DANCE REVIEW

S.D. Ballet dazzles in 'Sensation Nouvelle'

By Eileen Sondak Resident choreographer Javier Velasco shared the limelight with his associate director Thor Sutowski last weekend when the San Diego Ballet danced its "Sensation Nouvelle" concert at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido.

February 29, 2000

The performances marked the last scheduled concerts of the company's 10th anniversary season, but this was no nostalgia trip to reflect on the troupe's decade of dance in San Diego. The four-piece concert featured new and recent works.

As Friday's opener confirmed, the dancing continues to improve at the San Diego Ballet, even among the corps. All the principals performed with admirable technical assurance and style. In fact, the only real weakness was lapses in unison work during Sutowski's demanding finale -- an ensemble piece that deployed the dancers around the stage at breakneck speeds.

The centerpiece of the celebration was the world premiere of Velasco's "Dixie Concerto." This jazzy romp through Dixieland harked back to Velasco's roots as a jazz dancer. Garish tutus for the women and funky black attire for the men punctuated the red-hot flavor of the music. Even the lighting design was hot, hot, hot.

"Dixie Concerto" was a brief but witty tribute to the raucous tunes of Dixieland, mimicking in movement the instruments of a Dixieland swing band. As a result, the dancing shifted from playful and effervescent to slow and smooth as molasses, ending with the dancers poised in gravity-defying shapes. Eric Geiger was a particular standout in this well-executed octet.

Sutowski's recent works-in-progress made their official company debut last weekend. "Side Three" (a devilishly difficult trio originally commissioned by the Munich Ballet for the American Choreographers Gala), was paired with "Dixie Concerto" in the second act of the concert.

Propelled by the whining and blaring of Stravinsky's "Ebony Concerto," this delightful trio kept Stephanie Aubuchon, Corina Hough and Bolshoi Ballet-trained Ilya Kuznetsov in perpetual motion -- flaunting swaggering gestures, fleet-footed moves and well-polished technique throughout.

For "Qu'Est Ce Que C'est?," Sutowski tapped a very different musical vein. He set this virtuoso dance to the lightning-quick music of Chopin and decked out the women in black tutus. Although the dance was diabolically clever, it pushed some of the dancers to the limit with its technical challenges. Nevertheless, the solo work was often dazzling.

The program culminated with a repeat of Velasco's "Photographs and Memories" -- danced just two weeks ago during San Diego Ballet's Valentine program. This homage to Jim Croce's songs used photographs projected on the backdrop to complement the motional and vocal patterns. Unfortunately, the dark velvet curtain made it almost impossible to make out the images.

The California Center for the Arts' 400-seat theater (adjacent to the main stage of the complex) made an excellent venue for San Diego Ballet -- a homegrown company that has come a long way in 10 years.

Eileen Sondak is a San Diego-based arts writer.