Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

Taras Domitro & Carlos Quenedit


Recommended Posts

On SFB's FB page, they have announced that Taras Domitro & Carlos Quenedit are leaving at the end of the season:

In an article (http://www.sfchronicle.com/performance/article/Feijoo-taking-her-final-steps-at-SF-Ballet-11065862.php) on Lorena Feijoo's pending retirement, the writer had hinted at other possible departures.  I am sad to see Taras & Carlos leave, which means the Cuban contingent will be gone at the end of the season.  Taras will be moving to Miami and freelancing, while Carlos will be opening a school in Mexico.  I will always remember Carlos as Basilio (with Mathilde Froustey as Kitri) in Don Q.  Taras could always light up a gala with his gravity-defying jumps and spins.  Gracias y buena suerte!!!!

 

Link to comment

So, it is now official that SFB has lost four male principal dancers this season--Davit Karapetyan, Carlos Quenedit, Taras Domitro and Aaron Robison.  This comes after the devastating loss of three dancers last year (Joan Boada, Gennadi Nedvigin and Pascal Molat)  and another two (Damian Smith and Martin Ruben Cintas) the year before.  I wish all of them well and will greatly miss seeing them perform.

Link to comment

It's hard to understand how in three years the roster of principal male dancers - all distinctive, lovable, and extraordinary artists - could be diminished, despite the acquisition and promotion of Walsh, Greco, and DiLanno. We also lost the outstanding Vito Mazzeo a few years back, when he went to the Dutch National Ballet.  I assume Tomasson is busy looking for replacements and will continue to develop the talent within the company. We still have Tiit Helimets. 

Link to comment
13 hours ago, Josette said:

It's hard to understand how in three years the roster of principal male dancers - all distinctive, lovable, and extraordinary artists - could be diminished, despite the acquisition and promotion of Walsh, Greco, and DiLanno. We also lost the outstanding Vito Mazzeo a few years back, when he went to the Dutch National Ballet.  I assume Tomasson is busy looking for replacements and will continue to develop the talent within the company. We still have Tiit Helimets. 

It can happen and it can happen quite suddenly. Something similar happened at the beginning of this decade at ABT. They had had that fabulous roster of male principals since the late-90s and then, suddenly, they all transitioned out one right after another, What hurts SFB right now is that they've lost youngish male dancers to other companies. Vito Mazzeo is one example. Moises Martin Cintas (Ruben's brother) is another. Guys like that could have been expected to pick up the slack caused by so many of the longtime dancers leaving.

Link to comment

San Francisco Ballet has so many dancers coming from such different backgrounds that it was almost as if the Cuban and Spanish trained dancers and teachers gave it a bit of a center for a while. Taras Domitro it seemed came in to replace Gonzalo Garcia, the high spirited company favorite, who had left suddenly for New York City Ballet. Now the company feels like a bit of a patchwork again.

 

What I liked about Domitro is his depth of concentration and his ability to lose himself in a character (though they weren't necessarily deep characters). His Melancholic in The Four Temperaments was perhaps the best interpretation I've seen anywhere. He was also terrific in Scotch Symphony, Symphony in C, in the Swimmer, in the duel scene of Onegin and as Benjamin in Cinderella – the first act where his mime (and sleights of hands) made him look like one of Mack Sennett's regulars.

 

Here's a roll call of Cuban dancers of the class of 2004. Viengsay Valdez, Romel Frometa, Yoel Carreno are in Part 2, Carlos Quenedit is in Part 3:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ImPpPZi7vo

 

And a class with Loipa Araujo:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN01x8UxosU

 

 

Edited by Quiggin
Link to comment

Ugh, so hard to process all of this. Glad it's official now, though, as opposed to whispers and speculation. 

 

Helgi Thomasson's got a tall order ahead of him. I hope he excels in the way he has in the past, drawing these peerless, distinctive dancers to the SFB. Wishing all the departing dancers the best. Am especially sad to see Domitro go - I've quite enjoyed his performing in the past two years. Glad I got to see him as Benjamin in Cinderella (not the mention The Creature in Frankenstein. And the lead in Swimmer).

Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...