Shostakovich Trilogy -- San Francisco Ballet Performance

Shostakovich Trilogy

San Francisco Ballet Performance

April 8, 2014

The Shostakovich Trilogy is a well conceived, expertly performed dance by the San Francisco Ballet.  It is divided into three segments all set against music by Shostakovich and separated by two intermissions.  The dancers' movements are smooth, fluid, and graceful throughout this ballet.  Both men and women participate in all three ballets.  The men and women interact.  They touch each other, pick each other up, carry each other.  There is good interaction between the sexes throughout the three ballets.  The sets and costumes are simple, if not minimal.  In the first segment there is a plain gray floor against a gray backdrop.  In the second segment there is a backdrop with some painted imagery, and in the third there are bright red geometric objects suspended above the stage.  This show is not about visual imagery and special effects.  It is all about movement and the dance, and the dancers really show us what they can do.   When you've got dancers like these, you don't need too much else. 

The first segment, Symphony #9, is lighthearted and energetic.  As it goes along it turns darker, but generally remains upbeat.  The program notes allude to an atmosphere of dread or angst that is supposed to underlie this superficial gaiety, but I didn't get it.  Maybe you have to have lived in Stalinist Russia for that to come across.  I noticed the change in mood, but it felt to me more like a sense of tragedy rather than foreboding or fear.  I need to see it again.  One time is not enough to really absorb this ballet.  There is a lot of substance here and the relationship between the dance and the music is rather sophisticated.  A lot of thought went into this, and I think two or three viewings might yield a better sense of it. 

The second segment, Chamber Symphony, features three women against one man with small troops of women and men as backups.  The music is profoundly tragic and pervaded by an atmosphere of abysmal despair.   The nature of the relationships between the women and the man is not clear, but you get the feeling that this is not a happy campsite.  The women dance in triplicate much of the time with the lead male, but they do not seem to interact among themselves.  There are interludes where each woman dances in a pair with the man, and these seem problematic.  These dances are emotionally inconclusive, but the whole thing takes place in a pervasive atmosphere of abysmal despair provided by the underlying music.  There is one section where the music is almost funereal, but the couple is still dancing with animation and energy that seems out of sync with the music.  Normally I would think there was something wrong with this.  I like the dancing and the music to complement one another and not create an emotional clash.  But in this case, as explained in the program, part of the import of Shostakovich's music, and this ballet in particular, reflects a superficial presentation of upbeat optimism and well being in Russian society under Stalin, but the underlying reality is dark, sinister and pervaded with fear.  Therefore the music carries the "real" message while the dancers reflect the pretense of well being.  I would not get this without having it explained to me.  The Russian audiences who lived out their lives in that kind of duality probably did get it.  I think in America, although we do have a lot of hypocrisy and sinister undercurrents in our society, it is not so pervasive and dark and unrelenting as it was under Stalin.  So I don't think Americans will grasp this spontaneously unless it is explained to them.  The ballet ends enigmatically, but the overarching mood of the piece is one of unmitigated tragedy and despair. 

The third ballet, Piano Concerto #1, is a more positive, forceful, high energy display of dance virtuosity.   The principal ballerinas are sexy in their bright red satin bodices that show off their perfect legs to excellent effect.  It is rather abstract in content.  There are no discernible relationships or story line being depicted.  This is a dancers' ballet and you could feel the dancers' thrill and pleasure to be performing it, and it was a visual treat to watch.

I wouldn't mind seeing this Trilogy again.  It was a bit of a challenge, but an enjoyable spectacle that drew upon the capabilities of the high quality dancers and tasteful, imaginative choreography set against interesting, powerful music.  It coursed through a variety of moods and presented an interesting counterpoint between the music and the dance.  I wish I could say more about it, but I don't think I absorbed everything that was important about this ballet on the first viewing.  I feel like I need another look to really get it, but I give this one a very favorable recommendation.