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Choreographer-in-residence Yuri Possokhov’s twelfth repertory work for San Francisco Ballet, 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳, takes its inspiration from John Cheever’s short story 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳, a surrealistic story of a man who “swims home” through his neighbors’ pools, only to find his home—and his life there—gone. Possokhov takes this concept of a man “swimming home” and weaves together images, moments, and settings from author Jack London’s Martin Eden (1909), J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye (1951), Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita (1955), as well as artist Edward Hopper’s painting Nighthawks (1942), and director Mike Nichols’ film The Graduate (1967). Scene changes happen with the aid of film sequences, which reflect Possokhov’s love of moving images, while giving a nod to Hollywood, another American cultural icon. In the ballet’s last movement, the Swimmer is multiplied by fifteen men. “It’s him, all of them, Possokhov says—one man’s emotions, magnified.” The men dance with the fluidity and weightlessness that come with immersion in water, yet there is ferocity too. “It’s like a kind of confession,” he continues. The mad dance is a “last song, last scream, last swim.” Then the men are washed away, leaving only the Swimmer onstage. Special thank you to San Francisco Ballet for making this exhibition possible. See “San Francisco Ballet at 90” on display, pre-security, in the International Terminal and online at: https://bit.ly/SFBalletAt90
This image was posted on October 20, 2023.
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