Justin Peck dazzles once again in 'Mystic Familiar'

Peter Walker leaps skyward in Justin Peck’s "Mystic Familiar," which made its Saratoga Performing Arts Center premiere on Friday afternoon. (Photo by Erin Baiano)

Justin Peck does it again.
 
While “Coppelia” is dominating New York City Ballet’s four-day stay at Saratoga Performing Art Center, and little can outdo its pageantry, Peck’s latest ballet has much to savor and is recommended.
 
The 2024 work, which made its Saratoga premiere on Friday afternoon, is part of a contemporary triptych titled “Robbins, Balanchine, Peck.”  And while George Balanchine’s “Stravinsky Violin Concerto” looked shockingly sloppy and Jerome Robbins’ “In G Major” was mildly pleasant, Peck’s “Mystic Familiar” redeemed the day. The work is one that leaves hearts pumping as it thrusts its viewers into the beauty and violence of the natural world. It was both an ode and a warning.
 
The piece, set to a commissioned score by Dan Deacon, reminds one of Peck's “The Times Are Racing.” As in both, Peck creates a savory stew of intricate and fast house steps peppered with bursts of ballet’s propulsive jumps and spins.
 
Peck surveys the five elements – air, earth, fire, water and ether with the dancers personifying their essence. Air floats by as dancers in blue tiptoe across the stage – their faces obscured by frills made to look like clouds.
 
Taylor Stanley, one of the company’s most engaging dancers, is earth. He turns and falls, to rise again. His power is undeniable as he eyes the audience, daring them to challenge his strength.
 
He, however, is burned away by fire, led by a daringly wild Peter Walker. He along with Preston Chamblee, Brittany Pollack and the ensemble blaze across the stage that is lit in reds and yellows in a steamy design by Brandon Stirling Baker. This is the climax of the ballet with dancers moving back and forth like an accordion, seemingly by an invisible hand of destruction.
 
Blue water, with Naomi Corti and Ruby Lister, calms the scene just for a moment until gray ether overtakes the stage. The full company, bouncing on the balls of their feet as the curtain comes down, transforms the world into something unfamiliar.
 
The geometric scenery by Eamon Ore-Giron, with its astral rays darting outward, adds to the spectacular universe that Peck creates.
 
Water was also a theme in Robbins’ “In G Major,” to Maurice Ravel’s music. Here, Unity Phelan and Tyler Angle, romp at the beach with a dozen cohorts who act as the waves. They bob and tumble along the shores in a summery salute that is enjoyable.
 
Balanchine’s “Stravinsky Violin Concerto,” however, was disappointing as the central duets looked under rehearsed. Two, Davide Riccardo and Jules Mabie, stood in for Aaron Sanz and Walker leaving the fiery Mira Nadon and charming Emilie Gerrity stumbling to hit and articulate all of the shapes that Balanchine wove into the ballet.
 
Here's to hoping for a better showing on Saturday night when this program will close out New York City Ballet’s stay in Saratoga.