NYCB: Ratmansky’s The Naked King just isn’t satire, however good enjoyable

Any Alexei Ratmansky premiere is an enormous dance occasion, as he could be the premiere choreographer of the twenty first century. NYCB was pretty crowded on a Saturday afternoon regardless of a weirdly designed program and completely frigid temperatures outdoors (colder than Antarctica in the present day).

David Gabriel, KJ Takahashi and Daniel Ulbricht in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Naked King

© Erin Baiano

Ratmansky mentioned in an instagram put up that the ballet was meant to be a commentary on the present chief of the United States. It’s a droll, pithy clarification but additionally a bit simplistic. The Naked King relies on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes and likewise used the rating of a 1936 ballet of the identical title that premiered on the Paris Opera. Serge Lifar (the unique Apollo and Prodigal Son) starred because the Naked King. So as standard, Ratmansky is combining ballet historical past along with his personal private contact.

The storyline is easy: three swindlers (David Gabriel, KJ Takahashi and Daniel Ulbricht, dressed like 80s punk rock heartthrobs) persuade a useless king (Andrew Veyette in a fats swimsuit and a Louis XIV fashion wig) to fee an costly new outfit. Meanwhile, the queen (Miriam Miller) is simply too busy dancing the night time away along with her lover (Peter Walker). The King’s new swimsuit is revealed, the place a boy runs onstage and yells “the King is naked!”

Ratmansky mentioned in an interview with the New York Times that, “It just feels like, at least in my lifetime, the world has never been in such a bad place. It feels like everything is collapsing. To make another ballet to beautiful music with beautiful movements would feel a little strange, a little forced. But this ballet, this story does not feel forced.”

Yet the curtain rises and I used to be shocked at how a lot enjoyable this ballet was. Jean Françaix’s tuneful rating sounds just like the soundtrack for a Thirties screwball comedy. Santo Loquasto’s units and costumes additionally appear like vaudeville. Andrew Veyette is completely the other of Trump or Putin: he’s a jolly, endearing king. More a useless idiot than a malignant power. Veyette does some good pirouettes à la seconde to remind us of what a implausible dancer he was.

Ratmansky is at all times nice at drawing out new qualities in dancers. Miriam Miller, who is commonly forged because the distant goddess, is genuinely humorous in her shades and large hat. Wicked comedian timing. Peter Walker, usually forged because the stolid companion, is definitely hilarious as her obsequious lover. The pair of them doing the Charleston is by far the spotlight of the ballet. Gave a contact of Astaire and Rogers. Audiences additionally liked the Three Stooges, vaudeville-like trio of swindlers, who carry out typical male dancer gala tips. Daniel Ulbricht bought enormous applause for doing repeated frog leaps however with little kicks of the toes in between.

So that is truly a love letter to cinema, to bop, to ballet historical past, relatively than a pointy, biting parody of in the present day’s world. Those anticipating incisive satire will likely be dissatisfied. It’s a jolly good time. And that’s completely high-quality. We all must snort and have enjoyable. 

The program was crammed out with two gala pas de deux and Justin Peck’s Everywhere We Go. Justin Peck’s Dig the Say is principally tremendous couple Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia being … Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia. There’s a joke a few bouncing ball, a number of fouettés and quick chaîné turns for Peck, barrel turns and saut de basques for Mejia. Fun to see as soon as, however shallow and slick upon repeated viewings. Christopher Wheeldon’s This Bitter Earth is an overwrought pas de deux set to Dinah Washington’s This Bitter Earth mashed up with Max Richter’s ubiquitous On the Nature of Daylight (now used as a tearjerker in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet). But Sara Mearns completely wrings each little bit of pathos doable from this piece. This is a basic case of a dancer giving extra to the choreography than the choreography is giving her.

Justin Peck’s Everywhere We Go is one among his extra interesting works. I actually loved Domenika Afanasenkov and Adrian Danchig-Waring within the moody central duet. There’s a plushness to her actions that jogs my memory of a younger Sara Mearns. Emma Von Enck additionally made an enormous impression as a final minute substitute for Megan Fairchild. She was quick, spritely, charming, identical to a younger Fairchild. The piece nonetheless goes on for too lengthy, however there are a lot of genuinely thrilling bursts of motion.

****1