Talkin' 'bout their Generation

I'm in New York, seeing plays with friends, but I had to put in a quick note about Boston Ballet's Next Generation, which I caught on Thursday night, as it closes Sunday. In a word, this is as exciting a program as the Ballet has presented, as thrilling (in different ways) as last year's premieres of Brake the Eyes and Polyphonia. Jorma Elo's In on Blue, set largely to Bernard Herrmann's morbidly lush theme from Vertigo, continues his rapprochement with romantic ballet in a haunting piece that is awkward,eerie, electric and ravishing by turns, and which may feature the most memorable lighting design I've ever seen at the ballet. But the surprise of the evening was up-and-coming choreographer Helen Pickett. Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen bet big on Pickett, giving her a large contingent of dancers, including his top soloists, and she delivered, with Eventide, a strange and wonderful concoction exquisitely poised between (what used to be called) "East" and "West." I'll have more to say later in the week; but note the all-too-brief program ends tomorrow. If you care about dance in Boston, you'll want to be there.