Trio (Photo: Erik Tomasson)

I was able to go to see the San Francisco Ballet perform at Segerstrom Hall in Orange County last week. And they were, as always, FAN-TAS-TIC! The evening consisted of Trio, Raku, and Symphony in C. I could go on and on describing each step in frenchie detail, but honestly, I’ll spare you. Because the thing that SF Ballet really does beautifully, the thing that makes them so ridiculously wonderful isn’t the bits and pieces picked apart by critics; it’s the wholeness of the company. Don’t get me wrong, I love a great ballet star, an Etoile from on high that is sort of not-human in the best and most amazing way… but what never ceases to amaze me and always succeeds in delighting me about SF Ballet is the fact that they are a company – not a couple of stars and then, oh yeah, everyone else.

There are so many dancers who work very hard and are extremely talented but the sun just isn’t going to shine on them and the planets aren’t going to align for them. There are dancers out there who will see their name in the flyer handout in the program but never on the bigger than life banner hanging in front of the venue, dancers who will take their bows in the back row and be able to pass through the crowd at the stage door unnoticed. But in a company like SF Ballet, they are indeed appreciated!

Whenever I have the great pleasure of watching SF Ballet perform, I always do so with the feeling that they come to the audience as a whole. Where some dancers are a single morning star, SF Ballet is like a milky way, twinkling from each corner, brilliant each one. SF Ballet always makes you feel like they are happy to be there, they are thrilled to be dancing, they revel in the joy that is dance, and THAT is what makes a great evening at the ballet!