If the choreography was a mixed bag there was a clear flip side, or rather two. This year's standard, particularly on the boys' side, gave cause for celebration at the strength on show...
Tag - San Francisco Ballet
The previous night had been dominated by Gillian Murphy’s performance. She is an absolute powerhouse in this role, a kind of super-stylized, inhuman creature, an art-deco distillation of speed and daring.
Chroma: Perhaps it’s meant as a kind of sherbet to clear the palate between the Balanchine pieces... In short, I found the ballet dazzling but soulless.
But 'A Place for Us' (new Wheeldon) feels like a bauble, not quite a jewel.
Christopher Wheeldon's new Cinderella for San Francisco Ballet is spied in 2 more casts by Aimée Tsao. Some nice dancing but still rather an OTT Broadway-style extravaganza.
If extravagant productions are the way to bring in new audiences and fill the till then they are justified for those reasons alone. However, they don’t necessarily leave a rich legacy for future generations.
Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon is currently at the San Francisco Ballet preparing for the American premiere of his Cinderella. He has a rehearsal in forty-five minutes so we quickly set off to discuss his latest full-length ballet and many other things...
San Francisco Ballet – Criss-Cross, Francesca da Rimini, Symphony in Three Movements – San Francisco
Program 7 made me think a lot about this tricky issue of programming because this bill is a weird sandwich made with a delectable gourmet filling between slices of bland Wonder bread.
The highlight of the program is Lorena Feijóo's return to the stage in more than one ballet during the evening. After being out on maternity leave for a year ...is dancing better than ever.
I first saw Onegin with Marcia Haydée and Richard Cragun when the Stuttgart Ballett made its New York debut in 1969. So when San Francisco Ballet premiered it in the 2011-12 season I was happy to meet an old acquaintance again.
From Foreign Lands: "This amusing, yet subtle send-up of classical ballet is rewarding in its expertly-shaped choreography, and made all the more appealing by the slight wackiness of the costumes and visual jokes."
Possokhov’s Rite of Spring is a mixture of mostly good choices with a few that seem rather odd to me.
The good news is that I had a very pleasant afternoon, mostly the result of the dancers actually having a splendid time on stage.
Closing the program is Kurt Jooss’s anti-war ballet from 1932,The Green Table, one of the greatest pieces of choreography ever created and still relevant after more than 80 years.
The highly anticipated world premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Borderlands, commissioned by SF Ballet, meets with a standing ovation.
Perhaps the best pas de deux of the evening, judging by the audience reaction, is one from Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain.
Lynette Halewood with her personal selection of London dance memories this last year...
I always enjoy The Hard Nut even though there isn’t a lot of choreography.
From start to finish this Nutcracker ...is a true Christmas gift for children and adults alike – one of the most satisfying versions of the holiday classic I have ever seen.
Not to be a scrooge-ish Grinch (or is it a grinchy Scrooge?), but I don’t really like all the sentimental and consumeristic trimmings and trappings that surround the holidays.