pherank

Yes, it was a great performance. The Costa Mesa crowd tends to be "clap happy", but much of that applause was deserved. I knew of Kondaurova because she was the first really believable 'contemporary' dance performer the Mariinsky had. I think those early tours were partly intended for Kondaurova to prove herself as a classical ballerina. She was an up-and-comer at that time.

Classical ballet in LA has certainly struggled. You have just reminded me of the time I went to see Ekaterina Kondaurova and the Mariinsky perform Swan Lake in Costa Mesa, because I wanted to see a traditional version of Swan Lake. Seems like a lifetime ago.

Like PNB, the SFB audience has enjoyed watching young dancers come from the school and work their way up in the ranks.

Lauren Strongin "is a certified instructor for the Dance for Parkinson’s program, has interned with the SF Ballet in their wellness department, focusing on mental healthcare accessibility for dancers, and has designed costumes for SFDanceworks and other companies. Lauren has managed social media and marketing for several small companies. Currently, she is a stager and trustee for the Liam Scarlett Trust and is completing her degree in medical anthropology at Stanford University." https://www.sfdanceworks.org/advisory-board Earlier this year, Strongin was stager/repetiteur for Liam Scarlett's Hummingbird at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. And last year she staged Scarlett's Frankenstein on the Joffrey Ballet .

Regarding Frankenstein: former SFB soloist (and Joe Walsh's wife) Lauren Strongin is a stager and trustee for the Liam Scarlett Trust. Earlier this year, Strongin was stager for Liam Scarlett's Hummingbird at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. And last year she staged Frankenstein for the Joffrey Ballet.

And Kuranaga will obviously miss dancing with him. The fact that Greco has spent the better part of a year not dancing, has made a difference. Rojo is free to bring in "her own people" at this point, especially with various dancers leaving the company. It's not a wonder that dancers get depressed and worried when they are sidelined for a season. It's a little different when you've danced for the A.D. for a number of years, but with a new A.D., they're looking to be impressed by the dancers right now - Etonne-moi! Rojo is used to Isaac Hernandez being her "star" to parade around. The mistake here is, San Francisco has done well without these "stars" for decades. The audience is less gullible in that respect.

All good suggestions, and I feel like an audience would be lucky to get to see SFB perform A Midsummer Night's Dream. That's a great show. But touring with a mixed-rep for every other night would be worthwhile too - then they could really show off their impresssive range. That's very possible. Certainly you would expect the theatre to know the local audience. But Madrid is a sophisticated arts town, one would think the dance audience would enjoy seeing SFB's range of talents.

Thank you! I knew there was someone else from the present company that had danced with Houston.

Masha is back in business after having her first child (daughter Cleo): https://www.instagram.com/p/C0rX_f-oWor/

Good programming overall. "Manon" is an obvious one to bring into the rep. The Dutch program is an interesting idea. Glad to see a Scarlett ballet returning - he had a good relationship with SFB. Program 2 is right up SFB's alley, so to speak. I have to agree with others that the season is rather "heavy" and not necessarily kid friendly. And nothing much comedic here. The encore of "Frankenstein" seems like a placeholder, and probably should have been a Robbins/Balanchine mixed bill. "Serenade"/"Glass Pieces" would have been a good season-closer.

Angelo leaving feels to me like he's going down "to the minors" to deal with injury rehab issues. [Sorry to sound like I'm dissing Houston Ballet] But there's something going on there. Houston is one of the companies that SFB has had a close relationship with in the past. Joe Walsh and Lauren Strongin danced there. Great to hear that Cauthorn and Andre are returning.

Nice commentary, Josette - thanks.

Of all the things that make the company distinct, and all the things that SFB does well, why choose Swan Lake? And only Swan Lake?

Kimberly Marie Oliver is now a mother - congratulations to her: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2-FIf9r298/

SFB released this video with some highlights from the various performances: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRxtxbHivdQ