Cinderella©
War Memorial Opera
House, San Francisco
May 4th, 2017
And just like that, San
Francisco Ballet’s 2017 repertory season has reached its last leg. A varied and
compelling selection of programs have graced the War Memorial Opera stage this
year, and the trend continues with the return of Christopher Wheeldon’s
whimsical flight, Cinderella©. Just
like when the ballet had its US premiere at SFB in 2013, Artistic Director
Helgi Tomasson opted to make it the final offering, a perfectly harmonized cadence
to conclude a glorious season.
Wheeldon’s Cinderella© is a fairy-tale ballet for
the ages, told through a Prologue and three Acts. The Prologue and Act I are
all about the narrative, which means that the cast must have both the acting
and dancing chops to successfully communicate and interpret the story. Thursday
night’s ensemble certainly delivered, aptly conveying a wide range of human
emotion - drama, humor, loss, jealousy and hope. In the prologue, we meet the
title characters as children, (danced by students from the San Francisco Ballet
School). Quickly the cast ages, and we experience the next chapter of their
individual journeys – Cinderella’s father remarries; Prince Guillaume is called
to responsibility and duty. Fast forward to Cinderella’s home, where her
Stepsisters’ vanity and nastiness as well as her Stepmother’s cruelty reign
supreme, especially when Cinderella invites a stranger inside to escape the
cold, everyone unaware that this person is actually the Prince in disguise. His
friend Benjamin, masquerading as the Prince, arrives on the scene and invites
the family to the Royal Ball, Cinderella’s Stepsisters and Stepmother doing
everything in their power to impress him. Four Fates, who are tasked with
watching over Cinderella, frame all of this early storytelling. More than
anything else in the ballet (including I think, the central tree structure), it
is they who embody the important role of Cinderella’s supernatural guardian.
Moments of lovely
dancing were peppered throughout. Sarah Van Patten was a luminous and
breathtaking Cinderella, enrapturing the audience with technique and
theatricality from her very first solo at her mother’s gravesite. Replete with
beautifully intricate choreography, buoyant jumps in sixth position
transitioned effortlessly into long and longing extensions. Such subtle inflections
in Van Patten’s movements and demeanor informed her performance from beginning
to end, and gave the titular character a dynamic layeredness. Sasha De Sola and
Ellen Rose Hummel as Stepsisters Edwina and Clementine were hilarious in their
constant attempts to woo the Prince. And every time, the four Fates were in the
mix, one couldn’t help but notice that their choreography was some of the most
physically intense – a combination of driving ballet steps, athleticism and martial-arts
influences.
At the end of Act I,
Cinderella is suddenly transported to a mystical forest, where she encounters
representatives from each season along with a host of unusual characters. The
seasons dance individual divertissements: a sparkling Spring of petit allegro
and batterie, a sweeping Summer of deep pliés and gooey port de bras and a
delicate winter of wispy ballonés and whirling piqué turns. But the standout
here was by far the Autumn variation, led by Angelo Greco – a dramatic
expressive quintet fueled by directional shifts, blazing extensions and
multiple pirouettes. And of course, the image of Cinderella in her carriage on
the way to the ball at the end of the Act is a moment of pure enchantment.
If Act I is mostly about
the narrative, Act II (the ballroom scene) is indeed all about the dancing.
From the guests’ grand waltz to the wave that reveals Cinderella’s entrance to
the numerous pas de deuxs, Wheeldon’s eclectic mix of classical ballet,
contemporary vocabulary, wit and physical theater was a thing of brilliance.
Just like how neo-classical dance can reveal nuances in the score, so does
Wheeldon’s choreography similarly elevate this classic narrative tale. Cinderella
and Prince Guillaume’s (Tiit Helimets) first pas de deux was appropriately
gentle and restrained, with both lower extensions and lower lifts. This
expanded over the course of the duet to include full and lush movements, a
reflection of their growing relationship. Myles Thatcher’s Benjamin was so much
fun to watch and his dance with Hummel (a sweet secondary romance plotline in
the ballet) was a sheer delight, full of graceful temps de cuisse. Alone in
the space after the guests from the ball are ushered outside to look at the
stars, Van Patten and Helimets soared through their second pas de deux, each
stunning lift surprising with an unconventional, unexpected approach. But
perhaps the most significant achievement in this Act is that Wheeldon keeps it
moving. Like village scenes, the ballroom setting is fairly typical in story ballets,
and they can lag. Not in this Cinderella©.
Aside from the corps de ballet having occasional spatial challenges and
resulting collisions, it was picture perfect.
Wheeldon’s ballet closes
with a short Act III – a clever chair sequence, Cinderella’s quintet with the Fates
as she recalls the prior evening’s events, the reunion between her and the
Prince, their wedding and finally, happily ever after.
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