The Nutcracker - Ballet Review for Maximo Califano
"The men are all strong but if any of them could be considered a lead dancer, it woud be Maximo Califano of Argentina" - Inside Bay Area.
In last year’s Nutcracker I was treated to a view of the Czar and Czarina pas de deux by Ali and Maximo Califano. That was a high point. - By Clive E.Entwistle
"But the heart of "Nutcracker" beats most affectionately in the first act. Maximo Califano, in his second year as Drosselmeyer, looked splendid as the eccentric godfather." - San jose Mercury News.
"Maximo Califano gave an energetic broadness to his portrayal of Godfather Drosselmeyer, as did the cast of first act partygoers. It is a credit to the acting and clarity of the mime that a young audience member of perhaps 4 or 5 was able to give a sotto voce - and largely accurate - blow-by-blow account of each character's motivations." - San Francisco Chronicle.
"It is not Jack-in-the box, who springs out of this trunk when it is opened. It is Godfather Drosselmeyer (Maximo Califano) who with arms stretched over his head seem to great all the present with a broad smile on his face. As soon as he steps out of the box he begins reaching inside to fetch gifts that he starts giving away to different people. With his expressive eyes and his ability for mimic, Califano’s Drosselmeyer was charming. He flirted with the maids, admonished the children, taught one how to play drums, taught another how to blow his horn, and before dancing, entertained the audience at the party performing a strange play that he acted with Maria using pantomime, and puppets' masks. In his play, the Mouse king is fights with a nutcracker. The nutcracker falls on the floor. The Mouse King raises his sword and is about to kill him. María, taking the nutcracker's sword, kills the mouse and saves the life of the nutcracker." - culturalbilingual.com
"This year, the part of Drosselmeyer has fallen to Maximo Califano, who has picked up some of Nahat's mannerisms, but brings a freshness to all that sleight of hand; it's comforting, also, to encounter a Drosselmeyer who can really dance." - San Francisco Chronicle
"In the party scene, Maximo Califano's handsome and suave Drosselmeyer was nuanced and witty without being domineering. Clearly he still stands somewhat in awe of Nahat's long-standing interpretation, but he has started to add his own touches. Where Nahat, for instance, returned to the party tipsy, Califano had stuffed his mouth with food. To each his own." - San Jose Mercury News
"Maximo Califano as a supercilious butler does an excellent job with dramatic demands, his strongest role thus far." - Ballet.co Magazine
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Giselle - Ballet Review for Maximo Califano
"In perhaps his best performance with the company yet, Califano gave Hilarion a febrile intensity that carried through from the love-struck swain to the desperate man fighting for his life. Califano's gestural language was rich, detailed and clear. He has it in him to become a first-rate character dancer." - San Jose Mercury News
The best interpretation of the night was Maximo Califano as Hillarion. His pantomine was formidable and his dance was excellent." - La Oferta.
"Califano played Hilarion leading from the chest, head thrown back; at various moments trying to piece the puzzle together, up went the right index finger. He made an impassioned, besotted loser." - Ballet.co Magazine
Most dramatic moment goes to Maximo Califano (unrequited lover Hilarion) leaping and collapsing all at once as the Wilis "force" him to dance (and at half his size, these Wilis did not always look convincing—luckily their force is magical). In fact, thanks to Wili magic, Urlezaga and Califano both execute some beautiful inventions as they perform exhaustion, folding their collapses into leaps or spins to create dramatic aberrations of the classic forms." - M. Messina MetroActive.com
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Gaite Parisienne - Ballet Review for Maximo Califano
"As the Baron and The Gloveseller the revival featured Maximo Califano and Alexsandra Mejier;both made a strong attack on the over-the-top characters; the Gloveseller is the ultimate flirt and the Baron quite the smoothest man in the establishment." - Ballet.co Magazine
"Maximo Califano strutted impressively as the Baron." San Francisco Chronicle
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Puccini Songs - Ballet Review for Maximo Califano
"Califano as a yearning romantic provided much of the continuity in the work, both with a pas de deux, his solo and part of a trio. Standard displays of technique,emotion and situations were nicely rendered."- Ballet.co Magazine
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The Toreador - Ballet Review for Maximo Califano
"Califano’s William is one of his better roles; he rises to a role with plot, and the full trousers cloaked his rudimentary turnout" - Ballet.co Magazine
"In a memorable comic turn, Maximo Califano was suitably lovelorn as the English swain romancing Meijer." - San Francisco Chronicle.
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The Firebird - Ballet Review for Maximo Califano
"Maximo Califano is suitably campy as the spindly Immortal Kastchei, who apparently collects souls in his hope chest" - San Francisco Chronicle
"All the leads, including Maximo Califano as the evil Immortal Kastchei, use Nahat's steps to help them create memorable characterizations. Yet their acting, while broadened to match a stage filled with 10-foot crocodiles and ghouls, never looks cartoonish. Dignity and wonder are a part of the tradition being upheld here." - San Francisco Chronicle.
"Califano's taloned and proboscised Kastchei utterly simmers. Over the past two years, he seems to have internalized the beast, his slow turnout walk down the dungeon steps less demonstrative and more menacing than ever." - Metroactive.
