Glass Pieces
This past week, New York City Ballet presented one of Jerome Robbins’ greatest works: Glass Pieces. I find this ballet to be a conceptual masterpiece, laced with movement inspired by the thriving pulse of New York City. I remember coming to see Glass Pieces every chance I got back when I was a student at the School of American Ballet, so it is a nice thrill for me to be up there dancing this work now.
There is a moment of unreserved intensity—freshly-squeezed and illuminant—that I have the opportunity to experience in the ballet. It is a moment that lies on the border of terror and excitement. Right after the 2nd movement adagio section ends, the lights go from dim to blinding. The stage manager gives me a brash and pungent signal that she picks up from the conductor’s monitor, upon which I must burst into a full-sprint out of the front wing and circle the stage to the rhythmic music of what sounds almost like a tribal drumbeat. At that point, its as though I am able to feel the overwhelming saturation of my adrenaline, producing a high unparalleled by any other experience. The men and women of the corps then proceed to perform the third movement, where camaraderie is king and the patterns produced by the corps dancers end up steeling the show.
Glass Pieces will be performed one more time this season on Thursday night. If you haven’t seen it yet, it is well worth checking out.
My own choreographic plunge
Attempting to conjure up my own choreographic concepts has been something on my mind for several years now. Often times, while listening to music, I would find myself visualizing dance movement inspired by that music. I have finally taken the plunge and have made my first real ballet that will premiere tonight as part of the Columbia Ballet Collaborative at the Miller Theatre (116th and Broadway). It’s just a short pas de deux—barely anything, really—a dance for two of my closest friends who have generously donated their time and energy towards making my ideas a reality (which I am eternally grateful for).
The music I chose to use is an interesting work for a string section, composed by Joby Talbot and inspired by the music of Jack White of the White Stripes. I felt that this would be a good musical selection given the college audience. Hopefully many of them will recognize and relate to the subtleties of White’s music intertwined in Talbot’s string arrangement. So my intentions for the pas de deux was to make something inspired by the intensity and distortion of the music. I wanted to, above anything else, maintain my respects to the classical dance line & technique, while interjecting my own style of movement into the mix. In the end, the piece became a 5-minute sprint towards a non-existent finish line, a competition between two dancers with limbs for days.
Whether the piece is actually bad or good is another story; what’s of value to me is that I took the plunge and created my first ballet work.
Teresa Reichlen and Russell Janzen (photo by Gwyneth Muller)
Columbia Ballet Collaborative – Broadway at 116th St. 212-854-7799. April 3-4 at 8:00 pm
NYCB in Europe
A few months back, New York City Ballet embarked upon a 3-week tour to Copenhagen and Paris. There is plenty I could say about the whole experience, but sometimes pictures act stronger than actual words. So, for the most part, I’ll stick to that idea with this post.
DENMARK
Frederiksborg Castle, 1 hour outside of Copenhagen
in the castle gardens
A Danish Parking Lot. One of the aspects of Denmark I enjoyed most was the fact that there are more bicycles on the road than there are cars. It seems to be the primary form of transportation over there–and a much healthier and environmentally-friendly form at that.
PARIS
Dancers attempting to turn and get used to the raked floor of the Garnier Opera House
Chagall dome from the audience of the Garnier
something about this shot really appealed to me. Maybe its the symmetry of it. A dancer is trying to capture the beauty of the Garnier ceiling while lying in the center of the Opera House. Dancers rehearse on stage in the background.
shot from the roof of the Garnier
on top of Paris
a dancer rehearses
Versaille Palace (specifically, the Hall of Mirrors), through Jeff Koons
dancers love their foliage
another haunting work by Auguste Rodin
Flower Power to the Utmost Extreme (Takashi Murakami)
Part of an installation of pop-artist Takashi Murakami’s exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The entire room contained this expansive flower print, which was able to thoroughly exhaust the color receptors in my eyes within minutes.
Rooftop Glimpse: Jewels
Continuing my new photography series, I bring you two Polaroid shots from the Balanchine ballets Rubies and Diamonds. These were taken on a sweltering 97-degree New York City day. Because of the extreme heat, one of the dancers was only able to pose with his knee on the ground for a few seconds before feeling the burn of the pavement (now that’s what i call tenacity!). Enjoi
Diamond: Devin Alberda (left); and Diamond: Russell Janzen (right)
Ruby: Ralph Ippolito
Diamonds and Rubies
Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
Rooftop Glimpse: Diamonds
The roof of the New York State Theatre offers an ideal setting for photography. It consists of a wide open space with some of New York’s most vivid architecture as the background. So I thought to myself, why not take advantage of the great Spring weather and capture some dance shots up there? Thus begins a new photography series, titled “Rooftop Glimpse” of various polaroid shots during matinees at the State Theatre.
Today we performed Balanchine’s Jewels. Hopefully I will be able to turn this into a weekly post, so long as the weather cooperates. Enjoy
Me.
Anthony Huxley.
Diamonds
Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
A Land of Sticky Toffee Pudding, Pints ‘o’ Lager, and Charming Accents
“Cheers, mate.” Such a great phase. I wish we could use it here in America, but we just don’t have the accent or the state of mind to pull it off without sounding silly and out-of-place.
