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In Your Face

"7 for Eight," "Quaternary," "Artifact Suite"
San Francisco Ballet
New York State Theater
New York, NY
July 29, 2006

by Lisa Rinehart
copyright 2006 by Lisa Rinehart

San Francisco Ballet is a mighty good company these days thanks to Helgi Tomasson's intelligent direction and some hefty (mostly international) star power. Admittance to the big leagues, however, entails increased scrutiny of possible flaws in the company's polish, and in spite of recent rhapsodic reviews, there are a few. The corps de ballet and soloists, while enthusiastic and generally competent, are an eclectic mix of body types and technique styles that can look ragged, and sometimes, dare I say it, downright civic — neo-classical is one thing, but all over the place is quite another. Perhaps the effort of trying to wow a New York audience after a four-year hiatus from the city is responsible for the hard sell, but it's something to watch. The programming was equally eager to please and was as overloaded with rich offerings as an insecure cook's Thanksgiving table. One stumbled out of the theater overwhelmed by the bounty and just a little too full to appreciate how good everything was.

But now there's been time to digest, so let us take a look. The evening had a pleasant through-line of music by Johann Sebastian Bach and was initiated by Tomasson's "7 for Eight," set to selections from various Bach concerti for keyboard and harpsichord. Simply put, this piece is a vehicle for dance as beauty displayed. Tomasson has married the talents of his mentors, Balanchine and Robbins, and created a musical and vigorous piece with the intensity of a ripe strawberry exploding in the mouth. The featured dancers are superb. Yuan Yuan Tan and Yuri Possokhov fill Tomasson's elegant opening pas de deux with perfectly measured emotion that is elegiac, but never indulgent. (Some people are put on this earth to be ballet dancers, and Tan, with her exquisite limbs, perfect lines and melting fluidity, is one of them.) Tina Le Blanc is equally world class as she sparkles her way through every bit of physical brio Tomasson throws her. And he comes up with quite a bit. The movement is reminiscent of Balanchine, but not a rehash, and Tomasson has an underrated flair for flowing, gentle sequences that surprise with bursts of bright energy and unexpected changes in direction. Sandra Woodall's beautiful lace-edged black leotards softened by sheer skirts are a fitting compliment to the piece's elegance, as is David Finn's lighting in a spectrum of blues, teals and grays.

More ambitious, but slightly less successful, is Christopher Wheeldon's "Quaternary," four separate pieces Wheeldon strains to unite under the four seasons mantle. The Winter section is set to John Cage's Perilous Night for prepared piano, and is exemplary of Wheeldon's choreographic originality. Again, Tan stands out and proves she can move just as beautifully in sharp, fast angles as in supported adagio. The jewel of the piece, however, is the Summer section set to Arvo Part's Fur Alina for Piano, and pairs Possokhov with the amazingly tall and spider-like Muriel Maffre. Maffre is mesmerizing as she wraps herself into one extraordinary position after another. Even the gimmicky fan blowing her long chiffon dress into wispy tails is forgivable as Part's mournful music hangs in the air like smoke in an empty bar. Not so forgivable, or at least, incomprehensible, is Wheeldon's choice to have Maffre's dress removed at the section's end. The moment is awkward and thoroughly inexplicable. There's a playwright's rule: if an axe hangs over the fireplace in Act I, there'd better be a use for it in Act II. Well, there's no Act II. There is, however, an Autumn section to electric guitar (played live by the composer, Steve Mackey) in which Katita Waldo shows off her engaging stage presence and strong technique. Wheeldon, New York City Ballet's house choreographer, has created four pieces for the San Francisco Ballet, and clearly he finds inspiration from its well-stocked roster.

The closer, William Forsythe's "Artifact Suite," set to Bach's Chaconne from Partita No. 2 as well as to music by Eva Crossman-Hecht, is a reworking of an earlier piece, and is intended to knock aside audience expectations of what is and isn't possible for a ballet company on a proscenium stage. SFB Principal Dancer Damian Smith describes it as having "an in-your-face feeling," and although I could have done with a little less in my face, it is an impressive exercise in pushing limits. The piece opens with a leader demonstrating semaphoric arm movements which are then mimicked with Facist precision by the ensemble lining the sides like battalions on parade. Two couples (Maffre, Pierre-Francois Vilanoba, Lorena Feijoo and Pascal Molat) enter and crisply execute Forsythe's extreme calisthenics. Several times, as the music plays and the dancers are in mid-movement, the curtain smacks down arbitrarily only to raise again with everyone in a completely different arrangement. The dancers, as always with Forsythe, are pushed far beyond their comfort zone, and frequently end up in positions that are classicism on acid. The leg is way too high, the hip splayed too far to one side, and the torso tipped dangerously forward. It's movement that demands a high level of proficiency, and SFB's dancers are up to the challenge — indeed, they seem to relish it — but Forsythe's movement is best on dancers with an extra degree of refinement such as those of the Paris Opera Ballet and the New York City Ballet. Forsythe's unrelenting aggression benefits from tempering with the restraint that's hammered into impeccably trained bodies and such temperance was less evident in the ensemble than with the principals.

That said, the interesting story here is that the San Francisco Ballet is a force to be reckoned with. Somewhat under the radar, Tomasson has commissioned work from internationally respected choreographers and has hired high caliber dancers for those choreographers to work with. There's work to be done, but the directors of large New York based ballet companies would do well to take notice: Tomasson appears to have the vision, taste and patience to create a company of international importance. There's room for all, but the gauntlet has been thrown.

Photos:
Yan Yan Tan and Yuri Possokhov in Helgi Tomasson's "7 for Eight." Photo: Chris Hardy.
Muriel Maffre and Yuri Possokhov in Christopher Wheeldon's "Quaternary." Photo: Eric Tomasson.
Yan Yan Tan and Damien Smith in William Forsythe's "Artifact Suite." Phhoto: Eric Tomasson.

Volume 4, No. 29
July 31, 2006

copyright ©2006 Lisa Rinehart
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