The Steadfast Tin Soldier is a dance and not a puppet show. The dance is continuously absorbing, stringent even in its moments of coyness. --Arlene Croce, The New Yorker, Feb. 9 1976
Derogatoriness, obscenity of every description, is one of the two great driving forces behind Prodigal Son; the other is the belief in forgiveness and salvation. They are tandem forces, each indispensable to the other. --Arlene Croce. The New Yorker, Dec. 29 1980
It was not our original intention to attend three NYC Ballet performances in February; it just worked out that way because of changes in the schedule. In any case it did give us some insight into the range of Balanchine's dances, from the most austere to snazziest.
Prodigal Son was choreographed in 1929 to a powerful Prokofiev score commissioned by Serge Diaghilev for his Ballets Russes and is the earliest of Balanchine's works still performed. It was often rather overwhelmed by the power of its male leads, especially Mikhail Baryshnikov and Edward Villella, but on Saturday was danced by the subtle Daniel Ulbricht, who acted and performed beautifully, with soloist Miriam Miller effective as the sexy and cruel siren. This is one of Balanchine's ballets that he seldom fiddled around with; it even still has the original decor by Georges Rouault. It gives one the opportunity to see an early ballet by Balanchine that tells a story (libretto by Boris Kochno) and can be seen simultaneously as a period piece and a transcendent modern ballet.
The Steadfast Tin Soldier is a charmingly sweet and sad pas de deux between a paper doll (Erica Pereira) and a toy soldier (Anthony Huxley) from a Hans Christian Andersen tale, with music by Bizet (Jeux d'Enfants). My ten-year-old daughter didn't like that Balanchine swept the doll into the fire in the fireplace at the end, with only her heart surviving, as the soldier rescued it and returned to formation.
Pavane is a rare Balanchine piece for a solo dancer; done on Patricia McBride originally for the Ravel festival in 1974 (I was there) to Ravel's Pavane Infante pour une Defunte. Saturday it was danced by Sterling Hyltin, whose hair was down and echoed the movements of the scarf she held wrapped around her as she did her pique turns. It is an elusive and mysterious ballet.
The last ballet was Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, which we were seeing for the second time this month and which my daughter loved even more than when we saw it on Feb. 5. We all felt that Sara Mearns danced the lead role with great attack and passionate intensity, Tyler Angle tapped beautifully and the ballet demonstrated what a brilliant sense of humor Balanchine has when he's inclined to show it.
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