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DAVID HALLBERG |
On Monday night, the 11th of Feb., a group of dancers from around the world congregated at New York State Theatre in Lincoln Center. The annual gala “Stars of the 21st century” is not only presented in New York but also Paris, Montreal, London, and Tokyo, to name a few.
iThe evening was a special one for me, which marked my debut dancing with Maria Kowroski, the stunning principal with New York City Ballet. Presenters have tried to partner us together for quite a while, and finally or schedules coordinated. Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky pas de deux was on the menu, which both of us had danced outside with our respective companies. Getting 6′ tall dancers to move as quickly as our shorter counterparts was the main challenge. All in all, it was a joy to dance with her and to mark my debut dancing on the State Theatre stage (comparable to the Met in size).
The Bolshoi, Royal Ballet, Berlin State Opera, Munich Ballet were some of the companies presented in the evening and the program was a prime example of what the different companies offer in the ballet world. With choreographers from Roland Petit to Petipa, Balanchine and Bournonville the audience saw the different sides of what their respective companies perform.
A gala program like this is always nice for the dancers too, who have a chance to see old friends that have met on similar galas. Or the chance to meet new ones… the dance world is only so big. I saw a dancer from the Bolshoi, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, who I met when I was 16 in Vail, Colorado doing a summer program. Blast from the past!
