Surrealism, Beauty, and Magic at the SF Ballet
I struck up a conversation with a ballerina during a party at ‘Black Star Pirate BBQ,’ a remote live music venue and eatery that I’m fairly certain is owned and operated by actual pirates. Over her shoulder, there was a large statue I’d seen at a Burning Man long ago, sat overlooking the harbor at Point San Pablo,
It felt like a very ‘Bay Area’ moment.
She replied over the blaring bluegrass music, “Yes, the San Francisco Ballet Spring season looks pretty great!” And just like that, I had an ‘insider’ to go to the ballet with, someone with an expert opinion on the art, who could explain the finer nuances of the performance, and make a local rumdum like me sound somewhat dance-literate.
San Francisco Ballet in Tomasson’s Harmony // © Erik Tomasson
There were many things to like about Tuesday’s Program 5 at the San Francisco Ballet. But there’s a particular performance that may cause your heart to race a bit, and your brain to bend and twist, like a…well, like a ballerina. It’s called Magrittomania, and it’s a ballet inspired by the surrealist Belgian painter Magritte, whose work is complex, metaphysical, and meant to unlock different perspectives in its viewers. The Ballet inspired by his work somehow, quite ingeniously, accomplishes this too.
Chances are you’ll recognize Magritte’s work, especially his ‘The Son Of Man’ (1967) self-portrait on the left, & ‘The Lovers (1928) on the left.
Yuri Possokhov choreographed a number that dancer Dores André took complete control of, to the music of Beethoven. Dores danced so beautifully, that I could scarcely think of anything else for the rest of the evening. She wore a sheer red dress and veiled her face, as in Magritte’s painting “The Lovers”, the effect was to remove the performer’s face from the equation, her main form of expression veiled, which forced the viewer to pay much greater attention to the ballerina’s body, movement, and perhaps see into her very experience.
Dores André in Possokhov’s Magrittomania // © Erik Tomasson
With the distraction of their faces veiled, I found myself changing the way I viewed ballet, and seeing things I never would have noticed otherwise, as the two lovers danced one could observe the way their chests heaved with each breath for example, or the subtle movements and intimacies between two bodies in perfect sync.
Dores André and Tiit Helimets in Possokhov’s Magrittomania // © Erik Tomasson
Magritte’s paintings show us the difference between being present, and simply being represented. He was not interested in showing us the common experience of a portrait or figure, the simple observance of the reflection of a person, he wanted his viewers to think about the very meaning of viewing a portrait, and the very perspective itself, something we rarely deconstruct. 
Anyway, 20th-century surrealism aside, after the show my ballerina-in-crime was overjoyed with the performance, we both saw all kinds of fun influences and different subtle details. There were big beautiful Magritte-inspired stage designs, bowler hats, and costumes that made me think of the British and American theater, there were musical infusions that alluded to Bob Fosse numbers from the 1960s. And big beautiful Beethoven scores like Für Elise, and pieces of Eroica…music so famous they are almost forms of pop art in themselves.
San Francisco Ballet in Possokhov’s Magrittomania // © Erik Tomasson
And the dancing, the dancing was sublime.
A standout was Diego Cruz, we both found him to have a wonderful stage presence and bravado, and the audience loved him for it. Misa Kuranaga was incredibly elegant and powerful in the Harmony segment of the performance as well. This is an exciting show that will have you thinking about it days later, and there are only a few days left to see it.
SF Ballet PROGRAM 5:
APR 2–16, 2022
THE FIFTH SEASON
Composer: Karl Jenkins
Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson
HARMONY (WORLD PREMIERE)
Composer: Jean-Philippe Rameau
Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson
MAGRITTOMANIA
Composer: Yuri Krasavin after Ludwig van Beethoven
Choreographer: Yuri Possokhov
Run time: 2:13 with two 20-min intermissions
More information & tickets here.
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