San Francisco Ballet
Shostakovich Trilogy
War Memorial Opera
House, San Francisco
May 11, 2019 (matinee)
Like most major ballet
companies, San Francisco Ballet’s annual season combines several full-length narrative
ballets alongside mixed repertory evenings. And I’m someone who is pulled to
both types of offerings. While I tend to favor the triple bills because of their
variety and breadth, I’m wholeheartedly a fan of the multi-act story ballets
too, though admittedly some more than others. But every once in while a program
comes along that seems to straddle both formats, weaving a strong narrative
thread throughout, while presenting three distinct and unique choreographic
frames. Alexei Ratmansky’s Shostakovich
Trilogy, which had its SFB premiere in 2014, is one of these rare birds.
The final program of 2019’s repertory season, Ratmansky’s Trilogy narratively mines the life and work of Russian composer
Dmitri Shostakovich, while its three contrasting parts, each set to a different
Shostakovich masterwork, offer deep choreographic scope.
Jennifer Stahl and Aaron Robison in Ratmansky's Symphony #9 Photo © Erik Tomasson |
Trilogy
makes no attempt to tell a linear story, but its narrative threads and tones
are undeniable. Spiritedness lightness imbues the beginning of Part I Symphony #9. While the plucky, staccato,
almost musical theater-inspired score soared from the orchestra pit, under the
brilliant direction of Ming Luke, Ratmansky played with polka steps,
technically demanding hops en pointe and moments of pure camaraderie that found
the principals weaving through and dancing with the corps. And then the mood
takes an abrupt turn. As Mathilde Froustey and Luke Ingham entered the space, a
wave of uncertainty and wariness flooded the visual and aural palette.
Together, they peered over their shoulders in anticipation of something
ominous. Their duet was filled with movements on low demi-pointe rather than
full toe, which felt an apt metaphor for a journey that that was just beyond
their reach. Catapulting through these divergent scenes was Lonnie Weeks, whose
jumps and turns were some of the best of the entire day.
San Francisco Ballet in Ratmansky's Chamber Symphony Photo © Erik Tomasson |
Part II Chamber Symphony, is the most storied of
the group, though again I wouldn’t necessarily call it sequential. Costumed in a
black suit with an open jacket, Joseph Walsh takes on the Shostakovich role,
with a trio of principal women (Jahna Frantziskonis, Elizabeth Powell and Sasha
De Sola) portraying three of his loves. Moments of affection and joy are
peppered throughout, though for the most part, the ballet swirls from
melancholic to urgent to tortured. Peace, calm and rest seem to elude Walsh’s
character, a state that is mirrored on George Tsypin’s backdrop by a fractured
collage of faces and profiles. Legs fly in every direction; arms search in a
whirling stream for something unattainable. As one would expect, there are several
pas de deux between the main players, but it was Walsh and Powell’s incredible
connection that made the audience gasp. Every suspended hold, abrupt fall and
swimming spin radiated a poignant longing and yearning.
San Francisco Ballet in Ratmansky's Piano Concerto #1 Photo © Erik Tomasson |
Piano Concerto #1, Part III has a boldness to it. Red, geometric
shapes hang from the rafters; Keso Dekker’s costumes have the corps in
two-toned unitards (grey on the front and red on the reverse) and the principal
women in striking, shimmering scarlet leotards. Much of Ratmansky’s movement
vocabulary in this chapter explored off-center steps and postures combined with
malleable and strong positions alike. One of the two featured couples, Isabella
Devivo and Wei Wang commanded the stage with their precise footwork and
whimsical additions, like the flexed frappés that traveled upward from Wang’s
ankle to above the knee.
One special element of Trilogy is the abundant corps work in
each movement, though one could argue more so in the first and third. The lush,
rich vocabulary seems designed for the senior corps dancers - those with seven,
eight, maybe even nine plus years experience in the corps de ballet. While SFB
definitely has these exceptional artists in its roster, there’s only a handful,
and sadly, seems like less and less every season. The few senior corps who danced
on Saturday afternoon were absolutely fantastic. A ballet like Ratmansky’s Trilogy certainly requires advanced
technical skill, which they have to spare. Though, its need for movement
maturity, attention to transitional space and general spatial awareness is perhaps
even more important. And I do think, when it comes to these qualities, time
makes a huge difference. If you were in the audience this past weekend, that marked
difference was indeed noticeable.
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