Meeting a New "Sylvia".

Last night I, along with a few friends, went to the New York State Theater to see San Francisco Ballet do "Sylvia". I went into the night with a lot of excitement at the possibility of seeing a new version of a ballet that we had done the past two seasons at ABT. Unfortunately I left a little disappointed. Not by the entire thing because I definitely found things to enjoy in it but I think I have just kind of realized that "Syliva" is a difficult ballet to make work.

The opportunity to compare and contrast both versions was something I was really looking forward to and as the music to the (extremely long) overture started, all of the ABT dancers I was with started having some MAJOR deja vu. It was only about a month ago that we were behind the curtain getting ready to stun the audience with our blue make-up and glitter crowns. So you can imagine my bewilderment when the curtain opened and there was a) no fog! and b) No blue make-up?! AHH!! Mark Morris has completely redone "Sylvia".

The saving grace for me with this ballet has always been the music. It fits the (zany) story really well and there is so much power in it, especially sections like the hunt in act one and some of act three. Somehow in this version though I thought there were some gorgeously musical sections and also some completely bare moments. Morris has a tendency to do canons in his choreography and some of them were used beautifully in this ballet. However sometimes the action on stage was just a little too mellow for my taste. The same problems exist in this version as in the ABT version; there seems to be little dramatic tension or power that really keeps the audience alive.

I think I either just wanted it to be a completely zany, trippy, different take on the ballet or just the same version, and what the audience got was something a little in-between. It was really great to see another big company performing other than City Ballet or ABT because I don't think I've ever really had the chance since I can remember. New York has always been where I see all of my dance and this Lincoln Center Festival provides some amazing chances to see what else the world has to offer. I am really looking forward to going back and seeing the rep program this week because after seeing the dancers last night I think they will really dance the shit out of it on Saturday.

Since I have been in ABT I have had very few opportunities to visit with old friends from NCSA and even fewer chances to see them dance, so last night was very special in that sense. It is great being on the other end of things for once and being a cheerleader for people you grew up with. My old roommate from NCSA, Garen Scribner, was dancing a featured part in the third act and looked fabulous. It is so nice to see people that you know being so successful all over the world; it's a little mind-boggling. All of these thoughts seem a little scatter-brained today but maybe I'll have a little more to say after the show on Saturday night! Until then...