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Dance
May Repertory Program - Agon, Jardin aux Lilas & Gaite Pariesienne
May 6-May 9, 2010
According to Balanchine's own notes on the ballet, it was Stravinsky who hit upon the idea of a suite of dances based on a 17th century manual of French court dances--sarabandes, gillards, branles. The title of the ballet, Agon, is the Greek word for contest, protagonist, as well as agony or struggle. In addition to the court dances, a traditional classic pas de deux is added. The ballet is in three parts, performed without interruption. The first part consists of a pas de quatre for four boys, a double pas de quatre for eight girls and a triple pas de quatre for all twelve dancers. Then two girls and a boy dance a pas de trios. The boy dances a sarabande. The two girls dance a gaillard. A pas de trios is replaced by another and the second part of the ballet begins with three branles. Next comes the pas de deux with variations for the boy and the girl. The music for the first movement of the ballet is repeated and the piece ends as it began, with four boys dancing alone. Jardin aux Lilas is a dramatic ballet in one act; a tragedy of manners. A haunting story about a marriage of convenience set in England in the late 19th Century. A moonlit garden filled with lilacs, but still dark and foreboding set the scene as Caroline, a young bride, bids farewell to her lover while her financé (whom she does not love) parts with his mistress. Jardin Aux Lilas (Lilac Garden) was one of the first ballets by English choreographer and dancer Antony Tudor to be staged in the United States. Léonide Massine's fabulous Gaîté Parisienne danced to a score by Jacques Offenbach rounds out the program. A story of romance and high spirits set in a turn-of-the-century café, this mini-ballet features the rousing and uninhibited Can-Can in a tale of the nightlife of old Paris.
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Ticket Info
Tickets: $25-$82
Info Phone: 408-288-2800
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Dates & Times
Dates:
May 6-May 9, 2010Times:
Thurs-Sat: 8pm
1 Hour Children's Matinee 5/8: 1:30pm
Sun: 1:30pm -
Venue Info
San Jose Center for the Performing Arts
255 Almaden Boulevard San Jose, CA 95113
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Accessibility Info
- Wheelchair Access
- Assisted Listening System
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NOTE: We do our best to ensure all information is accurate. However it's a good idea to visit the official website or call the venue to verify the information.
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Member Reviews
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Event Name: Romeo and Juliet
"True Romance...plumbs the depths of young love"
Comment posted by: Excerpts from Metro review, March 15, 06 from San Jose, CA USA, Jan 07, 2010
Dennis Nahat's Romeo and Juliet balances subtext with clarity and blends drama with a sense of comic relief. Merchant carts fore, bridge and balcony aft, the town square hosts many a humorous scene... Expand
Dennis Nahat's Romeo and Juliet balances subtext with clarity and blends drama with a sense of comic relief. Merchant carts fore, bridge and balcony aft, the town square hosts many a humorous scene featuring the ensemble cast in a symphony of action on all scenic levels. Juliet's nurse comes to deliver a message to Romeo [and] the jovial prankster Mercutio taunts the nurse...at one point [his] face pops out from under her billowy skirts. Juliet playfully refuses to give up her doll to her mother [but soon] Romeo will bring an end to her carefree life. Later in her chamber, she and Romeo dance a pas de deux undercut by ominous, ever-present low horns. Prokofiev's plodding, horn-driven music accompanies a variety of spectacular death scenes and fight scenes--Mercutio's slow, unsuspected death, Romeo's death by poison, Juliet's suicidal stabbing. This production rewards our familiarity with the poplar tale of the star-crossed lovers by instilling countless layers of revelatory treasures. Collapse
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Event Name: Romeo and Juliet
"R&J Plays Out Its Dramatic Heritage"
Comment posted by: Excerpts from independent review of Dean Speer from Seattle, WA USA, Jan 07, 2010
I always find it a treat to visit the exotic locale of San Jose and enjoy Ballet San Jose. It's an attractive company with a deep array of talent, led by Artistic Director, Dennis Nahat. Nahat knows... Expand
I always find it a treat to visit the exotic locale of San Jose and enjoy Ballet San Jose. It's an attractive company with a deep array of talent, led by Artistic Director, Dennis Nahat. Nahat knows how to tell a story. His handling of the material is clear and his choices each made for the elucidation of the story, with the dancing contributing to the narrative and emotional impact of this timeless and tragic love story. He also re-ordered some of the musical selections, which he felt made better sense in a different flow--and the success of the ballet shows he was right. While keeping the story moving, he also gives us pleanty of dancing--from townspeople and Gypsies to the nobility. I liked his treatment of the Capulet's ballroom scene which has probably some of the most famous music in it...and especially appreciate that he has the nobles do more than just strut about and drop pillows on the floor as they do in the original Bolshoi production. BSJ gives spice to your balletic diet. Collapse
