NYCB reviews Agon reviews

There is something about Balanchine dancers and the choreography that both chills and thrills. The movements are so defined, positioned and speedily executed it seems unreal and yet none of it looks robotic despite the often unemotional 'look' of the dancers. Shed of the need to act so much, more time and energy goes into developing pure and speedy dance and the bodies to deliver it. If you think all ballet dancers are the same this is the company that demonstrates it's just not so.

This is the second year that some New York City Ballet dancers have ventured over to London in the summer and somehow this year's programme looks much stronger, despite the absence of Darci Kistler, one of NYCBs finest, from the line-up. But we have six of the most marvellous principals (mostly from NYCB) to look at and it's amazing to think that that is only one fewer than the total number of full-time RB principals. Or one fewer until the recent Sarah Wildor promotion anyway.

There are 3 Balanchine works in the programme including the pdd from Agon. It's icy love, it's a contest, it's control and power - certainly anything but your average classical pdd. It was danced by Albert Evans and the tall young Maria Kowroski, who I would suspect would make Darcey Bussell look like a girl of medium size in any contest for stately excellence. Newly promoted she chilled and Evens looked incredibly strong - neither of them ones to go under in any contest between the sexes.

The evening started with Allegro Brilliante to Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No3. According to the programme Balanchine said "It contains everything I know about the classical ballet in 13 minutes." Who am I to argue with the great man and it 'jollies' along with a corps of 4 boys and 4 girls and some devilish work for the 2 leads. It generally seems a happy piece though Paloma Herrera (of American Ballet Theatre) tended to don the stern Balanchine look and seemed curiously detached at times. I'm being picky of course - she is a terrific dancer and we should be so privileged to see her.

The final Balanchine work was Rubies (or Capriccio for Piano and Winds - Stravinsky). It's 1967 and 11 years on from Brilliante, and is much more fun with Balanchine even having some choreographic jokes at his own expense. If you tire of the hardness of neoclassicism then this is a lovely ballet to restore your sense of balance. The Royal Ballet (or was it Sadler's Wells RB) used to do Rubies and should bring it back pronto. It also has the most lovely costumes by Karinska - ruby red and bejewelled of course, but with rich gold and even from afar you can see how well made they are. Peter Boal and Wendy Whelan lead out the fun with Maria Kowroski as the solo girl. It's amazing to see Whelan having fun in a lighter role and not being one of the scariest dancers you will ever see.

The scary side of Whelan came earlier when she performed with Albert Evans in Life Story by Karole Armitage. It "reflects the disturbing post-coital pillow-talk of last night's casual pick-up..", very New York and based on a Tennessee Williams poem. The words are sung to piano accompaniment and if you like clever and weird off-key singing this is the piece for you. I found trying to make out the words competed with the dance too much - almost too much cleverness going on. There was a lot of inventive coupling, though nothing to get embarrassed about (post coital, remember!). Whelan looked amazing, she always does, but with bare legs all you see is muscle and bone; almost like an anatomical drawing brought to life. Some find her look just too extreme and it takes a while for the eye to adjust to what at first appears as so unwomanly and steely. But Whelan most definitely is a woman and to see her in such contrasting roles was my delight of the evening.

Concerto Six Twenty-Two Pas de Deux was choreographed in the mid 1980s by Lar Lubovitch - a man with his own company in New York and who has choreographed for John Curry and other ice skaters and has also produced some work for Broadway. It was the oddest and yet most classical piece I've seen for some time. The pdd is for two men - Peter Boal and David Krensing - and in many respects it follows the conventions you would expect of close working, jumps, catches etc and all done in a straight, if surreal, innocence. Like the Armitage there was nothing particularly embarrassing in it and it floated nicely on a Mozart Clarinet Concerto. Very striking and it would be interesting to see more Lubovitch sometime.

A crucial change in this year's programme was the use of a live orchestra - the Brunel Ensemble. Appropriately they specialise in 20th century works and their playing was sparkling: I hope they are used in future years. Sometime it would be nice to see the full NYCB company come across, but this was a great night and a great opportunity for London dance goers. I hope it becomes an annual fixture.