City Ballet Soars in Premieres

Maurice Ravel didn’t intend for Bolero to be about sex. But the popular response to his 1928 composition—and of course the film “10”—have argued otherwise. Now there’s a fresh testament to the music’s erotic power: City Ballet of San Diego’s “Bolero—The Awakening,” which premiered at the Balboa Theatre last weekend. The ballet by company co-founder Elizabeth Wistrich sizzles.

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City Ballet Dances in the Moonlight

Can’t City Ballet of San Diego afford shirts for its male dancers? Just kidding. The bare-chested guys looked swell in a show that was a charming mix of setting—UCSD’s Epstein Family Amphitheater—and a program of superbly danced all-new work.

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Who Cares? Everyone—City Ballet’s “Balanchine and More”

City Ballet of San Diego opened its “Balanchine and More” with “Who Cares?,” George Balanchine’s 1970 ballet set to nine Gershwin tunes. Lighthearted and flirty, the piece was a delicious kickoff for a program demonstrating the extraordinary care that has made City Ballet a stellar company whose dancers gobble up challenging repertory … and do it to a live orchestra.

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It’s the Music! It’s the Dance! City Ballet’s Balanchine Masterpieces Wows

In last weekend’s “Balanchine Masterpieces” program, the music proved as thrilling as the dance—especially Mark Polesky at the piano. Polesky brought brightness and verve to the Stravinsky and richness to Hindemith’s changing moods. And that was on an electric keyboard! The dance was equally stunning, from the moment the Spreckels Theatre curtain rose on a chorus line of dancers in sparkly lipstick-red.

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