The first number of the night, Carousel (A Dance), was first performed in 2002 at the New York City Ballet. This was one of my favorite pieces of the night. Although one of my friends disagreed, saying "Movements were trite. The corps were not together and I disliked it." She gave the dance a 3 out of 10. I heavily disagreed, and gave it an 8 out of 10, "...I loved the feeling I was at the fair!"
With mixed feelings, we all headed back into the theater for the second dance of the night. After the Rain pas de duex first premiered in 2005 with the New York City Ballet. Very contemporary and modern, this pleased one of my friends, saying, "Stunning." and wanted to give the performance an 11 out of 10. After further consideration, she lowered it down to a 9 out of 10. One of my other friends chimed in, saying, "I'll never forget it." and giving the performance a 10 out of 10. Since I am more of a classical ballet person, I only gave it an 8 out of 10, only because I never knew someones body could bend like that. It was inspirational.
After eating a very hard brownie, the curtain rose to reveal the third piece, Polyphonia. This was one of the longer pieces from the night, and we all left with the same feeling, I've seen this before. My first reaction to the silhouetted dancers in purple leotards and unitards was, as my friend so kindly stated, "Hella Balanchiene!" Balanchiene is a fabulous choreographer, no one dares doubt that, but I felt that I had already seen so many pieces like it, it didn't hit home for me. We all gave it a mutual 6 out of 10.
I love ballet, but usually by the last act or piece, I am getting done with watching it. As I yawned and the curtain rose, I first thought I was seeing something out of Narnia. With the lighting and scenery, it gave the effect that it was the scene when Lucy first steps into Narnia and meets the faun. As I watched however and the lighting changed, I realized how far off my first impression was. Variations Serieuses, the fourth and final piece, is a comedic ballet, centering around the life of ballet dancers in a company. The Young Girl is discovered by the Premier Danseur of the company, and he finds she is quite skilled at ballet. Then the Ballerina shows up and disaster strikes! After fighting with the Premier Danseur, the Ballet Master, the Young Girl, and various Corps de Ballet members, she accidentally leaps offstage and sprains her ankle the day before the big show. The Young Girl saves the day and takes her part in the ballet, but then over time becomes just like the Ballerina. The dance ends with the original Young Girl combing her hair vainly in the mirror as another Young Girl comes onstage and begins dancing, just as the original Young Girl did in the beginning of the piece. This piece was extremely funny, entertaining, and was an absolute joy to watch. I went home feeling fulfilled and gave it a 10 out of 10, along with the title of it being my favorite piece of the night.
Overall, All Wheeldon is well worth buying a ticket to go see. I bought another and went again with my friends last Friday. Today was the last day, so I'm sorry but you cant go see it! Next is Love Stories, which I am super excited for! <3
Wow that summed up our night well! My post was not that descriptive at all!
ReplyDeleteHahaha I didn't think it would be that long either...lol
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