| Near the end of "Prism," ... set to Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1, played at the Opera House by Roy Bogas and conducted by Emil de Cou. "Prism" is an ambitious work for 29 dancers, but its structure is exquisitely simple.
Commenting on the music, Tomasson responds to the complexities of Beethoven's score by successively reducing its facets even as the number of dancers in each movement grows: The first section is based on trios, the second on duets and the third on a dazzling solo that sheds light on everything else. The curtain rose on tumult, with nine dancers grouped in trios reflecting the fluid phrasing of what looked like a happy threesome... The final movement of "Prism" boasted all the majesty and hard-earned happiness of Beethoven's music. Solo followed witty solo as codas brought back the entire cast,... The end was lovely, touching and more. The jazziness of Garcia's solos, especially after all the on-the-beat beauty of much of "Prism," acted as nice reminders of the Jerome Robbins legacy that is Tomasson's artistic birthright. The sense of community "Prism" achieves, the feeling of togetherness and warmth, is a major achievement not unlike that at the close of the "Goldberg Variations" Robbins created for Tomasson a generation ago. "Prism" is indeed a homecoming for Tomasson, an embrace of classical values by a mature classicist working at the peak of his powers as well as proof that these timeless dance values can be the springboard of something new. "Prism" is ravishing./ Review |
| The San Francisco Ballet's happy threesome: Vadim Solomakha, Kristin Long and Zachary Hench. Chronicle photo by Chris Hardy |
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| Composer: Beethoven Music: PC #1 - YouTube Choreography: Helgi Tomasson Costumes: Martin Pakledinaz Staged by: Elyse Borne Lighting: Mark Stanley Number of dancers: 29-30? |
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| Prism |
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| Featured in an alternate cast: Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith in Helgi Tomasson's Prism. Photo courtesy of SF Ballet. |
| He avoids the clichof bringing on the corps for orchestral passages and reserving the solo dancers for the piano passages, except in the final Rondo, where the temptation must have been irresistible...In the first movement, which consists of a trio for two men and a woman, with three corps men assuming demi-soloist duties, Tomasson avoids the formula. After the long orchestral introduction, he greets the piano entry, not with the three soloists, but with a solo for the woman and the effect...the more romantic second movement duet,../Review |
| 1st movement
trio for two men and a woman, with a solo for the woman and the effect - especially when Tina LeBlanc is dancing, as she was Saturday - is extraordinarily refreshing. She was partnered by mirror cavaliers, Nicolas Blanc and Pascal Molat, both supremely elegant in Martin Pakledinaz's pleasing gray and tangerine outfits and three corps men assuming demi-soloist duties - three demi boys, Martin Garside, James Phillips and Jonathan Mangosing, whose trio in canon looked a bit rough. 2nd movement Sarah Van Patten and Brett Bauer had the measure of the more romantic second movement duet, 3rd movement Hansuke Yamamoto projected Tomasson's sensational solo in the Rondo finale with flair. - he offered pristine jumps, immaculate turns and dapper trips around the stage./Review Sum |
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| Vanessa Zahorian in Tomasson's Prism photo: Erik Tomasson |