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September - Ballet Review for Maximo Califano
"In September, the audience gasped and oohed when the callous lover (Maximo Califano) shockingly tossed or dropped his lover (Yui Yonezawa) to the floor. In this dance of a broken relationship, Yonezawa's repeated returns to the arms of her spurning lover could be projected as hysterical, except for the way she enters the lifts. She hugs Califano's neck or curls into his breast in moves so loving and soft—not frantic—that his rebuffs seem all the more painful. And the suddenness of his rebuffs is a feat of precision. Even for the curtain call, Yonezawa and Califano stand far apart and give each other a dismissive look before they exit." - Metroactive
"Likewise in Ben Iida's short duet "September" (music by Louis Hardin, recorded) you never got too worried for Yui Yonezawa, even as her partner, Maximo Califano, repeatedly hurled her from his shoulder to the floor. Yonezawa was a high-velocity wonder, carving whirlwinds from shape-shifting turns, and Califano made a handsome rogue. But their rapport said "relax, enjoy, we're doing this for you." I was perfectly happy to heed their silent wish." - San Francisco Chronicle
Again in September, the simple costuming is as descriptive as it is beautiful. Califano's lose-fitting silky white shirt, open to the waist and tucked in carelessly, establishes his power, his elegance and his carelessness all at once. - By M.Messina metroactive.com
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Shinju - Ballet Review for Maximo Califano
"The curtain rises on the star-crossed couple (at Friday's performance at San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, they were Alexsandra Meijer and Maximo Califano) in front of a blossom-filled screen. They're wearing gauzy white garments with a sexy reddish under layer, and stiff headdresses. The couple, faces pale and expressionless, strike all manner of still yet dynamic poses. Developpes unfurl with exquisite slowness. Torsos are held at utterly improbable angles. The costumes are reminiscent of Karinska's for George Balanchine's 1963 nuptial/combat fantasy "Bugaku," with which "Shinju" shares both its vocabulary of angular movement and its ritualistic demeanor, broken now and then by erotic heat. There's a "Shinju" moment, for instance, when the woman walks astride, on pointe, down the length of her lover's outstretched body." - San Francisco Chronicle
The curtain opens on the statuesque lovers (Maximo Califano and Alexsandra Meijer). Their love is forbidden by their warring families. Throughout the dance their movements are highly stylized. The sense of ritual permeates everything, their love, the emblems on the silk drops behind them, their movement, the powerful low, sometimes dissonant drone of male chanting. Love is represented more in poses than in movements, but what poses: Meijer kneeling atop Califano's thigh; Meijer facing the audience straddled across Califano's thighs, and all while he holds impossible turn-out squats. Physically, visually the relationship is one of support. At one point, balancing her horizontally across his upper chest, Califano unfurls Meijer like a tapestry, dropping her from his neck to his knee. Affection comes as slight tips of the head, one toward the other, or arms that encircle but don't touch. Complex visual textures heighten the palpable tension—bold facial makeup against feathery veils (here, Willa Kim on costumes and décor has touched the sublime). - By M.Messina metroactive.com
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"In Maximo Califano, the company has found an exceptional Frederic, whose crisp technique, superior elevation and elegant manner should be the pride of the Sout Bay." - Voice of Dance
"The athletically leaping pirates, led by Pirate King Alex Lapshin and Pirate Apprentice Maximo Califano, were marvels of energy. Califano had a boyish charm as the young man mistakenly apprenticed to a pirate instead of a pilot by his lovestruck...
Frederic and Mabel have more pas de deux to do.. they sure dance nicely. He has marvelous elevation." - San Francisco Chronicle"
"The pas de deux between the lovely Alexsandra Meijer, as Mabel, and the muscular Maximo Califano, as wishy-washy pirate apprentice Frederic, highlighted the best strict ballet of the production." - SanJose.com
But the love duet offers a serene and lovely change of mood. In picturesque embraces and demanding lifts (one nicely timed to an orchestral high note) by Califano and Koltun, Frederic tells Mabel that he has to leave her. But he promises to return for her when his contract of service is up "in 1940" - By M.Messina metroactive.com
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Swan Lake - Ballet Review for Maximo Califano
Maximo Califano might easily have stolen the show for the Sunday matinee, his angular and explosively demonic Rothbart the very soul of the possessive demon—part John Barrymore and Bela Lugosi—who luxuriates in stretching his “wings” and casting a long shadow over those he manipulates. By Gary R. Lemco - The Classical Musical Guide
The principal roles rotate, but the dancers on Sunday afternoon were excellent. Solas, Gabay and Califano were wonderful and carried the bulk of the show, with numerous solos, pas de deux and trios, including innovative "fight" choreography. By Jeannie K. Smith - The metroactive.
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Carmen - Ballet Review for Maximo Califano
Maximo Califano's foppish toreador Escamillo excellently enlarged upon the carnival-esque tone simmering underneath "Carmen." - By San Jose Mercury News
"Then, when her attention is drawn to the handsome and confident Toreador, (Maximo Califano), she pushes away her earlier conquest." - By examiner.com
As Escamillo, Maximo Califano interpreted well his "silly steps" and played his role, as the “torero,” (the bullfighter) trying to look “silly” as his role required. He succeeded. His expression and demeanor as Escamillo, made the audience laugh. - By Iride Aparicio, culturalworldbilingual.com
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Serenade - Ballet Review for Maximo Califano
On the other hand, a close-up view impresses the eye with the corps' technical speed: beating legs and toes, Balanchine's signature entrechat movements, Maximo Califano catching Erena Ishii to his chest between her airborne pirouettes in Serenade. By M.Messina metroactive.com
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