Program 4, “Must-See Balanchine” presented by the
San Francisco Ballet this season has been warmly received by audiences and
critics alike.
We especially enjoyed the Stravinsky Violin
Concerto on the evening of March 8. We had seen this number in 1995 when it had
its first premiere in the Opera House here, and it has simply gotten better.
Cordula Merks was the featured violinist, who gave
an assured and fiery performance.
This was a Russian evening, with Tchaikovsky’s
“Diamonds,” and Prokofiev’s “Prodigal Son,” also performed. We were expecting a
Pointes of View lecture on Russia, but were pleasantly
surprised by something quite different.
While George Balanchine is widely recognized for
his many innovations, many may not realize how much he nurtured and celebrated
African American dance, too.
Thomas F. DeFrantz, dance researcher and Chair of
African and African American Studies at Duke University, was the guest lecturer
that evening, and provided us with a stimulating overview of this dimension of
Balanchine’s oeuvre.
He even included the little known fact that
Josephine Baker shook a leg on the ballet stage for a brief time, greatly
influencing the brilliant choreographer.
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