28 replies to this topic

[Terry]

Ralph --
Who else do you recommend from the company?
I thought Liz Miner was charming. I'm also interested about Clara Blanco Casquette -- who I think will graduate from SFB School this year and perhaps join the company. She was a wonderful Giselle and Diana in the 1999 Prix de Lausanne. Also, are there any news about what they might be doing potentially for the next season?

Hope these aren't too many questions.  

[Terry]

Hello Leigh,
When I first saw Zahorian as the Fairy of Playfulness, I thought the same too.    
A companion of mine also said the exact same thing!!! Leigh, do you also remember who competed in the Erik Bruhn competition that year from the 5 five companies?

[ralphsf]

Here's info about the 2002 season at SFB:

[San Francisco Ballet's 2001-2002 season will include the company's first-ever productions of George Balanchine's "Jewels" and Jerome Robbins' "Dances at a Gathering" as well as world premieres by Julia Adam, Christopher Wheeldon and Yuri Possokhov.

The season, to be announced today by artistic director Helgi Tomasson, also will include revivals of what many consider the company's two most successful full-length productions, Lar Lubovitch's "Othello" and Tomasson's "Giselle." San Francisco Ballet is dancing the European premiere of "Othello" in Paris in May as part of its 2001 tour, so "we should already have it ready and beautiful for our own home season," said Tomasson, who next year also will create his 30th ballet for the company.

Ballets returning from the current season will include Hans van Manen's "Black Cake," Roland Petit's "L'Arlesienne," Nacho Duato's "Without Words," Mark Morris' "A Garden," Val Caniparoli's "Death of a Moth" and Tomasson's "Prism." Tomasson's "Silver Ladders" and Morris' "Sandpaper Ballet" will be among the revivals.

San Francisco Ballet has danced the "Rubies" section of Balanchine's "Jewels" before, but next season will be the company's first staging of the "Emeralds" and "Diamonds" that complete this unusual abstract three-act ballet.

"Dances at a Gathering," one of the masterpieces of 20th century dance, was a staple of Tomasson's own repertory at New York City Ballet, where he danced the leading role of the Man in Brown. "It was always such a joy for me to perform in Jerry's ballet," said Tomasson, who was considered one of the supreme interpreters of the Robbins style. "It will be very special for me personally to be close to it again."

In addition to New York City Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Ballet Covent Garden and now San Francisco Ballet are the only other companies given the rights to "Dances at a Gathering." It will be danced at the Opera House as part of an all-Robbins evening, alongside his "Fanfare" and "Glass Pieces."

After a December run of 35 performances of "The Nutcracker," the company will dance a gala performance Jan. 30, 2002. The 69th San Francisco Ballet repertory season will begin officially with the all-Robbins celebration Feb. 5,

2002, and close with a run of "Giselle" May 3-12, 2002.

Tomasson's new production of "The Nutcracker," which had been expected for next season, "won't happen right now because we have been too busy to plan for that," he said. "Wonderfully busy, in fact, with our forthcoming appearances at the Paris Opera, Covent Garden in London and the Liceo in Barcelona. That is a lot of touring." A rumored new production of the classic "Coppelia" is, according to Tomasson, "still down the line."]

It doesn't sound like a lot of new stuff, but it will be good to see some seasoning. I'm looking forward to see what the company members come up with, since Adam and Possokhov have some real talent at choreography. Othello, to me, is the big news. The Robbins evening sounds great, but I really wish they were doing something other than Fanfare, which I think is lightweight Robbins. I see Ikolo Griffin is leaving for DTH. It's too bad. He was stuck in the corps for 7 years.




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cheers,
Ralph

[Leigh Witchel]

Terry -

I had an article on the Bruhn competition in the Autumn '99 issue of Dance Now.

The competitors were

National Ballet of Canada:  Jhe Russell and Bei Di Sheng

Royal Danish Ballet: Gudrun Bojesen and Morten Eggert

San Francisco Ballet (as a substitute for the Royal Ballet): Zahorian and Gennadi Nedviguine

American Ballet Theatre:  Marcelo Gomes.  Gillian Murphy was to have competed with him, but an injury prevented her and Anna Liceica and Maya Sugano performed with him as non-competing partners.

