WHOA. . . .

At New York City Ballet last Wednesday, Valse Fantaisie was played with hold-on-to-your-hats speed, as was Duo Concertant, which preceded it.  In Duo, Robert Fairchild was able to keep up – barely, while the freneticism of Valse Fantaisie reduced Ashley Bouder to almost marionette-like articulation.  I don’t believe that these ballets’ tempi were this fast when Balanchine created them, and I certainly don’t believe that any tempo has to be hewed to so relentlessly, with so little modulation.