DANCE REVIEW : East Meets West in a Crazy-Quilt Concert by S.D., Japanese Dancers

Two years ago, in February, 1989, San Diego’s California Ballet presented four soloists of the Bolshoi and Kiev ballets at the Civic Theatre. The Soviet classical dancers opened and closed the show with heart-stopping pas de deux, executed with such fine articulation and honey-smooth perfection that ballet hopefuls looking on might have muttered, “Sheesh, why bother?” and retired their toe shoes.

Regrettably, that same evening, the California Ballet company sandwiched its own performances of a dancer-as-prostitute story dance and a “we’re aerobic!” contemporary work between the Soviet performances. This kind of programming is one way the term local gets a bad name.

In a similar format at the Civic Theatre on Saturday, California Ballet hosted the Tokyo Festival Ballet, a touring company of 17 young dancers from various ballet companies in Japan in a one-night-only performance. This time, however, the visiting group danced four works--one classical pas de deux and three stylistically divergent “neoclassical” dances--while the California Ballet inserted two modern pieces, one in each half of the program. The combination made for a crazy-quilt concert that lasted nearly 2 1/2 hours.

“Jomon-Fu,” choreographed by the Tokyo Festival Ballet’s artistic director, Asami Maki, opened the program--and should have been left off. Here’s how the story went: Ancient village people elect a young queen who succumbs to a devil’s temptation. She is shamed and ousted, and replaced by a young man. Unfortunately, the choreography lacked psychological depth, making this comic book Martha Graham and an unfortunate showpiece for some technically gifted dancers.

The curtain rose next on a dimly lit stage, empty except for the California Ballet’s young star Calvin Kitten, smoking a cigarette under huge billows of smoke. (Did his little cigarette make all that smoke? How macho.) With tense concentration, the 19-year-old performed “The Contender,” a solo premiere created by Jean Isaacs, artistic director of San Diego’s modern dance troupe 3’s Company.

Slow and segmented initially, the piece heated up into a fluid and mesmerizing display with Spanish postures and impressive leaps. Kitten’s hands and arms are enormously expressive. Enormously frustrating, however, was the shutting off of lights before the piece ended.

Next came the pas de deux from Marius Petipa’s arch-classical “Satanella,” performed with verve and technical prowess by Kaori Horiuchi and her partner Tokihiko Sakamoto, followed by “Michi--The Road” in modern dress. Jun Ishii’s choreography almost overcame the soap opera subject matter--a father’s infidelity with his wife’s younger sister. The dancers gave convincing emotional portrayals, particularly Satomi Sugiyama as the mother cast out on “the road.” As the innocent daughter distressed by her father’s betrayal and her mother’s pain, Hisako Takabe was exceptional.

“Michi,” skillfully set to its score (Maurice Ravel’s piano composition “Ma Mere l’Oye”) was the only work well scored by the Japanese choreographers (all scores for both companies were taped), and it was the artistic high point for the Festival Ballet.

After choreographer Patrick Nollet’s shallow, California-casual “Ambiguous Obsession,” danced by the full California Ballet company, the Festival Ballet’s full company took the stage for “Henyo--Unknown Symphony.” This energetic work, danced to orchestral music of Paul Hindemith, justly featured Hisako Takabe, whose polished technique and stage presence kept a charismatic grip on one’s attention.

Something had to. Although rich with high-flown athletics for the male talent and unison dancing with hard-core precision for the females, “Henyo” was essentially all show and little tell. It would have made an engaging warm-up to open the program.

But what, then, would have closed it?