{"id":214918,"date":"2026-03-11T14:25:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T14:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/214918\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T14:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T14:25:09","slug":"tiler-peck-honors-robbins-at-santa-barbara-ballet-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/214918\/","title":{"rendered":"Tiler Peck Honors Robbins at Santa Barbara Ballet Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

On March 3 and 4, 2026, UCSB Arts and Lectures<\/a> presented a Joyce Theater Production honoring the legendary Jerome Robbins<\/a> at Santa Barbara\u2019s historic Granada Theatre.\u00a0\u00a0 The first evening offered a jewel-like intimacy of music and dance clarity, bringing Robbins\u2019 choreography into vivid focus. Curated by the dynamic Tiler Peck<\/a> with performances by Peck and dancers from New York City Ballet and Houston Ballet, they gifted the audience with the romance of this historic genius\u2019 unmatched works.<\/p>\n

The program opened with Four Bagatelles, premiered in 1974 and set to Ludwig van Beethoven\u2019s Seven Bagatelles, Op. 33 and Op. 126, played by pianist Elaine Chelton. The ballet unfolded as a delicate conversation between two dancers who seemed to breathe the music into motion.<\/p>\n

Emma Von Enck, a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, partnered by company soloist David Gabriel, brought both charm and spark to the work. Von Enck danced with a delightful firebrand spirit\u2014her movement quicksilver yet grounded, delicate yet infused with strength. Robbins\u2019 choreography, with its folk-tinged rhythms and playful romantic gestures, seemed to fit her naturally. Her phrasing skimmed lightly across Beethoven\u2019s score, each musical idea shaped with buoyant clarity.<\/p>\n

\"Emma<\/a><\/p>\n

Emma Von Enck and David Gabriel in \u201cFour Bagatelles\u201d \u2013 Photo by Issac Hernandez.<\/p>\n

Gabriel proved an ideal partner. His presence carried an engaging masculine assurance, attentive and supportive without drawing focus away from the conversational balance. Together they captured the ballet\u2019s gentle humor and warmth, creating a performance that felt both refined and joyfully spontaneous. The charm and buoyancy of Four Bagatelles set an inviting tone for the evening, one that deepened as the program moved into Robbins\u2019 luminous masterpieces.<\/p>\n

Jerome Robbins\u2019 A Suite of Dances, the second offering, was set to selections from Johann Sebastian Bach\u2019s Six Suites for Solo Cello and occupies a singular place in the Robbins repertory. Created in 1994 for Mikhail Baryshnikov, the ballet was built around the dancer\u2019s extraordinary musical intelligence and expressive curiosity. Robbins responded with choreography that continually hovers at the edge of climax, the phrases cresting toward brilliance before receding into quiet introspection. The piece becomes less a display of virtuosity than a meditation on phrasing and the architecture of movement.<\/p>\n

For this Santa Barbara presentation, Tiler Peck undertook the formidable challenge of performing a role traditionally danced by a male soloist. With the blessing of the Jerome Robbins Foundation, Peck stepped into Robbins\u2019 introspective landscape with evident respect for the work\u2019s lineage.<\/p>\n

The performance unfolded in intimate dialogue with cellist Hannah Holman, whose live rendering of Bach\u2019s score anchored the ballet in rich musical presence. Their collaboration served as a reminder that the piece ultimately lives in the conversation between movement and sound.<\/p>\n

Peck approached the choreography thoughtfully, resisting the temptation to turn the ballet into a display vehicle. Instead, she sought to absorb the work\u2019s muscularity and contemplative spirit, allowing phrases to unfold with restraint. Yet the role, so closely associated with Baryshnikov\u2019s unique balance of strength, elasticity, and philosophical ease, remains a formidable interpretive challenge. At times Peck seemed slightly constrained, with moments that might naturally crest instead felt held back, the phrasing occasionally cautionary.<\/p>\n

\"Emma<\/a><\/p>\n

Emma Von Enck and David Gabriel in \u201cFour Bagatelles\u201d \u2013 Photo by Issac Hernandez.<\/p>\n

Still, the attempt itself was admirable. Peck is a brilliant dancer, quick, buoyant, and sharply musical, beloved for her spirited attack and crystalline technique. Her willingness to step outside that familiar identity and confront a work so deeply rooted in another performer\u2019s legacy was both courageous and artistically generous.<\/p>\n

