Saturday Matinee

San Francisco Ballet in Tomasson's Nutcracker. © Erik Tomasson

Last Thursday, I properly kicked off the Christmas season at the War Memorial Opera House with San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker. It’s been a family tradition ever since I was a little girl, and this is a production is one worthy of a tradition that’s passed down from generation to generation. Choreographed by Helgi Tomasson, this production showcases the best of childhood dreams – the warmth of a doting uncle, the thrill of adventure, the dreams of love, the wonder of a child, and the charm of the wonders of the world. No matter how many times I’ve seen Tomasson’s glittering production, I’m impressed by how much this production still amazes. The growing tree is just as impressive year after year, and the details in this production are just as charming, especially in the delightful costumes by Martin Pakledinaz that look like fancy confections. Everything about this ballet is like a glittering Christmas present that you’ve always wanted, tied with a Tiffany bow.

Set in early twentieth-century San Francisco, the local touches of San Francisco houses and the arboretum in Golden Gate Park in the grandiose sets by Michael Yeargan are magnificent. The first act is a rich fairytale as sumptuous as a holiday feast, inviting in its plotline, dramatic elements and dancing children. The second act is filled with a variety of sparkling vignettes with moments for the dancing to shine. The dances feature a variety of cultural delights, from the Chinese dragon in the Chinese Tea (danced with high-flying liveliness by James Sofranko) to the gasp-inducing entrance of the Russian Trepak bursting forth from Faberge eggs led by Hansuke Yamamoto with genial bravado. Lily Roger was a particular highlight in the Arabian, unfolding her long limbs with hypnotic sensuality. Moments of humor made unexpected but welcome appearances – the campy death of the Mouse King is particularly satisfying, and the quirky yet surprisingly agile circus bear that dances with Madame Du Cirque’s children never fails to make me laugh.

Sofiane Sylve in Tomasson's Nutcracker. © Erik Tomasson

Sofiane Sylve and guest artist Casey Herd was the reigning king and queen at last Thursday night’s performance, dancing the leads in the final Grand pas de deux. They lit up the stage with a regal presence, both embodying stunning glamor. Professionalism artfully concealed balance checks in the difficult adagio of the pas de deux, making it hardly noticeable to most of the audience. Other signs of under-rehearsal showed occasionally, especially in the coordination of the orchestra (under the baton of Donato Cabrera) with the Grand pas de deux and the Waltz of the Flowers with Maria Kochetkova as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Indecisive of its ever-changing tempo, the orchestra was a precarious element in an otherwise airy and expansive performance by Kochetkova, her arms generous and light. It was the lethal combination of a slow, stilting tempo and a choreography that didn’t offer much for the soloists to do, which led to moments of awkward stillness rather than flowing momentum and the freedom to fly. I couldn’t help but to wish that there was more for these gorgeous dancers to do. Sylve’s musicality had no place to shine without the support of the orchestra and static choreography. Despite this, the dancers still left a crystal clear impression of majesty and class. Herd was the hunky prince of everyone’s dreams, who matched Sylve’s glamour with his tall lines and dramatic stage presence. His dancing was almost operatic, his arms moving in dramatic strokes and his leaps were breathtaking. Vanessa Zahorian and Taras Domitro danced with cool ease and splendor amidst the snowstorm as the Snow Queen and King, and Elise Gillum completed the cast as a plucky and spirited young Clara.

San Francisco Ballet’s production is one that encapsulates the sweet warmth of tightly-held childhood dreams, as well as the spectacle and wonder of a world that is much bigger than our hopes and fantasies. And what a spectacle it is.

San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker continues until December 27th. Click here for more information. Also, be sure to catch the PBS recording of a live performance of this production.

Frances Chung in Balanchine's Jewels. © Erik Tomasson

Congratulations to Frances Chung for her promotion to principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet! What a nice surprise – it’s rare for a dancer promotion to be announced in the middle of the year, but she certainly deserves it. She made a splash with opening up last year’s opening night gala with a sassy rendition of Balanchine’s Tarantella, and has shown her versatility and fluidity in exploring modern ballet as well, with her performance in Possohkov’s Fusion being a particular highlight for me. It’s also a rare accomplishment for a dancer to break into the principal ranks from starting out in the corps – the most common route seems to be hiring superstars from the outside to join the company as principals – but it’s been an exciting journey that she has shared with audiences over the years as she has grown in her artistic abilities, visibly and consistently. I look forward to seeing her perform this year, hopefully with a solo in this year’s opening night gala, which will be on January 20 with the San Francisco Ballet.

