Your Ultimate Guide to next@90 Curtain Call

Relive These Three Standout Hits

Three standout hits from our 90th anniversary next@90 Festival return for their final curtain call this Season. The works by world-class choreographers Nicolas Blanc, Danielle Rowe, and Yuri Possokhov showcase the artistic and technical range of our dancers and feature three distinct choreographic styles ranging from classical to theatrical.

Gateway to the Sun

Who It’s For: Anyone eager to relive the hits from our 2023 next@90 festival, poetry savants, and aesthetes with an instinct for the spiritual.

What You’ll See: A poetic and moving ballet in five movements set to celebrated contemporary composer Anna Clyne’s exquisite score for cello and orchestra. Former SF Ballet Principal Dancer and current Rehearsal Director/Coach and Choreographer at The Joffrey Ballet, Nicolas Blanc, returned to our studios to create Gateway to the Sun, which became an instant audience favorite. “Dance is a liberation, dance is a sense of soothing, of solace for a human being,” said Blanc, who models Gateway to the Sun after a poem by 13th-century Sufi mystic Rumi.

Violin Concerto

Who It’s For: Anyone with an appreciation for quirky tutus, athletic virtuosity, and an ear for Stravinsky.

What You’ll See: Resident choreographer, Yuri Possokhov, reimagines Igor Stravinsky’s celebrated 1931 Violin Concerto in D. Violin Concerto is steeped in classical vocabulary that shows off the steely technique and emotional breadth of our dancers, it captures the choreographer’s decidedly contemporary perspective. It was met with standing ovations and rave reviews, a true standout piece of the next@90 Festival. While balletomanes might recognize the musical themes from George Balanchine’s 1972 work, Possokhov’s is a fresh and bold interpretation of the familiar score.

MADCAP

Who It’s For: Circus enthusiasts who are curious to take a trip down clown alley and musical theatre goers who appreciate a macabre twist.

What You’ll See: The evening ends with a standout hit from our 2023 next@90 Festival, Dani Rowe’s MADCAP was dubbed a “triumph” by the San Francisco Chronicle. Rowe’s love of storytelling and theatrics is on broad display as she masterfully dissects the anatomy of a clown and captivates audiences with a peek into the world behind the curtain. She pushes the limits of the dancers with deceivingly challenging partnering and the unusual task of using their voices with recitation, singing, percussive hisses, and hoops and hollers throughout. The eerie, carnival-inspired score by Swedish indie rocker Par Hägström, paired with Emma Kingsbury’s costumes, transports us seamlessly into Rowe’s sinister world of the clown after the circus lights go dark.

Next@90 Curtain Call is onstage April 2–13.

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