Ode to Authenticity

Launched in 2020 after the hashtag #maleballerina went viral, Ballet22 is driven by a mission all the more urgent since the current presidential administration resumed its attacks on the LGBTQ community. Plainly put, the company presents men, trans, and non-binary dancers on pointe. But more spiritually, as co-director Lorris Eichinger said from the stage opening night, “We let queer artistry shine through in its most authentic way, and we hope you in turn will be inspired to be your most authentic selves.” A nearly full Cowell Theater packed with fellow dancers (including many stars from San Francisco’s Lines Ballet, where Eichinger dances) roared its approval.

Performance

Ballet22 Summer Season 2026

Place

Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, San Francisco, CA, July 25, 2026

Words

Rachel Howard

Ballet22 in “The Fifth Point” by Keelan Whitmore. Photograph by Reneff Olson Productions

Remarkably, Ballet22 pulls its annual summer program together in just three weeks, drawing dancers in their off season from companies including Sacramento Ballet and Boston Ballet. (Boston Ballet soloist Daniel R. Durrett is a mainstay performer and now co-artistic director.) Rehearsing in a tiny Oakland studio owned by co-founder and co-artistic director Theresa Knudson, the team has hit upon a winning formula: thoughtful stagings of nineteenth-century variations, followed by a few contemporary works, with each program featuring at least one commissioned premiere. This year we were treated to selections from “Coppélia,” then a duet by rising talent and Miami City Ballet School faculty member Durante Verzola, and finally an ambitious new quintet by former Lines member and now Ballet X rehearsal director Keelan Whitmore.

Starting with nineteenth-century variations offers the audience the collective joy of rooting for each performer. This year, my favorite discovery was William Robinson, of the Indianapolis Ballet, with their long tapering feet, silent jeté landings, and piqué turns that traveled with exciting velocity—Robinson bounced oh so lightly through endless changements on pointe in “Coppelia’s” Act Three wedding variation. Another new favorite was Liam Vincent Hutt, who also performs with the Trocks, imbuing the “Prayer” variation and its steely penchée balances with lyricism and breath. Special applause also to Lucas Ataide, showing off a spicy forced arch in the Spanish variation, and Durrett, who played double-duty, dancing the traditionally female-assigned “Dawn” variation a little shakily, then offering rock-solid partnering to Jake Speakman in the wedding pas de deux.

William Robinson in “Coppélia.” Photograph by Reneff Olson Productions

Post-intermission brought the stately theme and variations of Corelli for Verzola’s “La Follia,” created in 2021 for one female dancer on pointe and one male dancer, and adapted by Ballet22 for two male-presenting dancers, both on pointe. Durrett and Victor Maguad delivered it with allongée elegance, whether side by side or in mirror image (the two dancers almost never touch)—although Durrett had notably more expressive shoulders and gorgeous flexibility in his upper spine.

Whitmore himself took the stage before the premiere of “The Fifth Point” to explain its inspiration: the famous 1845 ballet “Pas de Quatre,” created for the legendary Romantic era ballerinas Lucille Grahn, Fanny Cerrito, Carlotta Grisi, and Marie Taglioni. Instead of flowing tulle, Whitmore’s ensemble of five wore voluminous black pants pinned at the ankle (the appealing costumes were uncredited). They clustered in opening tableaux like the four original famous stars, but in place of light tunes by Cesare Pugni, Ben Juodvalkis’s terrifically suspenseful original score began with a low drone and snaking synthesizers.

Victor Maguad and Daniel R Durrett in Durante Verzola's “La Follia.” Photograph by Reneff Olson Productions

In lines of light, the dancers flashed through Vogue-like poses, until stark percussion hits brought the first solos. Those who know “Pas de Quatre” might have caught some allusions—especially a repeated jump with legs making a diamond in the air, as seen in the Lucille Grahn variation as imagined in Aton Dolin’s version—but this was very much Whitmore’s own ballet. At times the movement was fantastically grounded and rhythmic, and at other times the arms looked almost Balinese. Then a ceremonial bow over a tendu would return, with Robinson skimming through the lightest pointe work to a tinkling instrumentation. Silhouettes swayed. A straight line of roiling upper bodies created magical undulations.

As Whitmore explained from the stage, he created all the movement with the dancers in a mere five days, then left for a week as rehearsal director Meredith Webster (another former LINES star) cleaned the phrases up. For such a rush job, this premiere was remarkably tight. The ensemble’s interconnection was the point. Still, Hutt—the first-ever male to perform on pointe in the Youth America Grand Prix—stood out in the best of ways, dancing with remarkable whole-body integration.

Tickets are already on sale for Ballet22’s 2027 season next July. The work of liberation—and the joy of authenticity—continues.

Rachel Howard

Rachel Howard is the former lead dance critic of the San Francisco Chronicle. Her dance writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Hudson Review, Ballet Review, San Francisco Magazine and Dance Magazine.

comments

sandi kurtz 8月 16, 2026

I’m so interested by the homage to Pas de Quatre — the combination of manners and virtuosity in that work for four women can easily be extended to an all-male ensemble. At one point in the last century someone did create a version for men. I am chagrined that I cannot remember the title or the choreographer, but still excited to see that the idea continues to inspire new work.

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