Saturday Matinee

Marcelo Gomes and Paloma Herrera making pretty poses in Milledpied’s “From Here on Out”

Unwittingly, I set off a flurry of discussion (resultant comments here) on dance critic Apollinaire Scherr’s site, writing about my thoughts on ABT’s recent performances of Elo’s “C to C” and Milledpied’s “From Here on Out” (what does that title even mean? You could have titled it something like, “Gone in 60 Seconds” and it wouldn’t have made a difference.) I knew instinctually that these pieces were not great pieces, but I was absolutely flustered by the point of these pieces. Both pieces had their moments – Elo had me briefly mesmerized in places, and Milledpied’s was intricately detailed and so much so that every picture I’ve seen of this piece is breathtaking. But both pieces lost me at the overall picture. (I should note that my dissatisfactions with the piece had nothing to do with the talent seen onstage; the dancers of ABT were amazing, as always.)

Anyways, the interesting discussion on Apollinaire’s site brought up analogies to writing, where an author, as should a choreographer, should start with a thesis or an idea, with a logical flow that supports this thesis. Dance is a communication, is it not, of the choreographer’s ideas and thoughts? Clarity of meaning and point, then, should be well in order for the audience to appreciate and to understand and fully appreciate the artist’s work.

One of the foundational points of discussion is whether or not dance is really instinctual in nature. Is movement able to convey meaning, that all audiences can understand and resonate with? In an analogous way, people can argue that there are aspects of visual art, which can be just as difficult if not more so in the viewer’s quest for deciphering meaning, that are universal and understandable. And if so, then are program notes and audio tours of art museums necessary for the full enjoyment of a work of visual and theatrical art? These questions remind me of a discussion we’ve had on this site, where I asked the question if a dance in itself should be complete; should we all be provided with program notes and an audio tour of museum art works before we “get” a piece? Or should we be able to watch it and enjoy it for what it is? Elo’s “C to C” required a knowledge that the dance was about an artist (whose face was emblazoned across the backdrop) and his struggle in living with the effects of a debilitating aneurysm. I completely missed reading through the program notes before I saw the piece, thanks to the Cal vs. USC football game going on outside amidst mobs of drunk fans, which barely put us on time for the performance (we rushed down the aisles in the dark to the “overture” of Tharp’s Baker’s Dozen). I still don’t know the answer to this question, although what I am sure about is that a work of art HAS to work on a level of being enjoyed and understood as a piece in itself, without prior research and program notes. Even if it’s on a different level than having read about the creator’s motivations, a work in itself has to be complete.

Perhaps visual art has been seeping into my thoughts thanks to a recent visit to one of my favorite art museums, the SF Museum of Modern Art. The picture below is Jim Dine’s “Blue Clamp”, where in the middle of a dripping acrylic heart is a blatant vice-like C-clamp. The clamp’s obvious presence is magnified by the use of a contrasting bright blue color. See, this piece communicates and communicates well. If this piece isn’t universal, I don’t know what is – if you don’t understand this, then you probably haven’t had your heart broken.

Sort of a lazy post today. Still recovering from the past few days, I went to see The Color Purple again. Felicia Fields is completely worth it and that show never fails to get me.

It’s nice though to pull out all the mail and find some gems in the midst of bills, such as this picture as a part of a Gap promo. Gorgeous – featuring Greta Hodgkinson of the National Ballet of Canada. I wonder if she’ll be coming as a part of SFB’s International Salute next season? Does anyone know who her gorgeous partner is?

The cast of Spring Awakening was also featured in their holiday ads. What a fun picture.

I also got a promo for Mark Morris’ The Hard Nut. For the first time, I wished I was a Berkeley student so I could access their 50% off discount.

Who says that snow is exclusively female??

On a separate note, I finally put the final excruciating finishing details on my PhD thesis proposal and sent it in to my committee members. I’m about halfway there… as I sent it off, hoping there were no dumb mistakes, I was reminded of this comic strip (a favorite of procrastinating graduate students everywhere), from PhDComics.com .

I made sure that I spelled my name right.

The show of the night: Xiomara Reyes and Herman Cornejo

I finally got to see ABT last night at Berkeley! It was a highly anticipated night, where I was excited due to the internet buzz about their new programs as well as watching interesting photos from rehearsals. And, to top it off, we got great seats in the fourth row orchestra. I love sitting up close and watch sweat spin off from Sascha Radetsky’s face and shower Julie Kent as he turned in Fancy Free.