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Event Name: Romeo and Juliet
"An exquisite version of "Romeo and Juliet'"
Comment posted by: Excerpts from San Mateo Times review 3/11/06 from San Mateo, CA USA, Jan 06, 2010
Although there have been a number of composers who have written music for ballet versions of the immortal Shakespeare play [Romeo and Juliet], none has surpassed in beauty the music of Russian... Expand
Although there have been a number of composers who have written music for ballet versions of the immortal Shakespeare play [Romeo and Juliet], none has surpassed in beauty the music of Russian composer Sergei Prokfiev. And it is possible there is no better choreographic realization than that of the company's artistic director, Dennis Nahat. Shakespeare created great plays written for actors using words. Nahat's "actors" tell the same story employing only dance movements. And he is master of setting beautiful stage tableaus that could be photographed as medieval paintings. In the unlikely event anyone in the audience did not know the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet, Nahat makes the plot very clear. Not a gesture or movement is excessive, wasted or missed. The richly colored sets and costumes by David Guthrie enrich the production under Kenneth Keith's moody lighting designs. Magical and rare. Collapse
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Event Name: Romeo and Juliet
"'Romeo' leaps to life in San Jose."
Comment posted by: Excerpts from San Francisco review, March 11, 2006 from San Francisco, CA USA, Jan 06, 2010
Throughout, the sets and costumes are superb. The skies are blue, with puffy white clouds on the backdrop and also behind various altars, suggesting some kind of omnipresent fates pulling the story... Expand
Throughout, the sets and costumes are superb. The skies are blue, with puffy white clouds on the backdrop and also behind various altars, suggesting some kind of omnipresent fates pulling the story forward. The rooflines suggest Verona and also the missions of California. The ballroom is festive yet darkly foreboding. The costumes are wonderful: deep jewel tones for the ladies' ball gowns; innocent, palest pinks and sheer whites for Juliet's; and, in the fight scenes, red outfits for the Capulet gang and pale blue for the Montagues. Give Nahat full credit for understanding the complexity of Sergei Prokofiev's score (performed beautifully by a full orchestra conducted by Dwight Oltman). Nahat's production embodies the sweep as well as the underlying resonance of Shakespeare's tragedy. The moment that captured the full sorrow of "Romeo and Juliet" was when the bodies of Tybalt and Mercutio were carried from the stage, leaving two sets of grieving parents. And we still had one act to go. Collapse
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Event Name: Romeo and Juliet
"Excerpts from Mercury News review"
Comment posted by: From San Jose Mercury News, March 11, 2006 from San Jose, CA USA, Jan 06, 2010
This much-beloved ballet, which has been called "a warm-weather 'Nutcracker,'" is most often set to Sergei Prokofiev's 1934 score, which was rejected by the Bolshoi Ballet as "undanceable." The... Expand
This much-beloved ballet, which has been called "a warm-weather 'Nutcracker,'" is most often set to Sergei Prokofiev's 1934 score, which was rejected by the Bolshoi Ballet as "undanceable." The naysayers had a point. Prokofiev's glorious music is so tightly prescriptive that it can--and has--put a straitjacket on more than one choreographer's imagination. Not on [Dennis] Nahat, who has telescoped, expanded and reconnected the score for what just may be the most textured and finely detailed "Romeo" in dance. Instead of the usual awkward breaks in the action, Nahat's narrative unspools as liquidly as water following its natural path. The beauties of this not-to-be-missed production are almost too many. The wedding is a real ceremony...Everyone, even minor roles, is a multidemensional character. At three hours, this "Romeo" is long. Yet I wouldn't give up a single moment. Ballet SJ's Romeo is a classic. Collapse
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Event Name: A Midsummer Night's Dream
"Nahat's Joyous Romp in the Woods"
Comment posted by: Chronicle Dance Critic from San Francisco, CA USA, Mar 19, 2009
Excerpts from SF Chronicle review, October 1999. "Immensely enjoyable." Nahat's "Dream"--about runaway lovers in the woods and one monumental misunderstanding in bed--is filled with foolish mortals... Expand
Excerpts from SF Chronicle review, October 1999. "Immensely enjoyable." Nahat's "Dream"--about runaway lovers in the woods and one monumental misunderstanding in bed--is filled with foolish mortals and gods who are no wiser. There are matches and mismatches, and ultimately there is joy. The overall impact is one of glee. [It] may not be the adult comedy Shakespeare created, the cautionary tale about waking up next to a stranger after a night of midsummer madness, but what [Nahat] brings to the table is an infectious sense of fun. Collapse
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Event Name: A Midsummer Night's Dream
"Shakespeare Without Words...Are You Kidding Me?"
