From the luscious Santo Loquasto sets and costumes, to the Tchaikovsky musical pastiche, and the brilliant dancing by the principals and the corps — it works. There is no question about it, no waiting to see how it all gels. San Francisco Ballet has a resounding hit on its hands.
Performing Arts
San Francisco Ballet’s Dazzling Onegin Opens the 2012 Season
by Geri Jeter
February 1st, 2012
Hamlet, starring Michael Sheen at the Young Vic, London
by Jem Bloomfield
January 27th, 2012
The psychiatric setting also forces – or helps – the production into a particular vision of the play. In some ways this is quite an old-fashioned take, with Hamlet framed as a study of a mind in disintegration.
San Francisco Ballet’s 2012 Gala Performance
by K. W. Jeter
January 23rd, 2012
A gala performance such as this, kicking off San Francisco Ballet’s 2012 season, is inevitably programmed with virtuoso showpieces, designed to show off the extraordinary capabilities of what is undoubtedly a world-class company and arguably the finest dance organization in the U.S.
Dance Review: The Nutcracker, English National Ballet at The Coliseum, London
by Jem Bloomfield
December 31st, 2011
For once the Mouse King is a genuinely compelling villain: his mask is a giant rodent’s skull with red eyes, his costume is murkily tatty and his dancing has a blend of exuberance and creepiness which makes him a joy to watch. James Streeter is the first Mouse King I’ve seen that Clara should be afraid of.
Smuin Ballet Swims in the Blue Ocean of Holiday Fun
by Geri Jeter
December 19th, 2011
The ballet consists of two parts. The first half, “The Classical Christmas,” is devoted to traditional ballet with classical Christmas music, including liturgical works. In the second half, “The Cool Christmas,” pointe shoes are out, stilettos and tap shoes are in, and the music shifts from Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic to Lou Rawls, Eartha Kitt, and Leon Redbone.
In “The Classical Christmas,” the big standout for me this year was the simplest. There is something timeless and charming about the minimalist line dance by the company women to “Veni, Veni, Emmanuel.” It reminds us that dance does not always need to be tricky and complicated to be wonderful. Oh, there were masses of tricky solos and partner work, to be sure, but the sheer loveliness of this dance will linger in memory far longer than fancy footwork.
One Man, Two Guvnors, Adelphi Theatre, London
by Jem Bloomfield
December 16th, 2011
For this show is funny. I mean, it is really funny. Not the kind of funny you might associate with a National Theatre adaptation of an eighteenth-century Italian play. It’s splutteringly, potato-throwingly, unreasonably hilarious.
Ross Noble and Friends, Cranleigh Arts Centre, England
by Jem Bloomfield
December 16th, 2011
It showcased all of Noble’s best points: the delight in the ludicrous, the ideas tripping over each other to get out and the revelling in how foolish he may look to an audience. And of course The Voice.
Broadway Review: Alicia Keys’ Stick Fly
by Ethan Kanfer
December 15th, 2011
This setup abounds with comic potential, and Diamond wrings plenty of laughs out of the awkward dynamics at hand. But there is much more here than just the usual dysfunction junction drollery. The youths, especially Taylor, have a lot to say about the way the world looks now, and much of their criticism is justified.
San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker Continues the Tradition
by Geri Jeter
December 14th, 2011
OK. I’ll admit it. I’m a total sap for Nutcracker. You’d think after all the years of attending and appearing in performances, working backstage, and covering numerous productions for various media outlets that I would have become more than a bit bored with the whole thing. Nope. Not a bit. Some productions I like more than others, but basically, I’m a fan.
And San Francisco Ballet, the company that presented the first full-length U. S. Nutcracker, still offers one of the best. From the moment the house doors open, the audience becomes a part of one of San Francisco’s oldest and best-loved holiday parties. Garlands, Christmas trees, and Nutcracker dolls at the boutique welcome the guests decked out in their holiday party best. The lobby is buzzy as children and adults alike eagerly anticipate the performance.
Theatre Review: Noel Coward’s Star Quality, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, England
by Jem Bloomfield
December 9th, 2011
There’s a feeling you get about ten minutes into a Noel Coward play. The lights have come up, the set has been admired, the opening salvoes exchanged and then – whether it’s Hay Fever, Present Laughter or Private Lives – you realize that we’re in here for the duration. It’s like a moment of mild claustrophobia.

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