to sfherminator. From the company's website:
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ANNOUNCES DANCER PROMOTION
AND NEW COMPANY MEMBERS FOR 2009 REPERTORY SEASON
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Tuesday, July 8, 2008–San Francisco Ballet has announced the promotion of five Company members and the addition of seven new dancers for the 2009 Repertory Season. Jaime Garcia Castilla has been promoted from soloist to principal dancer, and Dana Genshaft, Pauli Magierek, Garen Price Scribner, and Anthony Spaulding have been promoted from corps de ballet members to soloists. Sean Orza and Jeremy Rucker, both apprentices during the 2008 Repertory Season, join the ranks of the corps de ballet. In addition, Taras Domitro and Ivan Popov join the Company as principal dancers, and new corps de ballet members include Isaac Hernández and Suzy Spaulding. Also, Sofiane Sylve, who performed with the Company as a guest artist last season, will join San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer for the 2009 Repertory Season. The Company roster now stands at 73 dancers.
All changes effective July 1, 2008.
Promotions
Jaime Garcia Castilla was born in Madrid, Spain, and studied at the Royal Conservatory of Professional Dance. He was named an apprentice at San Francisco Ballet in 2001, joined the Company as a corps de ballet member the following year, and was promoted to soloist in 2006. During the 75th Anniversary Season Garcia Castilla was featured in a number of ballets, including George Balanchine's Divertimento No. 15, Wayne McGregor's Eden/Eden, Helgi Tomasson's On a Theme of Paganini, and Christopher Wheeldon's Carousel (A Dance). For the New Works Festival, he performed in Jorma Elo's Double Evil, Mark Morris' Joyride, Yuri Possokhov's Fusion, and Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour.
Dana Genshaft was born in Moscow and trained at the Kirov Academy of Ballet, School of American Ballet, and Paris Opéra Ballet School. She was named an apprentice at San Francisco Ballet in 2000 and joined the Company as a corps de ballet member in 2001. Highlights from last season include leading roles in Val Caniparoli's Ibsen's House, McGregor's Eden/Eden, Morris' Joyride, and Wheeldon's Carousel (A Dance), in addition to a singing role as Rosalia in Robbins' West Side Story Suite. Pauli Magierek was appointed apprentice in 1997 and joined San Francisco Ballet as a corps de ballet member in 1998. Born in Chicago, Magierek studied at the Ruth Page Foundation School of Dance, Chicago Academy for the Arts, Royal Ballet School, and Houston Ballet Academy. Last season she performed leading roles in Wade Robson's The Energy Between Us on the Gala program and in Margaret Jenkins' Thread. Magierek was also featured in Lew Christensen's Filling Station, Elo's Double Evil, Paul Taylor's Changes, and Julia Adam's A rose by any other name. Born in Arlington, Virginia, Garen Price Scribner trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts, Maryland Youth Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, and Boston Ballet School. He was named an apprentice at San Francisco Ballet in 2003 and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet a year later. Scribner danced a number of prominent roles during the 75th Anniversary Season in works such as Adam's A rose by any other name, Caniparoli's Ibsen's House, Christensen's Filling Station, Robbins' West Side Story Suite, and Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour. Anthony Spaulding was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He trained at Arizona Ballet School and San Francisco Ballet School prior to becoming an apprentice in 2004. He joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in 2006, and this past year performed lead roles in Hans van Manen's Two Pieces for Het on the Gala program, Caniparoli's Ibsen's House, and Taylor's Changes. In addition, he was featured in McGregor's Eden/Eden and as the Snow King in Tomasson's Nutcracker.
New Company Members
Born in Havana, Cuba, Taras Domitro trained at Alejo Carpentier School and performed as a principal dancer with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba prior to joining San Francisco Ballet. He has performed lead roles in a variety of works, including Don Quixote, Swan Lake, and Le Corsaire. Ivan Popov was born in Russia, and trained at the Moscow State Ballet Academy and the Vaganova Ballet Academy before joining the Kirov Ballet. Most recently he has danced with the Vienna State Opera Ballet, performing ballets such as The Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, and Manon. Sofiane Sylve was born in Nice, France, where she studied at the Académie de Dance. She danced with Germany's Stadttheater, the Dutch National Ballet, and New York City Ballet prior to performing with San Francisco Ballet as a guest artist during the 2008 Repertory Season. Sylve has danced a variety of ballets including works by George Balanchine, Jorma Elo, William Forsythe, Wayne McGregor, Alexei Ratmansky, Jerome Robbins, Glen Tetley, and Christopher Wheeldon.
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Isaac Hernández trained with his father, Hector Hernández, and also at Philadelphia's Rock School for Dance Education prior to joining ABT II in 2007. Hernandez attended the USA International Ballet Competition 2006 where he was awarded the gold medal and the Ballet International award. A Bay Area native, Sean Orza trained at the San Francisco Ballet School and the School of American Ballet prior to being named as an apprentice in 2007. Jeremy Rucker was born in Morganton, North Carolina, and trained at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet prior to participating in the San Francisco Ballet School's Trainee Program in 2006 and being named an apprentice in 2007. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Suzy Spaulding participated in the San Francisco Ballet School's Trainee Program last year, and recently performed a lead role in Tomasson's Simple Symphony at the 2008 Student Showcase.
New Apprentices Helgi Tomasson has named two new apprentices for the 2009 season: Dylan Gutierrez and Rebecca Rhodes. As apprentices, these dancers will take Company class and perform corps de ballet roles in the Company's diverse repertory. Born in Van Nuys, California, Dylan Gutierrez trained at the Royal Ballet School in London. In addition, he won third place in the 2004 Youth America Grand Prix. Rebecca Rhodes was born in Highland Park, Illinois, and trained at Dance Academy of Libertyville, Milwaukee Ballet School and the San Francisco Ballet School, most recently participating in the School's Trainee Program.
The Company is currently preparing for its upcoming American Tour in fall 2008, as well as the 2009 Repertory Season. Subscriptions are currently on sale for the 2009 Repertory Season, January 27 through May 9, at the War Memorial Opera House. For information, call the Ticket Services Office at 415.865.2000, or visit www.sfballet.org.
