Modern Masters, Abbreviated

The Sacramento Ballet offers more proof that it is still very much alive with an outstanding (abbreviated) program of contemporary California choreography.

The corps’ studio has been transformed with drapes and lighting to enhance the theatrical magic of the performance. The program opens with “Ling Ling,” choreographed by Nolan T’Sani to jazz vocalese by Bobby McFerrin. The result is a black-and-white explosion of joy, particularly embodied in principal ballerina Kirsten Bloom’s performance with four of the corps’ most athletic men (Stefan Calka, Timothy Coleman, Richard Porter and Richard Smith) in the ballet’s second movement.

The closing piece to the first act is “The Ellington Club,” choreographed by Molly Lynch and featuring the music of the Duke himself. It is distinguished by a—what to call it? Pas de trois?—featuring Bloom, Calka and the amazing Chloe Felesina as the thwarted member of a love triangle, performed to “I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good).”

The second act opens with two movements from Calka’s breathtaking “Day & Night,” an emotional, oceanlike poem, featuring a pas de deux with Bloom and Porter. The conclusion is corps member Sunchai Muy’s lively “Untamed Prodigies,” a drum-infused explosion of dance.