A ballet triple act.

Jerome Robbins’ “The Concert”. A comic piece depicting the audience of a piano concert (which is an actual piano concert being performed on the stage). In my opinion the piece has aged really badly. Its home is clearly in the 1950s, and I don’t understand why anyone would think this silent movie aesthetic was worth dusting off. I guess it was fresh and new when it came out, maybe? All I saw was people reduced to caricatures, and then ridiculed with no warmth. There’s the stern housewife, the cowed husband, the nerdy boy with big spectacles, the flirty hussy. All we’re missing is a plucky black mammy and a squinty-eyed chinaman, to make the collection of clichés complete. I always struggle with second-hand embarrassment but this actually made me angry.

Jerome Robbins’ “In the night”. Three episodes depicting three phases of love. Pretty but not particularly interesting. The piano music by Chopin was the best part of this evening.

George Balanchine’s “Theme and variations”. An artful, technically splendid display of skill and precision and grace, but to me it mostly felt artificial and contrived. There was no room for the dancers to show any personality or any expression other than a fixed, glued-on smile. I couldn’t help wondering if all the dancers had been chosen to match each other’s length and hairstyle.

All of these choreographies date from the second half of the 20th century, so I was expecting something a lot more modern.