Though purity in this world is a dubious concept, Evelyn Cisneros strives to challenge our cynicism. As San Francisco Ballet's senior ballerina, Cisneros brought to the stage a rare sparkle that seemed nothing less than purity of intention backed by love....
[more]Though purity in this world is a dubious concept, Evelyn Cisneros strives to challenge our cynicism. As San Francisco Ballet's senior ballerina, Cisneros brought to the stage a rare sparkle that seemed nothing less than purity of intention backed by love.
If this statement seems too grand, just witness the public adulation that poured forth when she retired in 1999. At a time when San Francisco's dance scene had begun to doubt its importance in the eyes of its fair city, fans came out of the woodwork to pay homage to Cisneros (a phenomenon with which she was not entirely unfamiliar, as she once received impromptu applause upon walking onstage after a three-month injury). Apparently, Cisneros has developed an almost mythic stature as a performer who gave herself completely to a role, to a choreographer, to her art -- and only ended up richer and more full.
To watch her dance is certainly proof that the country's two best ballet schools (she was trained at the School of American Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet School) have earned their reputations. With the long, strong legs of a Balanchine ballerina, she successfully displayed the miracle of the poised but moving body. An apt actress, she portrayed many a tormented fairy princess without too much preciousness. She seemed equally at home in the classical vehicle "Giselle" and the experimental, African-inspired "Lambarena"; equally at home with the flash of former co-director Michael Smuin and the whittled classicism of Helgi Tomasson; equally at home in "Swan Lake" as good swan Odette and evil swan Odile.
All her partners comment on how thoughtful, how genuine Cisneros is -- new partners in particular remark on her rare ability to educate while sharing the spotlight. In fact, her peers seem to value her personal charm as much as, or more than, her skill. There remains something touchable about her, her performance quality marked by generosity and gratitude. She has even said she enjoys falling in performance because it reminds her that ballet is a human endeavor. Even journalists, the most unforgiving lot, succumb to her sweet spell -- a 1997 Dance Magazine interviewer went so far as to assert, "leaving Cisneros is like a rude awakening."
Evelyn Cisneros takes her role in ballet very seriously. She has brought integrity to her profession, earning honorary doctorates from Mills College and California State University at Monterey Bay. Though her days as a ballerina are over, her work as San Francisco Ballet's sweetheart, spokesperson, and educator continues.
[show less]
