Joffrey Ballet presents new works in Berkeley
In 1970, with the nation threatening to come apart at the seams because of contention over the Vietnam War, the Joffrey Ballet arrived in the Bay Area for a Cal Performances residency that left an enduring mark on the company. Gerald Arpino, the prolific choreographer who launched the touring troupe with Robert Joffrey in New York City in 1956, found such inspiration on the campus and its environs that he created a series of dances known as “The Berkeley Ballets” (including “Trinity,” which is still in the Joffrey’s repertoire).
Almost five decades later, the world once again feels like it’s being pulled apart by centrifugal forces, and the Joffrey is returning to Berkeley for a Cal Performances residency “that I think is unprecedented,” said Ashley Wheater, who took over as the Joffrey’s artistic director in 2007 after an 18year run at the San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer and later as assistant to artistic director Helgi Tomasson.
“We’ve done other residencies, but it’s been a long time. You think about Arpino and what was happening in the Vietnam War and how he responded to what was happening in the country then. It’s wonderful, and really important to be coming back to the Bay Area now.”
Part of what makes the company’s residency seem so promising is that it’s not a one- off. The latest chapter in Cal Performances’ evolving initiative known as Berkeley RADICAL (Research And Development Initiative In Creativity, Arts, Learning), the Joffrey commitment encompasses three extended stays on campus over five years.
Designed to offer students and the Bay Area community a close-up look at the creative process, the company’s initial residency runs Monday through Nov. 19 with open rehearsals, discussions, classes, a public forum, and three Zellerbach Hall performances ( Nov. 17-19) featuring the technically dazzling company in a diverse array of new works.
The residency opens at Berkeley’s Odd Fellows Lodge Hall with a series of rehearsals of a new work co- commissioned by Cal Performances by Nicolas Blanc, the Joffrey’s ballet master, with a score by Bay Area luminary Mason Bates. The 2:30 p.m. sessions on Monday and Wednesday are free and open to the public, but the rehearsal on Tuesday is by invitation only. The piece is slated to premiere in February as part of the Joffrey’s home season in Chicago, but Blanc’s work is also represented in the Joffrey’s Zellerbach performances with “Encounter,” a pas de deux showcasing two of the company’s leading dancers, set to the first movement of John Adams’ Saxophone Concerto.
In another choreographic preview, the Joffrey presents “Mammatus” by the celebrated Amsterdam-based Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, a work set to “Weather One” by Michael Gordon, co-founder of Bang on a Can. A major force on the European dance scene, the Colombian-Belgian Ochoa also has been commissioned by San Francisco Ballet to create a piece for its Unbound: A Festival of New Works, running April 20May 6.
“She called it ‘ Mammatus’ after the cloud formation, but it’s a very organic piece that could be a flock of birds, or some kind of other natural movement,” Wheater said. “This music could be really tricky. It’s not in sections and keeps evolving, but with momentum and a pulse. She’s a huge talent, and this is an incredibly demanding work.”
The other dances on the four-piece program are Justin Peck’s “In Creases,” set to Philip Glass’ “Four Movements for Two Pianos” (performed live by Grace Kim and Matthew Long); and the West Coast premiere of Alexander Ekman’s “Joy,” a Cal Performances co- commission. An expansive work featuring music by the Brad Mehldau Trio, Django Django, Tiga and Moby, the dance emerged directly out of the Joffrey dancers’ interaction with Ekman, who has worked numerous times with the company.
“What was really beautiful about the process is that he had the entire company in the studio and asked them one by one to step forward and improv,” Wheater said. “It was a beautiful moment to see the company give these incredible ideas, giving their expressions of joy. Alex is truly a free spirit. He’s not borrowing a little here and there; he’s his own voice.”
The Joffrey’s embrace of topical themes has long set it apart from other world- class American ballet companies. “We’ve been seen, not unfairly, as that currentevents company. We are a reflection of the times,” said Wheater, who’s part of the public forum “The Joffrey’s Bold Moves” in Zellerbach Hall at 5 p.m. Nov. 18 with Blanc and Cal Performances associate director Rob Bailis.
Of course, the Joffrey also has spearheaded innovations that changed the ballet world, from the early embrace of modern dance techniques to eschewing the traditional ranking system. By opening up the possibility of dancing lead roles to anyone in the company, the Joffrey fostered an egalitarian ethos that continues to evoke an extraordinary level of artistry.
“We just finished ‘Giselle,’ and throughout the run we had four different castings of Albrecht, Giselle, Hilarion and Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis. About half the company gets a chance to do a principal role. That really pushes the level of the company. You have to work hard, and you have to want to work hard.”
For a complete list of performances and events, go to calperformances. org/performances/2017-18/ dance/joffrey-ballet. php# tab2.