San Francisco Ballet
Mere Mortals
War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
May 3rd, 2026
This past Sunday, Bay Area dance audiences marked a moment in time as San Francisco Ballet danced the final performance of its current season. What a way to say goodbye! Or I guess more accurately, ‘see you later’ as they will be back in the Opera House before we know it. For this last program, Artistic Director Tamara Rojo programmed 2024’s Mere Mortals. Choreographed by Aszure Barton to an original score by Floating Points, the one-act, hour-plus performance was completely hypnotic, potent and mesmerizing. And though this was not the first time the work has graced the War Memorial stage, this was the first time I had seen it.
As Mere Mortals commenced, electronic music rumbled from the orchestra pit. Dry ice filtered onto the stage, alit with glowing red tones. Wei Wang took center stage in a slick black unitard (costumes by Michelle Jank). Hamill Industries’ celestial projections abounded. Everything about Mere Mortals was decidedly futuristic and you could hear a pin drop in the theater as viewers took it all in.
Mere Mortals has a narrative foundation, with its source material found in the Greek myth of Pandora’s box. Pandora is tempted by a jar that she is not to open. And when she gives into that temptation, havoc is released. Over the course of sixty-seven minutes, you could see that story arc and its characters, relationships, confrontations and consequences. There was emotion. There was desire. And plenty of manipulation at play.
![]() |
| San Francisco Ballet in Aszure Barton & Floating Points' Mere Mortals Photo Lindsey Rallo |
Then came the full cast; an army of dancers aggressively taking the space. They moved with urgency, their pulsing motions mirroring the score. Led by Joseph Walsh as Prometheus, stylized pedestrianism and pounding fists suggested militaristic robots, though it didn’t necessarily read as nefarious. More just the intense power that can be found in a committed collective. Nikisha Fogo’s Pandora emerged from the group, rising above and orbiting around them. Coordinating arms gave a decidedly reptilian tone; quizzical heads also suggesting other species. And Fogo’s series of promenade to passé reinforced themes of control and measuredness.
Mere Mortals had fantastic visual effects, though audience members who suffer from motion sickness may have had to look away during the lengthy, moving projection sequence mid-way through.
Now clad in lamé gold, Wang’s character reappeared in the last third of the piece, like he was bookending the experience. The ensemble, also now in gold, joined him, and the stage looked like a glowing sun. Earlier choreography for Wang and the corps returned, but the mood and tone was quite different. There was a peacefulness and calm, even in Barton’s staccato movements. And a slow rise in sixth position appeared to signal a new chapter, the beginning of another day or perhaps the conclusion of our journey to the land of Mere Mortals.
![]() |
| San Francisco Ballet in Aszure Barton & Floating Points' Mere Mortals Photo Lindsey Rallo |





