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Honoring Lorena Feijoo, Davit Karapetyan, and Vanessa Zahorian: 4/15 and 4/18


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From SFB:

Honoring Lorena Feijoo, Davit Karapetyan, and Vanessa Zahorian
Join us for two special, one-night-only Farewell Performances on Saturday, April 15 at 7 pm and Tuesday, April 18 at 7:30 pm

Principal Dancers (and married couple) Davit Karapetyan and Vanessa Zahorian are dancing a Farewell Performance of Tomasson’s Swan Lake on Saturday, April 15 at 7 pm.

Principal Dancer Lorena Feijoo's Farewell Performance will be part of an existing performance of Made for SF Ballet on April 18. Added to the program will be a pas de deux from Liam Scarlett’s Hummingbird, which Lorena will perform with a partner.

“Each of these three dancers is extraordinary, and we will miss seeing them on the Opera House stage,” says SF Ballet Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson. We look forward to celebrating them on these two, very special occasions.”

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Tonight is the night: a Swan Lake farewell performance for Vanessa Zahorian and Davit Karapetyan. A sad time for the SFB audience. May Vanessa and Davit enjoy many happy years in their new careers as joint artistic directors of the Pennsylvania Ballet Academy.

 

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From the SFB Instagram page:

 

"Words cannot describe how we feel that this is your farewell performance. You are sublime as a premier danseur! Your artistry, virtuosity and generosity on stage is a wonder to behold. and will be terribly missed. It was an honor to be in the audience when you danced."

 

"We'll be there watching tonight and wouldn't miss it for the world. Vanessa and Davit have been inspirational to us in more ways than they will ever know. We came to a master class they participated in at SFB about two years ago. My young dancer (then 10) had broken her foot and had to miss a lead part in her school's spring show. Vanessa saw her with her cast on and came over to ask her what happened. Vanessa gave her a big hug, shared her own story of having broken a foot, and encouraged her that she'd be able to come back. My daughter took a lot of inspiration and courage from that little moment and, as a mom, I can't thank her enough. We will miss seeing both Davit and Vanessa dance, but we're also grateful that they will going to share their love of dance with kids. Just know, some of that thunderous applause you'll hear tonight will be from us."

Edited by pherank
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49 minutes ago, Jayne said:

Odette's Ordeal reported Lorena Feijoo pulled out of the farewell night today.  She wanted something different than the planned mixed rep.  

 

Interesting. In one of her most recent interviews she stated, “I am happy with my career,” she says. “I was rarely injured; and in San Francisco, I danced every role I wanted, except two, Juliet and Tatiana in ‘Onegin.’ I was so depressed when I was passed over for ‘Onegin’ the second time, I decided to get pregnant.”

 

I wonder if Tomasson will grant her an act of R&J or Onegin? It would be a nice gesture.

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15 hours ago, Jayne said:

Odette's Ordeal reported Lorena Feijoo pulled out of the farewell night today.  

 

According to the box office person, the announcement of cancellation was made at noon today. After Program 7 was presented this evening (Trio, Ghost in the Machine, and Within the Golden Hour) there was a video called Celebrating Lorena Feijoo (not terribly exciting as those things go) but things warmed up as Lorena took the stage and dancers of the company filed out individually and presented her each with a single red rose – including the Cuban group: Joan Boada, Taras Domitro and Carlos Quenedit. Pascal Molat was also there as well as Vitor Luiz and Feijoo's sister I believe (though it was difficult to see over the standing crowd; maybe someone else can correct and fill in). Most touching seemed to be Yuan Yuan Tan's rose and big hug. All in all a lovely commemoration of a very fruitful 17 year career with the company.

 

[Here's the press release opening sentence cited in the blog above: "'It is with great disappointment that San Francisco Ballet announces Principal Dancer Lorena Feijoo will not perform at her previously announced special farewell performance as part of Program 7 tonight..."]

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8 hours ago, pherank said:

Interesting. In one of her most recent interviews she stated, “I am happy with my career,” she says. “I was rarely injured; and in San Francisco, I danced every role I wanted, except two, Juliet and Tatiana in ‘Onegin.’ I was so depressed when I was passed over for ‘Onegin’ the second time, I decided to get pregnant.”

 

I wonder if Tomasson will grant her an act of R&J or Onegin? It would be a nice gesture.

 

Unfortunately, how Onegin is cast isn't Tomasson's decision to make, and Feijoo wouldn't be the first illustrious ballerina to be denied by the Cranky Boys. R&J is another matter, of course.

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11 hours ago, Jayne said:

Odette's Ordeal reported Lorena Feijoo pulled out of the farewell night today.  She wanted something different than the planned mixed rep.  

 

This is too bad, both for Lorena and for her fans who showed up to see her "final dance" with SFB.

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2 hours ago, yodasan said:

Which Onegin/R&J performances - in some future season?

 

Tomasson has his own R&J version that would presumably be available to Feijoo, but as Volcanohunter mentions above, Onegin is another matter. It sounds like no one really knows why Feijoo's short performance was called off.

