ArtsSF

The third segment  of the S.F. Ballet’s remarkable rapid-order clutch of a dozen world premieres this spring offered surprise and adventure. It showed in Program C that a traditional abstract ballet  can indeed radiate affection; that the SFB has an amazing roster of (unsung) males; and that an American troupe can hatch a first-rate Spanish ballet. The Spanish ballet created by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa rang with atmosphere and authenticity, displaying somber glimpses of the bullfight culture, with pas de deux…

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The stunning “Unbound” festival of the S.F. Ballet got added traction with its second program of premieres featuring inventive choreography, intriguing plot lines  and some brilliant dancing. We had barely voiced our complaints this week about sterile, plotless ballets than this fresh-baked cornucopia “Unbound B” arrived from the SFB, as if tailor-made to silence snarky critics. This is a program to see and see again before its May 4 bow-out, showing some of the best new dance creations and interpretations  of recent…

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Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon took on our smartphone mesmerization in his new social-critique ballet, “Bound to…” It was a memorable shot across the bow leading off the S.F. Ballet’s supremely ambitious “Unbound” festival of 12 premieres by  choreographers still under 50,  all unveiled in about a week. Ballet pointe shoes were put aside in favor of sporty flats. “Bound to…” To what? Bound to our cell phones of course, as we wander about staring at our hand-helds, oblivious to all the life around…

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The most arresting moment in the Smuin Ballet’s spring program came in the pas de deux of “Oasis,” choreographed by Helen Pickett, until recently head of the Atlanta Ballet. Here the couple (Erica Felsch and Robert Kretz) played out a dream-fantasy, almost as if swaying underwater, vicariously inviting us all  to put ourselves in that ethereal spotlight to the restless mystery music of Jeff Beal, adroit in its tasteful percussion. Pickett gives us fleeting figures flitting by in the dark, and…

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