Dance Critic
To open its 12th season, San Diego Ballet presented “ Cultures Clash,” a truly mixed evening of dances that showcased the company’s diverse talents and director-choreographer Javier Velasco’s wide ranging interests. Among other things, the well-attended, one-night-only program at the Lyceum Theatre featured collaboration with the hip-hop troupe Culture Shock, which is just now settling into new digs on Hancock Street in Middletown.
Velasco has never been one to limit himself to classical idioms. A musical-theatre baby, he has long sought to bring social dances and contemporary vibes into his work.
With his new “Firebird,” set to Stravinsky and loosely based on the old Russian folk tale about a magical bird, he brought in a passel of Culture Shock dancers to perform as minions of an evil Enchanter (Ilya Kouznetsov) who has cast a spell over an entire kingdom.
In Velasco’s version, which closed the evening, the full narative didn’t come through. But the choreography (including sections created by Culture Shock) was engaging on its own terms, and the dancing was terrific.
Stephanie Aubuchon was a standout as the red-clad Firebird. Her duet with the Prince (the winning Askar Alimbetov), in which she bestows the gift of a magic feather, was full of verve and darting energy. Rachel Sebastian charmed as the princess whose heart is ultimately claimed by Alimbetov’s Prince. And the Culture Shock dancers projected an aura of true menace rather than the campy grotesquerie we usually see from the “Firebird” minions.
Act I featured three dances by Velasco: the lyrical “Chopin Fantasie”; a pas de deux from “Le Corsaire”; and excerpts from the very funny “Arthur Murray’s Dance Secrets,” inspired by the dance popularizer’s 1940 book on how to achieve self-confidence and popularity through dance.
Also on the program was Culture Shock’s “Beatbox,” a rousing number that displayed the talents of 11 fiercely committed dancers. It was wonderful to see a multicultural cast of dancers who excel at breakdancing and hip-hop in a piece sandwiched between the neo-romantic “Chopin Fantasie” and “Le Corsaire,” the 19th century ballet based on a poem by Byron.
“Le Corsaire” the former Bolshoi principal Kouznetsov do what he does best; he’s a turner and a jumper, which is rare enough, and also a first-rate partner, here showing off Yoko Inomato to her best advantage.
“Chopin Fantasie,” a neo-romantic, plotless ballet with featured roles for Sebastian, Aubuchon, Kouznetsov, Alimbetov and Heather Falten, demonstrated the troupe’s growing technical skill. The corps was polished and confident. Aubuchon and Kouznetsov stood out as partners who communicated beautifully without ever touching.