San Francisco - Alison Bing [158]
ALONZO KING’S LINES BALLET
415-863-3040; www.linesballet.org
Alonzo King’s long, lean dancers perform complicated, angular movements that showcase their impeccable technical skills. Recent shows have included a knockout kung-fu-meets-ballet joint work with Shaolin monks, which explored a synthesis of Eastern and Western forms, pairing dance with martial arts. King also offers classes and workshops.
JOE GOODE PERFORMANCE GROUP
415-561-6565; www.joegoode.org
An early adaptor of narrative performance art into dance, maverick Joe Goode is known worldwide and performs nationally. His dancers are phenomenal exponents of their craft – and they’re not kept silent: in Joe Goode works, the dancers use their voices as well as their bodies.
OBERLIN DANCE COLLECTIVE
Map
415-863-9834; www.odctheater.org; 3153 17th St; 16th St Mission
For nearly 40 years, Oberlin Dance Collective (ODC) has continually wowed audiences with its risky and raw modern-dance performances, which irreverently explore the joy of movement. The ODC’s season runs from September through to December, and its stage presents year-round shows, which feature local and international artists. Its Dance Commons is a hub and hangout for the local dance community and offers 200 classes a week; all ages and all levels are welcome to participate.
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
Map
415-861-5600, tickets 415-865-2000; www.sfballet.org; War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave; tickets $10-120; 21, 47, 49; & Civic Center
The San Francisco Ballet is the USA’s oldest ballet company, and the first to premier the Nutcracker, which it performs annually. In San Francisco, its home is the War Memorial Opera House, but it also appears at other venues now and then; check the website.
SCOTT WELLS & DANCERS
415-931-8648; www.scottwellsdance.com
Thrilling, contemporary and smart, Scott Wells’ contact-improvisation dance pieces dig deep into the male psyche and pack a hell of a punch. The athleticism is spellbinding. Performances usually take place in spring, but they pop up around town year-round.
SMUIN BALLET
415-495-2234; www.smuinballet.org
Smuin riled the local dance world in 2009 when it dubbed its work ‘Ballet, but Entertaining’ – as if the form wasn’t – but the tag line captures the popular spirit of this 15-year-running dance company. Though always balletic in form, the works are at times wacky and humorous, or poignant and touching, and always have mass appeal – ideal for those who like dance performances but don’t want to be challenged by experimental concepts.
Yerba Buena Center For The Arts
Map
415-978-2787; www.ybca.org; 700 Howard St; tickets $15-50; 30, 45; & Powell St
Rock stars regularly have their thunder stolen by YBCA openings, which draw hipper crowds willing to brave lines and coat-check their skateboards for contemporary art by the likes of filmmaker Isaac Julien, cartoonist R Crumb and satirist William Pope. The center also fosters fresh, inspiring local talent that has mounted everything from an aerial circus to a dance piece set entirely on bicycles. Most touring companies perform here.
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GO NOIR
Don your trench coat and slip into a darkened art-house theater for one of these classics, set in SF and still shown here. Or discover other long-since-forgotten noir films at the Noir City Film Festival (www.noircity.com) in late January – the definitive event for noir buffs.
The Maltese Falcon (1941) – Dashiell Hammett penned the series in 1928 for a pulp magazine, Black Mask, from his apartment at 891 Post St. Later, Peter Lorre and Humphrey Bogart starred in the classic film, in which a private detective gets involved in a murderous hunt for a prized statuette. The working title was The Gent from Frisco.
Dark Passage (1947) – A wrongly accused San Quentin inmate (Humphrey Bogart) escapes, wreaking revenge through nocturnal San Francisco. The camera makes a point of focusing on the city, at least until Lauren Bacall makes her appearance.
Born to Kill