For City Ballet’s resident choreographers Geoff Gonzalez and Elizabeth Wistrich, the journey to develop new ideas for “An American in Paris” involved leaving the country. The resulting production that opens Saturday at the Balboa Theatre includes three works: Gonzalez’s title piece, “An American in Paris”; “Boléro — The Awakening,” choreographed by Wistrich; and “Morphoses,” the company’s first ballet by internationally renowned contemporary choreographer Christopher Wheeldon.
While “An American in Paris” pays tribute to French fashion, Wistrich said her journey to Spain prompted her to imagine new ways to explore the music for her “Boléro — The Awakening.” My trip to Barcelona was very inspirational,” she said. “I had the opportunity to watch a great flamenco performance and ended up changing my approach to ‘Bolero.’” When she returned to San Diego, Wistrich enlisted Gonzalez to help with adding the sound of a heartbeat to Maurice Ravel’s sensual composition.