Wednesday, February 22, 7:30pm, Concert Hall
One of George Balanchine’s most celebrated muses, Suzanne Farrell remains a legendary figure in the ballet world. She joined Balanchine’s New York City Ballet in 1961, and by the mid-1960s had become not only one of Balanchine’s most renowned ballerinas but also a symbol of the era. She founded the Suzanne Farrell Ballet in 2000 as a way of preserving Balanchine’s legacy. The company has been described by The New York Times as “one of the most courageous projects in ballet today.” The Suzanne Farrell Ballet brings the full range of Balanchine’s choreography to the Fine Arts Center.
Reserved Seating: $40, 30, 15; FC, GCC, STCC and 17 & under $10
In just over a decade, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet has evolved from an educational program of the Kennedy Center to a highly lauded ballet company, hailed by the New York Times’ Chief Dance Critic in 2007 as “one of the most courageous projects in ballet today.”
Meditation was amazing! I loved it and it was absolutely my favorite!
I was surprised and disapointed by some of the faulty and unbalanced dancers that I saw last night. I have not encountered this in a professional company before.
My favorite number was “Meditation.”
Thank you.
Meditation was my favorite, also my husband’s. I did see a couple of missteps, something I’ve rarely seen. But these performers are people, not machines. It did not take away from my overall experience.
I thought “Agon” was by far the most memorable and powerful dance. I would have preferred a little more struggle in the contest between the dancers, though I’ve no idea whether Balanchine understood the Greek word to have that implication.
I was so mesmerized by it that I was startled to find that it had ended. And, by the way, I liked the dancers’ occasional bobbles–as Suzanne Rogers says it shows they’re people not machines, even though they may strive for perfection.
My husband and I both like “Meditation” the best.
I overall enjoyed the performance and was glad to have the opportunity to see such a well-known company at UMass. However, I was somewhat disappointed with the corps’ missteps. In Haieff Divertimento, it seemed like the girls were struggling to hold their poses and at least one fell off balance in her turn. As a dancer, I know these mistakes happen and could be due to a myriad of causes, but I have seen Balanchine performed before at a higher, and cleaner, level of execution. I thought that since Suzanne Farrell Ballet is the company solely dedicated to carrying on Balanchine’s legacy, they would far surpass the other companies’ Balanchine pieces I have seen before, but that was not the case. I also felt like there was a distinct lack of emotion and performance quality in all of the pieces save for Meditation. The corps was expressionless in Haieff and better (also cleaner and stronger overall) in Agon. Diamonds was executed with great technique but I felt that it lacked emotional depth. To me, the only dance where technique and emotion came together to produce a strong response was Meditation, which I thought was beautifully done. For me, Meditation, and to a lesser extent parts of Agon, saved the evening from being a flat disappointment. I suppose I came in with high expectations, or maybe they were having an off night, but Meditation is the only piece that would induce me to see the company perform again.
“Meditation” took my breath away. All I could say was “wow!” Both of my nieces (also both dancers) whom I brought with me agreed. “Agon” was interesting, and of higher caliber than “Divertimento,” but it did not touch me. Stravinsky’s music of “Agon” period has always struck me as more intellectual than heart-felt and in this, the choreography seemed to match. “Diamonds” I’ve seen performed before by the San Francisco Ballet. It was superb technically, but once again “Meditation” was the hands-down winner in my opinion.
I love dance. But the show was not a mind-blowing one. I think the “roles” for males and females were portrayed in very normative ways, not to mention the unbalanced dancers. I was expecting more, actually, but I appreciated the work of all the dancers.
I liked Agon best. What I didn’t like, and it has nothing to do with the ballet, is the man who comes out before the show (and another one I saw previously) and acts as though he has to rev up the audience as though we were going to a high school sports team rally.
I also liked Meditation the best. I didn’t mind so much the missteps, but the lack of emotion was an issue. I thought one of the male dancers, Ian Grosh, was wonderful.
I was looking forward to this performance immensely, being an avid Balanchine fan, frequent Boston Ballet goer, and someone with a dozen years of ballet training. Meditation was by far the best piece. It was an absolutely beautiful piece that made the whole night worth it for me. The dancers performed with great technique, fluidity, precision, and emotion. Agon was also quite good, but did not reach the level that Meditation did. The pas de deux from Diamonds was lovely technically speaking, but I agree with what seems to be the general sentiment–the dancers were flat in terms of emotion. Sparkly costumes can only do so much. I am glad that the first piece did not set a precedent for the whole show, because I was confused by the performance. I expected so much more from professional dancers, and they just were not on their game. Having dance experience, I realize that it is incredibly hard to do, but by this point they should have it down. Missteps and little errors happen, but so many noticeable ones in one piece really brings the whole group down. They did the steps, but they did not dance them. However, I still hold high respect and adoration for Balanchine’s work. Dancer mistakes and shortcomings aside, his choreography is wonderful. He is so genius with lines, extensions, timing, etc that his work really highlights the beauty of what the body can do. The costumes were also lovely in their simplicity, complementing the movements of the dancers rather than distracting from them. Despite a few disappointments, I enjoyed the show and would watch it all again just for Meditation.