Josette

I would add Dwight Rhoden to the list. 

Ulrik - YES!

This is encouraging news!

I've seen her as Odette-Odile, so I understand what you mean, PeggyR.  It is curious how she can deliver a devastatingly emotional portrayal in The Little Mermaid and RAkU but then is cold in other works.  I was disappointed in her Giselle; though it was danced beautifully from a technical standpoint, there was nothing human projected. I still want to see her Odette again because of her purity. 

 From the digital performances this season, I am eager to see Sasha Mukhamedov dance next year, as she has a lush way of moving and a charming personality, and is very musical.  Hopefully, she will recover fully for what we want to a full season for the company next year.  

I watched the program 5 earlier this evening and was delighted to see Domitro, Nedvegin,  and Zajorian in Seven for Eight.  

Wow, this is great!  And Taras Domitro as well!

Add Ricardo Bustamante to the list.  He is a brilliant coach and ballet master, has staged ballets around the globe, and been director of two ballet companies.  

Jasmine Jimison danced several solos in The Sleeping Beauty two seasons ago when she was an apprentice, including Princess Florine in the Bluebird pdd, and was outstanding, and was promoted into the company shortly after that.   She was so beautiful and authoritative in those solos that I would not have blinked had she been promoted to soloist upon joining the company ranks.    She was  later cast in one of the principal/solo roles in Liam Scarlett's Hummingbird, which was ultimately withdrawn from the repertoire.  I am glad that Helgi moved her up so she can benefit from his casting during his last season as director.  

Interesting lyrics

The announcement has very loving and appreciative assessments of the dancers who are departing.  

I thought she was beautiful as Perdita in Christopher Wheeldon's Winter's Tale.   I also met her when she was still a soloist at a reception when NB0C brought Wheeldon's Alice to L.A. My mother was with me and Elena was incredibly kind to my mother.  

I saw her give a glorious performance of Theme and Variations towards the end of her career.  She had a radiant and positive presence on stage.

Apropos of MCB, Elena Lobsanova and Hannah Fischer of the National Ballet of Canada are joining MCB as principal and soloist, respectively. 

She is one of my favorites.  RIP and thank you.

BalanchineFan, my heart goes out to the very talented and accomplished Gabe Stone Thayer and I can understand his frustration as to his not being promoted, added to his being injured at at time when he was moving forward with more solo opportunities.  I saw him in the audience at a performance that he was attending a few years ago in NY, and told him I hoped that he would be promoted to soloist.  You certainly could have some insight to McKenzie's curious choice of words and Thayer's expressed unhappiness. 

I think dancers in a dance company look to the principals' conduct as an example, and maybe that is "leadership skills," i.e., being dedicated, seriously single-minded and  focused, and I can think of a lot of soloists who were/are not single-minded  and focused.  I do know that if a dancer is yawning, rolling his/her eyes, checking the the clock or looking out the window during rehearsals, management will notice it and not like it, but I have no idea if anyone at ABT does that, not being personally on the scene.  

volcanohunter, thank you for the wonderful homage to her.  Rest in peace, Zizi Jeanmaire. 

The day I see this in a stage performance is the day I stop going to the ballet.  

I wish McKenzie would elaborate on what he means by "leadership skills."  I've never heard that as a required element for promotion to soloist.   
 

I like that the season is extending into June and that Program 3 has three ballets that I am eager to see multiple times.  I just checked the SF Opera website and they have cancelled their fall season and have three productions from April 25 to May 2.  SFO usually performs in the fall up to Nutcracker and then puts on three operas in June.  

Alexander Cagnot no longer on the roster! I will miss him. I wonder if he will become a professional photographer, as I have seen many photos credited to him on social media by the dancers. 

I am particularly happy for both Diego Cruz and Myles Thatcher, as they have put in their time and are always a joy to watch.  And I love Max and have been wanting to see him in principal roles all season long. 

I found Park dull this season, both in her phrasing and, particularly, facially, though she is unfazed technically.  For me, she is too classroom at this stage of her career, and I wonder what is on next season's horizon that she was promoted.   It's an interesting decision, given Mukhamedov's  former position as  principal with the Dutch National, although Mukhamedov was injured and apparently only danced two performances, one of them being A Midsummer Night's Dream  as a filmed, audienceless event. 

pherank, Aaron Robison will likely be back for next season and he's tall.  Maybe SFB is still in the negotiating stage for a tall male principal.  We shall see. 