Official press release:

“San Francisco Ballet announced today the promotion of Frances Chung from the rank of soloist to principal dancer, effective immediately.

Born in Vancouver, Chung trained at the Goh Ballet Academy before joining the Company in 2001. She was promoted to soloist in 2005 and has danced a diverse range of roles including the Sugar Plum Fairy, Grand Pas de Deux Ballerina, and Snow Queen in Tomasson’s Nutcracker; the Enchanted Princess in Tomasson’s The Sleeping Beauty; Neapolitan, Russian Princess, and pas de trois in Tomasson’s Swan Lake; and the Queen of the Dryads in Tomasson/Possokhov’s Don Quixote. Her repertory also includes lead roles in Balanchine’s Symphony in C, Divertimento No. 15, and “Emeralds”; Bintley’s The Dance House; Elo’s Double Evil; Forsythe’s in the middle, somewhat elevated; Lubovitch’s “…smile with my heart” and Elemental Brubeck; Makarova’s Paquita; Possokhov’s Fusion; and Welch’s Naked. Among other honors, Chung was a finalist and prize winner at the Prix de Lausanne in 2000 and received the top honor of a silver medal at the Adeline Genée Awards in London that same year.”

Edited to add: From a previous review of mine about her performance in Possohkov’s Fusion: “Soloist Frances Chung burst forth with an expansiveness and a sostenuto in her phrasing in Possohkov’s Fusion that was dazzling. There was life pulsing through her very limbs. I’ve always seen her as a wholesome dancer who fully embodies sunny exuberance, and it’s been fun to watch her grow into something freer and deeper, with increasing confidence. She’s also had a very good year starting with the lead in Balanchine’s Tarantella at the opening night gala. But for the first time, I saw flashes of a superstar who could hold her own in SF Ballet’s star-studded roster of female principals.” And yes, I’m totally going to take credit for calling it in the first place. You’re welcome, Frances.

Photographer: Richard Haughton

Despite being sparsely populated, Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Aurélia’s Oratorio invites the audience into its world that is brimming with imagination and surprise. With the opening scene of body parts poking in and out of the drawers of a cabinet getting dressed while eating some cake and lighting a candle, the show unfolds in a series of vignettes that finds comedy in the unexpected. A kite hugs the ground while a woman flies at the end of the kite string. A woman hangs her laundry to dry and promptly waters it with a watering can. A marionette show features an animated human face on its stage facing a wooden puppet audience including the guy sleeping in the back row. These images are brief, ephemeral, nonsensical – insert obvious metaphor to life here. With the expected being flipped on its head, the conventional becomes strikingly unconventional, peculiar yet familiar. Illusions pervade a dream world that make the unbelievable, believable. More than being illusions where we’re wowed, illusions become something we cling to, to make the story fit, even if we see how the magic is being done. A man puts red heeled shoes on his hands and becomes the bottom half of a dancing couple. Even though we clearly see him, the audience is invited to suspend disbelief and even be amazed as the couple glides across the stage in a seductive dance. No one is tricked to believe that this is really the bottom half of two people, but we’re invited to participate in the imaginative circus.

Photographer: Richard Haughton

This is a show that invites the audience to play, to imagine, and even be challenged in Aurelia’s witty dream world that is not without a touch of darkness. Aurélia Thierrée is the show’s quirky star, navigating through each scene with wide-eyed curiosity and aplomb. Her background in circus performance is evident, yet she disarms with the charm of a little girl performing a homespun magic show in her grandmother’s attic. Jamie Martinez is Thierrée’s delightful partner, who constantly searches for Aurélia throughout the show. The sense of searching is a common thread amongst many of the disconnected vignettes. As the show ends with Aurelia looking around in awe as a toy train chugs through a tunnel in her torso, the incessant search ends with the overwhelming sense of wonder.

Aurélia’s Oratorio runs at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre through January 24. Click here for more info.

Vadim Solomakha (left) and Yuan Yuan Tan performing the “Black Swan” pas de deux from Swan Lake at the San Francisco Ballet, 1998. George Nikitin/AP

Happy Friday! Have you picked your dream Nutcracker cast yet? SF Ballet’s Nutcracker opens on Tuesday, December 8.

