San Francisco Ballet's Jewels

(Maria Kotchetkova with Niclas Blanc in San Francisco Ballet's production of Jewels,
choreographed by George Balanchine. Photo by Erik Tomasson.)

May 9 & 10 - There were some really wonderful things about San Francisco Ballet's Jewels, especially the company's women: Maria Kotchetkova, Frances Chung, Sarah van Patten and Sofiane Sylve really sparkled in different ways over the course of the two performances I saw. The corps de ballet also gave a really vivid performance in "Diamonds," one of the liveliest and most engaging that I have seen.

But there was also a good deal that was disappointing. Maybe it was matinee-performance syndrome, or the company's end-of-season fatigue, but in parts the company seemed sleepy and underpowered, especially in "Emeralds" and "Rubies". And the scenery, borrowed from Miami City Ballet's production, placed the dancing in an empty void, with fiber optic points of light sprinkled across the black backdrop – it looked like they were dancing in some sort of crystal palace in outer space. The visuals were airless and less intimate as a result (I much prefer the more light-filled designs of other productions). To make matters worse, for the finale of "Diamonds," the fiber-optic starscape began to shimmer and turned into chandeliers, an effect was not unlike twinkling lights in Disney's Electrical Parade. Definitely tacky.

(The three Jewels, at curtain call: (1) Emeralds, sorry for the poor photo;
(2) Rubies, with Kotchetkova and Taras Domitro; (3) Diamonds,
with Sarah van Patten and Ruben Martin.)

A few luminous performances ended up making the whole thing worth it, though. Maria Kotchetkova gave wonderfully rich performances in two very different roles during the weekend, first in "Emeralds" on Saturday afternoon, then in "Rubies" on Sunday. As the first ballerina in "Emeralds," her dancing had a plush, soft edge to it. With a fluid upper body and expressive arms, she presented a sophisticated, elegant persona, seeming to revel in the joys of Faure's music. She was even more surprising in "Rubies," where she showed a completely different, flirtatious persona. She was on fire, with her easy technique allowing her to throw her limbs around and dance with ease (particularly where Lorena Feijoo's performance in the same role on Saturday was studied and muted).

Frances Chung was fantastic in the "Emeralds" second ballerina role (this role is only "second" in that it comes second in the sequence of solo variations, though in many ways I find this role's choreography more compelling than the "first" role). She perfectly captured the luxurious air of the music, with her expressive arms adding to the elegance. She danced as if in her own beautiful world, the audience lucky enough to be witness to it. Further, the so-called Walking pas de deux later in the ballet had a delicate yet emotion-filled quality to it, spellbinding for its three minutes.

Also exciting: Sofiane Sylve's glamorous reading of the lead role in "Diamonds," which, while not as delicate as other interpretations, was nonetheless compelling and immensely interesting. With her athletic, steely technique, she naturally excelled at the Scherzo section's faster, flashier choreography, and she totally took command of the stage in the Polacca finale with her confident persona. The centerpiece pas de deux was totally fascinating to see as an exercise in control and for the magnetic relationship with her handsome cavelier Pierre-Francois Villanoba.

I also enjoyed watching Sarah van Patten and Ruben Marten in "Diamonds" on Sunday – in this video from San Franciso Ballet's web site, you can see that Van Patten looks a lot like Suzanne Farrell in the role (Farrell's original interpretation can be seen on DVD), and it was great in performance, too. Van Patten was beautiful and mysterious, a very complete performance.

(The corps de ballet in Diamonds, choreography by George Balanchine. Photo by Erik Tomasson.)

I really liked the entire company's performance in "Diamonds." There was a spring in the corps de ballet's steps that enlivened the music – in a lot of performances of "Diamonds," the opening waltz and the polacca finale can look tired and repetitive, but in San Francisco, the dancing was gorgeous and exciting. I'm used to seeing "Rubies" come off the best, so it was a nice to see "Diamonds" look really good instead. Save for the electric-parade light effect at the end, it was a really grand way to end the evening.

Inset photo: Sofiane Sylve and Pierre Francois Villanoba in the Diamonds pas de deux, choreography by George Balanchine. Photo by Erik Tomasson.