SF Ballet's Program 7, Reviewed

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San Francisco Ballet performing Jerome Robbins' The Concert (Or, The Perils of Everybody) may be one of the most enjoyable dance pieces ever. It isn't traditional in the ballet sense: there's no giant pas de deux or repetitive steps to the right, left, and right again. But it's a well made ballet that conveys mood with a timeless feel, large heart, and overwhelmingly delicious humor.

The 21 dancers, clad in powder blue leotards, tights, and shoes, funnel in to see a concert, and from there we zoom off with them into music-inspired daydreams. On Friday night, Michael McGraw, as the onstage pianist with an attitude, barreled through the Chopin medley while Vanessa Zahorian, filling in for Sarah Van Patten, showed the audience that she's more than just a steely technician with a sparkling smile.

Zahorian's a cute but sometimes unassuming dancer, but as the Ballerina, she let her inner Tina Fey come out and play. Her vivacious charm contrasted nicely with Pascal Molat's cigar chewing Husband, who nonchalantly hammed it up as he tried to avoid his commanding wife (Elana Altman). The dancers moved effortlessly through a swan-inspired duet, the synchronicity of being out of synch (see excerpt above), a comedic take on Russian folk dance, umbrellas, and an ode to bugs. Thankfully, The Concert ended the evening on a light and positive note, but the two other pieces on display just didn't measure up.

Yuri Possokhov, the company's choreographer in residence, debuted Classical Symphony which he describes in the program notes as a "dedication to my school [Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow], to my teacher, my background." He also states that "you have to wait for a full-length ballet to see if [someone is a ] good classical dancer... So this ballet is also a dedication to artists who should be seen in what they learned for many, many years." Yet his choreography, to Sergei Prokofiev's regal Symphony No. 1 in D Major, seemed utterly bland and boring, lacking any means to showcase these talented dancers at their best and brightest.

Frances Chung and Daniel Deivison in Possokhov's Classical Symphony. © Erik Tomasson

Classical Symphony's movement is peppered with extreme openness of the hips, torso undulations, and odd connecting steps like using a deep plié as a means to spin or pause. This is all fine and dandy, but it didn't jive with Sandra Woodall's costuming (the mesh tutus with mustard underskirts for the women peaked my interest, but another set of traditional jackets for the men? These seemed like an afterthought), the back wall ballroom projections, or the original premise. With everything on stage in a static bubble, it's too bad that that dancer seemed at odds, too, never looking fully comfortable in the movement; the normally tight corps appeared sloppy and the rest of the dancers looked like they were thinking too hard. I had high hopes for Classical Symphony, gunning for Possokhov to keep progressing and use this as a statement piece, but compared to Diving into the Lilacs, this took a piqué step or two backward for Possokhov's choreographic development.

Program 7 also includes Christopher Wheeldon's Rush© (yes, he copyrights his ballet titles). The most exciting moment comes when things slow down (and really, the ballet never quite speeds up until the very end), and Katita Waldo and Damian Smith meld together through angular shapes and tough partner holds. Waldo is retiring this year after a long and well deserved career, and the last opportunities to see her perform will be in this program as well as Program 6.

April marks the tail-end of San Francisco Ballet's season. Two programs alternate for the next week, and then the company will present Romeo and Juliet, just in time for Mother's Day. For those of you who want to celebrate Mother's Day in sweeping style with star-crossed lovers, fake swordplay, and underage marriage, you can buy your Romeo and Juliet tickets here.