New York City Ballet, founded by George Balanchine in 1948 and famed for their speed, technique and musicality, has a repertoire of over 500 works. Their programme always includes a work by Balanchine. The present London season, their first since 2008, includes four works, three of them new. The dancing is simultaneous grounded, stylised (and stylish), internal and raw.
ROTUNDA. Choreographed by Justin Peck to music by Nico Muhly, is elegant and sprightly. The dancers wear practice clothes which give the ensemble groupings a spontaneity and a pretty colour; and even so when some of the practice wear is far from pretty. The opening sequence, which is repeated at the close, is particularly appealing.
DUO CONCERTANT. Igor Stravinsky dedicated his music to violinist Samuel Dushkin and they premiered the work in Berlin in 1932. It was not choreographed by Balanchine until 1972. Megan Fairchild and Anthony Huxley stand by the piano like naughty children on detention. It’s a long time before they actually dance; and when they dance, it is in a sophisticated and neo-classical manner. Once they stop dancing, they dutifully listen to the pianist and violinist.
GUSTAVE LE GRAY NO. 1 is choreographed by Pam Tanowitz to music by Caroline Shaw. Four tall dancers in flowing red costumes, which makes them look even taller, dance in a sharp and spikey way. A programme note says “Nothing is random but at any given moment anything can happen.” How true. The dancers move the grand piano across the stage whilst the pianist is still playing and for no reason at all.
LOVE LETTER (ON SHUFFLE), choreographed by Kyle Abraham to music by James Blake, is a mixture of contemporary pop songs and strange, gaudy costumes, which upstage the choreography, which is drawn from the vocabulary and urban flavour of club dance and African American vernacular dance and modern dance.
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