I think only a Russian could have choreographed Shostakovich as Alexei Ratmansky has, capturing the music’s inner current so subtly and chillingly. Or perhaps a Czech, because seeing Ratmansky’s Shostakovich Trilogy is like being inside the dance equivalent of a Milan Kundera novel. The cast at last night’s west coast premiere with San Francisco Ballet (the production is a co-commission with American Ballet Theatre) was terrific to a one. The ballet feels eerily timely given Putin’s latest maneuvers, and there’s irony indeed in the fact that the stunning set designs which, in “Shostakovich Trilogy,” lightly spoof propaganda are by the same designer who for the Winter Olympics created ceremony scenery that served as actual propaganda. I take my exhortative recommendations very seriously. If you possibly can, you should see this.
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