San Francisco Ballet - "Starry Nights"

"Starry Nights" at Stanford Live
Photo © Reneff-Olson Productions

San Francisco Ballet and Stanford Live present
“Starry Nights”
Frost Amphitheater, Stanford
July 26th, 2024

San Francisco Ballet’s outdoor, summertime performance has been a Bay Area tradition for quite some time – a special opportunity to catch a renowned dance company outside of their regular season and in a different theatrical space. For years, this event was included in the long running Stern Grove Festival, the phenomenal, and free (!), Sunday concert series that runs in SF between June and August. But in recent summers, SFB has been on the move, venturing a bit further south with their signature repertory of classical and contemporary dance alike. And while this isn’t their first year at Stanford’s Frost Amphitheater, I was new to this Peninsula stage and to what has become their “Starry Nights” program. It was a dazzling evening. Perfect weather. Brilliant artists. A solid program (save a few inorganic moments) blending beloved, familiar works with SFB premieres. The venue was great, though I did miss the undeniable community spirit and excitement of those Sunday afternoons in the Grove.

Swan Lake was an ideal start to the evening, a beloved classic to be sure. And focusing on Act II was a smart choice with all its iconic moments. There was much to marvel at. A sense of complex unrequited-ness between Odette (Sasha De Sola) and Siegfried (Aaron Robison) bookends the Act. The otherworldly pas de deux transforms Odette into a cascading bird with its weightless, supported lifts. And her series of diagonal en dedans turns (commonly referred to as ‘lame duck’ turns) was clever and succinct.

San Francisco Ballet in 
Tomasson's Swan Lake
Photo Lindsay Thomas

But the real stars of Swan Lake’s second Act are the corps de ballet, including the featured cygnets and maidens. And shine they did - the entire flock. The footwork of the famed cygnets variation was perfectly in sync Friday night, though the unison head motions proved challenging. Rebecca Blenkinsop and Jacey Gailliard were some of the best Swan Maidens I’ve seen, with long, exquisite lines and lighter than air saut de chat.  

SFB audiences know Swan Lake and specifically, they know this Swan Lake, by former Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson (after Lev Ivanov), frequently part of the regular season since its premiere in 2009. I get it. It’s a beautiful production and a widely popular ballet. Perhaps it’s just my viewership lens that’s become saturated, but I look forward to different perspectives at some point in the future. 

Three Preludes was up next, choreographed in 1969 by Ben Stevenson, who served as Artistic Director of Houston Ballet for nearly thirty years. Not only was it an SFB premiere, but also the standout piece of the night. A duet set to three Sergei Rachmaninoff compositions, the work presents a dramatic and touching relationship arc; each musical prelude noting a different life chapter. A ballet barre stood center stage. Jasmine Jimison and Harrison James began cycling through classroom barre exercises. Right from the start, Stevenson had created a sense of place and a shared understanding. From there, the viewer watched as that common reality transcended into other realms of human connection. How simple port de bras became a tender invitation. The second episode was filled with intoxicating passion – inverted attitude poses; swift, sliding turns and a crumpled fish dive – while the third was filled with jubilant, joyful sweeping lifts. Jimison and James were spectacular throughout, especially in the moment where a standing slide across the barre mimicked the glissando in the score.

A trio of work by Hans van Manen rounded out the “Starry Nights” program, two pieces which might be familiar to SFB fans and one company premiere. While all three ballets were very different, one could see some stylistic throughlines first introduced in Variations for Two Couples – contemporary sensibility, a delicate mixture of modality and nothing fussy nor ostentatious. Austere and angular positions met whimsical head motions. Attention to clarity was the heart of every movement. These qualities continued with Solo (which is actually a trio for three men), with an added dose of fast, continual motion. Solo offers a constant stream of movement, each dancer taking the stage for their phrase material and then signaling to the next that it is their turn. It’s a perfect reflection of Bach’s Baroque compositions. Musical subjects, answers, countersubjects. There’s play. Camaraderie. It’s like a vibrant tennis game of dance and was another highlight of the program. 

