Dance

SF Ballet – Van Manen: Dutch Grandmaster

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San Francisco Ballet
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 7:30 pm
“Van Manen: Dutch Grandmaster

A Superb Evening of Dance

Hans Van Manen, choreographer for the Netherlands Dans Theater, has enlivened the San Francisco Ballet repertory in several previous years. His work (“Solo”) was seen in SF in 1999! He has created 150 ballets in his career. This season’s audience is entertained, refreshed and delighted with four of his ballets: “Grosse Fuge”; “Variations for Two Couples”: “Solo” and “5 Tangos”.

All the works on this program brought surprise . All were superbly danced, with particular delight in the trio of ‘corps de ballet’ men: Alexis Valdes, Lleyton Ho and Archie Sullivan, in the work entitled “Solo”. These dancers were teasingly competitive, technically superb and to our delight, comic! (We look forward to seeing them promoted to solo roles!)

The program opened with “Grosse Fuge” (Beethoven) on a completely white stage. The ballerinas did not wear toe shoes! The program notes that this is “…an academic piece…the formations are very clear …a dance for the men…a dance for the women…they dance for each other…they dance with each other.’ The eight dancers (four couples included Sasha de Sola and Joseph Walsh. (See the SFBallet web site for complete cast.)

Stars of the SF Ballet also appeared in the next work on this highly energetic, highly skilled evening. These were Jasmine Jimison and Esteban Henandez, Katherine Barkman and Harrison James. The program notes… ”It’s all about the relationships between the two couples.” Wow! What a great pleasure it is to see skilled dancers at the height of their abilities projecting such achievement.

This delightful evening closed with ”5 Tango’s” to Piazzolla’s music. Danced by ten dancers, featuring Katherine Barkman and Joshua Jack Price, the work closed an evening of pure dance joy. For this reviewer, story ballets, exciting, charming and dramatic though they be, cannot replace the elegance and excitement of dance as dance. I look forward to future seasons of Van Manen’s works.

Bravo, Bravo to the stars, the corps and all members of the San Francisco Ballet who danced Van Manen’s Dutch Grandmaster’s works on April 9, 2025.

Dance

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater April 8, 2025

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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 7:30 PM
Zellerbach Auditorium UC Berkeley
Program A

Welcome back!

For many years (more than 30 I believe) the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has been appearing in Berkeley. In a short pre-performance talk, Jeremy Geffen, Executive of Cal Performances, remembered that the Ailey company had performed in Wheeler Auditorium before Zellerbach was built. He, and Matthew Rushing, (interim artistic director) welcomed the audience and noted the Ailey summer program at Cal (for kids 11-14) is 23 years ongoing.

The audience joyfully anticipated the company’s performance. Many had attended Ailey events in the past. This reviewer is always delighted to see “Revelations,” Ailey’s masterpiece which closes every show. It is a masterpiece, this 1960 work which incorporates many well- known spirituals and brings a joyous end to the current programs.

The company danced two other works: they dance with wonderful technique and focus…but the choreography for those works were less ‘compact,’ less intense…and made less impact to this reviewer.

“Grace” a Bay Area Premiere of a new production by Ronald K. Brown is performed to several well-known songs, e.g. “Come Sunday”, “Rock Shock” and “Shakers” among others. The dancers wear lively white or red costumes, interact with one-another in large and small groups interspersed with solos. They are skillful, wonderful to see and all transmit great pleasure in their dancing. But, for this reviewer, the choreography was a primarily a pleasant group event, a good opening work.

“Al-Andalus Blues”, choreography by Jamar Roberts to music by Roberta Flack and Miles Davis was more dramatic and made more impact. The company is costumed in black with gold trim on the jackets. There is tighter ensemble in the various sections; hand gestures prevail. Men dancers dominate this work; men and women wear similar costumes.

Again, the choreography consists of groups, duets and soloists coming and going on and off stage. It is an energetic and cinematic. I do believe that audiences needs to watch the dance segments repeatedly to ‘get it’. This did not happen for me in “Al-Andalus Blues” although the dancing was great.

The company continues its run at Zellerbach through Sunday April 13. It is always with great joy that audiences welcome the Alvin Ailey company. If only to see “Revelations” over and over and watch superbly accomplished dancers, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is the season’s hit!

The complete information on the dancers and the repertory for this week’s performances can be found on the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater website.

Performance, Theater

ART – Shotgun Players

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“ART” a play by Yasmina Raza
Shotgun Players
Thursday, March 27, 2026 7:30 pm

“What sort of friend are you?”
The sentence above is on the cover of Shotgun Players current production of “Art”. Three men, actors Woody Harper (Yvan), Benoît Monin (Serge) and David Sinaiko (Marc) portray friends who meet to view Yvan’s acquisition…an all-white painting. The painting provides the opportunity for them to discuss their friendship, their life stories and a wide range of personal, problematic and “art” concerns. It is troublesome and very funny.
The actors are all very good (although Stagebridge ‘miking’ of actors often distorts their lines).

Yvan has bought the painting. Seeing it gives Serge the opportunity to ‘decompose’ his life on stage; Marc, objecting to the painting, provides ‘critical’ judgement on art…and his friends. The play moves very fast, through dialogue, stage activity, furniture moving and ‘scotch tape’ repairs to the set. Beneath the humor and the interaction, the characters offer their various stages of ‘mid-life’ reflections and critical observations.

Serge’s life crisis involves his ‘forthcoming’? marriage and all the interference of the participants. Yvan defends his painting with his particular ‘vision’. Marc, the ‘older mentor’ comments wisely (?) on the others. The play gives the audience an unusual opportunity to deal with men’s ‘crises’…a scenario not often handled in the theater among men themselves. (More often these crises are set in family contexts.) There is humor and irony in the text of “Art”, providing an important perspective and lots of. (but often) grim fun.

“Art” is translated (from French) by Christopher Hampton; Directed by Emile Whelan. It first appeared in Paris, (1994), then London then New York (where this reviewer saw a more sedate production). Stagebridge offers a delightful opportunity to see three fine lively actors give you “Art”.