It’s always interesting to look around the audience – in addition to the usual sea of gray hair, I notice a percentage of youngish girls in the audience who twittered audibly at the onstage appearance of Sascha Radetsky. I believe this is what is called the Center Stage effect. It probably is worse during tour, I imagine. I spotted some SF Ballet dancers as well – I wonder if they were comparing interprations and techniques on Fancy Free, which SFB performed last year??

Anyways, this was the first time I’d seen ABT perform a City Center-like repertory program. It’s a series of short pieces, and I know that sometimes it’s easy to walk away from repertory programs feeling unsatisfied, like you were being shown a series of excerpts from multiple books without getting a good idea of the big picture of each excerpt. You can’t get invested in a full sweeping story of something like Swan Lake, but what ABT has done is to pick a series of pieces that really showcase the talents of its individual principal dancers. Ballo is a great example – they opened with this sparkling but harmless Balanchine piece, which for reasons I understand now, isn’t one of Balanchine’s more famous pieces. But, what it does do is to showcase the precise quick footwork of Gillian Murphy, in which I felt like she thrived and blossomed and really came alive only during her variation. It also showcases David Hallberg’s amazing ballon and quick footwork. And it was really nice to see the big smiles on stage! The four female soloists were great as well. Maria Riccetto was clean and sharp, and Hee Seo has that extra special something that was amazing to watch.

The Sleeping Beauty Rose Adagio, with Paloma Herrera was next. Despite emotional lackluster performances the last few times I’ve seen her (including Giselle), I was still excited to see her because of her amazing balances and technique which would completely work in her favor here. But I was confused when her balances were completely cut short, and it didn’t even look like she tried. When I saw SF Ballet perform Sleeping Beauty last year, usually the last balance they try to go for it and stretch it out, despite wobbling – and it’s always thrilling to watch because you’re rooting for them at the same time. Perhaps she was tired and touring is tough, and I know it’s still a difficult piece. It’s just that with stories of how amazing her balances are that she gets stuck doing pirouettes and can’t come down from them, I expected longer balances. Oh well. This review mirrors my sentiment as well. One note on the princes – their costumes really are outrageous. Blaine Hoven’s wig is priceless (poor guy, it’s not his fault!). A bob is rarely attractive on men, especially a prince! But at least his costume was better than the Celtic prince.

The next piece stole the entire program and was my favorite. It was Xiomara Reyes and Herman Cornejo in the Le Corsaire pas de deux. I can’t remember the last time that I heard an audience gasp and go crazy at a ballet performance, with one of Cornejo’s flying leap entrances where he must have been more than a few feet off of the ground. He was absolutely thrilling to watch, and of course this is the sort of thing where he excels. Xiomara Reyes made a lovely partner as well, understated but perhaps unfairly overshadowed by the showier Cornejo. This piece also reminds me of Mark Morris saying how he sometimes doesn’t like ballet because a lot of times it’s all about the tricks. And this pas de deux is definitely about tricks, but still, it’s so much fun!

The man of the hour: Herman Cornejo at curtain call

The show ended with Jerome Robbin’s Fancy Free. It’s all-American fun, a story of three sailors on leave and looking for girls. It’s so much fun, yet it’s not just fluff – it’s very layered and really well choreographed. The choreography was reminiscent of West Side Story, another example of the collaboration between Robbins and Bernstein (I thought one move was very similar to the lollipop munchkins in Wizard of Oz with the side head jerks – does anyone else know what I’m talking about? But that was probably just a fluke). The three male leads were danced by Craig Salstein, Sascha Radetsky, and Marcelo Gomes. I’d never seen Marcelo in a contemporary role like this (the last time I saw him was Albrecht in Giselle), but it was really fun and his samba made me laugh. Craig Salstein had great comedic timing and really sank his teeth into the role, and it was fun to watch him go. The camaraderie between the three of them was so easy and kept me smiling the entire time. Julie Kent also made a very luminous girl that Sascha charms, and even watching her brief pas de deux with him, I realized she was the only female dancer that really had me breathless the entire night, even in her non-pointe shoes. She literally glows, and she melts with her amazing extensions. I know people always talk about the amazing talent of men in ABT (and rightly so!) but dancers like Julie Kent and Diana Vishneva (my faves) are absolutely rare and just as praiseworthy as well.

