San Francisco Ballet - Program 3

War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco

March 8^th, 2013

San Francisco Ballet is a world class company, known for its technical breadth, choreographic risk-taking and creative depth. Their leader, Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson, is not only a wonderful choreographer in his own right but also a master of repertory selection, choosing works that reflect SFB’s multi-genre fluency – traditional, romantic, neo-classical and contemporary. Program three’s offerings were an ode to this last category; a symphony of contemporary work featuring Ashley Page’s “Guide to Strange Places”, Mark Morris’ “Beaux” and Yuri Possokhov’s world premiere of “The Rite of Spring”.

San Francisco Ballet in Page's "Guide to Strange Places"
© Erik Tomasson

Program three opened with the triumphant return of one of last year’s hits: Ashley Page’s “Guide to Strange Places”, a hybrid of neo-classical and contemporary ballet set to John Adams’ score of the same name. In this largely abstract work, Page (currently the Artistic Director of the Scottish Ballet) divides a cast of eighteen into four principal couples, two featured couples and a corps of six. There were a few Balanchinian moments, including Page’s use of second position throughout the many pas de deuxs and his commitment to intricate, fast footwork (one prime example being Vitor Luiz’s triple pirouette, temps de cuisse combination). Throughout the non-stop movement, the ideas of exactness, precision, decisiveness and drama held true but the real message of Page’s ballet is evidenced by his exploration of transitory space. “Guide To Strange Places” is to ballet what a literature review is in academic circles; a physical inventory of the entire oeuvre where traditional syntax continuously met with avant-garde modern movement. And the key to bringing these two styles together in one cohesive work lies in their intersection. Perhaps the “Strange Places” that Page is discovering in this dance are in fact the complex transitions; the luxurious crossroads between the old and the new.  

Mark Morris is a choreographic favorite at San Francisco Ballet and his “Beaux”, (which enjoyed its world premiere last year) was yet another treat from this wizard of neo-classicism and modern choreography. In this work for nine men, Morris once again crafts the movement and music into a stunning artistic interplay. The imaginative choreographic representation of the score never ceases to amaze and delight the senses, though the real achievement of “Beaux” is in its quiet elegance. With nine men dancing and jumping all over the stage, you might expect a bunch of noise. But this was literally one of the quietest ballets I have ever seen, with the exception of three purposeful stomps that Morris had built into the choreography. And as expected with a Morris creation, there is also just the right dose of whimsy. In this dance, that joie de vivre was enhanced by the rainbow camouflage backdrop and matching unitards, both designed by Isaac Mizrahi.

The final piece of the evening was the much anticipated world premiere of Yuri Possokhov’s “The Rite of Spring”. With it being almost exactly one hundred years since the curtain rose on the first performance of “The Rite of Spring” (Serge Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes in April 1913), the War Memorial Opera House was abuzz with excitement, wondering how this historic and tragic ballet would be re-envisioned. Possokhov did not disappoint. His choreography was primal and tangled, full of contorted poses, ample flexed feet and tortured lifts with bent knees and turned-in extensions. The scenic design (by Benjamin Pierce) was ominous, almost Graham-esque. And Dores Andre, as the sacrifice, transcended the moment – with her acting ability, stage presence and technical acumen, her portrayal was heartbreaking and enraging at the same time. You wanted to save her and prevent the pain that she knew was coming.  

   

"Analog"

choreography by Katharine Hawthorne

Joe Goode Annex, San Francisco

February 23^rd, 2013

Katharine Hawthorne’s second full-length work, “Analog”, comprehensively studies range of motion. This sixty-five minute contemporary dance performance creates a ‘living’ Venn Diagram, where our physical/kinesthetic boundaries form one circle and movement possibilities form the second. From there, Hawthorne seeks to understand that important middle area of intersection, and to that end, how the physical (anatomy, space) affects range of motion. Rudolf Laban would be proud to see such a pure examination of direction, articulation, and extremes.

Photo: Ben Hersh

“Analog’s” sole set piece was an overhead projector (credited as ‘Apollo’ in the program) that displayed different patent specification drawings throughout the dance. This projector was moved several times during the piece so that the projections could appear in differing places on the two huge white walls. The first patent transparency was that of an artificial hand (file date – 1927) and provided the first image for Hawthorne’s choreographic exploration. After a brief entrance phrase, the entire cast (three women, two men) began a long section of hand intonation. A wide variety of movements were present: small and large; relaxed and static; voluntary and involuntary, abrupt and deliberate. This lengthy variation crescendoed over time, building into a more abandoned full body segment, where the hand movement was still the obvious point of initiation.

