Nadon’s Terpsichore was both fully formed (thought it will surely continue to grow) and also different from any other I’ve seen. In it, she combined glamour and shyness, boldness and softness, playfulness and the hint of budding romance. As she began Terpsichore’s solo, in which the dancer paws playfully at the floor, she moved with a kind of buoyancy that filled the music rather than followed it, and used her eyes and head to give the impression that she was listening and reacting, reflecting on the steps and on their effect on Apollo, who watched from across the stage. In their pas de deux, she looked squarely into his face, offering her hand, as if inviting him into a new chapter of his life. When he playfully chased after her, she looked back to make sure he was still there, not lagging too far behind. (I had never really noticed this detail before.) Their interaction suggested a sense of discovery, and the possibility of budding romance. This, combined with the voluptuous scale of her movement—the way, for example, she slid down, with glowing ease, into the splits and then came up again—made the ballet feel intensely alive.

Her performance added warmth and luster to Chun Wai Chan’s first Apollo, also a highly individual interpretation of this great and familiar role. Chan does not have the “god-like” length and stretch some have come to associate with it because of interpreters like Peter Martins. His approach is more grounded, perhaps more heroic, more consciously masculine. This quality was especially noticeable in the way he used his arms and hands, stretching out the fingers to create a feeling of electricity, or clenching them into fists, which brought attention to his muscular build. His take different from that of most City Ballet dancers, who perform the role somewhat neutrally, without the aid of facial expression. His was more acted-out. From the start he created a character, a kind of man-boy testing himself through the steps, reaching toward an ideal of masculinity, sometimes failing, but always reaching, taking risks, growing. He modulated the steps as the music grew, starting small, increasing his range of motion and emphasis with each iteration. He did have a little trouble at a couple of moments, for example the scrolling turn that descends down to the floor. But the effort was in itself interesting. (It’s always informative to see how dancers navigate difficult new combinations of steps.) He was analyzing as he negotiated his next move.