Just one note on the bartender in Fancy Free, played by Julio Bragado-Young. I wondered why Robbins kept him in this piece when all he does is smoke, read his paper, and move the bar stool at one point so Sascha can jump over it. I thought his bland cynicism was an excellent commentary on the ridiculous goings on inside his bar. In a sense, he’s almost like the narrator of the story, and by his cynical quiet contempt that’s highly contrasted by the testosterone-driven hyperactivity of the three sailors, says volumes in his silence. And yes, I thought the bartender merited his own paragraph. I thought his part was hysterical and absolutely essential to this piece.

Curtain call for Fancy Free – I accidentally cut out Craig Salstein! The guys’ costumes look like a nightmare to dance in, and I’m sure the hat doesn’t help either. L to R: Marissa Thomas, Marcelo Gomes, Julie Kent, Sascha Radetsky, Stella Abrera

Now for Program B coming up this weekend! It’s going to be a more contemporary program, with Elo’s “C to C”, “Sinatra Suite”, Tharp’s “Baker’s Dozen”, and Millepied’s “From Here on Out”. Unfortunately, the biggest Cal football game of the year is also taking place that day (Cal vs. USC), so it’s going to be absolutely insane, so I’m told. I should wear red just to be anti-Cal (representing my alma mater, Cal’s rival!) but afraid I’m going to get jumped.

What did people think of Ballo della Regina? ABT’s Fancy Free?

Still having problems with moblogging. This one failed to make it onto this site last night, so I’m publishing it now. Minutes before a night of ABT!

Just bought tickets for Program A and B!! Yay!! Reviews coming soon -

ABT at Cal Performances

Jose Carreno, Sasha Radestky, and Herman Cornejo in Fancy Free

Berkeley Rep’s Argonautika and ABT with Cal Performances

Berkeley Rep’s Argonautika

Two great shows are opening this week:

• Argonautika, with the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, is officially opening this Wednesday although it’s already opened for previews. It’s amazing that I just saw the set two weeks ago and it only looked half built, and now it’s already up and running. Casting info here, including Justin Blanchard who was amazing in Journey’s End. Really looking forward to this show.
  • While we’re in outline form, might as well insert a sidenote (I’m comfortable writing in outline form these days, since I’m working on my PhD thesis proposal, for which I’m procrastating right now). Mary Zimmerman, who directed Argonautika, was also bringing her production of Lucia di Lammermoor (which opened at the Met this year) this summer to the SF Opera, but now they’ve announced that they’re not going to bring Zimmerman’s production but going to replace it with another. I’m disappointed, but I’m sure it’ll be a good replacement. Good news is that its star, Natalie Dessay, is still scheduled to appear.
• American Ballet Theatre is opening its weekend stop at Cal Performances this Wednesday. I can’t wait, I haven’t seen this ballet company perform since I saw Vladimir Malakhov and Diana Vishneva dance Giselle at the Lincoln Center… was it last year? I think I held my breath the entire time. During this stop in Berkeley, I’m looking forward to seeing Herman Cornejo, and seeing David Hallberg for the first time. (I keep on having to remind myself that I have yet to see him dance!) I’m really really going to try to catch both programs, since my schedule is so off these days (my thesis proposal requires me to write til the wee hours of the morning, and then waking up and taking random naps in the afternoon in addition to a lot of panicking.)
  • Cal Performances is continuing its “Focus on Twyla Tharp” series that it has going this year. I’m very new to this type of multi-show themed programming, but it’s been very enlightening. I feel like I’m slowly being taught the multi-faceted talents of Ms. Tharp, being shown all her different works over a relatively short period of time. The last two performances I saw at the Zellerbach Hall included Tharp – Deuce Coupe with Joffrey, and Nine Sinatra Songs and In the Upper Room with Miami City Ballet, which have all been so different and yet with Tharp’s characteristic touches. I’ve really been able to appreciate inventive choreography from a choreographer who isn’t so intensely musical (such as Balanchine and Morris), my favorites that resonates so well with me. The only downside that I see to this “focus” is if the featured is on a choreographer that I didn’t like.
  • These gorgeous rehearsal photos from the multi-talented Matt Murphy has really gotten me jazzed about seeing these more contemporary works, including Elo’s “Close to Chuck” and Tharp’s “Baker’s Dozen”. It’s such a privilege to be offered a backstage peek, and to view a bit of the creative process. It really adds to the appreciation of the hard work involved, and enjoyment of the final product.

White crushed velvet leggings? ABT’s Kristi Boone and Isaac Stappas in Tharp’s “Baker’s Dozen”.

Jennifer Carlynn Kronenberg and Carlos Miguel Guerra in Nine Sinatra Songs

I just got back from watching the Miami City Ballet perform at Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall, and it was such a high. They are an amazing company, with a great energy and an eye for detail. The show started out well with Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. It definitely led to a different interpretation of having a different couple tackle each Sinatra song, which is different from the Sinatra Suite which features only one couple. It offers snapshots of different relationships, all featuring an Upper East side glamor girl with a partner in an Oscar de la Renta tux, beginning with the sweeping lovely “Softly as I Leave You” (with a gorgeous Haiyan Wu who had gorgeous lines), to the love-abusive “That’s Life”. Call me picky, but I wished they had featured the guy in “That’s Life” (danced by Renato Penteado) putting the gum in his mouth and chewing it. You could hardly see it unless you were looking for it, like I was. “One for My Baby” featured the leggy Jennifer Kronenberg and Carlos Guerra – it wasn’t the sweeping lovely duet as “Softly as I Leave You”, with some awkward poses and parternering (inventive, nonetheless, and very interesting), but both worked together well to overcome the difficult poses with a smile. I’m sure there’s a metaphor in there somewhere about relationships. The men were very strong – not overwhelming and very comfortable in Tharp’s choreography; I was afraid it would look too “ballet” but it didn’t. Overall, a lovely seductive sweeping piece with a strong dose of bittersweet nostalgia.

Second piece was Balanchine’s Agon. It really was the concentrated distillation of ballet and modern art. The angular movements reflected Stravinsky’s music well, with a stark clarity reminiscent of a modern Martha Graham Greek tale. It’s not one of my favorite Balanchine pieces (most likely I didn’t understand it completely?), but the delivery was sharp, and you can sense the competitive nature of the “contest” that Balanchine was trying to portray, and the tension was apparent throughout the piece. Balanchine’s experimentation with pointe and partnering and ensemble work is always a joy to watch.

The show ended with a rousing rendition of Tharp’s “In the Upper Room”. I’d only seen pictures of people in loose striped scrubs with red pointe shoes that doesn’t represent the piece at all because those pictures didn’t look particularly appealing – this piece is all about the movement. Haunting music by Philip Glass is fundamental to this piece; Glass features music that has a lot of bubbling movement within arches of singing string melody, with an anticipatory beat and a few hemiolas thrown in for unexpected pleasure. The busy movement is mirrored in the craziness of the dancers’ movements. Perhaps Glass is the new contemporary baroque composer? His music, in my limited experience, is evocative and moving, and the terms “movie music” kept on coming to mind, but in a good way. His music is perfect for dance. There is so much to say about this piece, from the perpetual fog that made mysterious entrances from upstage really cool (sidenote: it must be horrible to dance and breathe in), to the most athletic piece of dance I’ve seen in a really long time, to the complexity and brilliance and the musicality of movement that included groups of dancers in tennis shoes and red pointe shoes. There was a sense of fun, rousing competitiveness, and feeding off of each other’s energy, that kept it really fun to watch. And the music presented a sense of urgent anticipation that kept everyone leaning forward until the very end.

The audience favorite were the three stomping guys, danced by Alex Wong, Jeremy Cox, and Daniel Baker. Alex Wong (one of the writers for The Winger) stood out to me, dancing with an all-encompassing passion during every onstage moment, with an intense gaze and a great modern sensibility that made it hard for you not to watch him. An intense gaze is so important, for an audience connection! Maybe it’s because the eyes are seldomly choreographed, and so if you see fire in a dancer’s eyes, you know it’s because the dancer’s full being is in the moment. It was a joy to watch him; he had great stage presence, and I’d love to see him dance bigger roles (Prodigal Son, maybe, depending on his acting ability? Spectre de la Rose? Bluebird is an obvious one). In the Upper Room was a definite crowd pleaser, but a good one. Good endings are also important, and this one was a great punchy one.

I’m highly disappointed that the SF Chronicle didn’t even have a review of MCB’s presence in Berkeley. In fact, I can’t find any local papers that covered it. Maybe one will be published tomorrow…?

