sfb (those cats can dance!)

Back from the Harris Theater. Whoever told me the place was like a bunker was not wrong. They were right. You enter the lobby via the parking garage - I thought I was still in the garage and it took me a few minutes to realize I'd actually entered the lobby space. I was there really early, and jotted the following notes:

"lobby space is deeply ugly and uninspiring. Like an airport terminal with garish neon lights, metal benches and stark white block lettering on the walls directing you towards the restrooms, elevators, etc."

And apparently they've redone the lobby and this is still what they ended up with. Aarrgh. Some of the walls by the bathroom had some kind of padded fabric wall hangings, giving the place more of an institutional insane asylum sort of feel that is totally the vibe you want to give off in a hall that celebrates music and dance.

And when you walk into the house, you walk down to get to the seating, so the entire theater is basically underground. Once I got over the weirdness, though, the inside of the house is really nice, and I had a really nice seat. The sightlines where I was sitting were great for dance, so I was pleased. I had a very nice friendly chatty neighbor. He had seen program A and the gala performance and so I chatted with him a little bit about the ballet. It's nice to be able to interact with your neighbors and all, especially when they are enthusiastic about the art form, but can someone PLEASE tell me why the young, hot, available ones never plop next to me and start yakking? Just once?

Anyway. I'd been expecting great things and SFB did not disappoint. I'd chosen program B to attend over program A because of the first piece, On a Theme of Paganini. Choreographed by renowned SFB Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson, it was set to the music of Rachmaninov. The well-known bit of it, variation 18 is one of my favorite pieces of music and the beautiful pas de deux made me cry. Bravo. I rushed out at intermission no. 1 to get some nourishment (cookie) and some SFB logo apparel (SHH! Don't tell my boss!)

The second piece, Joyride was choreographed by Mark Morris and performed to music by John Adams. The company wore skin tight metallic lame costumes with blinking number screens on their fronts. It was kind of futuristic, I sort of thought Dr. Atomic (the opera by Adams that I saw at Lyric last season) with dancing - sort of modern dance elements with pointe work thrown in. I know some people around me didn't care for it, but I liked it a lot.

Another intermission - dash to the restroom this time. I will say this for you, Harris Theater - your lobby is horrifically ugly, but you done good on the ladies room situation. The facilities were large, clean and plentiful, and when you have 15 or 20 minutes to work with, that is really all that can be asked.

Third and final piece - Fusion by Yuri Possokhov, SFB's choreographer in residence. Fusion was inspired, according to the program, by a performance of the Whirling Dervishes, whose spinning dances are a form of devotion. A quote in that program deeply touched the choreographer - "Any thoughts can be expressed by dance."
Fusion pairs "spirituality with contemporary jazz movement."

I don't know enough about ballet yet to watch with a critical eye. To me, it's basically a hit if nobody falls down. Okay, so that's kind of an exageration, but I can't tell you much about technique or what the steps are called or anything like that. I watch it and just marvel at how these dancers are able to do what they're doing. It is truly beautiful. SFB is one of the best ballet companies in the country, if not THE best company, and from what I saw today, they are deserving of that accolade.

And, as you may have noticed, I found my way back to the car and made it home in about half an hour. Woo!