Dance Tour de Force at OCPAC
By Stan Jenson
Fans of classical dance are certainly lucky to live in Orange County. Our Performing Arts Center regularly presents one of the most sumptuous arrays of national and international dance companies of any performance venue in the country. This month is no exception, starting with the world-renown Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg.
The company will present the Southern California premier of Onegin, a powerful new interpretation of Alexander Pushkin’s classic Eugene Onegin, with music by Tchaikovsky and Sitkovetsky. The Eifman Ballet is the only major Russian dance company to exclusively perform the work of one choreographer. Boris Eifman founded the company in 1977, and has created more than 40 major dance works since then. He is widely considered Russia’s greatest living choreographer.
Eugene Onegin was originally set in the 19th century against the opulent backdrop of the Russian Empire, but in Eifman’s inimitable and perceptive choreographic style, he has set his the story in today’s world. He said, “I transported Pushkin’s characters to our times, placing them in new circumstances, more dramatic, more extreme. What would the novel’s characters do with their lives today? I needed to perform that experiment in order to answer the question that troubles me: What is the Russian soul today?” Eifman is well known for his explorations of the dark and daunting realms of the human psyche. He plunges into the depths of today’s most relevant philosophical and spiritual questions, turning his theater into a creative lab for exploration and discovery. Concerned above all with the theatrical impact of his productions, the choreographer does not restrict himself to the conventions of pure classical ballet. His works are each a complex, all-encompassing spectacle, constantly revealing new forms and principles of the dance..
For one night only, on May 21, the Center presents Tour de Force: A Gala Dance Spectacular. They have assembled more than 16 dance superstars from around the world to deliver a presentation of the “best of the best.” Hailing from Russia, Italy, Belgium, Canada and the USA, this hand-picked collection of soloists has been invited from the major dance companies around the world.
As a special added inclusion to the Center’s Tour de Force, the Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg will present a number of solos and smaller works which have been specially created by choreographer Boris Eifman. This gives Orange County viewers a choice between an exquisite buffet with dance dishes from around the world, or a banquet with Eifman’s new Onegin. Or better yet, why not try them both?
Eifman Ballet of St Petersburg’s “Onegin” performs May 20 and May 22-24 at Segerstrom Hall in the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tickets are $25 - $85. “Tour de Force: A Gala Dance Spectacular” performs May 21 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 - $150, and available from the Center Box Office, py phone at 714-556-2787, or online at www.OCPAC.org.