Kyle Abraham鈥檚 When We Fell, the stage version of which premieres this season at New York City Ballet May 16鈥�24, has been nearly five years in the making. After the resounding success of The Runaway (2018), a follow-up commission was being discussed for New York City Ballet鈥檚 2020-21 season. Then, the pandemic hit, sending the dancers home and putting an indefinite pause on live performances. 鈥淚n the early days of the pandemic, I was still in Los Angeles,鈥� Abraham recalled in a recent conversation. 鈥淚 was given an opportunity by Deborah Brockus to go into her studio and do whatever I needed to. So I got together with a couple of dancers and started building material, because we thought that maybe the world would be back to normal, and I didn鈥檛 want to show up and not be ready to go. When it became clear that we wouldn鈥檛 be back anytime soon, we just, as Prince would say, put that in the vault."
In early 2021, Abraham was given the opportunity to reopen said vault when he, eight New York City Ballet dancers, and a select few creative collaborators headed up to the snowbound quarters of the Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli, New York, for a three-week bubble residency. Though they were physically and emotionally raw after the extraordinary challenges of the preceding months and the extended period of time away from rehearsals, the stage, and one another, the dancers embraced this rare occasion for shared exploration, as Abraham describes it. 鈥淥ne of the things I remember the most was the open-mindedness and open spirit that I experienced from the dancers,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey approached that residency with such humility, grace, kindness, and enthusiasm. It was truly a beautiful exchange. I felt like we built a lovely community amongst us. It was the medicine I needed."
This process culminated in the April 2021 premiere of When We Fell, a black-and-white film made in collaboration with director and cinematographer Ryan Marie Helfant. Shot in 16mm and incorporating abstract imagery and dramatic lighting, the film was broken into three movements, corresponding with the score鈥檚 three pieces of music: Morton Feldman鈥檚 nostalgic, melancholy Piece for Four Pianos; Nico Muhly鈥檚 delicate Falling Berceuse; and Jason Moran鈥檚 propulsive All Hammers and Chains. One section was filmed overhead, with the notably empty Promenade of the David H. Koch Theater providing a geometric backdrop. Another was shot in near darkness, with a spotlight on Principal Dancer and frequent Abraham collaborator Taylor Stanley and former Principal Dancer Lauren Lovette in a lilting pas de deux. With its moody atmosphere, abandoned-appearing sets, and stripped-down costumes, the When We Fell film felt distinctly like an artifact of a truly unique time. But that spareness reflects the choreography itself, as Abraham explains.
"To me, this is an abstract work,鈥� Abraham says. 鈥淚 wanted to lean into the abstraction of some of the Balanchine repertory in particular, like Agon. When you鈥檙e seeing these figures shifting, transitioning through these shapes, with that really beautiful, tonal, spacious piano, how is that read? I think people read it in very different ways. I really wanted to look at the simplicity of form, whether it be the ballet vocabulary in its purest form, or adding my ingredients onto that ballet form, while still trying to let the purity of those elements and that marriage settle in and inform each other.鈥�
Abraham is looking forward to seeing how new dancers stepping into the cast approach the work鈥攕ome of them collaborating with him at NYCB for the first time, though this will be his third stage premiere with the Company. 鈥淚鈥檒l be curious to see how we play with this different approach to dancing with assurance. How can we settle into a calm sense of confidence, one that鈥檚 not necessarily led by big, bold, verbose movement exploration,鈥� he says. Next will be the broader changes required in the set, costumes, and overall construction of When We Fell for the stage. 鈥淭here鈥檚 also a curiosity to see how both versions live in conversation with one another, and how the dance can be related to the film without being hyper-literal to that experience. What鈥檚 important is to keep these formats separate in a way that people never stop going to see live performances; I think there鈥檚 a beautiful validity to both.鈥�
Returning to this work now is a testament to the multifaceted relationship that has developed between Abraham and NYCB through the years, from The Runaway in 2018, to Ces noms que nous portons, a 2020 film co-produced with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts that features Stanley, and Love Letter (on shuffle), which premiered during the 2022 Fall Fashion Gala. 鈥淔or me, part of it is getting outside of any kind of expectation,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think that was part of the beauty of being able to make When We Fell. But I always want to challenge myself. I always want to think about how I can bring something different, both for me and for the dancers I鈥檓 collaborating with, that allows me to broaden the scope of not only my repertory with NYCB, but also my voice as a creative.鈥�
