King’s ‘Sand’ at Lines Ballet an instant classic
King’s ‘Sand’ at Lines Ballet an instant classic
[...] one must assume King’s response to the original contribution of pianist Jason Moran and saxophonist Charles Lloyd is profound enough to be transformative.
Premiered Thursday evening (April 21) at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, “Sand” looks like no other ballet in the Lines repertoire, a fact that nevertheless evoked a sympathetic reaction in the company’s 12 exceptional dancers.
King has tempered his use of the classical vocabulary and it’s not just refreshing; it may portend a new direction in the choreographer’s career.
“Sand,” the main event of the company’s spring home season, is romantic in its conjoining of the genders, playful and even serene in its tone.
[...] the heart of the ballet is the “Dreams” duet for Kara Wilkes and Michael Montgomery, which, for King, seems almost indecorously passionate.
The last moment, of male dancers singly dropping to the floor in a blinding light, may comment on the elusiveness implicit in the ballet’s title.
The dancing on a raised platform at the back of the stage behind designer Christopher Haas’ curtain happens too quickly and faintly to make an impression.
The evening opens with King’s intensely dour 2014 essay, “Shostakovich,” which is set to movements from four Shostakovich string quartets.