On November 6th, a few friends and I went to see BalletNext at New York Live Arts. We’d heard many good reviews of last year’s program, and while we’d had mixed reviews regarding this year’s event, it was a chance we were willing to take.

The venue itself is very nice. It is in a black-box style theatre with the first row of seats being on the same level as the stage. My friend and I were seated on row B, with a perfectly clear view of all aspects of the performance. Reading the program, I noticed the incredibly impressive credentials of each of the dancers. The company’s founder, artistic director, and seeming ‘prima’, is Michele Wiles, former principal ballerina of American Ballet Theatre. Her fellow company members include dancers from New York City Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Philippine Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts, and many more prestigious institutions. However, the inclusion of a company member who was a part of America’s Next Best Dance Crew and a street hip hop dancer. That being said, BalletNext is known for being innovative, so giving this particular dancer the benefit of the doubt seemed in our best interest.

Entering the first act, the dancing itself was… interesting to say the least. First of all, I feel that of the $18.00 I paid to see this performance, $9.00 were wasted. In my opinion, the first act was trash. Dancer and choreographer Jay Donn created “Don’t Blink”, which attempted to combine hip-hop ‘flex’ style and classical ballet, which is the only style the featured dancers seem to have been trained in. Unfortunately, I believe his attempt was a bust. This piece made me extremely uncomfortable, and here’s why. First of all, there was an unclear storyline: while there was definitely something going on, nobody was quite sure what it was and why. Secondly, the concept itself was unable to come to fruition due to the fact that none of the ballerinas were able to fully embrace the hip hop aspect of the piece. Similarly, the only man in the piece, also Donn, decided to try and emulate the dancers by going onto his toes as well and bourre around in the jazz sneakers he was wearing. It was not clever or intellectual, on the contrary it was goofy and distracting. Finally, the dancers were wearing unflattering workout clothing. Honestly, they looked like they were in an early rehearsal. The whole first act, to me, seemed amateur and under-rehearsed.

I felt worried going into the second act, fearing a total waste of $18.00. but thankfully, it made up for the first act completely. The first aspect of the second act that intrigued me was the addition of a live jazz combo. As a jazz aficionado, I was pleased and excited to have this as a part of the program. Composer and performer Tom Harrell and his quintet were incredibly talented and able to feel the vibes of the dancers as well as those amongst themselves for a perfect blend. Secondly, the choreography was incredibly suited to each of the dancers. While they are all classically trained, they obviously came to join BalletNext for the purpose of contemporary work, and the dancers’ talents shone through. Wiles’ definitely took into account, more so than Donn, the talents and abilities of each of the dancers. There were also clear Forsythe influences rampant, as well as gorgeous improvised sections. The collaboration between Wiles and Harrell worked beautifully. Also, the costuming choices in this act were elegant and classy; the unified look was flattering on the women and suited the nature of the piece as well. While aesthetically it was together, there were countless instances of dancers falling behind the music or speeding ahead. Surprisingly, the biggest culprit is Wiles herself, rushing the music to the point where it is difficult to distinguish if it was meant to be that way or if she’d made a mistake in performing her own choreography. Overall, though, the second act was a huge improvement, and featured movement that I see myself performing or creating in the future.

Some general notes I had for BalletNext are as follows:

1. Togetherness. Whether it be in regards of costuming or in the timing or execution of the steps, it is important that the members of the company feel and perform as a unit, rather than doing steps when it suits them, or expressing themselves in a manner that is not appropriate for the piece.
2. Capezio? Why? So I understand that yes, Capezio sponsored the company and therefore, has the right to costuming and a giant advertisement in the program, but honestly, it shouldn’t have dictated what pointe shoes the dancers wore. As you are well aware, every foot is different, and that being the case, feet require specific shoes to provide comfort and aesthetic appeal. Not every company member looked great in Capezio, in fact, only two or three did. A pair of Freeds or Suffolks would’ve looked really nice on some of the dancers with stronger feet, which was evident through the worn look of their shoes, which made their feet look so little.
3. My biggest pet peeve is self promoters. While they do great for themselves, it gets annoying after a while. Michele Wiles, Artistic Director, Choreographer, founder, and Prima Ballerina, apparently, of BalletNext, dominated each piece she was a part of, even ones she choreographed herself. As a former ABT principal, it is easy to see why she would act in this manner, and while she definitely deserved all the attention (her dancing is beautiful, long lines, gorgeous body, great face), it would’ve been nice to feature other dancers.

All in all, BalletNext was interesting, to say the least, and only worth $9 of the $18 I paid, but that $9 was well spent. The abysmal first act was made up for by the second half, and inspired me in my own dancing and choreography that I have created. I now know to always be on the music, to ask others if my homemade costumes and athletic wear are actually flattering, and to never ever, under any circumstances, wear Capezio pointe shoes.