I just got an email from SFB and it's also posted on the SFB FB page about the promotions and new dancers.

Promoted to principal dancer:

Max Cauthorn  

Wona Park

Promoted to soloist:

Ellen Rose Hummell

Diego Cruz (a special yippee for Diego)

Myles Thatcher

Lucas Erni

New dancers:

Nikisha Fogo joins as principal; she was formerly with the Vienna State Opera Ballet

Luca Ferro, SunMin Lee, Alexis Aiudi, Olivia Brothers, Pemberly Ann Olsen, Andris Kundzins, Gregory Myles, and ALexis Valdes join the corps de ballet

On 3/25/2020 at 12:29 PM, Phrenchphry11 said:

Finally got around to watching!

First impressions:

- Wow, the video production quality is really high - neat camera angles, loved the shots of the orchestra.  I really hope they plan on making this more widely available!

- LOVED the sets and costumes.  Especially loved the color contrast (red v blue) for Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius. 

- FINALLY got to see some of Vladislov Kozlov and Sasha Mukhamedov.  I'd only seen Kozlov in a smaller part in Sleeping Beauty, I quite liked him in this.  Often from where I sit in the opera house, I don't get to see much of the dancers' facial expressions but I thought he had a really warm, emotive face and looked to be having a good time.  I really hope to see more of him, I wonder why he was used so little last season (maybe just injury?).  I really like Mukhamedov too - either SF ballet is a very short company or she's quite tall, but she really stood out (in a good way).  Lovely feet and legs, she seemed well-cast as the Queen of the Amazons.  If I'm being nitpicky, she had some double tour jumps (?) that she couldn't quite stick the landing on - sometimes I wish dancers opted out of the "trick" steps and just stuck to things they could reliably perform.  But oh well.  I am a little bummed she wasn't cast as Cinderella this season.  Nevertheless, I look forward to seeing more of Kozlov and Mukhamedov next year, if not sooner.

- Frances Chung was the featured woman in the Act II pas, and she was absolutely radiant.  Though I love her dancing, I don't always think of her as the most dramatic or overtly emotional dancer, but I really felt moved by her in this.  Love the final bit of partnering at the end of this pas de deux.

- Sasha de Sola was a lovely Titania.  However, she doesn't always have the most expressive face, some of the closeups didn't play super well with the camera, in my opinion.  Nonetheless, she's really always extremely technically solid and really seemed to float across the stage in all her pas de deux.  

- Honestly the highlight for me was Cavan Conley as Puck.  Truly amazing performance, both with his acting and dancing.  A lovely mix of humor, comedy, and neat jumps and tricks.  The final scene where he floats away was just gorgeous.  I think he's got a really great future at SF Ballet.  He stole the show.

- Overall, loved the production.  Large cast, lots of featured roles, and all the dancers seemed to be enjoying themselves.  I loved the huge cast of kids in the show, I'm sure it was really sad for them that they couldn't perform the whole run.  

I am watching it now a second time and I pretty much agree with what you say, Phrenshphry11! 

Mukhamedov is required to do some double sauts de basque, which are the tours you refer to, and she hops after landing, though I would like to see on video how others have managed such a difficult step.  Double sauts de basque are rarely done by women, not even in class. 

I don't understand why Froustey was not cast as Titania (and I said the same thing about the casting for Cinderella). 

For me the highlight/revelation was Frances Chung.  I was floored by her dancing and soulful presence. Impossible to criticize any of her past performances, but her every movement was infused with depth and expression. Her artistry has deepened.  

The dancers were so wonderful. 

Sasha de Sola                      Titania

Esteban Hernandez            Oberon

Cavan Conley                        Puck

 Frances Chung, Ulrik Birkkjaer               Act II Divertissement pas de deux  

Sarah Van Patton                Helena

Demetrius                            Luke Ingham

Elizabeth Powell                  Hermia

Myles Thatcher                    Lysander

Julia Rowe                             Fairy

Lucas Erni                             Bottom

Vladislav Kozlov                      Titania's Cavalier                      

pherank, I watched the 1935 MGM Midsummer Night's Dream on Wednesday.  I have always enjoyed it!

1 hour ago, pherank said:

Is it just me, or was there no mention of donation/receiving credit for Program 6?

I hope Tomasson moves The Seasons to 2021 season - that was supposed to have been a co-production.

I also did not get an email allowing the choice of a donation/receiving credit for Program 6, as I have for four of the other programs.  

It's not surprising but very sad.   I feel fortunate to have seen three performances before all this happened.