ArtsSF

You’ve got to admire the chutzpah of a frustrated Benjamin  Millepied, resigning his Paris Opera Ballet directorship the night before premiering his dazzling “Appassionata” there in 2016. This month the French choreographer set the S.F. Opera House afire with that same “Appassionata,” using absolute-minimum forces: Six dancers and a pianist (no orchestra). And not even pointe shoes. And he didn’t even resign. Bodies flying uninhibitedly about the vast stage, whirling, thrusting, grabbing. The high-energy piece set to Beethoven  brought the…

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Story ballets are an endangered species these days, certainly nothing compared to the mid-20th century when Agnes deMille and others reigned. New ballets coming down the pike today emphasize ever sharper athleticism and technique, with acting and mime usually stashed away in the closet or confined to oldie revivals. The English choreographer Cathy Marston  still dares to be raconteur, and her reprise of “Snowblind” (2018) was the vibrant centerpiece of the S.F. Ballet’s otherwise uneven Program Three opener. It features…

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If amazing dancing throughout the night is your thing, “Don Quixote” is your ballet. But if plausible music is your driving force, better send Don Q off to joust with  some windmills. The most famous early Spanish novel inspired this classic ballet standard which was launched exactly 150 years ago, in Russia, thanks to an Austrian composer. I think you see where this is headed. If you expect an abundance of jotas, asturias, and flamenco themes and rhythms, muy español, forget it. Composer…

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—Others dance steps. She dances a symphony. She has finesse, poise and a keen sense of timing. While others are just going through motions, she gives us her sense of true theater too, with personality to match. This is Erin Yarborough-Powell, who draws your gaze even when tucked away in an ensemble piece. Performing professionally for so many years she’d rarely reveal (best guess: Starting before the Millennium), she is the stunning interpreter at the Smuin Contemporary Ballet,…

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Gregory Dawson, the leader and choreographer for the dawsondancesf ensemble, nurtures the belief that jazz and ballet can create a happy, conflict-free partnership. Dawson wants his ballets to emulate the improvisational aesthetics of jazz, in which musicians in turn riff off of a basic theme or motif, first the sax, then the trombone, then the piano, before putting all of them together again. Something similar with the choreography: take a movement trope, riff on it, then move on to the…

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What a way to end a ballet season! By any conventional measure, the 12 world premieres within a month unreeled by the San Francisco Ballet in its “Unbound” Festival were a cheeky challenge and a collective success. Though costly, time-consuming and for performers undeniably fatiguing, the final   ticket income was well above budget, with near sellouts at the Opera House prevailing for programs like the “Björk Ballet.” Undeniably it showed off the creativity of youngish choreographers (48 or younger, mostly)…

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The Opera House doors flew open this week  for the throngs converging on the “Unbound D” program of world premieres. They were no doubt swelled by pop music fans anxious to savor the “Björk Ballet,” named after the mercurial pop singer featured on the sound track. But the flamboyant “Björk Ballet” by Arthur Pita had a double appeal: It is as futuristic as a Star-Trekky sci-fi special. The Marco Morante designs alone, with bizarre masks and costumes composed of little…

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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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