I know Alastair Macaulay (dance critic of the NY Times) hinted that perhaps Miami City Ballet isn’t a “world class ballet company”, but in my mind, it truly is. Maybe there is a lack of glaring obvious individual superstars (although if they performed a flashy piece like Jewels, I’m sure I can pick out a few superstars from that). Ensemble work was seamlessly cohesive, matching their styles impeccably. I can’t imagine a better company performing the same works, in the sense that they did justice to the original choreographer in presenting pieces in the way that they were meant to be presented, with the right heart. Everything felt right. I came away from this performance, very satisfied and very happy.

Carlos Guerra and Jennifer Kronenberg, principal dancers with Miami City Ballet, performing Balanchine’s “Stravinsky Violin Concerto.” From the NY Times

This picture is the reason that makes me want to see Miami City Ballet this weekend at Berkeley at Cal Performances. From the perfect line from the guy’s fingertips to the girl’s elbow, there is poetry in this picture, from the girl’s carefully placed fingers to her delicately offset feet. Absolutely gorgeous. Aside from all the raving about how good this ballet company is doing Balanchine (rightly attributed to a Balanchine dancer as its leader, Edward Villella who, did you know, used to be a champion boxer?), Jen got a personal recommendation from Mark Morris himself that Miami City Ballet does Balanchine well.

They are performing Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs (which, oddly enough, ABT will be bringing the shortened version, Sinatra Suite, to the same stage in a mere week), In the Upper Room, and Balanchine’s Agon.

There are still some tickets left. Click here for info.

Before I saw this show on Broadway, it was hard for me to relate to the story of The Color Purple since I really had nothing in common with the main character – the main character grew up destitutely poor, was molested and abused – but I’m glad that my sister made me go see it. I saw it on Broadway the week after LaChanze won the Tony for Best Actress, and completely fell in love. I’m usually not emotional at shows, but for some reason, this show hits a harmonic on my heart and sets it off in a dangerous way. This show left me in embarrassing body-wracking sobs and moved me in ways that no other show had ever done before. It’s always made me wonder about its effect on me, and my scientist mind makes me think things like, ‘If I listen to the soundtrack, would that also make me cry? What about The Color Purple is sufficient to make me cry?’ And with this viewing, I think I found the answer – what makes me so emotional is that the orchestration and the music is so well written. When Celie has her baby and is singing her first and only song to her newborn baby, the song she sings actually embodies a mother’s cry. You can even see how Celie’s song is affecting her body, as if she is singing with her whole body, heart, and soul.

It also has some of the funniest moments ever staged, thanks to the unbelievable performance of Felicia Fields. From the first moment when she struts across the stage that makes me laugh, she solidified in my mind, that really great supporting actors are the actors that completely inhabit their roles, and are really hard to replace (other examples: Jack on Will and Grace, Jon Gallagher Jr. in Spring Awakening). I’m still upset that she didn’t win the Tony award that year. Her role as Sophia encompasses the funniest lines of the show, as well as the most rousing, as well as the most heartbreaking. It’s a huge journey her character takes at every performance.

And when I saw that Felicia Fields was on tour, I knew I would have to buy a ticket. And I did.

For me, the standouts of the show weren’t the stunt-casted LaToya London (from American Idol) or Michelle Williams (from Destiny’s Child), although both of them were very good. It was Felicia Fields, with her breadth of acting and who always brings down the house with “Hell No!, and Jeannette Bayardelle as Celie. Bayardelle was a bit of a surprise – granted, when I saw LaChanze, I wasn’t particularly moved by her performance (perhaps she was overshadowed by Fields in my mind?), but Bayardelle was really a force to be reckoned with. Her powerhouse voice brought down the house, from the moment she cried to her baby to the moment she stands up to her husband. (It seems a bit unfair to Michelle Williams, but Bayardelle’s voice completely overshadowed Williams’ singing voice during their duets).

Michelle Williams made for a very sexy Shug Avery, and she is an amazing performer; her rendition of “Push Da Button” brought down the house. What was lacking a little lacking was in her quieter singing moments, especially compared to Jeannette Bayardelle during their quieter duets. LaToya London made for a great Nettie, although her part was too small for her to truly shine.

Overall, what a great show. Go see it if, like me, you didn’t really want to see it. And let me know if it has such an emotional impact on you, maybe I’m just an anomaly.

Currently playing at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco. Check the website below for tickets and the rest of their tour.

The Color Purple Tour

More shows coming up this week: Berkeley Rep’s After the Quake, and either The Tosca Project (which I blogged about previously, a collaboration between ACT and SF Ballet), or the Miami City Ballet, a company that I’ve always wanted to see perform Balanchine. I really can’t decide between the two!