After 4 nights at NYCB and one wonderful evening in London I find I finally really have a few favorites. This Belles-Lettres from JustinPeck was all things rolled into one bit of perfection. Beautiful music, fabulous choreography and wonderful costumes. I could have watched it for hours, it never let up, never a weak spot, never a moment I wasn’t;t enthralled.

Then last night the program started strong with Balanchine’s Haieff Divertimento.

NYCB Says of Haieff Divertimento “The silken precision of this Black & White ballet, set to a Alexei Haieff composition in equal parts vivacious and quietly nostalgic, makes this rarely performed work a delightful nod to the reputed Balanchine style” / “This work was composed in five sections: “Prelude,” “Aria,” “Scherzo,” “Lullaby,” and a “Finale.” The ballet is choreographed for a leading couple and four supporting couples dressed in simple costumes. Haieff Divertimento features a blues pas de deux and combines popular American dance idioms and modern concert dance with classic ballet”. And again I found myself looking up who was this beautiful principal dancer Unity Phelan.

Last night ended with a spectacular piece by Justin Peck, Rodeo:Four Dance Episodes. 15 Male dancers playing and gliding and spinning on the stage.

And from the London Coliseum and the English National Ballet at their Ballet Icons Gala, Finding Light from 1975 choreographed by Edward Liang. That night they excerpted dances from twelve ballets, most every one delightful but Finding Light stood out from the rest. It wasn’t just me, afterwards you could hear people murmuring and reaching for their programs to see what it was they had just seen.

What didn’t I like: so much that other people thought was fantastic, but mostly because I hated the music. The dancing, is always spectacular. Even when it’s not pretty, I am learning to sit still, close my ears and watch how incredibly talented the dancers are, the bodies, the control. But still, I like the pretty music, the flowing dance and the lovely look of it all.