The George Balanchine Living Museum

Saw the NYC Ballet this evening at Lincoln Center. It was most interesting to discover that this company seems in large part to be devoted to maintaining the legacy of George Ballanchine.

The first long piece was a one-act version of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. It was lovely, and the dance was classical in every nuance. Tremendously simple and clear and smooth. It must take tremendous strength and stamina and precision to dance so simply.

The second long piece was a setting of Prokofiev's Violin Concerto #1 in D, Arturo Delmoni soloing. It's a lovely violin piece, titled The Dreamer. This also was a museum piece, using choreography by Jerome Robbins. He also used a spare, elemental style but one dramatically different from Balanchine. Brilliant and satisfying music and dance.

The last long piece was a collection of classic Vienna Waltzes choreographed by Balanchine. It's an amazing thing to see ballet dancers doing the waltz, and deviating creatively from its standard movements and gestures. The intermission speaker said that Ballanchine was derogated for bringing the waltz to dancers; he argued that it would help them be graceful and smooth. The choreography proved Ballanchine correct.

The whole evening was a lesson in classical ballet tradition, a very instructive one.