New York Stars Ballet Gala in Rome, 8 March
New York City Ballet Principal Dancers Ashley Bouder, Joaquin De Luz, Amar Ramasar and Andrew Veyette are joined by company dancers Emilie Gerrity, Joseph Gordon, Spartak Hoxha, Alexa Maxwell and Indiana Woodward for a Gala performance in Rome.
On 8 March in the Santa Cecilia Hall in Rome’s modern arts complex, the Auditorium Parco della Musica, these dancers will show off some of NYCB’s repertoire. Works featured are by the company’s two founding choreographers: George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.
The New York Stars Gala has been organised by Daniele Cipriani who was responsible for the sold out performances of the exciting Les Étoiles Gala in Rome in January with a starry lineup including Svetlana Zakharova, Marianela Nuñez, Vyacheslav Lopatin, and Thiago Soares.
The programme begins with Robbins’ Other Dances with Ashley Bouder and Joaquin De Luz and finishes with Balanchine’s Who Cares featuring most of the evening’s dancers. Between, a rich palette of dance includes The Flower Festival in Genzano pas de deux with Spartak Hoxha and Alexa Maxwell; Emilie Gerrity and Andrew Veyette will perform the white swan pas de deux; Joaquin De Luz will dance David Fernandez’s Five Variations on a Theme, created for him for a Kings of the Dance tour; and Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux will be danced by Joseph Gordon and Indiana Woodward.
New York Stars Gala: Programme
Other Dances
Choreography by Jerome Robbins
Music by Frédéric Chopin
Piano Enrica Ruggiero
Ashley Bouder, Joaquin De Luz
PAUSE
The Flower Festival in Genzano
Choreography by August Bournonville
Music by Edvard Helsted
Spartak Hoxha, Alexa Maxwell
Swan Lake – White Swan pas de deux
Choreography by Lev Ivanov
Music by Piotr Tchaikovsky
Emilie Gerrity, Andrew Veyette
Five Variations on a Theme
Choreography by David Fernandez
Music by Johann Sebastian Bach
Joaquin De Luz
Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux
Choreography by George Balanchine
Music by Piotr Tchaikovsky
Joseph Gordon, Indiana Woodward
PAUSE
Who Cares?
Choreography by George Balanchine
Music by George Gershwin
The Man I Love: Ashley Bouder, Amar Ramasar
I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise: Emilie Gerrity
Embraceable You: Indiana Woodward, Spartak Hoxha
Fascinatin’ Rhythm: Ashley Bouder
Who Cares?: Emilie Gerrity, Joseph Gordon
My One and Only: Indiana Woodward
Liza: Andrew Veyette
New York Stars Gala, Parco della Musica, Sala Santa Cecilia, Rome, 9pm
Tickets from €30 to €70 (reductions available) on 892.982 or online
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
Thanks so for this – as all of your glorious postings.
Sadly Andrew Veyette sustained a fairly substantial injury in a performance the day before the premiere of Justin Peck’s Rodeo. (This incurred Peck himself and another dancer taking over his assignments in that work”s now celebrated debut.) I sincerely wonder if he will dance in this gala programme in Rome. I would be most grateful if you might publish a review. I so wish I could myself go but 8th March is also the date of the Russian Icons Gala in London. Amongst that number is supposed to be NYCB’s Chase Finlay and Lauren Lovette. Sadly Mr. Finlay did not dance his last Romeo with NYCB due to injury. It will be interesting to see if he – or indeed the couple – actually appears. Thanks so for a truly wonderful site and all your glorious reports.
Thank you for the ‘glorious’! Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the Rome Gala, but I will try and find out about Veyette and casting changes. Enjoys the Russian Icons evening, Graham