Program 1 (Wed, 1/28) was nice but unexciting. I don’t think Prism is Tomasson’s best (but certainly not his worst either), and neither is Diving into the Lilacs the best from Possokhov. Balanchine’s Four Temperaments was danced well, but seemed to lack that special something. It took me a while to recognize Elana Altman as Choleric (maybe I should get binoculars or something). I really like her stage presence.
Maria Kochetkova, one of the newer principal dancers (and apparently the darling among the ballerinas) is quite sprightly, and was the big surprise for me in Diving into the Lilacs. She also seems to be very much on the internet, with a blog, facebook, etc. Now that Molly Smolen is gone, I think I will be keeping my eye out for Kochetkova.
http://www.mariakochetkova.com/
I’m pretty excited about Program 2, mainly because of William Forsythe’s in the middle, somewhat elevated, which is supposed to be a modern ballet tour de force. The other two pieces, which are repeats from the New Works Festival last year, I don’t care too much about.