America has some of the best ballet companies in the world, and in recent years, thanks to visits by American Ballet Theatre and San Francisco Ballet, London has come to know them. But one of the country's foremost cultural gems has consistently eluded us. It's New York City Ballet, and it hasn't been to London in a quarter of a century.
Oh, we've tried. There have been pick-up troupes of its dancers to tantalise us, and on more than one occasion a visit by the full company has been on the cards, only to fall at the last hurdle. But, while the Edinburgh Festival managed to present the New Yorkers not once but twice in the past eight years (2000 and 2001), the capital hasn't been able to get its act together. Now that's about to change.
Next month New York City Ballet returns as the glittering prize in a five-week spring season of dance at the Coliseum. And a glittering prize it most certainly is. The company founded by George Balanchine in 1948 was one of the most distinctive creations of the 20th century. It blew the lid off 19th-century European classicism and showcased the sleek new body of American neo-classicism. To this day, NYCB has its own style (a dynamic blend of formality and openness), its own performing spirit (upfront and attacking) and ownership of some of the greatest one-act ballets in history. It's scandalous how little we have seen it in recent years.
“I can't believe it,” says Peter Martins, NYCB's longstanding director. “We have been here so many times when London was almost a done deal and it fell through, always for financial reasons. But this time, somehow, we managed to get the right people at the right time to provide the necessary funds on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Getting America's biggest ballet company to London has been no mean feat. In fact, it has taken the efforts of three organisations - Sadler's Wells, Askonas Holt and Raymond Gubbay - working together. “The combination of a subsidised theatre and two commercial partners is unique in dance,” says Alistair Spalding, the artistic director of the Wells. “But no single organisation could afford to take the risk on New York City Ballet. They are even more expensive than the Kirov and the Bolshoi. They travel as a whole company, they never split; it means you have to buy the whole thing.” The whole thing in this case is 85 dancers performing 14 ballets in four programmes over 11 days. The ambition of the event is a logistical nightmare and already the Coliseum can't believe all the orchestral rehearsals the season is going to need (the company is using local musicians instead of its own).
“I learnt this from Balanchine,” Martins counters. “When he was alive, everyone used to complain that the tours were crammed every night with a different programme. But he said: ‘You have to show them the wealth of what we have.' So I adopted that policy and, whenever we travel, we do the same thing.”
Because the producers are counting on box-office proceeds to cover their costs, the top ticket price is £95, which is pretty hefty in dance terms. For that kind of outlay, audiences are going to expect something extra special and the programme is designed to deliver it, with landmark Balanchine ballets (Agon and Serenade), rare Jerome Robbins (The Four Seasons and Moves) and Christopher Wheeldon at his most unashamedly romantic (Carousel: A Dance).
The programme reflects the delicate balancing act that Martins, who was the company's top male dancer before taking over as director, has followed for the past 25 years: trying to prove that NYCB can honour its past while forging ahead into a brave new future. It hasn't always been easy - Martins has more than his fair share of virulent critics - but he continues to preside over a company that's virtually unmatched in the world of ballet. More than any other, it's the living embodiment of a single choreographer's vision and its exhaustive repertoire of Balanchine's creations - along with those of Robbins - is the envy of directors everywhere. “This company is unique,” Martins says. “It has a repertoire you are not going to find anywhere else and, where other companies have a mishmash of styles, which makes it hard to tell one company from another, here everyone has the same aesthetic. Everybody buys into it; and when they come from outside, they have to adopt it. It's important to keep a uniformity of style; otherwise you have nothing but dialects.”
As so often happens in the arts, it's the blending of cultures that produces the most inspired results. And that's certainly true in Balanchine's case. His Russian ballet origins were steeped in aristocratic, old-world traditions, but the language he forged in America was fuelled by the youthful, wisecracking energy of New York's streets. He loved the syncopated rhythms of jazz and the panache of a big Broadway musical (he choreographed several) and allowed his newfound passions to find their way into his choreography for the ballet stage. And Balanchine was clever: he moulded the American public to his way of thinking by making abstraction chic and innovation de rigueur. He didn't care much for storytelling because he preferred to think of his ballets as music brought to life, and, given that he was a trained pianist, music was something he knew a lot about.
The London season opens with some of the sweetest, sexiest fruits of his genius: “We are bringing three seminal works, which will provide an introduction to Balanchine for a whole new generation,” Martins says. “You could say it's the quintessential Balanchine. Serenade, Agon and Symphony in C are arguably his three best ballets, and they are set to the composers - Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Bizet - that he admired.”
The Royal Ballet has all three in its repertoire, but seeing NYCB dance them, from the erotic sheen of Agon to the white tutued extravagance of Symphony in C, is another experience altogether. “Sure, you can go to lots of other companies to see Balanchine,” Martins adds. “But I would argue that we are special because we dance his ballets very differently. This is not an indictment of other companies, but the first thing that strikes me about their Balanchine is the tempo. They dance them more slowly than we do, especially the Europeans. It's too slow, and Balanchine would think that too. The way City Ballet dances Balanchine is closer to the way he wanted.”
Of course, today's dancers, most of whom weren't even born when the choreographer died in 1983, are at one remove from his influence and strict musical integrity. And any Londoner who remembers NYCB's last visit will find this a very changed company. That's inevitable and, Martins says, even desirable.
“It's called evolution. I will say in all earnestness that Balanchine would not believe how good they are today. The whole standard of this company has risen so rapidly that it's unbelievable. Some will argue that it's not all about technique; where is the soul, they will ask? But today's dancers are more proficient and more musical; they are better.”
With Wendy Whelan, Maria Kowroski, Damian Woetzel and Nikolaj Hübbe leading the way, the London season will offer a varied showcase for this talent. In addition to five Balanchine works there will be four from Robbins, a choreographer long underexposed in Britain. But where this season differs from 1983 is in the new work. There will be creations from Mauro Bigonzetti, Alexei Ratmansky and Wheeldon, all choreographers Martins has brought into the company. “When Balanchine was alive he was the first one to promote new work as a way of educating the public,” he says. “Making new works on the premises has always been the raison d'être of City Ballet. Our creativity didn't stifle when Balanchine died. It's quite the opposite, in fact.”
Most importantly for us, Martins has nurtured the career of the British-born Wheeldon, who leaves NYCB this year after seven years as its resident choreographer (he has now formed his own company, Morphoses, with a base at Sadler's Wells). Wheeldon is often thought of as a choreographer with a penchant for the cerebral, but Carousel confirms his talent for popular entertainment. Ratmansky, the director of the Bolshoi, has also developed a relationship with NYCB. His Russian Seasons, a huge hit in New York, is also part of the Coliseum season.
Martins, meanwhile, has been choreographing for the company for decades; there will be two of his pieces on show in London. He knows better than anyone that the company can't rest on its laurels, no matter how glorious - or copious - those laurels may be. Handpicked by Balanchine to carry the torch, Martins, now 61, has no intention of passing it on just yet. “I was recently asked by the board of directors if I would continue, and I will.” He's equally quick to dismiss his critics. “The sniping comes with the territory. But it's OK, they are wrong: the truth is on the stage. The overall level of this company is astonishing and if I didn't feel that way I wouldn't still be here.”
New York City Ballet is at the London Coliseum (0871 9110200), Mar 12-22
Just bought tickets after reading the above article, now really looking forward to the show now.
Cindy, London,