Maybe I’m the only one who didn’t know, but there was an unfamiliar name on the casting site. After some sleuthing, I found out more about this mystery name (footnote credit to the SF Ballet PR department – thanks!). Vadim Solomakha is a guest artist for SF Ballet during the Nutcracker season, and was previously a principal with SF Ballet who has remained in close contact with the company during his time away. (Doesn’t he look a little like Baryshnikov?) Here’s another photo of him with Sarah van Patten in a Voice of Dance article.

Which cast would you like to see? If you could create your own dream cast, who would be in it? I’m having the hardest time picking which cast to see.

Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. It feels very much like the calm before the holiday sugar-plum sweetened storm, and my life outside the theater has been very busy. The closest to theater that I got to see recently was the festive Christmas parade at Disneyland (in 84 degree weather, I might add). It was a veritable explosion of Christmas spirit, with a song that wouldn’t die in my head and props and costumes to satisfy the most materialistic of Christmas consumers.

Toy box ballerina

The first full week of December seems to be the week where holiday shows open. I will be attending two, if not three, including Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Aurelia’s Oratorio starring Charlie Chaplin’s granddaughter and directed by her mother. A quote by Aurélia Thierrée on working with her mother from an article in the Seattle Times: “If another director told me we’ll begin the show with you in a chest of drawers, and end with a train going over your stomach, I would have said no!” Mark Morris’ The Hard Nut opens that week as well at Cal Performances, which I’m finally looking forward to seeing live. And last but not least, SF Ballet’s glorious Nutcracker opens on December 8.

Elsewhere, the Nutcracker season has started at New York City Ballet. I especially enjoyed Oberon’s Grove take on the opening night performance. Funny how audience misbehavior can ruin a night, no?

And finally, SF Ballet’s lovely Yuan Yuan Tan is on the cover of Dance magazine this month, as featured on the SF Ballet Blog. I’m always looking for an excuse to buy this magazine (it’s such a luxury, in my limited student budget) and this month, I think I’ll have to treat myself.

Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun and Anthony Spaulding in Tomasson's Nutcracker. © Erik Tomasson

It’s that time of the year again – Christmas jewelry commercials are starting to creep up on TV, and people are searching and finding my blog through Google searches such as “nutcracker san francisco ballet” in increasing numbers. (Can you believe we’re already halfway through November??)

Here’s a non-comprehensive list of holiday dance offerings in San Francisco and the Bay Area. There’s a dusting of smaller ballet companies doing the Nutcracker – Ballet San Jose and Oakland Ballet, for example but I haven’t seen these so I can’t vouch for them. But here are the ones that are on my radar this year:

• San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker. This glittering, sumptuous, nostalgic confection is one of the best the West Coast has to offer. It doesn’t seem proper to start the holidays without it. I grew up with this production, when my family used to drive to SF to see it. I have childhood memories of getting dressed up in holiday party dresses and sitting excitedly in box seats, waiting for the production to start. Performances start on December 11. Click here for my 2007 and 2008 reviews. Buy the DVD of a live performance by SF Ballet on Amazon.com, narrated by Kristi Yamaguchi.
• Smuin Ballet’s Christmas Ballet. I haven’t seen this yet, but it’s a holiday show that’s guaranteed to be as sexy and showy as the company that’s dancing it. It’s the spiced up and heavily spiked egg nog variety of your normal holiday beverage. It’s a collage of dances choreographed by Amy Seiwert, Robert Sund and more, celebrating Christmas in the non-traditional, non-Tchaikovsky sort of way. I’m sure it’ll be family friendly, although the marketing seems to be targeted more for adults. It seems like a perfect holiday date, or the audience member new to ballet or dance who wants to celebrate the holidays in style. Performances start on November 27 in Walnut Creek, and the show moves on to Carmel, Mountain View, and San Francisco.
• Mark Morris’ The Hard Nut. Advertised as the “Nutcracker with a twist”, it’s the Nutcracker story as viewed through the fun, crazy, touching, slightly disturbed yet brilliant eyes of Mark Morris. This truly is the production that everyone will enjoy, from dance fanatics to kids who were reportedly rapt with attention during the entire production. I’m hoping to finally see this production live this year, after seeing it only on DVD. It’s worth it just to see that snow scene. Love! And any guesses if Mark Morris himself will be onstage to play the drunk, inappropriate uncle again? Surprisingly, a lot of tickets are still available. I’ve noticed that more rush tickets have been more available for their other performances this year with more empty seats, but this show usually sells out fast. Performances start on December 11.
• Sacramento Ballet’s Nutcracker. Ok so technically not Bay Area, but this is a company that was hit last year with financial struggles with doubts of whether or not it would stay open. Sacramento Ballet seemed to be representative of the struggles of many smaller arts organizations, and it’s inspiring to see them continue on. This year, they bring in TV’s Melissa Sandvig from So You Think You Can Dance to dance the Sugar Plum Fairy for select performances. Opening night is on December 11.
• For the non dance fans, other things that are going on in the Bay Area – ACT’s A Christmas Carol or the non traditional Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Aurélia’s Oratorio if you’re in the mood for a play, and SF Symphony has a slew of things going on for the holidays for Christmas and the New Year.

