BALLET CHEKHOV, AND A TRIO THAT GREW
By D. Rane Danubian
artssf.com, the independent observer of San Francisco Bay Area music
and dance
Week of March 4-11, 2011
Vol. 13, No. 74
It was
impossible to figure out the title “Trio” of the
world-premiere piece at the San Francisco Ballet until, embedded deep
in the
nucleus of a conventional large-ensemble piece, there’s a love
triangle, with a
woman tugged both ways by amorous men. That steamy pas de trois is one of the
best segments that choreographer Helgi Tomasson has ever done in his
26
seasons at the helm here.
One man is a
clean-cut hero, the other a ruffian. She is
drawn to one but repeatedly grabbed and pulled away by the other. The will-and-won’t, push-and-pull provides an
exquisite trio,
where the woman becomes a
bridge, lifted by one male while her delicate foot is grasped by the
rival.
Casts change
nightly. On March 3, there was a regrettable
racial stereotypical casting, with the black performer, Anthony
Spalding,
playing the ruffian, opposite the white pair, Ruben Martin and Dana
Genshaft.
But the sparks flew; the three were arresting, even though none of them
are
principals in the company.
Played to the
flamboyant orchestration of Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir
de Florence,” the outer movements featured
an animated corps with eye-catching magenta costumes, as well as
a
finale with Gennadi Nedvigin playing a bold, devil-may-care kind of guy
with
swagger, opposite the nimble, petite Maria Kochetkova, who has finally
come
into her own in her fourth season here. Taken whole, it’s an effective
half-hour display, conducting on two very different levels.
Can any one boil down
Chekhov to an intelligible dance treatment? Kenneth MacMillan came
close with
his story ballet “Winter Dreams” (1991) , adapting the play “Three
Sisters,”
with no less than 12 named characters (sorry---they don’t have numbers
on their
backs to help out). Bewilderment for those unfamiliar with the
original, yes, particularly
with the climactic duel between two minor characters. But for those of
us who
know it, it’s yet another tale of the ennui
of 19th-century Russian upper classes, with the older Olga
unable to
find a husband, the youngest cutie Irina having too many swains, and
the middle
sister Masha having an affair as escape from an unhappy marriage.
Within the
merry-go-round of every one’s social encounters
and flirtations, MacMillan cleverly put the magnifying glass on Masha
and her
secret lover with the wandering eye, Lt. Col. Vershinin. Contrasting
figures
abound: Masha lives for love, Olga is the business woman increasingly
resigned
to her unmarried fate, and Irina is the irresistible young flirt. And,
in
ballet, each threatening to steal the show, until the final sisterly
embrace of
the three, in consolation and family togetherness.
This cast
danced exquisitely as only a troupe with the depth
of the S.F. Ballet could do it, with Sofiane Sylve and Tiit Helimets in
the
leads, plus excellent solos of Lorene Feijoo (Olga) and Maria
Kochetkova
(Irina). I was also floored by the poetic movement of character dancer
Anita Paciotti
(the maid Anfisa), whose career I have followed avidly since its
beginnings in
1964.
At 52 minutes,
“Winter Dreams” was almost as long as the
other two works combined.
Credit
MacMillan for his unusual and highly effective musical
forces: sometimes the piano soloist, sometimes a balalaika-et-al group
doing folk
and lighter music.
The
all-Tchaikovsky program opened with the well-known
Balanchine sparkler, “Theme and Variations,” complete with chandeliers,
tiaras,
and “diamond” earrings---the kind of trappings that get a round of
applause
when the curtain goes up. Martin West conducted, to good effect.
THREE MORE SISTERS---If
you want more sisters, and clarity of detail as well, the theatrical
original by Chekhov will be in the local theaters starting in April.
Check out the Berkeley Repertory Theatre listings.
San Francisco Ballet, Helgi
Tomasson artistic director, in Program Four running through March
8. For
info: (415) 865 2000, or go online.
©D. Rane Danubian 2011
#
D. Rane Danubian has been
covering
the dance and modern-music scene in the San Francisco Bay Area with
relish
-- and a certain amount of salsa -- for years.
These critiques appearing weekly (or sometimes semi-weekly, but never
weakly)
will focus on dance and new musical creativity in performance, with
forays
into books (by authors of the region), theater and recordings by local
artists as well.
#
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