For the first time, Ballet San Jose opened its season with a Gala, featuring a company premiere, war horse pas de deux, some excerpts and a full short ballet culled from American Ballet Theatre’s repertoire. It also resurrected the use of a full orchestra, led by George Daugherty, missing in the spring season, its first without its founding artistic director Dennis Nahat. The program was the joint selection of Artistic Advisor Wes Chapman and Ballet Master Raymond Rodriguez.
A Gala is designed to whip up interest for the later season, displaying the company roster to advantage after a fund-minded dinner and before a congratulatory post-performance event. Entering the Frank Lloyd Wright auditorium, characterized everywhere without a center aisle, the front orchestra rows, some eight or so, were vacant, clearly meant for the audience paying $1000 for the privilege, $800 of which was to support a Ballet San Jose community-related activity.
Seated center orchestra, mid-way up, I found myself behind a massive head of white hair; after switching for the final work, a tall head inclined to move to the music, hazards of the no aisle seating arrangement. The program itself featured an obviously staged photo by Quinn Wharton, dominated by a brunette in a short strapless dress, one knee up on a black backed chair.Its purpose seemed to convey patroness in front of the dancers, two men and a dancer in tutu in broad fourth position, one man on the left stripped to the waist, apparently warming up using scenery for his barre and the street clothed male to the right, leaping while holding on to a stick.
However, The Nutcracker’s Waltz of the Flowers opened the program featuring eight couples, the women’s knee-length costumes in shades of peach and with paniers, the men sporting green tights with grey vests, flowers and their stems. This was the first view of Karen Gabay’s take on the holiday staple which will be premiered fully in December. While the Waltz lacked the focus of a central couple, Gabay’s use of symmetry, varying groups of four to eight and several grand circles, both as couples and men versus women, proved easy on the eyes and agreeable to the mood. Rita Felciano remarked, “After all, the waltz has always been a couple dance.”
Sir Frederick Ashton’s creation to Jules Massenet’s “Meditation from Thais,” followed with its quasi-oriental garment design by Sir Anthony Dowell, original male partner to Dame Antoinette Sibley’s Thais. Subsequent performers have had a hard time matching their supple classicism or conveying that the courtesan Thais is a projection of the Monk’s imagination. It’s a hard business being very physical, a priest, in his imagination lusting for the courtesan while pretending she should lead a celibate life in the desert.
This tricky pas de deux, staged by Bruce Sansom, former Royal Ballet principal, was interpreted by Rudy Candia and Alexsandra Meijer with Rachel Lee as violinist. Meijer’s elegant legs, displayed to advantage, were given support by Candia, but ease was missing, Meijer more austere than evanescent.
From late nineteenth century romanticism Edward Stierle’s athletic, heavily emotional solo from the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Requiem was an explosive contrast. Created by Stierle as he was dying from AIDS, Lacrymosa challenged Joshua Seibel to start and end with shoulder stands, legs stretched towards the ceiling. In between, turns, tumbles and other gymnastic skills were required. I had seen Brooklyn Mack dance it to recorded music at the Jackson Competition in 2010 in tribute to Stierle, but here both sides of the stage apron were filled with The Golden Gate Boys Choir Master Singers dressed in white middies with red ties and skirts who supported soprano Kristin Clayton. It’s great to employ the community but the contrast jarred.
To see Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun make her Ballet San Jose debut dancing to Bach in Stanton Welch’s ballet Clear was sheer pleasure. With Jeremy Kovitch, the two echoed the adagio in this work highly influenced by 9/11. Pipit-Suksun’s musical line, thorough has an unforced finish. Her emotional presence within the strict demands of this Western classical form flows beyond its boundaries. In this elegiac pas de deux Pipit-Suksun delivered quiet consolation; later she was pert ensemble accent in Stars and Stripes. I’m glad she is still dancing to Bay Area audiences.
Junna Ige and Maykel Solas danced in white for the Act III pas de deux from Don Quixote. Had they been backed by a set, the costumes would have been fine; as stand alone bravura it needs more flash in the attire. They are a nicely matched, charming pair. In well-schooled Japanese style, Ige eschews accent to her finishes. Demure, a little emphasis is in order, along with consistency in the working foot in fouettes; they tended to become flaccid after the initial thrust. Solas was, as always, consistent.
Dalia Rawson arranged a complicated mixture of the Ballet San Jose students to Tchaikovsky’s polonaise finale, a visual announcement of enrollment and instruction, the new school direction and training based on the American Ballet Theatre curriculum. There was definitely a lot to be seen from tots to teenagers, beginners to apprentice-worthy adolescents. She used lines, circles, entrances and exits to accomplish the presentation. The audience just loved it, cheering as it did through most of the evening.
Balanchine’s Fifth Campaign from Stars and Stripes brought the full company on stage, if giving Ramon Moreno, Maria Jacobs-Yu and Karen Gabay cameo appearances. Usually an evening’s ending work, it still was infectious.
The late Clark Tippet’s Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 provided the evening’s finale, allowing four couples solo variations with eight couples as support Tippet attempted to differentiate the various themes, a little puckish and flirtation by Mirai Noda and Ramon Moreno, sparkle by Junna Ige and Maykel Solas. Strong assertion by Amy Marie Briones and Maximo Califano demonstrated that Briones’ attack and flair is definite stimulus to Califano. Alexsandra Meijer and Jeremy Kovitch were paired for the adagio. Meijer’s admirable line got blocked somewhere in shoulder and head, individual interpretation at odds with Rachel Lee’s violin passage.
For a first Gala, Ballet San Jose displayed competence; it remains committed to pleasing an audience. One awaits Karen Gabay’s Nutcracker and 2013 to assess its new trajectory.
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