City Ballet's Young Athletes Shine in New `Romeo'

This article originally appeared in the Culture section of Bloomberg News on May 3, 2007.

May 3 (Bloomberg) -- There's nothing like having the right people on your side. Wednesday's sold-out premiere of Peter Martins's ``Romeo + Juliet'' for the New York City Ballet had Bill Clinton in the seat once reserved for Lincoln Kirstein at the New York State Theater. One can only hope the former president didn't come expecting a glimpse of George Balanchine's ideas about the future of classical dance.

The world probably doesn't need another ballet set to the Prokofiev score. Kenneth MacMillan's 1965 version (which will be danced by American Ballet Theater across the plaza at the Metropolitan Opera House June 18 through 23) has long served as the definitive one. But City Ballet needs its own ``Romeo'' because, with its melodramatic narrative, interesting, troubled characters and lavish costumes and scenery, it's the kind of spectacle that sells tickets.

Martins believes these full-length story-telling classics need updating for today's audience, as he has shown in his versions of ``Swan Lake'' and ``The Sleeping Beauty.'' This means, primarily, zipping along at a contemporary urban pace. His ``Romeo + Juliet'' sheds everything he deems unnecessary, including the mime that can give story ballets texture and the quiet or extended moments that provide atmosphere, psychological depth and balance for the hectic passages.

Snazzy Swordplay

Martins's choreography is vigorous and serviceable but not very interesting. The exception is the lovers' duets: While impressive by virtue of their sheer daring, they are more acrobatic than romantic or erotic. Even more disappointing is the fact that Martins provides no particularly memorable scenes. It's pretty much business as usual -- love at first sight with dire consequences. The snazziest aspect of the show is the painstakingly staged swordplay.

The weakest link is the set by the celebrated Danish painter Per Kirkeby, who also designed Martins's ``Swan Lake.'' Both the backdrops and the front cloth are essentially abstract paintings that do little to define where the action is taking place. A unit set, stolidly rooted center stage, opens and closes as necessary to become bedroom, ballroom, balcony, crypt. It is unconvincing in its every guise.

Part of Martins's master plan was to make the cast as young as possible. Of the four Juliets alternating in this week's performances, two are relative newcomers to the company, one merely an apprentice. This guarantees a certain freshness, but if the policy spreads throughout the repertory, it will have promising talents aging out in their mid-20s.

High-Flying Sprite

The first cast's principals, however, were undeniably wonderful. The 21-year-old soloist Sterling Hyltin is a fair- haired, high-flying sprite; her Juliet a joyous child who only grows braver and truer as her innocence is destroyed. Romeo is a breakthrough role for Robert Fairchild, just 19, who combines pure classicism with a soft, almost plush quality.

On the whole, the dancers were superb, even where viewers might occasionally question their assignments. One wonders, for instance, why Romeo's pals Mercutio (Daniel Ulbricht) and Benvolio (Antonio Carmena) are played as genial thugs, since their dazzling virtuoso dancing renders them heroic. Was Martins channeling Jerome Robbins's ``West Side Story''? One wonders, too, why the vivid Georgina Pazcoguin has been encouraged to play the Nurse as a caricature.

As Tybalt, Joaquin De Luz exudes a menacing quality that, being tightly controlled, makes him the more threatening. Nikolaj Hubbe, in his two brief scenes as Friar Laurence, is reality itself. He's the most persuasive actor in the show.

Elders of the company -- Darci Kistler, Jock Soto and Albert Evans among them -- add weight to the proceedings, while Martins's mandolin dance for a quintet of boy students shows off the rising generation's impeccable technique with considerable wit.

``Romeo + Juliet'' will be performed through May 13 at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. Information: +1-212-721-6500; http://www.nycballet.com.

© 2007 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.