Thursday October 16, 2008 - This was the programme among the three offered by San Francisco Ballet at City Center that I had originally planned to skip. I've come to mildly dislike the work of Mark Morris in recent seasons after loving him madly at the Pillow years ago. His Rameau PLATEE for New York City Opera a few seasons back made me wary of seeing anything else he might come up with. But I've been swept along by the SFB dancers during my first two visits and there were two (Hansuke Yamamoto and Ivan Popov) I hadn't glimpsed yet. I was also wishing for another chance to see Sofiane Sylve and the other ballerinas, so I put in a late request for tonight's performance which was graciously granted. (Above: the boys of SFB in Tomasson's THE FIFTH SEASON/photo by Erik Tomasson).
A star-studded audience included Mark Morris, Peter Sellars, Peter Martins & Darci Kistler, Kanji Segawa, Adam Hendrickson, Sterling Hyltin, Suki Schorer, Likolani Brown and Amanda Hankes.
Helgi Tomasson's THE FIFTH SEASON (Katita Waldo & Davit Karapetyan in an Erik Tomasson photo, above) is set to an eclectic score by Karl Jenkins; sample this composer's music here. The ballet opens with a Glassian-style repetitive motif; later some of the music could be mistaken for Handel...and for Britten. Tomasson uses this sonic and rhythmic variety cannily to create a set of six individual dances having the effect of a suite. Beautifully lit, with hanging panels against a backdrop of changing hues, THE FIFTH SEASON affords some wonderful opportunities for six principals and a corps of eight.
Katita Waldo, who looked great in Wheeldon's GOLDEN HOUR, was even better here. She is glamourous in an offbeat way, technically powerful and with a keen feeling for the music. Matching her in strength, musicality and clarity of movement is Davit Karapetyan - the dancer who so impressed me in Tomasson's PAGANINI ballet. They returned in the third section, Romance, further enhancing the sterling impression their partnership made.
FIFTH SEASON continues with an elegant but very contemporary Waltz with Sarah van Patten and Pierre-Francois Vilanoba & Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith floating across the stage in sustained partnering sequences. Ms. van Patten (photo by Erik Tomasson, above) then appears for the dramatic Tango with Karapetyan, Smith and Vilanoba each of whom have a solo passage; Tomasson knows his dancers well and shows them off to perfect advantage. Ms. van Patten is a cool and confident dancer with incredible projection.
Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith (Erik Tomasson photo above) seemed to cast a spell over the house in their flowing Largo where Ms. Tan's melting backbends and silken line are showcased by Mr. Smith with seamless perfection. This is one of SFB's most illuminating partnerships and they are a great pleasure to watch. Ms. Tan exudes star-quality of the calmly radiating kind; she never shows off but moves through her music with poetic grace. And her exotic beauty captivates at every moment. Damian Smith not only partners with total assurance but is a strong, natural dancer. Their duet was a highlight of SFB's City Center visit.
Pascal Molat in Tomasson's CONCERTO GROSSO (Erik Tomasson photo, above). This ballet has been likened to watching the center work of a super-advanced men's class. Well, so much the better because I bet a lot of people in the audience have never had the chance to actually watch a high-level ballet class. So, considering the fascination among dance-lovers for all things classroom and backstage, and in view of the high-flying joy with which Pascal Molat and his four colleagues went through the combinations, CONCERTO GROSSO wowed the crowd tonight. During the variations, little sighs and gasps of astonishment could be heard throughout the auditorium as the dancers' virtuosity at times seemed on the outer edge of human possibility.
Using the propulsive Geminiani score, Mr. Tomasson sends the men leaping and turning about the stage in ensemble pieces led by the spirited Mr. Molat. Each dancer gets a solo segment and so in addition to Molat's virtuosity, we have the poised technical feats of Diego Cruz and the easy extension and highly personalized delivery of Daniel Deivison. Hansuke Yamamoto's perfect port de bras enhanced the beauty of his bravura fireworks which included a series of flying jetees in which he tucks his leg under himself in mid-air. Really astonishing. The fourth soloist was actually a principal: Taras Domitro stepped in for Garen Scribner and basked in shouts of acclaim for his performance in which the slower passages of the Geminiani score provided him with a display of an adagio style of stunning fluidity and control. Mr. Domitro dances from the heart. Later in the evening he surpassed himself with an uncanny performance in FOUR TEMPERAMENTS.
