School of American Ballet, Julliard Theater, June 6 and 8, 1998 - New York, New York

Dance Magazine, Sept, 1998 by Doris Hering

JUILLIARD THEATER JUNE 6 & 8, 1998

The school of American Ballet modestly calls its spring offerings "workshop performances," but they have none of the rough edges associated with workshops. When the curtain rises, one is greeted by handsome young dancers in well-fitted costumes (though no costume credits appeared in the printed program). There is a skilled orchestra led on this occasion by New York City Ballet assistant conductor Richard Moredock. The repertory is intelligently chosen to provide a range of challenges and to give the dancers a generous sampling of George Balanchine's oeuvre. Placing it all in focus is the radiant confidence of the young performers.

New York City Ballet has developed a distinguished coterie of Balanchine experts, and the School of American Ballet is a prime beneficiary of their talents. Suki Schorer set the witty Donizetti Variations, and Susan Pilarre was entrusted with Gounod Symphony.

Under Schorer's guidance, the dancers, led by Tempe Ostergren and Adam Hendrickson in the first cast and Rebecca Krohn and Hendrickson in the second, deftly emphasized the playfulness of the ballet. Schorer also allowed them to contribute a dimension of their own. It was sweetness, and it seemed amazingly well suited to Balanchine's style.

A different sweetness, the nineteenth-century brand, pervades the "Waltz of the Golden Hours" and the "Prayer" solo of Coppelia as set some twenty-four years ago by Alexandra Danilova and Balanchine. For this revival Garielle Whittle shaped the large corps of little girls. How alertly they scampered from formation to formation, their legs literally sparkling along the way; and how attentively their heads and arms remained poised during the variations of soloists Davena Gross and Nicole Epstein or Ostergren and Epstein. I particularly enjoyed the velvety unfolding of Gross's arms into Second Position. Pilarre coached Epstein in the nicely sustained legato phrasing of "Prayer."

New York City Ballet corps member Christopher Wheeldon was given the honor of creating a premiere for the workshop. His Soiree Musicale was a chain of cheery bagatelles with hints of adolescent flirtation. The title, the Samuel Barber score, the costumes, and segments of the choreography were either gleaned from previously existing ballets or made intentional allusions to them; for example the amusing reversal of Balanchine's Apollo with a female dancer (I believe it was Melissa Barak) leading a trio of males. Despite its limitations, Soiree Musicale did provide a lighthearted change for the dancers. After all, some of them will go on to Broadway.

Balanchine's Gounod Symphony isn't performed often these days. Tastefully reset by Pilarre and featuring two well-matched couples, Krohn with Jonathan Stafford and Janie Taylor with Jared Angle, it added poetic balance to the program.

Young male dancers tend to become capable soloists before their partnering skills fully take shape. But in Donizetti Variations Hendrickson brought a unique sense of design to his pas de deux. In other words, he made his partners look good and in so doing made himself look very good.