SF Ballet "Broken Wings" Frida Kahlo's Colorful Life in a Choreographed Masterpiece

"Broken Wings" premiered with the SF Ballet last April. I had the opportunity to be transported in time, place and space by the Company's performance on Sunday at the SF' Opera House. Despite being familiar with Kahlo's life and art, I forgot she and her husband, Diego Rivera, lived in the Bay Area in 1930. Their presence augured artistic and cultural prosperity to SF for the following decade. The vibrant, colorful "Broken Wings" ballet painted a vivid portrait of Frida Kahlo's life, artistic aesthetic, married life, and death and breathes new life into the company's repertoire which would benefit from more updating. The only other piece on the program was Sir Frederick Ashton's (b. UK 1904-1988) "Marguerite and Armand" (1963) was dated, dull, melodramatic that's feels archaic. Its storyline is somewhat analogous to the mawkish love story between Heathcliff and Cathy on the moors. In Sir Ashton's choreography, it's seen as a bore. Returning to the first, stronger and more creative piece on the program, "Broken Wings," it soars with exquisite choreography, artistic staging, brilliant costuming and Peter Salem's musical composition which all combined to render a bio of Frida that highlighted her life from her trolley car accident leaving her bedridden for a year, the inspirations in her paintings, her tumultuous relationship with Rivera, the abortion, and her premature death which is attributed to conflicting and indeterminate reports. The choice to portray 8 of her predominant "muses" in her paintings with all male dances dressed in flowing Mexican skirts with midriff tops in varying, bright colors and individualized headgear bearing flowers or antlers was daring. It all paid off highly. The rippling skirts and graceful movements were bold. Dancers in skull masks, large sombreros, black slacks and tops with skeletal markings were eerily effective. The dancing blended  strength and sophistication. The skeleton dancers taunted Frida with her impending doom. The skeleton dancers used a long ladder as a prop. The requisite precision added a scary element should a slight misstep/slip up occur. Thankfully all the elements blended majestically including the bandage /bondage costuming on Frida. Frida performed a stirring dance tangled in red vines referencing her abortion. The dancer representing Diego gave the character appropriate swagger and sleaze. His large stature lent a towering but not overpowering presence to Frida. The shadowing of Frida's dancing added a double-entendre' an inference on their relationship.The sensual, alluring dancing of one of Diego's illicit lovers was no match to Kahlo's fury which provided a bit of levity. An added bonus was the Spanish vocalist and 2 acoustic guitars for a somber ballad. The trio provided an additional richness to an already compelling ballet. Bravo to SF Ballet Company, the SF Ballet Orchestra. I'm hoping there'll be more contemporary and complex choreography added to SF Ballet's programming. I look forward to seeing the Company's "Frankenstein."