Everything in this section of choreographer Nicolas Blanc’s mesmerizing Bay Area premiere, co-commissioned by presenter Cal Performances, served the uncanny illusion. Mason Bates’ percolating score, overlaid with staticky NASA audio communication from the 1965 Gemini spacewalk, invoked a nostalgia-trimmed age of optimistic, pre-moon-landing exploration. Stanley’s Cubist backdrop took on the aspect of an aerial view of a map-scape far below. And then, most essentially, these two dancers embarked on a quietly ravishing pas de deux that captured both the aspiration and danger of venturing into space.
The Joffrey Ballet performs “Beyond the Shore.”
Photo: Cheryl Mann