San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Bay Area dance groups stay digital for spring
Dancers put their whole being into their work, and because of this — perhaps more than other artists — they know how to keep moving through adversity. They’re doing so this spring, offering digital programs while we continue to hope for the return of live performances.
San Francisco Ballet: San Francisco Ballet’s digital season, which continues through June with four more programs, is combining older performances with freshly captured interpretations, most excitingly in George Balanchine’s “Jewels,” streaming April 121.
Misa Kuranga and Angelo Greco, two technical powerhouses, will make debuts in the threepart ballet’s lush opening section, “Emeralds,” as will the charismatic Sasha Mukhamedov and Aaron Robison. Their performances were recorded in accordance with COVID19 safety protocols in January and will be combined with archival footage of “Rubies,” featuring Mathilde Froustey, and “Diamonds,” showcasing Sasha De Sola. The Ballet’s online season then continues with a mixed bill that includes “Romeo and Juliet” and “Swan Lake.”
Sean Dorsey Dance: Sean Dorsey has triumphed over untold obstacles in his trailblazing career as the highestprofile transgender choreographer in the U.S., so it is no surprise to see Sean Dorsey Dance carrying on strong through the pandemic. The company is embarking on a new multiyear project commissioned by a raft of national dance festivals, titled “The Lost Art of Dreaming,” and will present glimpses of it during an “athome” streaming season April 1618.
The program includes several world premiere dance films created by Dorsey with three riveting dancercollaborators set to original music by composers Anomie Belle, LD Brown, Frida Ibarra, Alex Kelly and Ben Kessler.
Ballet22: Another trailblazing dance company is Ballet22, born of the pandemic when dancer Roberto Vega Ortiz launched a #maleballerinas hashtag on Instagram. Appreciation for the footage of men dancing in pointe shoes proved there was a robust audience for an allmale pointeworkbased company, one that would present the men as themselves rather than farcical characters a la the preexisting (and perennially popular) Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. So Ortiz partnered offstage with fellow dancer Theresa Knudson as executive director, and Ballet22 launched in December with an ambitious online program of classical and contemporary works.
In April, Ballet22 carries on with a spring gala featuring the 19th century chestnut “Grand Pas Classique,” contemporary work by Jehbreal Jackson, and a world premiere by former Smuin Contemporary Ballet dancer Ben NeedhamWood.
Lines Ballet: Lines Ballet has appropriately titled its online spring gala “There Is No Standing Still.” That’s also the title of the series of dance films Alonzo King’s 39yearstrong company has released since the start of the pandemic, featuring Lines’ majestic dancers recorded in striking landscapes near their homes as they sheltered in place. After filming three entries of “There Is No Standing Still,” the company gathered for a “COVIDbubble” residency in Wickenberg, Ariz., and has been hard at work creating new ensemble dances.
The spring gala will unveil a new chapter from “There Is No Standing Still” and also screen rehearsal interviews and footage. The evening will feature live musical performances by surprise guests (which, if you know Lines’ history of collaborating with musical greats like Zakir Hussain and Pharoah Sanders, are sure to be eminent guests). Proceeds will benefit Lines’ new works and educational programs such as Teens at Lines and Kids at Lines.
Detour Dance: Detour Dance was ahead of the curve when it came to the pandemic necessity for dance on film: The company has presented the Tiny Dance Film Festival since 2013. One of the highlights of this year’s edition is Eric Garcia’s “The Nelken Line,” which presents a section of Pina Bausch’s iconic dance “Nelken” as performed by 26 drag queens and queer performers.
The full lineup of international dance films will be released soon via San Francisco independent movie house the Roxie and its virtual cinema.
ODC Theater: As the public becomes more excited about possible reopenings, ODC — that 33,000squarefoot hub of the San Francisco dance world — can’t say when it will reopen its Mission District doors. But ODC Theater is going full speed ahead with a digital version of its annual ODC Theater Festival on June 312, and it’s a lively, varied lineup. ODC Theater Resident Artist Antoine Hunter will present a world premiere. NAKA Dance Theater, Catherine Galasso and Dave Cerf, Garrett & Moulton Productions, Robert Moses’ Kin, and Monique Jenkinson (a.k.a. Fauxnique) will all offer works.
Early bird allaccess passes are only $40 and include both live programming and behindthescenes content.
Dance TV Guide: Finally, the necessity of online performances has made the pandemic a time for discovering dance around the globe. The international dance journal Fjord Review (full disclosure: I also review for Fjord) maintains a monthly “Dance TV Guide” for seeing what’s on in New York, Europe and beyond here: www.fjordreview.com/