Balanchine's Stravinsky Violin Concerto (1972)

 It is little wonder that Stravinsky Violin Concerto has proven a perennial favorite.  There is something for everybody: brilliant solo work for dancers and the violin soloist, wonderful ensemble passages for both the corps and the orchestra, and a range of sentiments capable of stirring the audience in many different ways.

--Charles M. Joseph, Stravinsky and Balanchine:  A Journey of Invention (Yale University Press, 2002)

Before or after watching Stravinsky Violin Concerto -- there are two days left on the New York City Ballet site -- I highly recommend Joseph's book, with his incomparable knowledge of both dance and music and his perceptive understanding of the complex and creative partnership between Balanchine and Stravinsky.

Stravinsky Violin Concerto combines many of Balanchine's interests and influences, from classical ballet to folk dancing and neoclassical variations.  As in all Balanchine's ballets there is also an underlying story, especially in the two pas de deux arias, a story of love, separation and reconciliation.  Sara Mearns and Taylor Stanley dance the first aria, Sterling Hyltin and Ask la Cour dance the second one and the ballet is both serious and playful simultaneously, with each couple expressing their relationship while also emphasizing their independence and their relationship to the rest of the world, represented by the sixteen members of the corps.  I sometimes say that the whole world is in a particular ballet, though in Stravinsky Violin Concerto it's more like the whole world of ballet, from the earliest court and folk dances through classical ballet and modern dance.  The steps which, as I've said before, seem to take place between notes of the music, are often classical or based on classical steps but include more modern elements, including flexed feet, turned in legs and various levels of contortion.

The dancers for this performance were fortunate to be coached by Karin von Aroldingen, who was part of the original performance in 1972 and danced the ballet many times. The Stravinsky music was conducted by Clotilde Otranto and the violin soloist was Kurt Nikkanen.  Also included in this presentation is a discussion about the ballet with dancers Russell Janzen, Sara Mearns, Claire Kretchsmar and Repertory Director Rebecca Krohn, as well as a tape of Krohn teaching the ballet to Kretchsmar.