Peck\u2019s interpretation may not yet fully unlock the ballet\u2019s profound calm and expansive phrasing, but her exploration of the role revealed an artist willing to test the boundaries of her own artistry.<\/p>\n

Dances at a Gathering, as the final tribute of the evening, expanded with a romantic sweep of Chopin\u2019s waltzes, \u00e9tudes, scherzos, and nocturnes. \u00a0Robbins\u2019 choreography reveals moments of self-discovery within a community of dancers, each figure entering and departing like thoughts within the music.<\/p>\n

Robbins\u2019 Dances at a Gathering remains one of the most beloved works in ballet repertoire, its atmosphere evoking fleeting romantic encounters and quiet human connections set within Chopin\u2019s luminous music, played here with lyrical sensitivity by Hanna Kim.<\/p>\n

Even in this presentation, performed with a reduced cast and somewhat less spatial breadth than the ballet traditionally enjoys, the work still suggested the whisper of a breeze on an early spring evening. The dancers clearly relished the clarity and freedom of Robbins\u2019 choreography, embracing its conversational ease and natural warmth.<\/p>\n

The entire cast demonstrated the formidable technical and lyrical capacity required for this deceptively demanding ballet. Yet, as always in Dances at a Gathering, certain personalities emerged more vividly through musical sensitivity, interpretive depth, or the ability to inhabit Robbins\u2019 poetic world with ease.<\/p>\n

Among the women, Indiana Woodward brought welcome lyricism, allowing Chopin\u2019s phrases to bloom with soft musical responsiveness. Her dancing carried an openness that felt organically aligned with Robbins\u2019 vision.<\/p>\n

\"Tiler<\/a><\/p>\n

Tiler Peck in \u201cA Suite of Dances\u201d \u2013 Photo by Isaac Hernandez.<\/p>\n

The petite delicacy of Yuriko Kajiya, however, seemed somewhat miscast as the Green Girl. Traditionally a role that carries flirtatious maturity and musical sophistication, often associated with interpreters such as the engaging Agn\u00e8s Letestu, it benefits from expansive phrasing and playful rhythmic nuance. Though technically secure, Kajiya\u2019s performance felt slightly forced, the piece appearing worked rather than fully breathed.<\/p>\n

Mira Nadon attacked the choreography with notable commitment, throwing herself into the phrases with intensity. At times, however, that drive tipped toward forcefulness, sacrificing some of the lyrical softness that allows Robbins\u2019 choreography to unfold with natural grace.<\/p>\n

Emma Von Enck, whose light, youthful joyousness and musicality consistently drew the eye, seemed instinctively to \u201cget\u201d Robbins\u2019 world.\u00a0 She moved with buoyant ease that captured the ballet\u2019s spirit of discovery and play. Her phrasing sparkled throughout, and her presence brought a freshness that made even familiar passages feel newly alive.<\/p>\n

The men contributed considerable strength and personality. Adrian Danchig-Waring offered refined musical intelligence and quiet authority, shaping phrases with understated elegance. Roman Mejia injected buoyant energy and technical brilliance, his dancing charismatic and dynamic. Chun Wai Chan brought elegant line and attentive partnering, while David Gabriel added youthful vitality to the ensemble. Together these strong male personalities deepened the evening\u2019s romantic atmosphere, creating a shifting landscape of encounters that allowed Robbins\u2019 choreography to breathe and unfold. Even within the reduced scale of the stage, Dances at a Gathering retained its essential magic: a community of individuals discovering themselves and one another through the quiet poetry of dance.<\/p>\n

This contribution was a true gift in a chaotic world.\u00a0 Thank you to UCSB Arts and Lectures, The Joyce Theater, the spirited Tiler Peck, the Robbins Trust and repetiteurs: Jean-Pierre Frohlich, Isabelle Guerin, Rebecca Krohn, and Christine Redpath for bringing Jerome Robbins\u2019 inimitable work to California. \u00a0One can only hope that Los Angeles audiences may soon have the opportunity to experience this beautifully curated tribute, a program that reminds us how timeless and profoundly human Jerome Robbins\u2019 works remains. We are forever grateful to all who those who made that possible.<\/p>\n

To learn more about UCSB Arts & Lectures, please visit their website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Written by Joanne DiVito for LA Dance Chronicle.<\/p>\n

Featured image: (L-R) Hannah Holman, cello and Tiler Peck in \u201cA Suite of Dances\u201d \u2013 Photo by Isaac Hernandez.<\/p>\n

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