New York City Ballet

We arrived in NY at midnight, dropped off in Cooper Square after sharing a ride with our friend David.   It was full of life, so much so that we had trouble finding a taxi to our apartment.   But we did, and arrived, happy to be at home in NY.

Last night we went to the New York City Ballet.  The first piece Serenade, by Balanchine, was extraordinarily beautiful.  Choreographed in 1935 for 26 dancers, to music by Tchaikovsky, it was a pleasure to watch how Balanchine moves his dancers in relation to the music.  Abstract, mostly, but at times enigmatically programmatic, it was very moving.  The second piece was Balanchine's version of the Firebird, the music for which I know very well!   The choreography and story ballet are not really very interesting for me; the piece is more about color and spectacle, with Stravinsky's extravagant score and costumes and sets designed by Chagall that are even more colorful than Stravinky's music.
The last piece, entitled "Dance a Grande Vitesse"  ("DGV") was choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, with non stop music by Michael Nyman.  It was a mesmerizing spectacle of movement and music, with the full company constantly coming and going in complex patterns.  Vera proclaimed it a masterpiece, and I was happily intrigued.   A great start to our week of culture...