Saturday Matinee

Nina Ananiashvili in Alexei Ratmansky’s Bizet Variations

Just got back from watching Nina Ananiashvili and the State Ballet of Georgia at Cal Performances. In general, it was an uneven evening, especially in Balanchine’s Chaconne. It’s a young company, and they can only get better, but at times, it felt a bit student-showcase-y, with many loose ends, such as floppy feet and a complete lack of confidence and musicality. With that, Nina Ananiashvili is very good at bringing this ballet company into modern times; I just happened to catch her at the beginning of this company’s rise. I’m impressed by their repertoire with progressive pieces, as well as the traditional standards such as Giselle, which they’ll be performing later this weekend. It’s a great example of a ballet company incorporating good modern choreography, and they can only get better.

With that, the best piece of the night was Yuri Possohkov’s Sagalobeli, where the company literally came alive and seemed to be having fun for the first time. The dancers looked confident, and played more, even to the point of a dancer falling in her solo. But the enthusiasm showed, and the audience felt it. The music was traditional Georgian music, but the ballet was refreshingly un-folkloric nor old. Possohkov’s choreography was freshly inventive and sensual, with an unexpected move at every turn that kept the audience engaged and delighted. He has a true talent for inventive corps formations, as well as innovative lifts and partnering. When I think of Possohkov, I think of a couple in the middle of a whirling spin, with legs and arms whipping around, and then stopping as the woman leans into a deep arabesque, with her partner pulling on her hand. This is truly the best I’ve seen of Possohkov’s choreography, and SF Ballet is truly lucky to have him as their resident choreographer.

Nina Ananiashvili danced in Ratmansky’s Bizet Variations. This is the first time that I’ve seen Ratmansky’s choreography. I didn’t see anything truly special nor outstanding; I see some Petipa in his choreography, and it looks like he based this piece deeply rooted in the Russian tradition. Nina A. however, was lovely; she looked like a cloud, floating in a lovely way. She would make a great Giselle, it would have been great to see her dance more.

The other piece was Balanchine’s Duo Concertant, danced by Nino Gogua and Lasha Khozashvili. They didn’t look as comfortable as they danced in the Possohkov piece, but did passably well. I can’t wait to see NYCB dance it when they dance at the War Memorial Opera house later this season.

One note: it’d be great if this show had timed the dancers’ bows and the curtain. The curtain kept on falling in the middle of the performers bows, as they were running downstage with arms uplifted, to take their bows. The lighting was awkward too; a percentage of the show was in muted darkness, as well as misplaced spotlights (is the spotlight supposed to only highlight the hands in Duo Concertant? The spotlight didn’t seem too sure if it was supposed to include the body or not). If Alastair Macaulay had a problem with the lighting at the SF Ballet programs, he would have had a field day with this one.

Edited to add: The problem with Duo Concertant is that it lacked the extra extension, the snap and verve – it was more than proficient given the material.

The theater was teeming with San Francisco Ballet dancers last night – they’re not performing in Giselle until Saturday. Spotted were artistic director Helgi Tomasson, dancers Yuan Yuan Tan, James Sofranko, and Gennadi Nedvigin, who got accosted by a group of giddy pre-teens in the lobby, and SF dance critics Rachel Howard and Allan Ullrich. It was a great audience, and the theater was pretty packed.