In his album, Sufjan Stevens composed music for each of the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac, whereas Justin Peck in Year of the Rabbit treats choreographically only six. Consequently, not all the best segments from the album are used in the ballet. Moreover, the order of the signs in both differs from the zodiac and each other. One’s curiosity regarding this unfamiliar subject and the intentions of the artists is naturally aroused by watching this work. Intriguingly, Enjoy Your Rabbit ends with an ethereal piece titled “Year of Our Lord,” which Mr. Peck adopts for the penultimate movement of his ballet—a pas de deux. Despite not having particularly enjoyed Year of the Rabbit last May (it closed Program Six), it is beautiful and I eagerly await viewing it again …show more content…
Regardless, the profusion and vividness of bright colors in the stage designs and costumes, alongside the tremendous vitality of the music and choreography of this work will likely dazzle the mind, eyes and ears of almost everyone. Led by Sara Mearns, Sterling Hyltin and Tiler Peck, NYCB’s performance during the festival was thrilling. Situated between the two intermissions of the evening, Pictures at an Exhibition was in every sense the centerpiece of Program