Saturday Matinee

General Thoughts: An Overview

San Francisco Ballet in Adam’s A rose by any other name. © Erik Tomasson

With the presentation of the entire New Works Festival, I am amazed at the breadth and diversity of not only ballet and the dance world, but also the versatility of the dancers at SF Ballet. No matter the reviews, that has always stayed constant – the quality of the dancing remains shockingly high, despite the completely different styles of movement, from the purely neoclassical to the far out modern. I’ve seen how classical training can sometimes impede upon the freer natural movement of modern dance and its disastrous results; however, I needn’t have had any doubts with SF Ballet.

I posted Allan Ulrich’s comment below because it really reflected the choreography in Program A, however Program B and C has changed that opinion for me. Ballet is not only changing in increments, but in leaps and bounds as well. The best part is, a lot of the different styles of choreography is not merely a peek into the future, but a direct reflection of dance history – from Nijinsky’s Rite of Spring style of dance (reflected in Adam’s A Rose by Any Other Name) to the Martha Grahamesque Thread by Margaret Jenkins.
The New Works Festival has not only been a celebration of the future direction of the company and dance, but a retrospective look and a lovely homage to dance’s past as well.

A note about the slew of indifferent/negative reviews – it was hard not to watch the festival with sky high expectations, having in front of you the top ten choreographers in the world and to be disappointed if your expectations were not presented to you. In my mind, the festival was even a success before it started; the fact that this is even being attempted will outlast some critic’s disgruntled grumblings and seen as a big event in dance history. I didn’t like everything i saw onstage, but it was still a rare and fascinating look into the future and the direction to where ballet is going.

A big surprise to me is that the severely strong and very differing reactions from critics and audiences alike. That always happens to some degree, but it’s happening to an unusually strong degree here. Perhaps it’s because they’re all new pieces that no one has a preconception of? I try not to read reviews before I see a show because I’ve seen how that can directly color my experience of a show, but I was surprised to come back and to read reviews that differed considerably from mine. I think it’s a great thing, and it makes me want to see it again so I can see what someone else saw in a piece that didn’t particularly stand out.

Another great thing about this festival is that I’ve been able to take some ballet newbies to see a show, people who would normally never see Swan Lake or any ballet for that matter. For Program B, I took a friend of mine who had barely seen ballet and in addition, he had only slept four hours the night previously. I thought he was a goner for sure and fall asleep, but what kept him awake was he said that he was (his words) intellectually engaged. That’s what I loved about this festival; it engaged me as much as it engaged a person new to ballet. I took other friends to see Program C, and one of my favorite parts about that night was talking and analyzing the ballets afterwards and during intermission.

So my recommendation is if you only see one program, see Program B (my personal favorite) although given the diverse reviews, it’s most likely you’ll like another program more so try to catch all of them. Grab a few friends who are willing to try new things and be willing to be open minded about what you see onstage and about the opinions of the people around you.