Aurélia’s Oratorio at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Photographer:
Richard Haughton

For all of these offerings, there seems to be a lot of family discounts and special events going on. Be sure to call the box office for more information.

What are you going to see this year?

It’s nice to know that Shakespeare can still pack a house, even if it’s not in a park. It helps that the company is London-based Shakespeare’s Globe stage troupe to show us how it’s really done, bringing the comedic production of Love’s Labour Lost on a US national tour, with their stop at the Mondavi Center.

From the get go, it was a bit like going back into history. Shakespearean minstrels greeted the audience in the lobby, and actors mingled in the aisles before the show and during intermission, riffing with attendees and even serving hors d’oeuvres. It was enlightening to see how interactive theater was back then. Actors regularly ran up and down the aisles with some of the action going on amongst the audience (with one actor sitting in one poor (or lucky) lady’s lap and flipping through the program and hiding from the king). Shakespearean theater wasn’t some glorified, elevated art form that demands to be treated with kid gloves. It was entertainment for the commoners.

Directed by Dominic Dromgoole, this company brought first class comedy to the stage in a fresh production that brought Shakespeare to life. A bright, airy set (by Jonathan Fensom), nimble wordplay, and impeccable comedic timing made this production accessible to modern audiences. The king and his three friends swear to devote themselves to study and chastity and are confounded when the Princess of France and her three ladies visit the royal court. Hilarity ensues. Men in love are just so silly. And they pontificate. A lot. I guess that’s something that hasn’t changed since the Shakespearean times.

In a cast of stellar actors, a standout was Fergal McElherron as Costard, an unlikely swain who inhabited his character in every spirited moment.

It was refreshing to hear unmiked voices, as if the voices were talking directly to you with dynamic vocal projection. However, in addition to the Shakespearean language and a smattering of foreign accents, there were parts that were hard to catch. It’s a speed and speech that American audiences aren’t used to hearing, and I had difficulty in comprehending the unfamiliar script and convoluted story. It was no wonder the audience reacted more consistently to the physical comedy, and there were many chances to laugh.

I’ve forgotten how sophomoric Shakespeare can be, and this show reminded me at how phallic jokes never grow old. Despite its obscure moments, this production was first rate production that throughout history, audiences have always been entertained by both high intellectual comedy of witty wordplay, along with the low.

Mondavi Arts

To commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Nutcracker ballet being performed in America, the San Francisco Ballet is holding a video contest for viewers to be able to win fabulous prizes by sharing your Nutcracker memories in a fun and creative way.

How many of us have Nutcracker memories growing up? (If you don’t, you probably aren’t reading this blog.) Use your imagination to reenact or re-imagine a magical scene from Nutcracker OR create a video depicting your favorite magical Nutcracker memory. For more contest details, click here.

From the Youtube Symphony, to the Van Cliburn Adult Amateur Competition, to Choreographing Your PhD for dancer scientists, more and more organizations are starting to use video to promote excitement and generate creativity from people all over the world. It’s a great way to engage your audience in an interesting and creative way.

What’s your favorite Nutcracker memory? And if you post a video, please link in the comments below!

Very few musicals start in the middle of a love story. A meet-cute is customary with a predictable plot that follows. I loved South Pacific not because it was about another schmaltzy love story, but it was more about a woman’s journey in finding true love.

The song “Bali Hai” is sung to a soldier lonely for a woman’s company, but it’s a calling that stirs in anyone with a dream.

Bali Ha’i may call you,
Any night, any day,
In your heart, you’ll hear it call you:
“Come away…Come away.”

Your own special hopes,
Your own special dreams,
Bloom on the hillside
And shine in the streams.
If you try, you’ll find me

And who doesn’t dream of true love?

