Looks can be deceiving, even in ballet. On paper, the spring season of New York City Ballet looked safe and dutiful, with no premieres, except the stage performance of a pandemic-era dance film and more recent contemporary works, some welcome (by Alexei Ratmansky), others not so much (everything else).
But the season had a surprising sense of purpose, which came from casting, coaching and commendable repertoire. Suzanne Farrell, the former City Ballet star, worked with the dancers on four ballets. The 50th anniversary of the Ravel Festival made for a memorable trip back to 1975. And debuts were plentiful; more than that, they were meaningful choices, the kinds of roles that challenge dancers at the right time and give them the space to grow.
Ratmansky didn’t need to present a premiere. Two sides of his artistry were already on display. There was the buoyant, technical “Paquita,” his spirited look at classicism in the 21st century; and “Solitude,” a remarkable ballet illustrating the inner turmoil and outer tragedy of the war in Ukraine, with dancing shaped by and seeped in sorrow. It is even stronger now — quietly devastating with an icy spareness and, from the dancers, deep, grounded conviction.
Its placement on a program between Caili Quan’s “Beneath the Tides” and Justin Peck’s “Mystic Familiar” seemed clueless, as if all of contemporary ballet is on an equal playing field. It’s not. Other programs were dragged down by ballets that felt like needless filler — Peck’s blandly lush “Belles-Lettres” and Christopher Wheeldon’s drippy “After the Rain” pas de deux. The pas de deux made what should have been a strong program of ballets by Jerome Robbins and Ratmansky interminable.
Ballet is an art, but its athletic demands can be cruel: Gilbert Bolden III, a new, much-valued principal dancer, tore his Achilles during a performance of “Scotch Symphony.” His recovery will take months. But that show went on — Jules Mabie filled in for him — and the season, which included a farewell to the longtime principal Andrew Veyette, ended on a cheerful note with Balanchine’s enchanting “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” made even more so by the debut of Mira Nadon, dancing with Peter Walker, in the second act divertissement. She moves like silk.
Here are a few other standout ballets and performances.
Kyle Abraham
‘When We Fell’
It wasn’t actually a new ballet, but Kyle Abraham’s “When We Fell” — originally created during the pandemic as a dance on film — crystallizes the idea of slowing down, not in melodramatic ways but as a way to sharpen focus, line and attention to sound. In this finely tuned architectural dance — its performers have solo moments but come together like an icy piece of machinery — Abraham adds to his growing collection of contemporary ballets by peering into, through dancing bodies, a place of intimate friction. Set to piano selections by Morton Feldman, Jason Moran and Nico Muhly, which operate like a base of sensations, the ballet doesn’t shout, it makes you lean in.
Dominika Afanasenkov
‘Errante’
Making her debut in this ballet (formerly called “Tzigane”) was Dominika Afanasenkov, whose cool, serene presence gave the central female figure, the first role Balanchine created for Farrell after time spent away from the company, a rare enigmatic beauty. Afanasenkov, coached by Farrell, didn’t play it safe. Still in the corps de ballet, she was startling in her focus and casual daring — the big and small ways in which she took up space, changing direction with a tempestuous air. Her performance was a world of moods.
Sara Mearns
‘Pavane’
This Balanchine ballet, a lament for a female dancer, can go terribly wrong. (It involves a large piece of chiffon, so the risk of melodrama is real.) But from the body and mind of the reigning principal Sara Mearns, the role had a sentient grandeur. Mearns has worked tirelessly to expand her artistry by delving in to modern forms, and in “Pavane” her experiences performing works by Isadora Duncan shone through. She was carried by the music. With her willowy arms calmly manipulating the fabric, you didn’t notice the chiffon as much as you noticed her.
Roman Mejia
‘Apollo’
In another tremendous debut, the principal Roman Mejia stepped into the role of Apollo, the brash young god who was Balanchine’s unofficial prince, with vigor and fortitude. His dancing seemed impulsive and free with fresh angles and accents, which gave the ballet a refreshed sense of purpose. But these are qualities — along with a newfound elegance that made itself clear in another debut, Balanchine’s “Divertimento From ‘Le Baiser de la Fée’” — that Mejia puts into all that he dances, including, last week, Oberon in “Midsummer.” He flew, aptly, like a fairy king.
Joseph Gordon
‘A Suite of Dances’
Joseph Gordon, in his debut of this Jerome Robbins ballet, nailed the concept of dancing for an audience as if the audience weren’t there, with a casual, unaffected elegance. Sailing through the role’s athletic curves and twists, he was musically attuned to the Bach score — so much so that his body seemed more fueled by responding to dance rhythms in the moment than by the dicey urge to feel. The cellist Hannah Holman performed with him onstage, and together they built a duet.
India Bradley and Ava Sautter
‘La Valse’
This eerie Balanchine ballet doesn’t always build in drama the way it seems to want to. India Bradley made her debut as the female lead, and while her interpretation could use more gradation and spontaneity, she improved as she went along, and her light, agile jumps shot through the air with brilliance. In another cast Ava Sautter, was the image of regal strength in the fifth and sixth waltzes, first danced by the radiant Diana Adams, with ever-expanding limbs that brushed alongside the sweep of the music. A corps de ballet member who always draws the eye, at least mine, Sautter, with her shimmering extension and innate sophistication brought a fresh romantic focus to “La Valse.” She had drama and more.
Indiana Woodward and David Gabriel
‘Sonatine’
Another side of Ravel surfaced in Balanchine’s “Sonatine,” a bright and elegant pas de deux with an onstage pianist and the welcome pairing of Indiana Woodward and David Gabriel, in his role debut. With detail and nuance, their delicate steps brushed across the stage with blossoming fluidity, lending an aristocratic polish to their already sweet refinement. They are a pleasure. If only their costumes could meet in the middle, too. The woman’s dress leans into periwinkle figure skating territory, but the man’s navy ensemble is chic, making it seem like they’re dancing in different ballets. The steps are lovely. Why can’t the costumes match?
Mira Nadon
‘In G Major’
Mira Nadon is more than a dancer, she’s a ballet destination. See her dance in anything. Her “Errante” was scorching, her Terpsichore in “Apollo” was filled with vivid, playful aplomb. In her debut as the female lead in Jerome Robbins’s “In G Major,” she was a true siren of the sea. Nadon danced the role originated by Farrell with jazzy flavor and flow, inflecting the part with witty details: The expressive push of her hands, the spring of her arabesque, the flutter of her feet moving across the stage as if she were walking on water. Dancing with Tyler Angle, who also seemed to relish her gorgeous, off-the-cuff daring, Nadon was extraordinary As usual.
Video credit: NYCB
Gia Kourlas is the dance critic for The Times. She writes reviews, essays and feature articles and works on a range of stories.
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