Society in C, the New York City Ballet's young patrons group, always throws great events. The Winter Soiree tonight consisted of a pre-performance reception, Romeo+Juliet and an intermission reception. Several of NYCB's dancers had the night off and joined the patrons at the reception. NYCB's dancers tend to be as articulate as they are talented en pointe. Tonight was no exception. One dancer commented that the way the orchestra plays the music can vary from night to night, so the dancers respond to the music. The implication was more that the music and the dance breathes like a living organism, and not that anyone is making errors. I usually think of ballet as a very choreographed, very fixed kind of art, but this comment would support the idea that ballet has more in common than may be immediately apparent with dances, such as Brazilian Samba or African, where dancers move in response to live percussion.

The dancers respond to the orchestra. The critics respond to both. You can check out reviews by Taylor Gordon and Damion Sanders. How did you respond to Romeo+Juliet? Send us a letter to the editor.

Damion Sanders, Robert Abrams and Taylor Gordon at the New York City Ballet's Society in C Winter Soiree (photo taken with the Casio EX-Z1080 digital camera) Photo © & courtesy of Robert Abrams