Saratoga: Rain and Shine

On my second visit up to Saratoga last week to see the NYCBallet, I experienced extremes of weather from pouring torrential rains to brilliant sunshine. All the performances were magical no matter what the weather conditions!  I loved Concerto DSCH (I am going to get a recording of the beautiful music to keep the ballet close in my mind: Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op.) I saw the debuts of Janie Taylor and Robbie Fairchild in Opus 19/The Dreamer (They were wonderfully committed, and it was hard to believe this was the first time they were dancing their roles). In Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet I was especially impressed with Tiler Peck and Robbie Fairchild in the Intermezzo section. I believe this was also a debut for them. As such a young dancer Tiler Peck especially amazes me with her versatility. Later in the same program she was totally different  and outstanding in Brahms/Handel. She makes all movement styles look natural for her!

And the special reason I was there for so many performances was to see my daughter Lydia in Western Symphony and Baiser de la Fee, two new ballets for her. It was thrilling to see her in Baiser de la Fee as part of the cast with Megan Fairchild and Joaquin de Luz. These two cast such a spell together and especially in the atmosphere of SPAC. And in the fun flirty Rondo section of Western Symphony, Lydia was having a ball along with them all! She and Megan Johnson were going to go to the horse races on Wednesday in their Western Symphony costumes for the "NYCB" race. Unfortunately it was pouring all day, and although the races still went on (they were moved from grass to dirt - mud tracks)  it was too risky to take the chance of the costumes getting rained on.

Here instead is a photo from about 1967 of Suzanne Farrell with Balanchine at the races, on a beautiful day! At the Adelphi Hotel right in town in Saratoga, there are wonderful ballet pictures (and cakes!) in the lobby. 

It would have been fun to stay at the Adelpi, but it was fully booked. We had to search a little further afield and we stayed in a wonderful Bed & Breakfast called The English Garden in Schenectady. When I'm away from home, I love staying in B&Bs! Virginia Bohn's breakfasts were some of the best ever. Her baked French Toast was scrumptious and that was just the beginning! The B&B was in the Stockade Historic District : "one of the oldest and best preserved neighborhoods in the United States with roots dating back to a 17th century Dutch colonial trading settlement." Our English Garden was built in 1775 and was full of charm and hospitality. Here is the website - I highly recommend it!

It was fun having a little trip away. Now I'm working on the idea of going to Paris in September to overlap with NYCBallet's fall European tour. Wouldn't it be exciting to see some of their performances over there!

tags: nycb  megan johnson  apprentice  saratoga  

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