Comment posted by: Lee Kopp from San Jose, CA USA, Mar 19, 2009
I actually work for the company, so this is COMMENT only...not a review. I saw this piece back in 1999 and was blown away. I could not imagine telling a story by the most celebrated playwright in the... Expand
I actually work for the company, so this is COMMENT only...not a review. I saw this piece back in 1999 and was blown away. I could not imagine telling a story by the most celebrated playwright in the English language...without using his words! But I was just blown away. Dennis Nahat is such a great storyteller. He has kept all the characters. There is Hermia who loves Lysander, but her father says, "no; you must marry Demitrius. And Helena who loves Demitrius, but Demitrius wants Hermia. And Oberion, King of the Night who is fighting with Titania the Queen of the Fairies over a changeling child. And, of course, Puck and Bottom and the Rustics rehearsing their play in the forest. You know exactly what is going on the whole time. And the MUSIC...Mendelssohn played live by Symphony Silicon Valley...is just great. And the sets and costumes; gorgeous, and award-winning. I could go on and on, but I'm out of room. Just do yourself (and your kids) a favor. SEE IT! It's Magic! Collapse
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Event Name: Hidden Talents - An Evening of Premieres
"pass!"
Review posted by: lisa from Santa Cruz, CA, Mar 05, 2009
This was one of the worst performances I've ever seen--juvenile choreography, cheesy music, bad costumes, uninspired sets and lackluster dancing (with a few exceptions--the "Fem" piece was lovely)... Expand
This was one of the worst performances I've ever seen--juvenile choreography, cheesy music, bad costumes, uninspired sets and lackluster dancing (with a few exceptions--the "Fem" piece was lovely) made this 2 1/2 hour program painful to sit through. I've seen this company perform at a much higher standard than this--too bad they couldn't do themselves more justice in these cringe-worthy works. Collapse
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Event Name: Hidden Talents - An Evening of Premieres
"Fantastic!"
Review posted by: Susannah from San Jose, CA, Feb 27, 2009
This program is filled with wonderful choreography, humor, fantastic music, some of the most complex and inventive lighting I have seen the ballet use, dramatic storytelling and overall really... Expand
This program is filled with wonderful choreography, humor, fantastic music, some of the most complex and inventive lighting I have seen the ballet use, dramatic storytelling and overall really wonderful dance! HIDDEN TALENT is right,I loved the youthful and dramatic presentation of these works. A really different move for the Ballet and I was very pleased. 3 of the pieces were just STUNNING, a fourth was great but just a bit on the long side, and though a fifth wasn't MY particular favorite, it was definately solid. What a GREAT modern program. This would be PERFECT for the first time ballet goer for sure, a great collection of works! Collapse
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Event Name: Hidden Talents - An Evening of Premieres
"NEW WORKS--A Celebration of Artistic Innovation"
Comment posted by: Lee Kopp, Marketing Director; BSJ from San Jose, CA USA, Jan 28, 2009
I work at Ballet San Jose and have been watching bits and pieces of the rehearsals for HIDDEN TALENTS. It is really exciting to see these pieces being created. This is a program of NEW WORKS...A... Expand
I work at Ballet San Jose and have been watching bits and pieces of the rehearsals for HIDDEN TALENTS. It is really exciting to see these pieces being created. This is a program of NEW WORKS...A Celebration of Artistic Innovation. (That's my tag line. Hey, I'm into marketing...I can't help myself.) Five of our company dancers are creating their own choreography and setting their dances to music that is all over the map...György Ligeti, John Legend, Astor Piazzolla, Björk, Agustin Bardi, and Bay Area recording artists, Loop!Station. (In fact, Loop!Station is going to perform live onstage with the dancers, and the Legeti pieces are being played live by pianist Michael McGraw...so that should be really fun.) Do yourself a favor, and come see HIDDEN TALENTS. Be the FIRST on your block to see FIVE new ballets on one stage on one program. You won't be sorry. And thanks Artsopolis for letting me post my comments. Collapse
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