Before the curtain opens, before the lights illuminate the stage and the music is cued, Golden State Ballet artistic director Raul Salamanca conducts a pre-performance ritual.
Alone in the darkened theater, he takes a seat towards the back of the room.
“It’s my favorite time,” said Salamanca, who will stage “From New York, with Love” next weekend at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.
“I show up earlier when no one is around and I try to imagine what the show will be like for an audience member. I think about how they would react to a specific ballet. My process is, I want to make sure there is something for everyone.”
Three ballets are included in the “From New York, with Love” program, all created by New York-based choreographers.
The Golden State Ballet company will perform “HemiDemiSemiQuaver” by Gabrielle Lamb; “Semblance,” choreographed by Norbert De La Cruz III; and “In Creases” by former San Diegan Justin Peck, the Tony Award-winning choreographer who trained locally at the California Ballet School before becoming New York City Ballet’s resident choreographer.
“The catalyst for the whole program was making sure that we brought a piece by Justin Peck,” Salamanca explained.
“He was on the top of my list because of his connection to the city of San Diego. He’s doing such great work. That gave me the idea to create a program that included bringing my favorite choreographers from New York City to San Diego.”
Salamanca has a history with Lamb and De La Cruz, and he chose their choreographic skills for their unique movement styles.
Lamb and Salamanca worked together in 2008, when they were dancers for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal.
Lamb then went on to earn numerous accolades, including a Princess Grace Award for Choreography in 2014. And in 2020, she earned a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Dancers with Golden State Ballet perform Justin Peck’s “In Creases.”
( Courtesy of Samantha Zauscher)
Her dance, “HemiDemiSemiQuaver,” includes nine dancers who are accompanied onstage by a cellist performing J.S. Bach’s Cello Suite No. 6.
Some of the female dancers wear pointe shoes and others wear socks, in a movement language that blends classical ballet technique with the floor work of contemporary dance.
The unusual title refers to a sixty-fourth note or a half-thirty-second note in music notation and Lamb was initially unsure about it.
“That’s what makes it memorable,” Salamanca said. “It’s a tongue twister, and it’s cool and educational.”
De La Cruz was born in the Philippines, grew up in California and earned a bachelor’s degree in dance from The Juilliard School.
“Semblance” was inspired by the music of composer Oliver Davis and its cast of 13 dancers represent “complex relationships and semblances of normalcy amongst our bodies in a post-pandemic time,” Salamanca said.
Salamanca became acquainted with De La Cruz, also a Princess Grace Award-winner (2012), when he discovered a video online.
“I saw him improvising in the Juilliard studios, and I was blown away by his movement quality and his vocabulary,” Salamanca said.
“I was looking for an opportunity to work with him. ‘Semblance” is fluid and beautiful. It has so much heart and I’m excited to see it again.”
Salamanca first staged “From New York, with Love” last year in North County and at the Irvine Barclay Theatre in Orange County.
Encouraged by audience feedback and ticket sales, the show will move to the bigger Balboa Theatre for its second San Diego County engagement.
Staging Peck’s “In Creases” required a visit from Michael Sean Breeden, a Peck-approved répétiteur, or special ballet master, to set the work on the company. Breeden is a former Miami City Ballet dancer who also co-hosts “Conversations on Dance,” a weekly podcast with dancer Rebecca King Ferraro.
Michael Sean Breeden will set Justin Peck’s “In Creases” on the dancers in Golden State Ballet company for its upcoming performance of “From New York, with Love.”
(Courtesy of Golden State Ballet)
“In Creases” was Peck’s first work for the New York City Ballet, and it’s a fast, 14-minute piece accompanied by Philip Glass’ “Four Movements for Two Pianos.”
Breeden described it as a work of “intense athleticism and driving musicality,” with eight dancers who form “memorable architectural images” and end up drenched in sweat.
Though Breeden lives in New York, he has a bi-coastal career, and he returned to assist Salamanca with last year’s “The Nutcracker.”
In addition to setting “In Creases” on the company, Breeden will continue working with Golden State Ballet as a guest rehearsal director.
“We had such a positive relationship,” said Breeden from Los Angeles, where he was setting Peck’s “Belles-Lettres” on the Los Angeles Ballet.
“I think Raul has many wonderful traits as an artistic director. His ambition and his drive in establishing a world-class company trickles down to the dancers,” Breeden said. “All dancers want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Of course, dancers want a spotlight and they want to solo. But really, it’s being part of something that is larger than just you. That is what Raul wants to offer.”
“For me, I also want to be a part of something (rather) than just coming in and staging a ballet and then, see you never,” Breeden said. “I love these dancers and I am personally invested in the growth of Golden State Ballet in years to come.”
Golden State Ballet: ‘From New York, with Love’
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. April 7
Where: Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown
Tickets: $35-$75
Online: goldenstateballet.org
Luttrell is a freelance writer.