{"id":32064,"date":"2024-03-01T20:42:28","date_gmt":"2024-03-02T04:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=32064"},"modified":"2024-03-01T20:42:29","modified_gmt":"2024-03-02T04:42:29","slug":"swan-lake-again-sf-ballets-latest-dip-into-classicjustifies-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/03\/01\/swan-lake-again-sf-ballets-latest-dip-into-classicjustifies-return\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Swan Lake,’ again? SF Ballet’s latest dip into classic\u2026justifies return"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Nikisha Fogo and Aaron Robison in SF Ballet’s ‘Swan Lake.’ Photo by Lindsay Thomas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has performed the piece three times in four years, but stunning leads and ensemble work keep it fresh<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By CHARLES LEWIS III<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FEBRUARY 28, 2024 (48hills.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it seems like the SF Ballet has done Swan Lake<\/a><\/em> (through March 3 at the War Memorial Opera House, SF) a lot in recent years, that\u2019s because they have. When the still-not-over pandemic forced the company to take its 2021 season entirely digital, they streamed an archival recording of its 2016 production<\/a>. When the company returned to in-person productions in 2022, outgoing-AD Helgi T\u00f3masson chose to end his nearly-30-year tenure by once again staging his own version<\/a> of the classic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, we find ourselves in Tamara Rojo\u2019s inaugural season as AD, in which we have yet another remount of T\u00f3masson\u2019s version. In fact, this current production will be followed by an encore in late-April<\/a>. So yeah, that\u2019s quite a lotta Swan<\/em> in such a short amount of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue then becomes what, if anything, another production can add to Tchaikovsky\u2019s classic. Since this one is essentially a full remount of T\u00f3masson\u2019s version, almost nothing is added. If anything, that factor just extends the looming shadow of the former AD over the first full season under the new AD. So, perhaps the question becomes why do they insist on doing Swan Lake<\/em> over and over again?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, that\u2019s one question the show answers easily. First off, there\u2019s the fact that Tchaikovsky\u2019s ballet is so light on narrative that it\u2019s easily accessible for ballet experts and novices alike; it\u2019s the quintessential \u201cstop the story just so everyone can dance\u201d piece (alongside SF Ballet\u2019s other frequent Tchaikovsky piece,\u00a0The Nutcracker<\/em>). Secondly, the dancers get the opportunity to show themselves quite worthy of the grand reputation the production has enjoyed for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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San Francisco Ballet in Helgi Tomasson\u2019s \u2018Swan Lake.\u2019 Photo by Lindsay Thomas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those not aware:\u00a0Swan Lake<\/em>\u00a0is the tale of Princess Odette (played opening night by Nikisha Fogo) who is sought after by the wicked von Rothbart (Nathaniel Remez). As she attempts to flee him, he angrily curses her into the form of a swan. A short time later, it\u2019s the birthday of Prince Siegfried (Aaron Robison), and the whole town has come out to perform in his honor. He\u2019s undoubtedly grateful, but unsatisfied. Taking his newly gifted crossbow, he heads out into the woods, where he encounters many strange sights\u2014including the metamorphosized Odette. He\u2019s instantly smitten with her, but von Rothbart\u2019s scheming endangers them both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there\u2019s any one factor about this show that made it worth braving the elements (and airborne viruses) of SF on opening night, it had to be Ricardo Bustamante as Wolfgang, Siegfried\u2019s tutor. I\u2019ve mentioned in quite a few SFB reviews that Bustamante has a habit of stealing the show, and this production is no different. He\u2019s an absolute bolt of lightning, constantly cranking the \u201cvolume\u201d up on T\u00f3masson\u2019s choreo without changing or diminishing it. He takes to every movement as if he\u2019s been waiting his whole life just to perform these steps. It shows a genuine love for ballet that\u2019s infectious to everyone watching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which isn\u2019t to say that anyone else phones it in. As mentioned before,\u00a0Swan Lake<\/em>\u00a0follows the Tchaikovsky template of putting the story proper on the back burner so that the dancing can literally and figuratively take center-stage. Indeed, the ensemble are outright hypnotic, whether dancing as people in the town square or as animals in the woods. In fact, it was a personal delight to see how diverse the ensembles are becoming \u2013 particularly the children\u2019s ensemble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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San Francisco Ballet in Helgi Tomasson\u2019s \u2018Swan Lake.\u2019 Photo by Lindsay Thomas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, this story flies or falls on the strength of its two romantic leads. Robison is a fine Siegfried, but the opening night show belonged to Nikisha Fogo as Odette and (another swan) Odile. She stepped into a roles memorably performed by such grand talents as the recently-departed Yuan Yuan Tan. By seeming to perform every toe-step with the greatest of ease, she almost single-handedly proves why this show has been performed so frequently in recent years: so that a new generation of dancers could inherit the masterpiece they themselves have grown up watching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There certainly appeared to be a greater number of masked patrons opening night, but that may just have been from my point of view. As usual, the Opera House\u2019s top-notch HVAC system delivered excellent airflow, with my Aranet4 reading CO\u00b2 levels no higher than 635ppm by the end of the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, the Ballet\u2019s first year under Tamara Rojo produces a fine show, but one that has yet to distinguish itself or the new AD. Since their next production\u2014Balanchine\u2019s version of Midsummer<\/em>\u2014may possibly do the same, one finds themselves more eager for the Latine-themed Dos Mujers<\/em> show in April. That show looks to offer a brand-new single in a season mostly defined by greatest hits. (I had mixed feelings<\/a> about Mere Mortals<\/em>, but it\u2019s proven popular enough to get an encore staging later this year.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, as far rehashing old hits goes, one could do much worse that SF Ballet\u2019s excellent revival of Swan Lake<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SWAN LAKE<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0runs through March 3 at the War Memorial Opera House, SF. Tickets and more info\u00a0<\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charles Lewis III<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charles Lewis III is a San Francisco-born journalist, theatre artist, and arts critic. You can find dodgy evidence of this at thethinkingmansidiot.wordpress.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nikisha Fogo and Aaron Robison in SF Ballet’s ‘Swan Lake.’ Photo by Lindsay Thomas The company has performed the piece three times in four years, but stunning leads and ensemble work keep it fresh By CHARLES LEWIS III FEBRUARY 28, 2024 (48hills.org) If it seems like the SF Ballet has… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1850],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32064"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32064"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32068,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32064\/revisions\/32068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}