San Francisco Bay Area folks should make it a point to catch the 3:00 p.m. matinee of "Choreographers and Friends" today. I was a guest of one of the dancers at last night's performance, and so don't feel I can offer a review, but please know that you will see choreography by Julia Adam, Val Caniparoli, Corrine Blum, and Dr. Richard Gibbs, set on dancers from San Francisco Ballet (Lilly Rogers, Rory Hohenstein, Joseph Phillips, Martyn Garside), San Francisco Opera (Peter Brandenhoff) Diablo Ballet (Mathew Linzer), and other companies, as well as students from Marin Dance Theatre, with some of the very youngest singing Gershwin with tremendous verve and polish. The live music by pianists Jack Gibbons and Miles Graber, cellist Michael Graham, saxaphonist Charlie McCarthy and violinist Christina Mok and others, gives us everything from Cabaret and Jazz to classical. In a locale where dance companies and schools barely acknowledge each other's existence, this represents a sanguine and welcome departure from that sectarianism. The dancers seem to thrive on it, and show us sides of themselves we have never seen all in one performance, as there is much in the choreography and music to celebrate. Today is your last chance to see it at Fort Mason's Cowell Theater. No intermissions, so read the (extremely well curated and produced) program with care before the lights go down.

A review of this year's show from the SF Chronicle.



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