Saturday Matinee

NYCB’s Jared Angle and Yvonne Borree in Balanchine’s Duo Concertant. © Erik Tomasson

San Francisco Ballet is certainly looking to its future in its 75th anniversary, and although it was a unique approach, Program 6 was no different. It was a fine display of modern ballet, danced by visiting international companies that were invited to pay tribute to the San Francisco Ballet. I was struck most by how diverse modern ballet can be. In my mind, I found that I lumped modern ballet into one category, where movements were angular, asymmetrical, fast, and bendy, sometimes all at the same time. The three international companies that performed not only highlighted different aspects of modern ballet, but seemed to showcase the strengths of each company itself along with it. The National Ballet of Canada was softer, gentler, more subtle yet simmering in its emotion. New York City Ballet was steely and lightning fast, freshly modern in its stark simplicity and logic. Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo danced with raw sexual energy and power, every movement filled to completion with passion and angst. Reminiscent of Program 5 of the SF Ballet, although Program 5 had better pieces, Program 6 showcased the strength of each company well and offered a glimpse into the diverse of modern ballet to its audiences.

The evening opened with the National Ballet of Canada dancing Matjash Mrozewski’s “A Delicate Battle”. With snow slowly falling throughout the entire piece that added a chilly atmosphere to the heated struggles displayed onstage, the stage opens with a group of men and women dressed in simple white leotards and shorts in socks, which added a bedroom intimacy to the couples onstage. The dancing is full of leans, sharp kicks, and leaning arabesques, as couples seem to be struggling internally as well as depending on each other. In contrast, there is another faction of dancers, dressed fully in Victorian dresses and suits, that weaves in and out of the action. The men barrel through the crowd, without regard, while the Victorian women hover protectively. It’s as if the dancers in white are a dream, while the fully dressed dancers are reality, observing the dream. But things get even more confusing as the show progresses; after a brief blackout, a group of fully dressed women stand in a circle, and sign to each other with their hands
in brief furtive movements, and there is another blackout. That entire scene lasted about 20 seconds. I’m still scratching my head on that one. Things start to escalate, as dancers mostly dance in couples, mixing the two factions of people, and there is a sense of struggle in each pas de deux, heightened by the merging of the music of Bach with the dissonant electronic music of Gavin Bryars. In general, the men treat the women aggressively, and the women hold on. (How original.) In a big way, this piece symbolized my biggest pet peeves about modern ballet and modern choreography; a lot of it doesn’t make sense, and doesn’t seem to possess meaning that is understandable to the normal audience. I was trying to wrack my brain on what the Victorian dresses could symbolize, which got confusing when some of the women would take off the dress to reveal a white leotard or someone would hand her a dress to hold in her arms. I’m a big proponent of not having to read a lot of literature before you see a show in order to enjoy it, but when I read the program notes after seeing this piece, it was frustrating to read that the choreographer actually used Victorian dresses not because they symbolized something, but because he “loves the era and the silhouette the clothing creates”. It doesn’t mean that meaning wasn’t assigned to the costumes at the end (symbolizing a stifling strict surrounding), but it was difficult to understand. The dancers were amazing though, sharp and clean in their execution, and displaying the struggle well with their reaching passionate lines.

Sonia Rodriguez and Christopher Body in Mrozewski’s A Delicate Battle. © Erik Tomasson

Alejandra Perez-Gomez and Etienne Lavigne in Mrozewski’s A Delicate Battle. © Erik Tomasson

Next was my favorite piece of the night, NYCB’s Duo Concertant. It was a treat to see Balanchine danced by its home company – my first NYCB experience, actually! The asymmetry in the choreography matched Stravinsky’s quirky music, with a logical inertia that drives the piece, from lightning quick moves to an expansive pause where Yvonne Borree raises her arms, which quickly evolves into a change in direction. Yvonne Borree and Jared Angle danced with witty precision, giving it a freshly modern take despite its starkness (aside from an occasional drifting snowflake left over from A Delicate Battle). Borree was light, fiery, and precise, like a flash of light. Jared Angle was noble and whimsical at the same time. They definitely possessed the snap and verve that was missing in the State of Georgia Ballet‘s performance of the same piece, and the lightning fast speed and precision was thrilling to watch.

Yvonne Borree and Jared Angle in Balanchine’s Duo Concertant. © Erik Tomasson

The piece ended with the Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo dancing Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Altro Canto. Set to liturgical music of Claudio Monteverdi, Giagio Marini, and Giovanni Kapsberger, the ballet was ruled by haunting religious overtones, yet the singing was intensely emotional, like a requiem. Costumes were by Karl Lagerfeld, who dressed half the cast (men and women) in a bubble skirt and a wifebeater tank, with the other half in a corset top and pants, which worked in the gender neutral partnering that occurred throughout this piece. Despite the intensely raw emotional dancing, I couldn’t help but to feel that this ballet was full of style but no substance. The dancing was intensely physical, with a vibrant energy that vibrated through every moment of the ballet. However, if I didn’t understand A Delicate Battle, this piece I understood even less. There were random moments, such as a duet where the man and woman (Bernice Coppieters and Ramon Gomes Reis) react to each other without touching the entire time. The men carry Bernice Coppieters in another part of the ballet, where she moved as a dolphin swimming through water, fluidly, gracefully. Even though it doesn’t make sense, the result is oddly mesmerizing. The dancers were powerfully moving with undulating extensions. Floating candles flickered eerily on the set, which adds to the haunting religious aura of the stage.

Paola Cantalupo and Mimoza Koike in Maillot’s Altro Canto. © Erik Tomasson

Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo in Maillot’s Altro Canto. © Erik Tomasson

The high quality of the dancing elevated this less-than-perfect program to a completely different level. The best part was experiencing the unique qualities highlighted by each company, each of them stellar, showcasing a diverse range of modern ballet. Watching NYCB dance Duo Concertant alone made the evening for me. I regret not having caught the second cast, Sterling Hyltin and Robert Fairchild, dance it. In all, Program 6 is a great opportunity to experience world class dancing, all in one program.

Program 6 runs until April 6.

Next up: the New Works Festival! I’ll be blogging about it soon -

Update: Interesting, heated debate regarding Rachel Howard’s review of Program 6 in the SF Chronicle. I’m surprised how it gets personal, really fast. Is it so hard to believe that some people can have differing opinions from you? I have to agree with her about the choreography of the Maillot piece, which she calls “stereotypical… Euro-fashionable pretentiousness”, although the delivery still made it mesmerizing to watch. I would have loved to have seen the Les Ballets de Monte Carlo dance McGregor’s Eden/Eden, which seems right up their alley.