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So Familiar and Yet So New

"The Nutcracker"
Oakland Ballet Company
Paramount Theater, Oakland
December 22, 2018

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano

Even if you are not a dance aficionado, you can’t miss “Nutcracker” floating through the holidays in a way the “Messiah” and “A Christmas Carol” never will. Bay Area audiences’ choices of this Tchaikovsky masterpiece are almost unlimited. San Francisco Ballet’s is super elegant, Smuin Ballet’s both sentimental and saucy, while Mark Foehringer Dance Projects’ finely articulate one-hour version boasts of a small live orchestra. Each of the good dozen or so showcases for students from Marin to San Jose, Daly City to Walnut Creek has its own charm. But none delights the way Graham Lustig’s “The Nutcracker” does. Oakland Ballet’s Artistic Director introduced himself with it nine years ago. The company has since undergone an impressive rejuvenation, making it again a major local presence not all that unlike it was years ago with a much different repertoire.

Ramona Kelley as Marie and Seyong Kim as the Nutcracker Prince"
Photo: John Hefti

Miami City Ballet’s Redesigned Nutcracker

"The Nutcracker"
Miami City Ballet
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
Miami, Florida
December 20th, 2018

by Sean Erwin
copyright © 2018 by Sean Erwin

Miami City Ballet’s Thursday, December 20^th second casting of George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker" was packed for the mid-week showing of the 2018 reformat of the Balanchine classic. The new sets and costumes by Ruben and Isabel Toledo were gorgeous, and they anchored the MCB production to the Hoffmann short story, deepening the ballet.  Add to that a cast hailing from the four parts of the globe, the show struck a powerful counterpoint to a Federal government shuttered over immigration issues.

Winter Wonderland

"Les Patineurs", "Enigma Variations", "Diamonds"
The Sarasota Ballet
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Sarasota, Florida
December 14, 2018, December 15, 2018 matinee and evening

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2018 by Mary Cargill

A triple bill is a complicated balancing act, needing an inviting opener, a solid middle, and a bravura finish. The art of putting them together seems to have been lost in a number of companies, but Iain Webb, the director of the Sarasota Ballet, created a magical combination for his "Victorian Winters" program.  The opening ballet, Sir Frederick Ashton's 1937 "Les Patineurs", is a warm-hearted Currier & Ives vision of a skating rink full of friends -- even in the warm Florida weather the concession stand could probably sell a lot of hot chocolate during the intermission.  Ashton's "Enigma Variations", choreographed in 1968, is a more somber look at friendship, love, and artistic isolation, a haunting and unique work.  Balanchine's glittering "Diamonds" made a glorious finale, with its white-tutued corps forming intricate snowflake patterns.

Sarasota Ballet in "Les Patineurs" photo © Frank Atura.

Remembering Before and Looking Beyond

“We Choose to Go to the Moon”
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company
Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium
National Portrait Gallery
Washington, DC
December 12, 2018

by Arielle Ostry
Copyright © 2018 by Arielle Ostry

For thousands of years, people have stared up at the night sky in wonder — naming constellations and tracking stars as the cosmic landscape changed with the seasons. The advancements made in science and engineering during the space race in the 1960’s only elevated humanity’s fascination with the uncharted territories of the ever-expanding universe. With the piece “We Choose to Go to the Moon,” Dana Tai Soon Burgess took on quite a lofty goal by investigating the connections between humanity and space, science and artistry, presenting a dance that couples the nostalgic idealism characteristic of the 60’s time period with the hesitance that has emerged over the years in response to the greater unknown uncovered by new discoveries.

Photo: Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company in "We Choose to Go to the Moon." Photo by Sarah Halzack.