End of an Era (photo by Dores André)

 

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Here is the video honoring Lorena shown last night:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVu1IO06v3w

 

IMHO, it is unfortunate she was not given the opportunity for a proper farewell performance given the length of her tenure and the breadth of roles she performed.  A five minute video does not do her justice.  She really could do it all.  I am grateful for all she has given over the years and especially to be able to personally give her my thanks for giving her heart and soul on the stage.

 

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A nice video - I'm glad that SFB is doing this kind of thing now.
 

Although we've been hearing that Lorena is retiring, we really haven't heard about what comes next for her. Will she stay in the U.S. or return to Cuba? (Given the thaw in relations between the two countries, this may not be a problem.) Is she looking to teach? Run a school? Become an A.D? I've heard nothing about this in her few interviews.

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4 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

Incidentally, Davit Karapetyan is scheduled to perform at the Dance Open gala in St. Petersburg on April 24, presumably opposite Maria Kochetkova or Yuan Yuan Tan.
http://www.danceopen.com/en/2017-en/stars-2017

 

That's great - I hope Davit and Vanessa both continue to appear at galas. I'm going to guess that Davit will perform with YYT in the Diamonds PDD. Masha is game to dance with whomever, but YY usually appears only with danseurs she is already quite comfortable with.

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20 minutes ago, pherank said:

A nice video - I'm glad that SFB is doing this kind of thing now.
 

Although we've been hearing that Lorena is retiring, we really haven't heard about what comes next for her. Will she stay in the U.S. or return to Cuba? (Given the thaw in relations between the two countries, this may not be a problem.) Is she looking to teach? Run a school? Become an A.D? I've heard nothing about this in her few interviews.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/performance/article/Feijoo-taking-her-final-steps-at-SF-Ballet-11065862.php (if you are a non-subscriber, you can read up to 5 articles)

 

In the fall, Lorena will be working with the San Francisco Opera.  She will dance at Flora’s party in “La Traviata” in September and will perform as Lola Montes in the world premiere production of the John Adams-Peter Sellars opera “Girls of the Golden West” in November.  I imagine that will include singing, which is not unusual.  She was Anita in 'West Side Story Suite' in 2008 & 2009, singing and dancing "America".  She will also do some teaching and coaching.

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3 minutes ago, sf_herminator said:

http://www.sfchronicle.com/performance/article/Feijoo-taking-her-final-steps-at-SF-Ballet-11065862.php (if you are a non-subscriber, you can read up to 5 articles)

 

In the fall, Lorena will be working with the San Francisco Opera.  She will dance at Flora’s party in “La Traviata” in September and will perform as Lola Montes in the world premiere production of the John Adams-Peter Sellars opera “Girls of the Golden West” in November.  I imagine that will include singing, which is not unusual.  She was Anita in 'West Side Story Suite' in 2008 & 2009, singing and dancing "America".  She will also do some teaching and coaching.

 

Thanks, SF_Herminator. It's good to hear that she will be sticking around the Bay Area, and will be working with young dancers.

 

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There had been some mention about why we haven't seen Carlos Quenedit much this season. He posted this on his public Facebook page back in February:

 

Updating: I hear that people are worried about when I'm coming back to dance, so here is the answer
Answer: As you all know I injured myself during nutcracker. I've torn almost 50 percent of the deltoid ligament in my left ankle during the show. It's been already two months and is getting better but unfortunately is not ready yet. The doctors say that, this will probably take another month. I really appreciate that many of you are so worried about me. it's good to know that I'm very present in your lifes. And for those who are wondering when I'm coming back (I don't know yet), And for those who are asking why I'm not back yet, I will personally let you know when I'm ready, don't worry. So, the purpose of this post is let you guys know the reason why I'm not back yet, and that is (because I'm not ready)
Many thanks

 

Lee Alex Meyer Lorey has referred to retirement on her public Instagram, including here and here.

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1 hour ago, PeggyTulle said:

There had been some mention about why we haven't seen Carlos Quenedit much this season ...

 

I hope he mends soon. I missed his quiet and sure presence in the second season of Seven Sonatas - and his partnership with Sarah Van Patten. They were especially effective together in Shostakovich Trilogy as the bewildered couple, and in Symphony in Three Movements in the pas with those wonderful totem pole hand gestures.

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Thanks for posting that information about Carlos, PeggyTulle - 30 Nutcrackers doesn't exactly ease a company into the season. It can be a killer.

 

Speaking of injury, Froustey announced a few days ago that she feels well enough to go back into the studio. And so now she is teaching a masterclass in Singapore (a previously scheduled event). I don't recall her ever saying specifically how her foot was injured (though she's had a chronic issue with the one foot since she was a teenager). I know she wasn't wearing a "Bledsoe boot", so seems more likely that it has been a problem with the ligatures.

 

"I have been off from ballet and performing for 3 months (day for day today) and it has been a very intense journey. I have been depress sometimes, felt alone often and hated my body a lot but I also have learned a lot about myself. Thank you to all my amazing friends ( old and new ) who made me laugh, cry, talk and who are teaching me everyday how to be a better human person."

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTDgvQml3gr/?taken-by=lapetitefrench_

 

Masterclass Poster
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTHFnDClCMP/?taken-by=lapetitefrench_

Edited by pherank
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