Late yesterday afternoon San Francisco Ballet (SFB) launched the final program of its 2021 Digital Season. That program consisted entirely of Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson’s choreography of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s music for the ballet Swan Lake. Calling this the “ultimate classic” in the ballet repertoire is probably not much of an exaggeration. Ask anyone to quickly name a ballet; and my guess is that an overwhelming majority will respond with “Swan Lake!”
While my earliest efforts in writing about performance were first cultivated by attending dance performances (modern as well as classical ballet) in the late Sixties, a generous number of decades have elapsed since I last saw Swan Lake. Nevertheless, my memories were rich enough to allow me to appreciate many of the ways in which Tomasson put his own stamp on the narrative. The first of those involved staging the overture music to account for Von Rothbart transforming Odette into a white swan. After that, however, it almost seemed as if the basic plot of Prince Siegfried discovering and falling in love with Odette (even if she is a swan) was thinned out as much as possible to allow for as dance episodes in generous abundance.
Personally, I feel that such a shift in balance is preferable. Strip away any willing suspension of disbelief, and the plot never really transcends silliness. However, the first three of the ballet’s four acts are rich with dances featuring an impressive diversity of soloists, often in partnership. Indeed, one wonders whether Tomasson conceived his choreography for Swan Lake to let audiences know just how many fine dancers he had in his company.
Yuan Yuan Tan in the role of Odette (photograph by Erik Tomasson, © Erik Tomasson, courtesy of San Francisco Ballet)
The performance captured on this video took place on February 19, 2016. That made this an opportunity to view Yuan Yuan Tan in the dual role of Odette and Odile (the black swan to Odette’s white) at her finest. One might say that she has the ability to breathe throbbing life into basic geometry. Tomasson could muster a highly imaginative approach to abstract shapes in his choreography; but Tan could consistently turn basic abstraction into the rich passion that justified Siegfried (danced by Tiit Helimets) being so smitten with Odette. Where their first encounter is concerned, known as the “White Swan” pas de deux, their own passionate connection was reflected by the equally passionate solo work by violinist Cordula Merks and cellist Eric Sung in the orchestra conducted by Martin West.
SFB definitely knew how to bring their season to a memorable conclusion, even if it was a digital one.
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