S.F. Ballet’s gala to feature ‘Rodeo’
Justin Peck’s “Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes” will get an earlier San Francisco Ballet premiere than expected as the piece will be shown in its entirety at the Ballet’s annual gala, on Thursday, Jan. 18, at the War Memorial Opera House.
Choreographed in 2015 for New York City Ballet, Peck’s vivacious ballet (which is part of Program 2’s repertoire) picks up the baton from Agnes de Mille, who made her iconic 1942 “Rodeo” to an earlier version of Aaron Copland’s score, for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
In addition to “Rodeo,” Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson has curated an appealing mix of classical showstoppers and glimpses of the coming season.
Gala attendees will enjoy two other premieres: a duet from Robert Binet’s 2017 work “Children of Chaos,” and Edwaard Liang’s “Letting Go,” which might hint at what Liang has created for April’s Unbound festival.
Glimpses from the season ahead also include the charming and virtuosic Bluebird pas de deux from “The Sleeping Beauty” and Jerome Robbins’ moody, romantic “In the Night,” in honor of his centennial.
Beloved pas de deux complete the bill: the thrillingly classical “Le Corsaire”; the Royal Danish Ballet’s iconic “La Sylphide,” starring Maria Kochetkova and former RDB dancer Ulrik Birkkjaer; and Balanchine’s patriotic “Stars and Stripes,” with Vitor Luiz partnering with New York City Ballet alumna Ana Sophia Scheller.
The performance begins with a small piece showcasing students from the Ballet’s school, the ultimate opening act for an evening of good spirits and exuberant dancing.
This month, S.F. Ballet announced that soloist James Sofranko will leave the company at the end of the season to become the artistic director of the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Ballet. Sofranko plans to remain as artistic director of SFDanceworks, a company he founded in 2016.