The company is looking very fine. Several of the ballerinas were on display this afternoon and all were captivating. I’m paying close attention to Sterling Hyltin these days.

Across the Plaza, this evening, the Met’s revival of a legendary production, Dialogues des Carmelites. Like Ivesiana, this Poulenc gem has been out of the repertory for about ten years. I grabbed the chance to see it earlier in the run. Who knows when I’ll ever get another chance?

Jeanette Andersen is a long-experienced dance critic, currently living in Germany, She frequently writes about the Royal Danish Ballet; Denmark is her homeland. She has also lived for many years in New York, where she saw many companies, so she can compare an contrast with some authority. . In private conversations, she, as well as dancers of the Danish company, have frequently described the condition of the Danish ballet to me as she does in the article you refer to. Of course her opinion and yours, too, and mine, is just opinion. Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion–even if it is strongly expressed.

tt

How very, very dark this ballet is–literally and figuratively. Even the sunnier “In the Inn” pas de deux has a cloudy edge. I’m assuming Balanchine responded to something in the music, but it would be good to know more. Maybe a “Hear the Music” session would help.

Do you remember the sections that were eliminated? Do you know if anyone has written about them?

This is a small masterwork, and it was beautifully danced. I, for one, am eager to see it again. And again.

And, P.S., wasn’t the rest of the program a treat? What a marvelous company!

Katrine

It was with great interest that I read your detailed review of Ivesiana. Your vivid descriptions made it possible for me to visualise the performance.

Thank you for sharing!

At the State Theater, with those “headlights” on the sides of the rings picking up any smidgeon of light as well as the glowing exit signs, it is never completely dark as the curtain goes up, while as I recall it at City Center, even the few exit lights were extinguished when the house lights and those in the orchestra pit were turned off, so that the rising of the curtain was never seen, making even more eerie the slow bringing up the few lights on the stage. It was indeed the atmosphere of a dream, created through the simplest but most effective means. Magic indeed, and a haunting image never to be forgotten.