NYCB last night (and snow)!

In Mobile we don’t have snow, so I spent last night shuffling through it on my way to the ballet. Outside of State Theater was I dancing like a tap dancer in it, and a cop watching me looked up and smiled. Lincoln Center looked a little wounded from all the renovations; the fountain was covered by plywood.

Thanks to Philip’s  kindness I’d get to see the ballet, and I met him a little before 7 at the theater. Before I waited, I thought I spotted Sophie (one of the blog readers) and David Prottas flew through the lobby but was stopped by a fan.

“That boy was in the flower festival!” exclaimed an old woman who had just taken him by the hand. He smiled, thanked her, and dashed up the stairs for the show.

Philip and I were seated in our same seats, orchestra middle, the most perfect seats in the whole house. A woman passed us on her way down the row.

“Are you Ariel?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“I’m Apollinaire,” she said and shook my hand. It was the dance critic Apollinaire Scherr from Newsday! I was shocked that she even knew who I was since we’d never met before.

A host of NYCB favorites were all over the program. Abi Stafford danced in “Goldberg Variations” with Wendy Whelan among many other notables. Wendy and Benjamin Millepied were so cute and feeding off of each others energy. 

It was my first time viewing the “Goldberg Variations.” As I applauded the dancers I also applauded Robbins for having choreographed such a large body of work with such unique nuances. In the first portion, I was curious about the setting of the work and when the costumes were introduced into the second portion a light turned on in my head.

Ashley Bouder and Gonzalo Garcia danced the “Tchaikovsky pas de deux.” Bouder is unbelievably amazing. Her confidence is so infectious and she toys with the audience. She slowed down her extension in a devlope “just because” drawing out giggles from the audience.

Lastly was “Western Symphony” and Albert Evans (the nicest dancer in the world) replaced Adam Hendrickson in a pas with Sterling Hyltin. For a minute I felt like I was watching ABT–so many dancers were turning like crazy and Damian Wotzel was on his supporting leg so well that when he finished a set of pirouettes he stopped mid-air. I saw Johnathan Stafford dance for the first time, he and his sister Abi look so much alike. During the curtain calls, Philip waved at Albert from his seat jokingly, though I doubted he saw him.

After saying good-bye to Philip I waited by the bus stop to return home. I did a ronde de jamb in the snow, and hoped it would last till this morning, but it’s already melting.