Step inside a world where myth meets modern day. Mere Mortals reimagines the story of Pandora’s Box through the lens of our tech-driven age. Exploring eternal philosophical questions through the timely subject of artificial intelligence, this ballet examines the promises and perils of humankind forging new paths in unknown territory. This fully immersive experience fuses movement, music, and cutting-edge visuals into a breathtaking sensory journey.
Commissioned as a world premiere for Artistic Director Tamara Rojo’s inaugural season, the program returns as a fusion of electronic music, festival culture, and contemporary ballet – an otherworldly journey all around.
Witness the visionary choreography of Aszure Barton alongside live performances by acclaimed electronic music producer Floating Points* and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia orchestra. Coming from a city defined by innovation and technology, Mere Mortals is a provocative, unforgettable exploration of progress, creativity, and the human spirit. No doubt an experience you’ll feel long after the curtain falls.
Review by Stephen Gilchrist
The show went up late. Apparently, there was a problem within the company, not that you would have known this from the performance that followed which was remarkable and brilliant. I sometimes wonder how I have earned the privilege of seeing and writing about such artistic endeavours as played before me on the stage of the Saddlers Wells theatre courtesy of San Francisco ballet. The piece was entitled “Mere Mortals”, which premiered in January 2024 in San Francisco.
This ballet lasting just over one hour was both stark and startling. You might call it a narrative ballet although the narrative was presented rather more symbolically then realistically. It was a take on the myths of Pandora and Prometheus. In a sense it is an Adam and Eve story. Prometheus creates a woman. She is warned not to open a jar which she is given but her curiosity gets the better of her and every evil imaginable, diseases, sorrows, and hard labour required to plague humankind escape into the world to create chaos. Only “Hope” remains in the jar as the potential saviour of humanity.
The ballet is choreographed by Aszure Barton and is the first such ballet to be performed by the San Francisco company choreographed by a woman. But what a debut!
The score is composed by Floating Points (an ensemble led by Sam Shephard) and in part is rhythmically based, in part electronic, and sometimes lyrical and playful particularly in a superb pas de deux danced by Jennifer Stahl as Pandora and Harrison James as Epimetheus, in Greek myth known for being the foolish brother of Prometheus who accepted Pandora as his bride. Apart from the Principals the audience luxuriated in seeing the massed ranks of San Francisco’s soloists, demi- soloists and corps de ballet, numbering, so far as I could count, some forty superbly disciplined dancers and supported by the excellent Royal Ballet symphonia under the baton of Martin West.
Barton’s choreography Avoids comfort and, in this work, often shifts dynamically between vulnerable eccentric solos and unison group choreography that feels both spontaneous, rash and frenetically muscular. The effect of the entire ensemble dancing in unison creates a powerful visual impact with a show, becoming almost hypnotic, of meticulousness and unified power. The choreography is broad, sometimes wild and frenzied, and often syncopated. Particularly Impressive are some of the opening moments symbolising the power of the mythical gods.
The production design and visuals by Hamill industries and the lighting design by Jim French are, to grossly understate the case, impressive, and provide a striking, sometimes explosive background to the dance. The image of the creation of Pandora rising from a sea of bodies against visuals that suggest the making of a magical clay golem is something I shall remember for a very long time. The stunning stage images of both tenderness and chaos are potent in the extreme.
Apart from the superb Stahl and James, Joseph Walsh provided an outstanding performance in both dance and drama of Prometheus, and Wei Wang’s expressive ‘Hope’ providing, ‘hope’ for humanity, was almost poetic, such was the lyricism of this outstanding dancer, the first such Chinese male principal at San Francisco Ballet.
The overall design of the piece was much enhanced by the costuming of Michelle Jank. Early scenes feature,. tailored black jackets and long military style skirts for the ensemble. But the wardrobe also features Unitards in latex silicon and rubber, yet still enabling Pandora in particular to bend her body into shapes that’s in other circumstances would seem unlikely in the extreme. Later on, the ensemble appears in commanding gold costumes complementing the lighting plot.
In short, Aszure Barton’s work, in its creation and performance is one of brilliance, intelligence and beauty which I cannot recommend too highly.
Photo credit: Andrew Perry/Edinburgh International Festival
Creatives
Aszure Barton — Choreographer
Floating Points — Music Composed By
Hamill Industries — Production Design and Visuals
Michelle Jank — Costume Design
Jim French — Lighting Design
Carmen Kovacs — Dramaturg
James Gregg — Collaborative Assistant
Martin West — Conductor
Musicians
Sam Shepherd — Buchla/Electronics
Cordula Merks — Violin
Simon Gomez — Timpani
Miriam Adefris — Harp
Britton Day — Celeste/Synthesizer
Lara Serafin — Electronics
Cast
Pandora Jennifer Stahl — Prometheus
Joseph Walsh — Prometheus
Harrison James — Epimetheus
Wei Wang — Hope
Ensemble
Sofia Albers
Kamryn Baldwin
Katherine Barkman
Rebecca Blenkinsop
Maya Chandrashekaran
Anna Chaziroglou
Jihyun Choi
Thamires Chuvas
Carlota Cruz
Benjamin Davidoff
Jacey Gailliard
Logi Gudmundsson
Lleyton Ho
Andris Kundzins
Katharine Lee
Lucas López
Elizabeth Mateer
Carmela Mayo
Nicole Moyer
Rimi Nakano
Davide Occhipinti
Pemberley Ann Olson
João Percilio
Dylan Pierzina
Leili Rackow
Logan Shaw
Amelia Soh
Anatalia St. Clair
Jasper True Stanford
Tyla Steinbach
Archie Sullivan
Benjamin Taber
Myles Thatcher
Mingxuan Wang
Maggie Weirich
Juliana Wilder
Juliette Windey
Seojeong Yun
Adrian Zeisel
Carys Davies — Vocalist