San Diego Ballet, Feb. 11-13, 2011
The San Diego Ballet performed Romeo and Juliet at the Lyceum Theatre in downtown Horton Plaza this Valentine’s weekend. The company uses the classic score by Sergei Prokofiev with original choreography by Javier Velasco. He explains in the program notes that he is emphasizing “what Romeo and Juliet has come to mean to us. Meaning, I wanted to focus on the intimacy of two young people in love… [hoping to create] something that is as fast and fleeting as that first, sudden, sensation of love and desire.”
Velasco and the San Diego Ballet have achieved that vision, eschewing the superfluousness to more closely examine only the most important relationships from the bard’s Romeo and Juliet. Instead of three acts populated with a large cast and swashbuckling, the audience is treated to ninety minutes that don’t rely on the overly cliché. With this smaller cast, they are able to get to the essence of the bonds that Shakespeare first penned within this story of feuding families: parents and children, enemies and lovers.
All of the performers must be commended for both their exquisite technique and effortless expressiveness. The entire cast exudes graceful precision: all of the timing and rhythm is perfect yet flows naturally out of the ensemble, duo and solo dances. The performance was well attended with empty seats only in the wings. The intimacy of the Lyceum Theatre only contributed to this excellent performance.
Comments