San Francisco Troupe Delivers a Ballet Ruse

Shameless mugging, a dreadful sound system, amateur lighting and costumes ranging from Caesars Palace lames to Santa Claus shearlings were merely part of the hokey “Prazdniki!” package that Ballet Russe of San Francisco presented Saturday night at the sold-out Gindi Auditorium.

The dancing and music? Rhythmic dyslexia seemed to punctuate a series of collisions and missteps, indicating that this “Prazdniki” (Russian New Year) was off to an inauspicious start.

Under Natalia Borisova’s artistic direction and wan choreographic adaptations, the prop man made far more appearances moving microphones than any dancer, although guest artist Badri Esatin, a Georgian Alec Baldwin, saved the night with his spectacular 30-second turn around the floor entirely on his knees.

Borisova’s women--whether in gaudy headdresses, unkempt gypsy wigs or peasant babushkas--were cloddish and off-balance, especially in the round dance “Ruskaya Zima,” when the popular tune “Midnight in Moscow” prompted a humming chorus from the audience. A charmless Borisova cavorted clunkily through “Moldavian Washerwoman,” a painful-to-behold duet with Aleksei Prokoshin that found her carried offstage on his back, kicking and miming ecstasy.

“Scenes From a Boyar Wedding” featured live vocals, albeit flat and scratchy ones, from Yuri and Valeria Sigalov, with the women of the bridal party spinning increasingly out of control. The men, on the other hand, managed some remarkable squat kicks, handstands and midair splits. Meanwhile, Ilya Tsarfin plucked on the domra, while Mikhail Oshmainsky’s bayan handiwork had the auditorium again singing along a la Mitch Miller.

Ivan Santaro was brash and buoyant in the inexplicable “Pava” (The Peacock), strutting his stuff with pride and high-kicking pomp, after which the festivities, replete with caroling and gift-giving, came to an overdue close.

* Ballet Russe of San Francisco performs “Prazdniki!” Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the Gindi Auditorium at the University of Judaism, 15400 Mulholland Drive. $25. (310) 472-6140.