San Francisco Ballet Program 2 Review
February 11, 2022 | War Memorial Opera House – San Francisco, CA, USA
“Don’t stand still, let’s move forward”, says Helgi Tomasson
in a preview video displayed before the curtain goes up. Celebrating both the company and Tomasson, who is set to leave his position as Artistic Director at the end of the 2022 season, it acts as a mini homage to the company and his 37 years of leadership.
The lengthy season (five mixed rep programs, Don Quixote, and finishing with Swan Lake in May) is generously peppered with Tomasson’s most signature works.
Opening Program 2 was his Caprice, a precise work set to selections from Camille Saint-Saens’ Symphony No. 2 and Symphony No.3. The curtain rose to reveal a stunning backdrop of lit vertical columns, designed by Alexander V. Nichols, which would later shift side to side. Featuring a large cast, Tomasson relies on traditional dancer formations. His attempts for out of the box movements are subtle and reserved with little risk involved. However, the overall piece is pleasant and choreographed with the music at heart.
The highlight is the long adagio section which Tomasson gives to two principal couples, Mathilde Froustey and Wei Wang, and Sarah Van Patten and Tiit Helimets. Froustey and Wang weaved in and out of the adagio section but were more impressive in solo work where Froustey held playful balances and Wang showed off his impressive double tours.
Van Patten brought a thoughtful abandonment to the adagio section with liquidous arms and a starry-eyed gaze, somehow looking beyond the walls of the theater. Helimets showed strength and stability in his excellent partnering skills.
Jerome Robbins’ In The Night opens on a star-lit black backdrop reminiscent of a late evening in the country; the women in voluminous ball gowns and the men in stuffy collars, the time period is ambiguous.
Meant originally as a follow up to Dances at a Gathering, In The Night is iconic in its own right for its showcase of the humanity of three romantic relationships. The steps strike a balance between classically danceable and whimsically metaphorical. Robbins was known to use Frederic Chopin’s scores often and turned to a selection of nocturnes by the composer. The music ranges between delicate piano notes and more urgent piano strikes, suiting the content well.
The first couple, Elizabeth Powell and Joseph Walsh, represent a passion that is honest and serious and both Powell and Walsh show sweeping devotion to each other through each step.
The next couple, Sasha De Sola and Aaron Robinson bring a formal approach to their relationship in a proud, almost nationalistic presentation.
Yuan Yuan Tan and Luke Ingham are the temperamental third duo; their arms tangle in each other, enhancing the difficulty of the promenades and lifts. At one time, Tan leaves the stage, then Ingham, then they both leave, only to return like two ends of a rubber band stretched to capacity.
In closing, the three couples meet but only with polite acknowledgement. As the last notes play out, the intensity of love pulls them back to their partners.
Watching Robbins’ work is like finishing an exquisite dessert, delicious and good enough to scrape the plate with your spoon.
Shifting style, we move to William Forsythe’s edgy-cool Blake Works I. Set to songs from James Blake’s The Colour in Anything album, we are getting ballet (at least an interpretation of ballet) accompanied by a fusion of R&B, dubstep, and electronic music. The music is equally as interesting as the steps; satisfying beats mixed with piano, brass instruments, and Blake hitting numerous pleasing falsetto notes.
Forsythe uses the steady beat to his advantage, especially noticed in the opening when the corps pops their hips as their arms hit classically rounded shapes.
The dancers wear a neoclassical wardrobe, (blue shirts and tights for the men, and blue skirt and leotard combo for the women) designed by Dorothee Merg. With no additional staging design, the blue pops against the stark black backdrop, putting the dancers front and center.
The exaggerated tendu, probably a Forsythe staple at this point, looks good on the technical dancers of San Francisco Ballet. One hip jutting out, the opposite shoulder leaning away from the pointed foot, the dancers hit the pose with enthusiasm.
The piece is fun and poetic; it opens with a “hooo!” from Blake as the dancers synchronize with a small rond de jambe on the floor, resulting in a chuckle from the audience.
As Forsythe breaks away from the group work, intimate duets take its place, not romantic but also not, not romantic. The steps mix the abstract with the familiar, pushing toward a duality of mystery and recognition. Stand outs were De Sola (for her long lines and flirtatious musicality) and Julia Rowe (for her sudden bursts of quickness that easily melt back to buttery smoothness).
Ending with a sort of celebration one might see in a studio after class, the dancers cheer each other on and start to jam out on stage. The piece culminates here and then returns where it started, with clean simplicity. The dancers seem more at ease in the Forsythe work, more able to let loose, abandoning the formality shown in earlier pieces of the program and it was refreshing. Their energy flowed over the orchestra pit like a contagious fog of festiveness, leading the audience to their feet.
Featured Photo for this San Francisco Ballet Program 2 review of Aaron Robison in Forsythe’s Blake Works I © Erik Tomasson
