New Paquita, Mixed Results
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<p><em>Leigh Donlan reviewed the Sun Feb 9th, 2025, performance at the Koch Theater in New York City</em></p>
<p>Alexei Ratmansky premiered an invigorated <em>Paquita</em> for New York City Ballet <em>–</em> a fresh but fragmented take on the pedigreed classic. This program opened with Balanchine’s 1951 restaging of the first act Pas de Trois followed by Ratmansky’s interpretation of the third act Grand Pas Classique.</p>
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<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img alt="" class="wp-image-7409" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" height="640" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" src="https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsChanPaquita-1024x640.jpg" srcset="https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsChanPaquita-1024x640.jpg 1024w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsChanPaquita-300x188.jpg 300w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsChanPaquita-768x480.jpg 768w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsChanPaquita-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsChanPaquita-800x500.jpg 800w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsChanPaquita-1320x825.jpg 1320w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsChanPaquita.jpg 1680w" width="1024"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sara Mearns and Chun Wai Chan, far right, and New York City Ballet in the world premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Paquita. Photo: Erin Baiano</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Balanchine’s signature style was still everywhere, just amplified in the reconstructed Grand Pas – a daring, technicolor feat from the dancers<em> </em>(and orchestra, gorgeously conducted by Andrew Litton.) But a glorious sense of boundlessness was only intermittently explored by the dancers. There were glimpses, but it was mostly City Ballet doing Balanchine more intensely. Ratmansky’s Pas<em> did</em> feel more spatially ‘grand’ but most of the dancers were still acclimating to their newfound freedom, leaving noticeable gaps in the large space. </p>
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<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img alt="" class="wp-image-7410" decoding="async" height="791" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" src="https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3-250207-62Paquita-1024x791.jpg" srcset="https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3-250207-62Paquita-1024x791.jpg 1024w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3-250207-62Paquita-300x232.jpg 300w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3-250207-62Paquita-768x593.jpg 768w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3-250207-62Paquita-1536x1187.jpg 1536w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3-250207-62Paquita-647x500.jpg 647w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3-250207-62Paquita-1320x1020.jpg 1320w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3-250207-62Paquita.jpg 1553w" width="1024"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">KJ Takahashi in George Balanchine’s Minkus Pas de Trois from Alexei Ratmansky’s Paquita. Photo: Erin Baiano</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Sunday’s soloists in the Minkus Pas de Trois were the bold and bright Allegra Inch, KJ Takahashi and Rommie Tomasini. The challenging series of duets and solos showcased each dancer’s strengths. Takahashi’s triple-pirouettes from fifth, repeatedly alternating right and left, were just one of his many impressive feats. The choreography for Inch and Tomasini was a mix of sweet and savory, Inch with the more syrupy gestures and Tomasini executing the more arduous and showy tricks. I preferred the sugar. And the Jérôme Kaplan costumes were vibrant and whimsical, with tiered fuchsias petaled into the flounced tutus.</p>
<p>In the highly anticipated Grand Pas, the six soloist variations blended Balanchinean style, athleticism, steely grace and attack. The corps maintained a dazzling high-voltage energy despite some inconsistent visual details – like the height of arabesques – decked in regal black, gold and white neoclassical tutus, also by Kaplan. Linear stage formations created striking grand diagonals with horizontal and vertical brushstrokes. There was an overall straightforward, often blunt sensibility throughout the corps and soloist sections. Consequently in the tender <em>pas de deux</em> between Sara Mearns and Chun Wai Chan, her languid archings of the back and artistic sensitivity felt overpowered by the force of the corps<em> </em>and soloists. For whatever reason, she looked ill at ease. The contrasting moods and energies weren’t cohesive.</p>
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<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img alt="" class="wp-image-7411" decoding="async" height="791" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" src="https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsPaquita-1024x791.jpg" srcset="https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsPaquita-1024x791.jpg 1024w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsPaquita-300x232.jpg 300w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsPaquita-768x593.jpg 768w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsPaquita-1536x1187.jpg 1536w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsPaquita-647x500.jpg 647w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsPaquita-1320x1020.jpg 1320w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MearnsPaquita.jpg 1553w" width="1024"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sara Mearns in Alexei Ratmansky’s Paquita. Photo: Erin Baiano</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>The paint is still drying on this promising piece as the dancers continue to navigate it for themselves. </p>
<p>Jerome Robbins’ <em>In the Night </em>was a tranquil contrast to <em>Paquita</em>’s excitement. Chopin’s four nocturnes – luminously played by Elaine Chelton – lulled us while three couples depicted phases of love beneath a starry sky. Indiana Woodward was a swirling lilac vision, Ashley Hod embodied resistance and surrender, and Mira Nadon’s passion was tempered by vulnerability in her partnership with Gildert Bolden III. </p>
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<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img alt="" class="wp-image-7412" decoding="async" height="791" loading="lazy" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" src="https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/HodSanzInNight-1024x791.jpg" srcset="https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/HodSanzInNight-1024x791.jpg 1024w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/HodSanzInNight-300x232.jpg 300w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/HodSanzInNight-768x593.jpg 768w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/HodSanzInNight-1536x1187.jpg 1536w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/HodSanzInNight-647x500.jpg 647w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/HodSanzInNight-1320x1020.jpg 1320w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/HodSanzInNight.jpg 1553w" width="1024"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ashley Hod and Aarón Sanz in Jerome Robbins’ In The Night. Photo: Erin Baiano</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>From the raised orchestra pit platform, in a popular segment known as <em>See the Music, </em>conductor Andrew Litton presented an engaging exploration and demonstration of Igor Stravinsky’s <em>Symphony in Three Movements –</em> highlighting the music’s complexity of counts and rhythmic intensity, the difficulty of the music and the challenges it presents to most orchestras. The New York City Ballet Orchestra played it for their 349th time on Sunday and it was glorious. </p>
<p>As was Balanchine’s 1972 “leotard” masterpiece, which was indeed “seeing the music,” a marvel of textures, shapes, strangeness and endless detail. Balanchine knew how to use space brilliantly. He covered it all in <em>Symphony in Three Movements </em>– circles, lines, angles, diagonals. The third act, with its full cast of cyclonic spinning wheels within wheels, was spectacular. </p>
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<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img alt="" class="wp-image-7413" decoding="async" height="791" loading="lazy" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" src="https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MacKinnonMabieSymThree-1024x791.jpg" srcset="https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MacKinnonMabieSymThree-1024x791.jpg 1024w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MacKinnonMabieSymThree-300x232.jpg 300w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MacKinnonMabieSymThree-768x593.jpg 768w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MacKinnonMabieSymThree-1536x1187.jpg 1536w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MacKinnonMabieSymThree-647x500.jpg 647w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MacKinnonMabieSymThree-1320x1020.jpg 1320w, https://ballettothepeople.com/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MacKinnonMabieSymThree.jpg 1553w" width="1024"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Olivia MacKinnon and Jules Mabie in George Balanchine’s Symphony in Three Movements. Photo: Erin Baiano</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Balanchine built momentum and intensity without losing, rather enhancing, the integrity of the dance’s other elements: the music, choreography and performance artistry. Ratmansky’s new <em>Paquita</em>, in its present incarnation, relied heavily on virtuosic choreography and, at times, underutilized the other elements. Both Balanchine and Robbins tinkered frequently with their pieces. Perhaps Ratmansky will do the same. Or was it just a rousing experiment? </p>