The main character, a self-proclaimed “cockeyed-optimist” Nellie Forbush, turns out to be a little less sunny than she says she is. Falling in love with the dashing Emile de Becque, she hardly flinches when he tells her that he’s killed a man when he was young, yet she can’t get over the fact that he has dark-skinned children. It’s an uncomfortable situation where it’s difficult to criticize her brutal honesty, and an audible gasp falls over the audience when she uses the word “colored”. (It’s hard to believe that there’s something that shocks modern audiences.) The story unfolds as she sees that she herself is the obstacle to achieving her own dreams. The story ends when she chooses love perhaps too late, and it’s a love that changes her into a better person.

In my first time ever seeing the show, I saw the wonderful national touring production that breezed through San Francisco last month at the Golden Gate Theater. Director Bartlett Sher presented a production with intelligence and a welcome layer of darkness contrasting the lush over-the-top romanticism inherent in the plot and music. Bari-hunk Rod Gilfry‘s ”One Enchanted Evening” was a shining highlight, infusing the familiar song with a fresh and thrilling grandeur and a hefty dose of sex appeal. Carmen Cusack is a pleasant and spunky Nellie Forbush, and Keala Settle is a hilarious Bloody Mary in a portrayal of a gritty survivor in spite of her caricatured role.

Shannon Hurlburt in Fly Me to the Moon. All photos owned by Smuin Ballet.

A few weeks ago, I attended a Smuin Ballet performance for the first time with their Fall Program. Having heard about them several years ago on their famously sold out run in New York, it was a thrill to be able to finally be able to see them live after hearing such positive things about the company from some very picky New York dance fans who are only used to the best dance in the world.

The Smuin Ballet is a small-ish company, yet even in this economy overrun by cutbacks, you get the sense that they are a company that are doing many things right. My first impression when I walked into the Palace of the Fine Arts is the remarkable diversity of its audience. Not only were there the standard white-haired dance crowd, but there was a healthy representation of youth, that elusive target dance audience to build up future audiences – from young professionals dressed to a tee, to the more alternative crowd not normally seen at ballet performances. On a weeknight! Why is it even striking me, as a regular ballet goer, that ballet viewing is a not-big-deal activity that you can pop by the theater for some post-work relaxation with some friends after dinner and drinks? A paradigm shift, indeed.

Another tremendous asset to this company is choreographer-in-residence Amy Seiwert. Her world premiere piece, Soon These Two Worlds, was the highlight of the night. Set to the music of the Kronos Quartet called Pieces of Africa, Seiwert showcases an intelligent take on the quirky, sweetly lilting music. Propelled by tribal beats, Seiwert combines movements deeply rooted in classical ballet vocabulary with angular geometry and an earthy groundedness with a lower center of gravity in a seamless concoction that’s never obvious or forced (i.e. as opposed to many modern choreographers do these days, announcing loudly, “This is avant-garde choreography”). Surprisingly, this simple concept feels incredibly fresh. Seiwert shows a strong sense of musicality, and there is a thrill in the mercurial steps that constantly shifts and changes at lightning speed. There is a seamless whirlwind of sharp angles and floaty suspension, a playful lightness and athletic attacks. In typical Smuin tradition, this choreography includes a dramatic pseudo-storyline of a couple that comes together and gets gently pulled apart by the corps. This neither adds nor detracts from the piece. A communal warmth pervades, and it is a breathless and thrilling celebration.

Smuin’s Medea followed, where Smuin’s strongly compelling choreography was unfortunately overshadowed by over-the-top theatrics, from the smoke wafting from Medea’s cape to costumes that were suggestive to the point of distraction. I enjoyed this piece much more in rehearsal, where the choreography was more visible without the melodramatic lighting and costumes. The pas de deux between Jason (Matthew Linzer with statuesque lines), and Creusa Princess of Corinth (Terez Dean dancing with sensual edge) is a witty exploration of a gentle yet illicit love story that gets dominated by sensory overload.

Robin Cornwell as Madea. All photos owned by Smuin Ballet.

The company lets loose in Michael Smuin’s Fly Me To the Moon, set to the music of Frank Sinatra in the spirit of Broadway. You get the sense that the Smuin Ballet feels truly at home in this piece, with this company that shows itself to be a company of performers that sell every single moment to the umpteenth degree. It struck me how rare it is to see this much nostalgia without a hint of irony or darkness (such as Paul Taylor’s Company B or Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra Suite). It was a bit one-note for my taste, but no one seemed to mind as the audience reveled in the rosy nostalgia of simpler times. It offered the perfect moment of escapism in these rocky times.

Be sure to catch this program in February in Walnut Creek. This program will also be shown in Mountain View and Carmel. The Smuin Ballet’s holiday program begins on November 27.

The Smuin Ballet