gorsky’s Don Quixote has long been a favorite staple for ballet galas the world over. Bravura couple Catherine Hurlin and Daniel Camargo pull out all the stops in the most charming manner. Their joy and glee jump over the footlights and the audience cheer their dynamite achievement. Their hunger for space and their musicality elevates this caper above mere circus tricks. One cannot help but smile in wonderment.
The firecracker finale from Études, a work that celebrates the progression of ballet training choreographed for the Royal Danish Ballet by Harald Lander in 1948, brings 39 dancers of the company on stage. Led by the company’s effervescent veteran prima ballerina Gillian Murphy partnered by Joo Won Ahn and the company’s never-aging Herman Cornejo, the dancers leap across the stage as if nothing could ever stop them.
Music director Ormsby Wilkins conducts the Carl Czerny score for the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra in a way that makes one want to join in the dance. I am certain that this audience will return to see American Ballet Theatre, not just for the next gala program. This evening surely transforms many a partygoer into a dance lover.
