Christensen, San Francisco Ballet's artistic director from 1951 until his death in 1984, was at the vanguard of the ebullient American revolution that declared its independence from traditional European ballet.
His 1938 ``Filling Station'' paints a mosaic of Anytown, USA, complete with rich kids, poor folk, loopy drivers, a gangster, a cop and an all-American gas station attendant who aims at nothing less than taking the place of the usual enchanted prince of Russian ballet.
There is nothing fake in ``Filling Station,'' which paved the way for a radiant future of unpretentious, straightforward American tales in dance from Agnes De Mille's ``Rodeo'' to Jerome Robbins' ``Fancy Free'' to even Paul Taylor's ``Company B.''
The original ending of ``Filling Station,'' as staged for Lincoln Kirstein's Ballet Caravan, was dark: The Rich Girl was shot dead by the Gangster in the holdup. This, like much else, made ``Filling Station'' a close cousin of Busby Berkeley's ``Forgotten Man'' and ``42nd Street'' ballets.
But George Balanchine felt that an upbeat ending was in order when he revived the piece for New York City Ballet in 1953: The dead girl waves goodbye -- she's only kidding. That change made its way into the San Francisco Ballet staging, which is a shame. But the ballet is still spectacular, and it was spectacularly danced Tuesday night. /1998 Review |
