Con Brio

Opening night at New York City Ballet

Programming, programming. The opening night program at New York City Ballet was on the long side, but what a trio of works: Serenade and Prodigal Son by Balanchine, followed by Ratmansky's restaging of the Grand Pas from Paquita (now thankfully performed without the addendum of Balanchine's Minkus Pas de Trois). Serenade is such a powerful way to begin the season: the sweep and drama of it takes the breath away. Megan Fairchild, approaching retirement, is in her element in the "Russian" role, which is mostly allegro—lightness and speed are her domain. Emily Gerrity looked stronger and more expansive than I've seen in months; her arabesque, as she was partnered by Davide Riccardo, received well-deserved applause from an enthusiastic audience. In Prodigal Son, Anthony Huxley was a youthful, but too polite Prodigal. He dances the role beautifully, as he does everything, but doesn't register much as a character. Miriam Miller, in contrast, is an extraordinary Siren who infuses the part with a kind of melancholy coolness. The closer, Paquita, is a feast of classical steps, driven along by Ludwig Minkus faux Spanish (actually quite Viennese-sounding) score. The strength of the staging lies in the juicy, embodied style of dancing, full of changes of direction, of level (low, medium, high), of angle of the shoulders and head. As well as in the way the corps amplifies the movements of the soloist woman. On opening night, the ensembles looked a bit rough (not enough rehearsal?), with some spacing issues and inconsistent epaulement, but the overall effect was still thrilling. Several solos stood out. Dominika Afanasenkov, for example, in a slow waltz that begins like a prayer, with huge enveloppés followed by a diagonal of tiny steps, made more beautiful by the angle and twist of her upper body. Emily Kikta's boldness in her "entrechat and bend" solo. Mira Nadon thrilled in the different facets of the lead role, soft and wafting at the start of one solo, only to eat up space in huge soaring cabrioles (and later, even larger saut de basques), demonstrating balance, control, and freedom in equal measure. A little girl in the audience cheered, jumping up and down. She knew what she was seeing.

Such beauty seems even more valuable now, as the civilized world reels.