New York City Ballet: Contemporary Choreography II
$40-$218
Clyde Otis — This Bitter Earth (part of 'This Bitter Earth')
Max Richter — On the Nature of Daylight (part of 'This Bitter Earth')
Thom Willems — Just Ducky (part of 'Herman Schmerman (Pas de Deux)')
James Blake — Selected works (part of 'Love Letter (on shuffle)')
New York City Ballet continually invests in works by new generations of choreographers. Pam Tanowitz's Law of Mosaics, set to Ted Hearne's score, combines moments of resonant silence with propulsive string-based music, and is further illuminated by the colorful costumes of Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung. Despite its simplicity, This Bitter Earth, a pas de deux danced to a remix of Dinah Washington's recording of the title song, ranks among Christopher Wheeldon's most delicate and moving works. For many followers of the Company, William Forsythe's Herman Schmerman Pas de Deux remains a totemic example of the adventurousness that Balanchine always championed and exemplified. The Company's ongoing interest in a wide variety of music and the dancing it inspires is illustrated in Kyle Abraham's Love Letter (on shuffle), which draws on the pop music of singer-songwriter James Blake and combines classical steps with a distinctly 21st-century aesthetic.
Performances on May 15, 19, 21, 23, & 24.