Next, the overhead projector was moved farther away so that it could display a new patent drawing on a much larger scale, encompassing most of one wall. Three dancers began a new movement phrase right in front of this ‘projected screen’, creating a sense that they were in front of the image, yet in it at the same time. This portion of “Analog” was a choreographical highlight, a throw back to early Cunningham: straightness in the spine, elastic limbs, all planes of the body (sagittal, coronal, transverse). This vignette was also proof that Hawthorne is drawn to interpreting all ranges of motion, from individual anatomy to the whole body in space. And for such a physical piece, there was only one very minor collision throughout – the dancers for the most part had very good spatial awareness.   

“Analog’s” repetitive motion/accumulation chapter was another standout. Here, the entire cast began with the same movement: unfolding the right side of the body. Then, different individuals moved on and added to this initial step, at their own pace, in their own time. After a while, all five were back in unison, having reached a new movement pattern. Brilliantly camouflaged within Hawthorne’s choreography, this was all underscored by a very appropriate and well-matched heartbeat soundscape.

My only criticism is that some of the internal segments were a little long. Not all of them, but a few went on well past their prime. The ending also seemed a bit ill-timed. About five minutes before the blackout, there was a clear wind-down where the dancers met with a moment of repose. It would have been a perfect ending, but instead, there was a final burst of energy. While it was impressive that the cast could rally for one last set of movement phrases, the final five minutes felt like an extra, unrelated add-on.  

Ballet San Jose - "Don Quixote"

San Jose Center for the Performing Arts

February 16^th, 2013

No matter which company is presenting it, “Don Quixote” is not my favorite full-length narrative ballet. I find it puzzling that in most versions, the protagonist and namesake of the work plays a very minor, almost absentee role. In addition, Act II (the Gypsies/Dryads) seems to happen very much in isolation, being thrown into the middle with little purpose, meaning or relation to the rest of the ballet. That being said, even I can admit when a good version of “Don Quixote” comes along, as was the case with Ballet San Jose’s company premiere (staged by Wes Chapman after Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky). The story, as always, still had these inherent issues, but the performances, choreography and design were delightful.

Junna Ige as Kitri
Photo: Robert Shomler

Act I’s opening scene was enchanting – the costuming, stage decoration and ambiance working together to transport the audience to a vibrant Spanish village. At this performance, soloist Junna Ige danced the role of Kitri, and her first solo was the stuff ballet dreams are made of. Ige has the technical chops for this demanding role, yet her commitment to artistry was the shining star. Over the years, the famous Kitri grand jeté (the one with the back leg in attitude) has turned into a jump that is all about the dancer’s head touching her back leg. Though Ige was true to the choreography and probably does have the flexibility to accomplish this feat, her jeté reflected the character’s intention, personality and joie de vivre. Ige wasn’t trying to create a spectacle by doing tricks, rather, she was embodying Kitri. Maykel Solas, as Basilio, had some brilliant moments including his Act I pirouette series – anyone who can manage four/five rotations to the left, while slowing down to hold the final pirouette position on demi-pointe deserves some extra praise.

Act II’s story does need some better cohesion with and connectedness to the rest of the ballet, yet one cannot ignore its standout performances. Maria Jacobs-Yu’s Cupid was perfection, both in technique and character interpretation. She was part imp, part matchmaker, part supernatural, all while managing some challenging choreography. The entrechat quatre batterie and relevé passé sequence was simply transcendent. Jing Zhang as the Queen of the Dryads was appropriately statuesque and regal, though I wish that she had put her heel down all the way to the floor in between each fouetté relevé, for no other reason than to spare her Achilles tendon. And in the swarm of ethereal splendor, one of the Dryads absolutely sparkled. Ballet San Jose apprentice Kathryn Meeusen will definitely be one to watch in the years to come.

One thing that I have noticed with Ballet San Jose is that more often than not, in the larger group scenes, the stage looks crowded. And this doesn’t seem to be because of sets/props that are too big or costumes that are too overwhelming, there are just too many dancers onstage at one time. And sometimes the choreography suffers a bit as a result. During the Act I Toreadors’ variation, one of the corps women was unable to extend her front leg in jeté, not because she couldn’t, but because she would have kicked someone, who incidentally also had nowhere to move, no way to adjust and no space to get out of the way.