CONCERTO GROSSO greatly pleased the crowd who enjoyed this celebration of male balletic coloratura. Is it a great ballet? No. But it's entertaining and fun to watch. I could imagine it as a gala item with a five-star cast but they'd have to go some to outshine tonight's SFB quintet. Bravi tutti!
Up to this point at City Center, San Francisco Ballet was scoring 100% with their repertory and even higher with their dancing. Unfortunately the Mark Morris JOYRIDE (Erik Tomasson photo, above) was an aimless ballet set to an aimless John Adams score. I felt sorry for the dancers who gave it their all but who basically had nothing much of interest to do. Once in a while a nice bit would drift by, and JOYRIDE did steer clear pretty much of the cuteness that sometimes flattens Morris's work. But by the end even cuteness would have been welcome. I suppose it's a feather in a ballet company's hat to have a Mark Morris piece in their repertory; and hopefully it's a box office boost. But the audience did not seem especially taken with JOYRIDE and the other three ballets each drew more enthusiasm and applause. I remember reading that Mark Morris said he would never choreograph for New York City Ballet. Thank goodness.
Things perked up during intermission when Yuan Yuan Tan appeared in the lobby to greet friends and fans. She was elegant in tight pants and a colourful top, causing Rob to refer to her as 'an Asian Audrey Hepburn'. I tried to persuade Tonya to take a photo of the ballerina - who seemed amiable - but collective shyness overcame us.
Balanchine's FOUR TEMPERAMENTS (Daniel Deivison and Lily Rogers/photo by Erik Tomasson) was electriyfying from the moment Mr. Deivison's immaculately pointed left the ground in the opening Theme. He and the long-limbed Ms. Rogers set the tone for a great TEMPS with their impressive austerity. Elana Altman and Ben Bauer perfected the enigmatic gestures of the second couple.
The third Theme couple were Anthony Spaulding and Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun (Erik Tomasson photo, above) who formed a smooth and vivid partnership. The ballet then surged forward with five glorious principals and a very fine corps.
Taras Domitro's Melancholic was simply miraculous. The flexability of his back is mind-boggling, and we just sat there watching him in a state of disbelief. Such a compelling lyric presence, so fluent in his movement and with an almost spiritual quality illuminating his every move. Both after his solo and at the curtain calls he was rightly accorded the audience's sincere acclamation.
A tough act to follow but Lorena Feijoo and Ruben Martin capitalized on the momentum with a finely-honed Sanguinic adagio. Ms. Feijoo has an innate sense of drama (and a wonderfully expessive face) which turns an abstract ballerina role into something very personal. Mr. Martin is a coolly supportive partner and together they gave this duet a fresh feeling. I'd love to see them together in some full-length ballets...especially GISELLE.
The tall and long-legged Ivan Popov danced Phelgmatic; at first I was wishing for a more expansive feeling from him but when the music turns a bit folksy and he danced with the four girls, he showed he had the right idea all along, and he displayed just a touch of irony - like a chef tossing a little zest into the recipe. In the finale, Mr. Popov's extension soared, his white-slippered foot drifting up over the heads of the other dancers.
Sofiane Sylve (photo: Erik Tomasson) again gave us cause to regret her departure for the Far Shore with her big-scale dancing of Choleric. Looking pale and mysterious, Sylve's strength and security make her performances unique among current ballerinas. I hope she will find great roles and great partners at SFB, and great appreciation from the San Francisco public in future seasons...and that she and her colleagues will be back here before too long.
[All photos are copyright: San Francisco Ballet]
<I was writing this at 3:00 AM and am now finding some very funny typos...sorry!>
Lovely writeup as always, Philip - I feel like I was there (almost!). Lovely photos as well, especially that of Lily Rogers. I like how you described Katita Waldo; you're right, she's very glamorous. Unfortunately I haven't seen her in too many roles, but she made a strong impression making the most of the quirky role as a drunken woman (partnered by Val Caniparoli, "Ibsen"'s choreographer!) in The Filling Station earlier this season.
Are you getting tired of SF Ballet yet? :) Literally, keeping you up at night! I hope not!
Posted by: jolene | October 17, 2008 at 12:23 PM
The photos are gorgeous! Thanks for posting!
Posted by: Laura | October 17, 2008 at 12:27 PM
Tired of SFB? No...just anxious to see them again tomorrow afternoon!
Posted by: Philip | October 17, 2008 at 05:14 PM