Carreno’s Ballet San Jose

The revelation of Ballet San Jose’s gala Saturday was Joseph Gatti and Adiarys Almeida in the Le Corsaire pas de deux-—any balletomanes out there know these two? What a sight he was: exotic passion and perfect form. And she spun through a perfect series of alternating single-triple fouettes—I believe this is the first time I’ve seen such a feat. The audience went bonkers—and roared, too, for San Francisco Ballet’s dependably delectable Taras Domitro and Maria Kochetkova in the Don Q pas (she delivering her rotating-spot fouettes and some serious fan-flicking). But the most significant wonder of the evening was the sharp, gutsy ensemble dancing from Ballet San Jose in Jorma Elo’s “Glow-Stop,” which they’ll dance in full next year in their first season under new artistic director Jose Manuel Carreno. The ensemble still needs to clean the piece—but they’ve got the style and the bravery, no small triumph. The audience was keenly interested and glamorous. A swan-like woman in silk and lace glided down my row saying delicately, “Oh, you needn’t rise, we can manage.” Ah, gentry. Well, clearly Carreno’s Ballet San Jose will be a class act.