![]() ![]() The spell didn’t quite hold through to the end of the dreamlike duet, but the essence of it was there. Russell Janzen in Balanchine’s Davidsbundlertänze. (The opening of Chaconne, set to the “Dance of the Heavenly Spirits” from Gluck’s Orphée et Euridice, is set in a kind of cosmic place beyond time.) Janzen has spoken of the excitement of “ giving yourself over to what’s about to happen” in a performance in Chaconne, that feeling was palpable from the moment he and Mearns walked forward from the rear of the stage in an expansive arc, stepping slowly through the corps as in a dream, eyes downcast and then deliberately lifted above the horizon. One became immediately aware of the arrival of a person onstage, not just a technician. 3 – the power of his imagination and emotional intelligence were clear. But even in his relatively uncomplicated role of the poet in Balanchine’s Élégie – the opening section of Tchaikovsky Suite No. ![]() I missed his début in Balanchine’s Davidsbundlertänze last spring, described by Alastair Macaulay as “ the finest account of this role to date,” high praise for a member of the corps stepping into one of his first major parts. Janzen has emerged in recent seasons as a dancer of rare intensity and absorption. 11, the lead dancers débuting in Chaconne were Sara Mearns and Russell Janzen. As Nancy Goldner writes in her invaluable More Balanchine Variations, “when I write about the power of a leg at a certain moment, I describe in part the power that Farrell gave to it.”Īnd yet, replace them the company must, again and again, or else the ballet will die. In 1976, Balanchine composed Chaconne for Suzanne Farrell and Peter Martins the combination of Martins’ authority and Farrell’s remoteness and stylistic freedom – apparent even on video – imbued this delicate ballet with its particular aura. Sometimes, as in the case of Balanchine’s Chaconne, a ballet is so indelibly stamped with the qualities of its original performers that it seems almost pointless to try to replace them. (Click image for larger version)Ĭhaconne, Interplay, After the Rain, Everywhere We Goīeyond the excitement and flash – often quickly faded – of new works, the health of a company can be measured by the stream of new dancers stepping into roles created in a past that is always receding. Teresa Reichlen in Justin Peck’s Everywhere We Go. ![]()
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