In the center of Central Park, with the Belvedere Castle in the background lays the iconic Delacorte Theater, home to the free Shakespeare in the Park during the summer. This fall the theater hosted a special free performance for the New York City Center’s Fall for Dance season. Opening the show was STREB Extreme Action Company with their human waterfall. Each performer took turns taking impressive dives from three stories of metal scaffolding onto a giant mat. Although many of the dives were quite impressive, towards the end of the piece it became a bit repetitive and the extensive pauses of the dancers with only music playing took away the focus of the audience. However, the company gave off a strong vibe of teamwork and enjoyment as they shouted and laughed throughout their program. The following piece of the program was presented by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Their African inspired piece, accompanied by live drummers and a singer, never lacked presence as the dancers showcased their impressive stamina and strength off into the night.

After a brief intermission, the New York City Ballet took the stage with a duet, accompanied by an electric fiddle player.  The contemporary ballet was the highlight of the show, showcasing the company’s broad versatility to go from classical Swan Lake to more modern work. The duet showcased the dancers’ strong upper body isolations, as well, as, as expected, their impressive extensions, countless turns and sky high jumps. Closing out the evening was the Paul Taylor Dance Company preforming one of their classic works, Esplande. Although the beginning was slow and took time to capture the audience, once it got into the heart of the piece it became as charming as Paul Taylor’s other works. Touching upon many of Mr. Taylor’s principal ideas such as fall and recovery and showcasing impressive yet playful partnering, as well as focusing primarily on pedestrian movement such as walking, running and falling, it was the perfect end to the evening. Between the strong program and unreal setting, Fall for Dance at the Delacorte will for sure be an evening not soon forgotten.