It turns out that I have just returned from a 2 week tour with New York City Ballet to London—the land of sticky toffee pudding, pints ‘o’ lager, charming accents, mediocre food, a heavy-duty currency exchange rate (the pound putting our flimsy dollar to shame), ‘trousers’ instead of ‘pants,’ icy rainfall, bright red phone booths, and an overall high quality of living.
This was my first experience traveling overseas, so it will be one to remember. It was a nice way to become introduced to the notion of international touring, being as they speak the same language in London and there are more similarities we share with London than we share with, say, China.
My first impression of London was epic. As we drove into the heart of the city from the airport, there seemed to be a never-ending amount of gorgeous townhouses that appeared to just sprawl on for miles. In New York, we definitely have an equivalent quality of architecture, but the abundance of it present in London feels 10-fold to the quantity of that in New York. I found it wholly captivating to find a city with such a profusion of historic structural design. In addition, interspersed throughout the city was a plethora of statues, monuments, and detailed artistic aesthetics that added a great deal of distinction to the city. Even in the [spotless] tube system (equivalent to our subway system), they seem to even turn their advertisements into magnificent works of art amply displayed on the tube walls.
Ads in a tube station
When it came to food in London, I found that I had to be careful and choosy with where I chose to dine. There are many mediocre places to eat in London. And due to the currency exchange rate, some of us couldn’t help but feeling a bit ripped off when we paid the equivalent of $50 US dollars for a weak meal. But some of us did find some very interesting places to eat in the UK. We found a great local fish and chips joint just a few blocks from the Coliseum Theatre (where we performed) called Rock & Soul. Even better, we found a unique restaurant that specialized in savory Japanese pancakes filled with goodies like lotus roots, Asian mushrooms, and seafood. And of course, there was great Indian food in London, mostly located in the Brick Lane neighborhood.
Japanese Pancake
Dancers enjoying some new tastes
Beyond the food, the pub scene of London is great. Many of us found that it lacked the pretentiousness present in the bar scene of New York. The pubs were simply just comfortable (and again, historic) settings where one could get a local pint and enjoy the company of friends. There were no elements of snoody bartenders, loud obnoxious music, or feelings of entitlement radiating from the others in the pub.
The company had class and rehearsed at the Royal Ballet facilities. The facilities were as beautiful as the royal ballet dancers are. Proportional, vivid, impressive, sleek, and well-maintained. It was a refreshing experience to take class in the habitat of another ballet company.
In the Royal Ballet studios (I’m the one in the orange shirt)
As fun as London was, by the second week I was missing home like whoa. Its good to finally be back in my natural setting, enjoying the splendors New York has to offer.
The cutest toy soldier i ever did see
I stumbled upon some old pictures from Nutcracker this past season, and remembered that Anthony Huxley premiered in the role of the Soldier Doll. With his cat-like landings, razor-sharp technique, and equipped size, he made a strong impression in the debut.
Monthly Update
~Hi again~
It seems that things have severely shifted gears between Nutcracker Season and Winter Repertoire Season here at City Ballet. It has gone from the pace of a tortoise to the pace of a hare Balanchine ballerina executing a speed-of-lightning petit allegro combination. Nutcracker was a nice slow period for me because it consisted of virtually no dancing with performance, just pantomiming and exercising the muscles of the face. Now, I’ve entered the realm of relatively concentrated dancing every night, dealing with the snowball effect of having little time to learn the numerous ballets in a fastidious manner, and never seeing the light of day due to the constant rehearsing in the (windowless) theatre until dark. And although all of this may sound very draining, it is actually quite the opposite for most of us dancers. We thrive when we are most involved and consumed by our work, the unique lifestyle that goes along with that work, and the unmatched comradery of dancing with & working with professionals whom we are in close contact with from day to day.
At this point, we have just finished a thorough week-long run of Double Feature, Susan Stroman’s ballet homage to the silent film era. It is choreographed in a typical musical theatre fashion (Stroman’s specialty) and is saturated with classic entertainment. From a dancer’s perspective, it is a different approach to the dancing that we are used to. I feel as though it acted as a refreshing change of pace, and compliments our repertoire nicely. It provides contrast to the pure ballet we dance and helps to accentuate its substance.
photos by the talented Gwyneth Muller:
The muscle suit that I have wear for when I perform the role of Flossy’s husband
Flossy and her burly partner
I’ve also begun my Spring semester at Columbia. I was planning on taking 2 courses this semester, but my busy dance schedule has resulted in me having to drop one of the courses (maybe Fall semester will allow for more leeway, while I am waving my fan, powdering my nose, and suddenly sprouting double-Ds as Mother Ginger). With that said, I am working on a writing course this semester. So far it has been a lot of critical reading and writing, as well as approaching new ways to analyze & interpret art. So between juggling ballet, school, and some sort of personal life in between those two, I feel pretty consumed at the moment. I am, however, very much looking forward to NYCB’s tour to London in March, as I have never been over seas yet. So I am eager to experience the culture of England soon. That’s all for now, hopefully more thoughts to come in the near future
