San Francisco Ballet dancers performing “Stars and Stripes” (photograph by Lindsay Thomas, courtesy of the Balanchine Trust, from the SF Classical Voice review of last February’s performance written by Steven Winn)
Some readers may recall this past February, when I wrote about Balanchine: Father of American Ballet when it was performed by the San Francisco Ballet in the War Memorial Opera House. That program concluded with George Balanchine’s best known “Americana” ballet, “Stars and Stripes,” set to music by John Philip Sousa, orchestrated by Hershy Kay. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate Independence Day than with choreography created by a man often recognized as the father of American ballet. This was Balanchine’s way of thanking the government for granting his citizenship. Mind you, I am sure there are good reasons why the War Memorial Opera House would not be able to support this timely undertaking, so I may just have to resort to recordings of Sousa’s music to tweak my memory of the many past performances I have enjoyed, not only here in San Francisco, but also in New York City and Boston!
