THE ARTS

SF Ballet’s Dazzling 75th

by Paul Wilner

     It’s the day after the crucial Ohio and Texas primaries and the pundits haven’t begun to stop chattering, but Glenn McCoy, the indefatigable executive director of the San Francisco Ballet has barely had a chance to turn on the news.

   “I catch a little bit of what’s going on, but not as much as I’d like to,’’ McCoy laughs.

   It’s no wonder.

Sarah Van Patten rehearses Mark Morris’ Joyride

   As chief administrator of the Ballet’s formidable operation, McCoy — along, of course, with SF Ballet artistic director Helgi Tomasson — has been at the center of a firestorm of activities honoring the 75th anniversary of this group that is, although it’s not widely known, the oldest professional ballet company in the United States. And, justly, one of the most renowned in the world.

   So far, the ambitious 75th repertory season has included a revival of famed former SF Ballet director Lew Christensen’s Filling Station and an all-Jerome Robbins program that honored the 10th anniversary of the death of the great choreographer (whom Tomasson danced for in New York and who recommended him for the artistic director duties Tomasson assumed here in 1985).

   Special tributes and projects continue throughout the year. Here’s a short list of 75th anniversary events for Ballet patrons and fans friends (a complete rundown is available at sfballet.org/at75):

  • Three international dance companies — Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, The National Ballet of Canada and the New York City Ballet – undertake terpsichorean travel here for An International Salute to SF Ballet (April 1-6).

   • A special exhibition (through June 8) at San Francisco International Airport honors the Ballet’s history, including the first American productions of Swan Lake (1940) and Nutcracker (1944).

   • A co-production, with KQED, of Tomasson’s 2004 production of Nutcracker airs late 2008.

Yuan Yuan Tan and Ruben Martin in Stanton Welch’s Naked

   • A sumptuously produced, lavishly illustrated book, San Francisco Ballet at 75 (Chronicle Books), written by dance historian Janice Ross with a preface by former SF Examiner (and Chronicle) dance critic Allan Ulrich, features handsome and historic photography of Ballet productions and principals and a DVD of insider interviews and rehearsal footage. (Sample encomium from Ulrich, not famous for pulling his punches: “We’re assured that the last folks to spot a golden age are those who are living through it. I disagree with that assertion.… Tomasson has continually raised the bar (and the barre).”

   • Last, and perhaps most important because it illustrates the company’s commitment to looking forward, rather than just basking in past accomplishments, is the New Works Festival, this month (April 22-May 6).

   This one-of-a-kind dance event is a feat of precision programming and logistical prowess that presents 10 world premieres created by an international cast of choreographers: Julia Adam, Val Caniparoli, Jorma Elo, Margaret Jenkins (with commissioned music by Paul Dresher), James Kudelka (commissioned music by Rodney Sharman), Mark Morris (commissioned music by John Adams), Yuri Possokhov, Paul Taylor, Stanton Welch and Christopher Wheeldon. 

      Whew!

     “So far, it’s unfolding just the way we had hoped,’’ McCoy allowed. “Two and a half years ago, Helgi first started talking with us about his vision for the 75th anniversary — primarily the programming of the New Works Festival. There is also a symposium where panelists will talk about how our work is impacted by changes in technology, and what we can do to break down traditional walls and show you how the work gets created, get you closer to the dancers and the choreographers.

     “He felt very strongly from the very beginning that he wanted the whole year to be about looking forward,’’ McCoy added. “Even though we’re very much based in the classical vocabulary, the scope of our repertory and the amalgam of new work and choreography he’s brought into the company in the last 22 years puts us at the cutting edge of classical ballet companies.’’

SF Ballet corps prepares for Julia Adam’s world premiere

   The inclusion of West Coast veterans like Margaret Jenkins (making her SF Ballet debut contribution), Julia Adam and Yuri Possokhov (both former SF Ballet principal dancers), as well as Mark Morris (the flamboyantly talented SF Ballet fan and frequent collaborator), Paul Taylor, James Kudelko and Christopher Wheeldon adds geographical as well as aesthetic diversity.

   “When Helgi called, you could have blown me over with a feather,’’ said Jenkins, in a brief respite before a trip to Paris. 

    “I think it may have been the first time I got something I wasn’t seeking. The whole thing was an amazing experience. It was a different way of working — and movement — for many of the dancers, so I brought my company in at the beginning to show how we worked.  Sometimes these things can be kind of like, ‘We’re doing it because we have to,’ but the dancers couldn’t have been more welcoming. Even though we’re based in San Francisco, I know that many of them hadn’t seen my work before. But by the time we were through, it was a love-in.’’