Ralph - Othello is the big news?  Oh my, we see things differently!

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Leigh Witchel -  dae@panix.com
Personal Page and Dance Writing
Dance as Ever

[enterachilles]

I also would appriciate any of you who might give some information about Pierre-François Vilanoba!

[Estelle]

enterachilles, as Francoise wrote in a previous post, Pierre-Francois Vilanoba used to dance with the Paris Opera Ballet. When he left, he was a "sujet", which is the third category of the company (etoiles, premiers danseurs, sujets, coryphees, quadrilles), and was considered as promising. I don't know how old he is. He is married with Rachel Rufer, who was a POB dancer too (a coryphee, I think) and danced in the corps de ballet of the  SFB for a while; now I think that she is with the Grands Ballets Canadiens.

[enterachilles]

Thank you Estelle!

I found her name among those of Grands Ballets Canadiens dancers.
I was wondering why he left POB, as Japanese ballet fans saw his brilliant dance in group performances of La Pietra a few years ago, but haven't got any news about him except he joined SFB.

[Alexandra]

Glad you woke up!  Welcome back, and thanks for posting.

[BalletNut]

I believe it was I who said that I did not care much for La Lacarra. In response to the Raymonda question, I am sorry to report that I found her even worse in Raymonda than in Beauty. It's a little hard for me to pinpoint it exactly, but I think "too prissy" would be a decent description of why she was all wrong for the role. To be fair, I also saw her in Agon with Legate, and she wasn't half bad in that [neither was he, by the way], so maybe there's hope for her yet.   ;) However, I still find her overrated and overused, often at the expense of the other, IMHO more talented, dancers at SFB.

PS. I am a "she."

[ 05-25-2001: Message edited by: BalletNut ]

[BalletNut]

Re: Carmen, I don't think it's high on the agenda for SFB to add to its repertory, based on the fact that Ballet San Jose already performs it regularly, and  I understand they do a good job with it. [I have not yet seen them.] Of course it's still a possibility, especially given Lacarra's influence on repertory choices of late. I am thinking particularly of the additions of Proust and L'Arlesienne to SFB rep, which probably would not have happened were it not for Lacarra's presence and popularity.

One thing's for certain, though. Lucia Lacarra is definitely one of those dancers that elicits strong responses from people: either she's the greatest ballerina in the world since Margot Fonteyn, or else she's somebody you dread having to watch. There's just no neutral ground, no in-between.

[ 05-25-2001: Message edited by: BalletNut ]

[Terry]

How is Lorena Feijoo's popularity? I really liked her a lot -- she would make an excellent Kitri!! I really do wish SFB could do Don Quixote sometime soon; they seemed to have done all the other big classics except for this one (and Cindrella also?). I also liked Muriel Maffre a lot, especially as the Lilac Fairy. I can see that she would be excellent in some contemporary ballets.

[Françoise]

I discovered Lorena Feijoo during the SFB tour in Palais Garnier, she was one of three girls in Girl in Satin from Sandpaper ballet besides of Julia Adam and Muriel Maffre and above all in Bianca' role in Lubovitch'Othello. She was absolutely brilliant she has peps, and dance very well. We saw her on stage. She burnt the Stage.
I discovered also Julia Adam as well as choreographer than as a dancer in Sandpaper ballet and above all in Emilia's role. She was completely the character.
Lucia Lacarra in Prism was beautiful, she has these long legs and this style necessary to ballets "à la " Balanchine.
Her Desdemona was beautiful danced too less cold than Yuan Yuan Tan and she made with Cyril Pierre a beautiful couple. Only problem perhaps because she is in private life, Cyril Pierre's wife, she seemed to be too in love with Othello, she was not too afraid when she wait for death.
For me the best performance of Othello was Waldo/Vilanoba cast. He had the beast side and the lover side too. Waldo has not the same look than Tan or Lacarra but she seems less cold and in the last act, she was the most beautiful Desdemona. She is loved and afraid what it's necessary.