I was intrigued with the title of the final van Manen dance, 5 Tango’s, because of the placement of the possessive noun. Was the ballet going to comment on ownership? Was there going to be intense passion or even jealous rage? But as the ensemble work unfolded, it didn’t really go to those places for me. In fact, staying pretty slow-moving for the most part. Again, the mixture of modalities was strong and present. The flexion of contemporary dance fusing with tango’s bent knees and strong embrace. And Esteban Hernández’ solo added fire to the scene. But 5 Tango’s seemed more like an opening ballet than a finale. 

There was also a bit of confusion surrounding when the event was over, even though the program order was clearly posted at the entrance to the amphitheater. Conductor Ming Luke and the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra took their much-deserved bow in the middle of the program (the last two works danced to recorded music). Solo was still to come, then a second intermission and finally, 5 Tango’s. As mentioned, Solo has a real finale feel to it, so when it concluded, and the bright ‘house’ lights came on coupled with the orchestra packing up, it seemed like the program was finished. I can’t speak for every section in the space, but many patrons around me clearly went home and never saw the last offering.  

"Starry Nights" at Frost Amphitheater
Photo Chris Hardy

 

SF Playhouse - Evita

Evita
San Francisco Playhouse, San Francisco
July 16th, 2024

Sophia Alawi and the cast of Evita
Photo Jessica Palopoli

I’ve never seen Evita live, but of course am familiar with its true story. Set in Argentina during the first half of the twentieth century, the musical follows the circuitous and storied life of Eva (Evita) Duarte Perón, who becomes the wife of equally controversial, and often brutal, Juan Perón, twice Argentina’s President. Several throughlines weave through the show’s two Acts. Power. Political upheaval. Penetrating personas. The potency of charisma. And the negative, sometimes catastrophic, consequences of idol-worship. Conceived in the 1970s by iconic musical theatre duo Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, the show won the 1980 Tony Award for Best Musical and was adapted to the screen in 1996, starring Madonna, Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Pryce. The intoxicating tale is currently in the middle of its run at San Francisco Playhouse, directed by Bill English with Dave Dobrusky‘s musical direction and Nicole Helfer’s choreography  – it’s onstage until September 4th.

This production had a lot going for it (great character development, Abra Berman’s stunning costume design); I really enjoyed the entire evening. Though as a dance critic, I was mostly focused on Evita’s physicality. And the dancing was indeed strong. Both Helfer’s choreography, as well as the interpretation/execution by the company artists, was on point. Tango took center stage in the majority of dance sequences: close embraces, purposefully bent knees, tenacious on beat marching. There were stretchy, elastic extensions of the leg, syncopated rhythms and sharp directional changes. From duets to large group ensembles, the audience was treated to the range of what tango has to offer. While Helfer definitely deserves kudos for her creativity and attention to authenticity, there are two other facets of her work that also impressed. In much of the choreography, there were hints and injections of the early twentieth century modernists, internationally renowned creators who were developing their individual styles in the same era as this story. Martha Graham contractions made an appearance, as did José Limón arm pulses. This mixture of modalities not only provided a deep textural layer but also a surprising historical nod. The second is that Helfer got strong movement quality from everyone – singers and dancers alike. Too often, choreographers separate the ensemble and have one group stand, while the others move. Of course, there are always more difficult, technical phrases that should be performed by trained dancers (and they were here), but it looks contrived and frankly, a little fake, when half the cast just stops and watches. Brava to Helfer for creating a true community in the choreography!  

Through-sung musicals (without spoken scenework) can be tricky, and Lloyd Webber/Rice roles famously (or infamously, depending on who you ask) have their fair share of wide, vast vocal ranges. In a single song, the vocalist can be asked for super high notes and incredibly low ones. Evita is no exception and for the most part, it was handled well. Alex Rodriguez as Che was exceptionally good (we also got to see his significant dance chops in Act II), as was Sophia Alawi in the titular role. The ensemble vocal sections were solid and Chanel Tilghman’s turn as Perón’s mistress singing “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” was the vocal highlight of the evening for me.