| San Francisco Examiner 6/1998, by Allan Ulrich on “X” “X” marks the spot of fun at Summerfest Comedy ballet is highlight of dance anthology Comedy ballets are hard to bring off. Comedy ballets about ballet itself are harder. And comedy ballets about ballet that don’t attempt to demolish ballet are the hardest of all. So, everybody hail Tomi Paasonen’s riotous “X”, a blast at ballet steeped in antic and corrosive wit and one of several premieres of the 1998 Summerfest/Dance programs. Yet, none quite established a profile like Paasonen’s “X”. This insidious, if occasionally overdrawn, romp bowed Saturday evening at the series’ new home at Theater Artaud; and it radiated enough gentle malice to illuminate a dance studio for several months. “X” is no jibe at classical dance from the outside. Although he is only 28, the choreographer has danced with John Neumeier’s Hamburg Ballet, Alonzo King’s Lines (1994-1995) and the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. I suspect he knows his William Forsythe intimately too; certainly, David Jude Thomas’ pounding electronic score recalls one of those soundscapes Thom Willem has concocted for the American expatriate in Frankfurt. A lot happens in “X”, and it all betrays a sophistication that will summon chuckles from any soul who has endured “The Corsaire” pas de deux one time too many (that should include virtually everybody). Paasonen has recruited several members of Lines; and watching such striking performers as Summer Lee Rhatigan, Nora Heiber and Melanie Henderson parody their boss’ insistence on exaggerated turn-out and the putative spiritual value of pointe work is a downright wicked treat. George Balanchine’s obsession with practicing tendus comes in for needling, too. We see dancers, faces wrapped in obscuring gauze, toiling at the barre. We hear musical lead-ins to famous pas de deux that almost never happen, though one ballerina can’t resist breaking into Kitri’s 3rd act variation. And this being Tanztheater, we encounter a trio of hermaphroditic types, one of whom simply shoots dancers who can’t make the grade and another of whom metamorphoses from charwoman to assoluta. “X” drifts into self-indulgence at moments, but Paasonen’s contentions – that ballet must mean something more than steely technique and empty ritual if it is to flourish artistically; and that dreams matter – register unambiguously. And he certainly knows how to animate empty space. Encore, please! Bay Area Reporter 06/98, by Aimeé Ts’ao on “X” Classical satire Tomi Paasonen is a choreographer to look out for in the future. His impressive performing career with the German Hamburg Ballet, San Francisco’s Lines Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet is temporarily on hold while he is recovering from a neck injury. Fortunately, his artistic energies have found an outlet in choreography. Over the past several years he has presented a handful of works and is developing a loyal following. At Summerfest/Dance ’98, he premiered his latest piece “X”. Once again, he reveals his skill at combining dance, movement, costume, music and text into a cohesive whole. Paasonen never settles for less. In his satire of classical ballet, he employs dancers from his days with Lines Ballet to great effect. He understands that that you must use dancers who can actually dance the classics, or else the piece becomes a parody of itself. In writing his own text, he amazes me, as English is not his first or even second language. The plays on words and general sophistication of usage follow in the footsteps of such writers Conrad, Nabokov and Codrescu, who were not native speakers, yet capture our imagination. Don’t forget the name Paasonen. |
| HOME STAGE VIDEO FOTO PRESS RESUME CONTACT |