     “Helgi dropped by a couple of times and was very supportive,’’ she added. “I think perhaps his experience with (Jerome) Robbins helped him appreciate what we were doing. He’s done an amazing job with the Ballet. You can’t overestimate the importance of what people bring to an institution. He’s been the perfect choice.’’

   With typical understatement, Mark Morris echoed her sentiments.

   “It’s the best ballet company in the United States — without question,’’ said Morris in a phone interview from his Brooklyn headquarters. He presents the world premiere of Joyride, with a score by Berkeley composer John Adams as part of the New Works festivities. “San Francisco is pretty much a second home for my company, artistically.’’

   Morris, who has created six works for the SF Ballet since 1994 (his works are also frequently staged by Cal Performances), cited “Helgi’s leadership, the quality of the choreography, the choices they make for repertory, the dancers themselves — if any of those things weren’t be superlative, it wouldn’t be the best.’’

   He said the Adams partnership came about because, “We were doing a gala for Cal Performances and John was there. Alarm Will Sound, a fantastic New York group, was performing some of his music, and we talked about commissioning music for a piece we could work on together.

SF Ballet corps leaping in Yuri Possokhov’s world premiere

   ‘’I’d choreographed the first two operas that he wrote, and he agreed to make it a two-pronged project — his piece, Son of Chamber Symphony — premiered first at Stanford, and then my dance was choreographed to it. His music is brilliant and wouldn’t exist without all the music that’s gone before. There are jazz elements, because that’s part of the world, but it’s uncategorizable. Virtuosic. Fast, slow, fast — three movements that are quite thorny, like all of his music — he changes meter.’’

   Morris refused to describe his own contribution to the piece yet — “I can’t describe it because it’s not there for anyone until they see it’’ — but was less coy about his culinary preferences when he visits the Bay Area. “In Berkeley, it’s Chez Panisse, of course, and in San Francisco, it’s Jardinière.’’ 

   Tomasson, the soft-spoken, committed leader who not only restored, but surpassed the reputation the company enjoyed under the first half century of its leadership by William, Harold and Lew Christensen, after a rockier interlude in the Michael Smuin era, sounds gratified that his quiet dedication has paid off so handsomely.

   “People are still surprised when I tell them that this is the oldest ballet company in America, but that was not the reason I chose to come out here,’’ he recalled. “At the time, I had decided to stop dancing and had a wonderful offer from the Royal Danish Company, but there were some issues that went back and forth in the negotiations. At the same time, I got a call from Lew Christensen asking me to come out here, because they were very interested in me taking over the company. While I was waiting for the Royal Danish Company to make up its mind if it would accommodate what I wanted, I came out here, saw this wonderful building and immediately saw that there were dancers here I wanted to work with. I was also very much aware that there were great audiences here.’’

   Tomasson emphasized that none of the successes would have been possible without the support of the board members and the Great Families of San Francisco.

   “They’ve been very supportive,’’ he said. “Chris Hellman was chair of the board for quite awhile, and it worked particularly well with her — she was so quick to understand what I wanted to do, maybe because she had been a dancer in England. But everyone has been great, even when sometimes the finances weren’t quite everything we wanted, including Fritz & Lucy Jewett and Dick Goldman, who started the touring fund to enable us to go abroad.’’

   At a time of cutbacks in ballet companies across the country, most recently in Boston, the SF Ballet is in the enviable position of financial stability to help Tomasson achieve his aesthetic objectives.

   “When I came here, I set out to strengthen the company’s classical technique, all through the ranks, slowly attracting principal dancers, many of whom now have international reputations,’’ he said. “One of the first things I set out to do, in 1988, was Swan Lake. I felt strongly that if you wanted to be taken seriously, you had to take classics like Swan Lake, Giselle and Sleeping Beauty and do them well.

   “I was also very much for touring,’’ he added. “Without people seeing us elsewhere, we were not going to have East Coasters coming in here by the busload.’’

   Balancing the old with the new has been a key element of Tomasson’s approach.

   “We’ve always wanted to look for new works and have great choreographers coming here — people like Mark Morris, James Kudelka and Christopher Wheeldon,’’ he said, adding that the New Works Festival is of a piece “with my work of the last 20 years. Maybe because most of the time in these situations, people just look back, I felt, ‘That’s been done — let’s look ahead.’ For me, that’s more interesting.’’

   Tomasson refuses to pick a favorite piece from the repertory — “there are too many children’’ — and is uncomfortable discussing his considerable legacy.

   “This year, I’m looking forward,’’ he said. “Whatever the legacy is, others will decide. The Christensen brothers laid the foundation for all this. They went through some difficult times, but it’s through their perseverance that this company survived. I’m reaping the benefits from that, and hopefully taking the company further, so I’m very much indebted to them.’’

    Paul Wilner, former editor of the Style section of the San Francisco Chronicle, writes frequently on the arts and entertainment scene.

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