At Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ Lam Research Theater (quite a mouthful, even after Novellus), San Francisco Performances presents British choreographer Russell Maliphant Oct. 13 and 14. His evening-length After Light, a meditation on the artistry and influence of Vaslav Nijinsky, touches on Nijinsky’s role as one of classical ballet’s greatest dancers, as well as the breakaway invention of his hotly controversial Afternoon of a Faun. It makes for a nice parallel with Maliphant’s training at the Royal Ballet School, his performances with Sadler’s Wells, and, by contrast, his work with the adventurous DV8 Physical Theater.
Janice Berman, SFCV’s senior dance critic, has been a dance writer and reviewer since 1978, beginning at Newsday and New York Newsday. She has written on dance for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Ballet Review, and Dance Magazine, where she was editor-in-chief.