---
[ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive)
# Ballet with Grilled Cheese
July 08 2013
Written by Joseph Mailander.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
MAILANDER’S LA - I suppose we should have expected that the axial purpose of **Grand Avenue Park**, even for a cultural event, is to show off **City Hall**, to let it loom there as an ominous backdrop in all its craven authority--which is why I was only too glad to sit on one of the wings Saturday night, so I didn't have to look at it, to watch the **Los Angeles Ballet** perform two Stravinsky / Balanchine collaborations, *Agon* in its entirety and *Rubies* from Balanchine's *Jewels* suite.
The performances were enthusiastic and filled with fun. I think the ballerinas had the most trouble (limited, but sometimes present) when turning in the very middle of the stage, as this is necessarily a hastily constructed platform and there are likely a few buckles and bows on it.
The center of the stage also proved a tough spot for the evening's emcee--it seemed like Los Angeles's Ballet's co-director **Colleen Neary** was, er, tap-dancing for time quite a bit--either that, or there was a necessary educational component that came with the staging. The component largely noted for a very tolerant audience of about 2,500 how Ms. Neary knew Balanchine in this way and in that way and especially not in *that* way, though she was indeed only too glad to wear his perfume and she let us know she could count steps better than some other girls.
The company's Ally duo, principal dancers **Allyssa** **Bross** and **Allynne Noelle**, especially shone under the stars, weaving and chicken-winging and waitressing their way through the patented Balanchine modernism. I thought a couple of men a little too striving rather than secure with their performances, and caught a couple of very relieved smiles from them after they departed the stage. The lighting was exceptional given the outdoor venue but the right speakers were unreliable and had to be taken offline during some segments, including the delicate court dance riff in Agon.
Neary's opening monolog, which was nearly as long as *Rubies* itself, was quite indulgent and she came across as more than snooty for the snootlessly minimally paying crowd on the lawn. I am indeed so tired by now of hearing about how privileged we should consider ourselves that so-and-so lived here--it's demeaning to the people who have lived here and worked here all their lives. But that's my thing.
[**The** **Grilled Cheese Truck**](http://www.thegrilledcheesetruck.com/) showed up to feed the masses, hitting the mark a little more precisely than Neary, creating a sideshow populist frenzy.
We were a group of six and all six of us thought, OK, but I would rather see them in the hall, which is, I suppose, the point.
*(Joseph Mailander is a writer, an LA observer and a contributor to CityWatch. He is also the author of Days Change at Night: LA's Decade of Decline, 2003-2013. [Mailander blogs here](http://www.josephmailander.com/%20).)* [Photo by Emily](http://instagram.com/astateofemily)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 55
Pub: July 9, 2013
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/116 "USA Radio Museum - Wide")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)")
## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays
Name
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/110 "Something You Should Know")
---
## Featured CityWatch Stories
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/housing/33755-three-things-nithya-raman-can-do-right-now-to-create-more-affordable-housing-in-los-angeles)
### [Three Things Nithya Raman Can Do (Right Now) to Create More Affordable Housing in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/housing/33755-three-things-nithya-raman-can-do-right-now-to-create-more-affordable-housing-in-los-angeles)
HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT - Nithya Raman will soon be the next mayor of Los Angeles, taking her oath of office in mid-De…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33723-how-stephen-miller-destroyed-trumps-second-administration)
### [How Stephen Miller Destroyed Trump’s Second Administration](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33723-how-stephen-miller-destroyed-trumps-second-administration)
THE VIEW FROM HERE - On September 1, 2025, this column explained how the vile, anti-Mexican racist Stephen Miller was d…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/gelfand-s-world/33753-miracles-have-happened)
### [Miracles Have Happened](https://mail.citywatchla.com/gelfand-s-world/33753-miracles-have-happened)
GELFAND'S WORLD - It’s a week later, give or take a couple of days, and miracles have happened. The election of Scott C…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022/33756-nithya-ramans-3-1-billion-war-on-cars-is-city-hall-serving-working-angelenos-or-wealthy-political-donors)
### [Nithya Raman’s $3.1 Billion War on Cars: Is City Hall Serving Working Angelenos or Wealthy Political Donors?](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022/33756-nithya-ramans-3-1-billion-war-on-cars-is-city-hall-serving-working-angelenos-or-wealthy-political-donors)
THE BOTTOM LINE - As Los Angeles faces mounting financial pressures, the mayor-elect must explain why a multibillion-do…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33733-congratulations-nithya-raman-as-our-new-olympics-pro-unity-mayor)
### [Congratulations, Nithya Raman, As Our New Olympics, Pro-Unity Mayor!](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33733-congratulations-nithya-raman-as-our-new-olympics-pro-unity-mayor)
ALPERN AT LARGE - The uncertainty is OVER. We now know who will be our next Mayor, and we need a Leader, and a Uniter…
---
## [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15339-early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles)### [Early Intervention and Jobs are Key to Stemming Chronic Homelessness in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15339-early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles)
### [Tucker Carlson and Gay Rightwinger Blame California Wildfires On Hiring LGBTQ People](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/18755-tucker-carlson-and-gay-rightwinger-blame-california-wildfires-on-hiring-lgbtq-people)
### [Anti-LGBTQ Veep Just Can’t Stop Talking about Mayor Pete](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/17690-anti-lgbtq-veep-just-can-t-stop-talking-about-mayor-pete)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15316-news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties)### [NEWS PULSE: ‘Corrupt System’ Reason for Not Voting in 2018 … Majority Wants More Than Two Parties](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15316-news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/10245-dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles)### [Dead Dog Set on Fire … Sparks Fears for Strays in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/10245-dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles)