Dance, Performance

SF Ballet – Next 90 Festival – Program B

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San Francisco Ballet Program B
Sunday, January 29, 2023 2 pm
Opera House, San Francisco

“New Ballets:” some dimensions not yet presented!

Program B, for which, alas, this reviewer had to miss opening night, was repeated on Sunday, January 29 as a matinee. Of the three works on the program, two were distinguished by innovative choreographic dimensions and some technical surprises.

Choreographers Bridget Breiner and Yuka Oishi contributed the most interesting works: that by Val Caniparoli, a veteran SFBallet member and choreographer, was pleasant, charming and alas, used much the same dance vocabulary and choreographic organization that the audience has seen, liked and applauded.

Breiner’s ballet “The Queen’s Daughter” takes off on the Salome legend, focussing on Salome’s relationship to her mother, childhood jealousy and her ultimate act of heroism, at least as recognized by Herod’s court. (The actual Bible story can be found in the New Testament and online in “WomenInTheBible.net”.) For this performance, Jasmine Jamson danced the daughter, seeking attention from Herodias (Elizabeth Powell) and from her father Herod (Miles Thatcher). The “Prophet” was danced by Max Cauthorn. All used gesture, movement and mime effectively: Cauthorn was outstanding with his ability to remain dramatically effective with strong, simple gesture.

The score for “The Queen’s Daughter” was the violin concerto of Benjamin Britten.

“Bolero” by Maurice Ravel is noted as an “iconic” piece. It is well known and often heard. For the ballet, the choreographer Yuka Oshi has created new visual and kinetic dimensions to what is often considered a ‘trite’ repetitious tango variation. Her work is dominated by six dancers, (for this performance) Wona Park, Julia Rowe, Gabriela Gonzalez with John-Paul Simoens, Cavan Conley, and Joshua Jack Price and ten others in a ‘corps’. (Some of these principle dancers are members of the corps de ballet and not listed as soloists!). The movement is innovative in the use of hand gestures, group activity, spacing and unusual relationships in “pas de deux”. There is a remarkable development in the choreographic development. Oshi says, “I wanted to go from the most micro to the opposite scale…which meant movement to suggest cell division and floating astra bodies.”

For some audience members the fantastic projections on the screen behind the dancers, which moved and changed as much as they did, was disconcerting. This reviewer found it exciting to observe as the projections resonated with the dance.

Program B opened with eight dancers speaking to the audience in “Emergence,” a ballet by veteran dancer and choreographer Val Canipoli to “Concerto for Cello and Strings” by Dobrinka Tabakova. The dancers briefly said they were ‘emerging’ from the pandemic limitations’ and were now free to dance. “Emergence” was a delightful opening number but it did not expand the dancers’ vocabulary. The eight performers were: Jihyuan Choi (apprentice), Isabella Devivo, Jasmine Jamison, Norika Matsuyama, Ruben Citrus Nieto, Lucas Erni, Andris Kundzins, and Lonnie Weeks. Clearly this work gave some of the younger, less seen dancers an opportunity to shine.

Conductor Matthew Rowe served the orchestra with its usual accomplishment. Martin West, the ballet’s excellent music director lead the group in the music for “The Queen’s Daughter”. Cordula Marks was the violin soloists.

The “Gala” events are concluded at this time, Most of the choreographers were selected by Helgi Tomasson before he left as SFB director. The Ballet’s continues with selections well known to its audience for the rest of the season. We anticipate great performances and good memories of the “Next 90 festival” of 2023.

Dance

SF Ballet – Next 90 Festival – Program C

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San Francisco Ballet: Next 90 Festival Program C
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
San Francisco Opera House 7:30 PM

Technique vs. Drama: Which is the dominant force?

The Next 90 Festival at this season’s opening events brings never seen choreographers as well as old friends to the stage. For Program C, the audience was introduced to Nicolas Blanc’s “Gateway to the Sun”: Claudia Schrier’s “Kin” and SF Ballet’s choreographer in residence’s Yuri Possokhov’s “Violin Concerto”. Of the three, for this reviewer, “Violin Concerto” was the most successful as dance. The other two, although performed with the superb technical excellence SF Ballet members have achieved, lacked a dramatic ‘through line’ and were dominated by a “now” need for technical display. Choreography in these two first works used constant lifts and some floor work.

Claudia Schrier’s “Kin” opened the Wednesday evening performance. To music by Tanner Porter, costume design by Abigail Dupree-Polston, scenic design by Alexander V. Nichols and lighting by Jim French, Schrier creates a work that moves swiftly across the stage space. She says, “Kin features two female dancers among a cast of sixteen, who are enveloped in a shifting power dynamic, pressured by the limiting nature of time.” Featuring More André, Wanting Zhao, Isaac Hernandez and Aaron Robison and a “corps” of 13 dancers, the ballet moves swiftly displaying lively patterns and endless lifts. The “two female dancers” André and Zhao, approach each other throughout the work; their relationship is implied but never developed. As much as I can appreciate the dynamics in “Kin” and impressed by technical excellence by all the dancers, I failed to feel the work makes a signifiant impact to the festival.

“Gateway to the Sun” choreographed by Nicolas Blanc, chose the poet Rumi’s lines who composer Anne Clyne excerpted for her score for cello and orchestra. The poet, danced by Max Cauthorn enters and leaves the stage as he embodies the poem. Sasha De Sola, Wei Wang, Jennifer Stahl and Luke Ingham are the featured dancers with Cauthorn. Again there is a “ corps” of eight dancers who provide the energetic environment for the “poet’s” wandering. Against the backdrop by Katrin Schabl (lighting by Jim French) which resembles an Egyptian pyramid setting, Cauthorn seems to wander among the dancers several times, illustrating the poet’s lines. Finally, as the. poem reads, “Dance when you’re perfectly free,” he opens extended arms to the audience. Although the work is poetic and intriguing, the soloist’s dance does not fully develop against the activity of the the other soloists and the corps.

It is with great pleasure that Yuri Possokhov, SF Ballet’s choreographer in Residence returns to the Opera House stage with Balanchine’s “Violin Concerto” (music by Stravinsky). Possokhov says, “My memory of Balanchine comes back, of course, but this impulse gives me the chance to express myself.” Set for seven couples and one lead ballerina, as the “Muse”, Sasha Mukhamedov (in a brilliant red costume) seems to oversee the principal dancers (Wona Park, Joseph Walsh, Julia Rowe, Esteban Hernandez, Carelo Mayo and Cavan Conley) in a lively romp, executing lively dance locomotor phrases across the stage.

Cordeula Marks played the Concerto splendidly as Mathew Rowe conducted. To enlighten the audience, (who may or may not know the composer), Alexander V. Nichols illuminated the backdrop with photos of Stravinsky. The costumes were by Sandra Woodall. Possokhov’s work was a delightful finale to the Program C Gala.

Dance, Performance

SF Ballet: Nutcracker – December 2022

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NUTCRACKER: San Francisco Ballet
Choreography by Helgi Tomasson, December 8, 2022

It’s Holiday season and although Helgi Tomasson is no longer Artistic Director of the SF Ballet (he has been succeeded by Tamara Rojo), his production of “Nutcracker” is on stage.There are many stagings of “Nutcracker” around the world but it is a particular favorite with ballet companies in the United States. It is the holiday production that brings audiences in the the concert halls, theaters and opera houses to celebrate the season. It also produces revenue for those companies, revenues that provide year-long support.

The story of “Nutcracker” goes back to 1816, the work of a Prussian author, E.T.A. Hoffman. Young Marie Stahlbaum (age 7) has a favorite toy, a nutcracker, which comes alive and after defeating the evil Mouse King, he whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls. Composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov turned Alexandre Dumas’ adaptions of the story into “The Nutcracker.” There’s lots more history and many adaptations; some on film and TV.

In 1944, on December 24, San Francisco Ballet artistic director Willam Christensen staged the first complete U.S. performance. The NYC Ballet gave its first annual performance of George Balanchine’s staging in 1954. There is a ballet legend that Balanchine and Christensen (with Alesandra Danilova) discussed the 1892 Russian version. Danilova wanted to show steps. Balanchine said: “No, no, Alexandra. Don’t show him the steps. Let him create his own choreography.” 20th century choreographers have done so ever since.

Tomasson’s “Nutcracker” is a very San Francisco show. The production starts with slides of SF scenes, bridges, waterways and neighborhoods. When the stage set appears it looks like a SF street. We meet Drosselmeyer (Tiit Helimets) preparing toys for the children at the Stahlbaums’s holiday party. We watch the family dance, adults and children. Ballet dancers do ‘longways sets’ and other familiar “square dance” figures, Clara, our leading lady, (Neva Chang) accepts an invitation to dance with her father.

We accept that this will be a ‘coming of age‘ story. Most charming are the “grandparents” (Jim Sohm, Kristi DeCaminada) whose dancing is most believable. Fritz, (Dominic Gurrea) Clara’s brother, provides the mischief. Drosselmeyer arrives with presents and the ‘magic’ begins. His special gifts to the children include a “jack-in-the-box” Punch like acrobat (Alexis Valdes) who gives us the first dramatic ‘character’ dance of the show. The ballerina doll (Lonnie Weeks) dances beautifully. Finally the “Nutcracker” toy is presented, Clara falls asleep holding it and Drosselemeyer returns to bring her dream. After the magic of the Xmas tree growing and the set changing, we meet the Nutcracker, now turned soldier, confronting an army of mice and the Mouse King.

(This reviewer has often wondered why a Xmas dream includes this battle, complete with swords and a cannon. I suppose Prussian homes had mice.)

Clara assists the Nutcracker’s victory as the Mouse King, (Alexander Reneff-Olson) defeated, slides down head first into the orchestra pit! And Voila! The Nutcracker is now a Prince! ((Joseph Walsh). To bring back Xmas, the Queen and King of Snow (Yuan-Yuan Tan and Henry Sidford) offer a delightfully skilled “pas de duex” as the stage snow falls on the “Snowflake” corps. A magic sled pulled by dancers with wonderful “crystal” horse masks take Clara and her Prince to Act 2 adventures.

We are no longer in San Francisco.

Act 2 brings a continual series of “divertissement”. After the well executed ‘mime’ telling the story of the battle (clearly simply, done by Walsh), we meet the Sugar Plum Fairy, (Nikisha Fogo). Fogo danced the part last year: she has been absent until this time. Here she is again, a superbly skilled dancer who we hope to see in the 2023 repertory. For entertainment we get a Spanish dance, an Arabian genie, “whirling” acrobats from China and French ‘fluttery’ ribbon girls. Best of all is a simulation of the San Francisco Chinese New Year parade, complete with a dragon banner! Madame du Cirque (Louis Schilling), sometimes known as Mother Goose, provides a huge tent for the smallest children of the evening plus a dancing bear (Lleyton Ho) who deserves endless applause).

The Sugar Plum Fairy dances with her court of Flowers as (apparently) Clara is transformed into a ballerina to dance the final “pas de deux” Actually (since it takes at least 15 minutes even to tie toe shoes) Lisa Kuranaga and Joseph Walsh dance the Grand Pas de Deux. They are excellent! Curtain calls follow as children’s parents rush up the aisles to claim the children from backstage.(We met one young parent who had brought is 7 month old to the show! He said “he/she loved it”!

The 2022 Nutcracker is here! Performances continue through December 27, 2022. It is a joyous occasion and a fit finale for a difficult year for performers and audiences. The cast for this opening seemed a bit nervous (I assume many were new), needing confidence to project the dramatic aspects of the event. Upstage right and left seemed a bit empty: perhaps as the season continues, movement, drama and joy will expand.

Credit and applause, as always, to the San Francisco Orchestra, Martin West, Director.