 

A Holiday Treasure Reinvented

“The Nutcracker”
Ballet West
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
December 6, 2018
 
by Ashley McKean
copyright © 2018 by Ashley McKean

Ballet West’s splendidly refurbished “Nutcracker” is as warm and welcoming as a cup of holiday spiced tea on a cold winter evening. This company's version of the holiday classic is no stranger to Washington audiences (having visited in 2012 and 2014), but this year’s production boasts a lofty $3 million overhaul that delightfully blends the old and the new: old-world charm framed with state-of-the-art sets, vintage choreography adorned with glimmering costumes, and a fairy-tale story complemented by imaginative special effects. Any worries that the lavish embellishments might overshadow the heart and soul of Ballet West’s production — Willam Christensen’s historic choreography from the first “Nutcracker” created in the United States in 1944 — are quickly put to rest by enchanting color palettes and tastefully jeweled costumes that envelop the dancing with elegance.

Artists of Ballet West in "The Nutcracker." Photo © Luke Isley

Separately United

Catherine Galasso
"Of Iron and Diamonds V3: Alone Together"
ODC Theater
San Francisco, CA
December 7, 2018

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano 2018

In 2011 Catherine Galasso finished a residency in San Francisco with the ODC Theater’s commissioned “Bring on the Lumiere”, an intricately structured evocation of the Lumiere brothers and their innovative working with light. It’s a piece that engaged with wit, imagination and some Gallic charm rarely seen on our stages. Then Galasso left for greener pastures. Now she has returned with the world premiere of ‘Alone Together, the third section of “Of Iron and Diamonds V3”, apparently inspired by Boccaccio’s “Decameron”. Looking for one of the poet’s deliciously naughty tales guaranteed disappointment. Instead Galasso offered a smart look at the interdependence between, perhaps, a book and its reader, a storyteller and his/her listeners or, as in this case, performer and audience. She dissected this theatrical convention with a fine sense of timing, sometimes-dark humor and spirited performers elicited from local artists Arletta Anderson, Eric Garcia, Cookie Harrist, Hien Huynh, Phoenicia Pettyjohn, Karla Quintero and Galicia Stack Lozano. With this new ODC Theater’s commission, 'Alone' closed OCD Theater’s 2018 season on an ebullient note.    

Eric Garcia, Karla Quintero and Cookie Harrist in 'Alone and Together"
photo: Robbie Sweenie

Treasures

“The Call,” “Shelter,” “In/Side ” “Revelations”
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
New York City Center
New York, NY
December 4, 2018, 2018

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2018 by Martha Sherman

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continued its long-running tradition of beautifully choreo- graphed and danced gems, with the addition of an homage to its founder. Ronald K. Brown’s “The Call,” premiering at Ailey’s winter season at New York City Center, was a soulful addition to a program that packed power from beginning to end — what Brown called a “love letter” to Ailey, his mentor. This company was built by its visionary founder to focus on the importance of the African-American voice in dance art; Brown’s new work, celebrating the troupe’s 60th anniversary, offered a beautiful addition to their canon.

Photo: (L to R) Fana Tesfagiorgis, Solomon Dumas, Jacqueline Green, Danica Paulos and Daniel Harder in "The Call." Photo ©Paul Kolnik.

Reality and Illusions

"The Dream" and "Being and Nothingness"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
November 10, 2018

by Denise Sum
copyright © 2018 by Denise Sum

The National Ballet of Canada's fall mixed program featured two contrasting and compli- mentary one act works. First was a revival of Sir Frederick Ashton's "The Dream", arguably one of the most successful dance adaptations of Shakespeare's work. This provided a wonderful chance to see a new generation of dancers in this timeless piece. Next was principal dancer and choreographic associate Guillaume Côté's "Being and Nothingness", a meditation on Jean-Paul Sartre's philosophical treatise of the same name. Fresh off from recent performances on tour in Russia, the plotless ballet was in fine form. Originally created as a solo for Greta Hodgkinson, it later expanded into a 40-minute chamber work. Hodgkinson's expressiveness and artistry remain the highlight of this ballet. 

Photo: Jillian Vanstone and Harrison James in "The Dream". Photo by Aleksandar Antonijevic.