Josette

I can only vouch for Shevchenko/Forster and Seo, who are all worth seeing in this ballet. I have never seen Royal - who did not perform - in a featured role, except for Pierrot in Harlequinade, which does not allow any of us to imagine what he would be like as Chaereas.

It was Lonnie Weeks who danced the closing solo in Wheeldon's Bound To, and who is actually referenced in meunierfan's post from June 10, 2019, cited above. Greco did not dance the closing solo; Jaime Castillo was the alternate for that solo.

Tamm was in perfect shape and very impressive.

I just saw with my own eyes from the printed cast insert in the program made available and handed to all audience members for the performance that I did not attend that Katherine Williams danced the Saturday matinee performance as Queen of Babylon.

I went to four of the five performances and it was Katherine Williams as the Queen of Babylon for the ones I attended.

I saw Shevchenko and Forster's second performance on Saturday night, which was again infused with meaning. To make any sense, this ballet requires a ballerina with dramatic ability who can show the development of the character. I also have to mention Forster's beautiful, clean line enhancing the choreography. I was fortunate to have seen Hee Seo with Aran Bell on the Sunday matinee. Aran, understandably, looked a bit tired and thinner but was fully engaged. He has such an appealing personality. On one of the hoists to a torch lift, he did grimace, but he should be applauded for getting through a difficult week of a premiere, dancing three out of five performances, plus having to rehearse with a new partner. I was not ready for See Heo's utterly exquisite, moving performance, and I was in tears at the end. She was living the role, such that you could follow the character's feelings at every moment. It was a seamless, searing performance. During the curtain calls, she was holding back tears out of emotion. She made sense of the horrific pas de deux with the King of Babylon. I also have to mention Katherine Williams' magnetic performance as the Queen of Babylon; both Blaine Hoven and Joo Wan Ahn as Dionysus, with Hoven in the final scene being particularly moving and upsetting to watch; and opening night's Lucianna Paris giving full meaning to the role of Callirhoe's Maid; also Tyler Maloney and Eric Tamm as Polycharmus; and all three dancers who danced the role of Plangon, including Katherine Williams, whose dialogue with Hee Seo at the downstage left corner of the stage was particularly insightful to the rest of the ballet. Eric Tamm danced really well and it was great to see him back on stage. What has he been doing the past few years? He looked great.

Oh, thank you so much, sf_herminator for your report. I so appreciate your comments. I was going this Thursday. What a shame for the dancers not to be able to perform.

I feel like I saw a different ballet tonight. Shevchenko and Forster were extraordinary: gorgeous dancing and so expressive and moving. They took my breath away and transformed the ballet. I can't wait to see them again on Saturday evening. The entire cast looked more settled in and danced very well.

Sarah Lane, an expressive dancer, would be beautiful in Of Love and Rage.

I came out of the premiere thinking along the lines of "what was that?" more than loving or even liking it. Part of the problem may be that I saw The Royal Ballet last week and have recently attended performances of SFB, so I have raised expectations. Nevertheless, the dancing last night was excellent. I'm seeing four performances. The dancing is non-stop, as AB'sMom says above, and I'm not sure if that is favorable, having seen a sublime performance of Dances at a Gathering by The Royal Ballet seven days ago, where there is stillness. Aran Bell really impressed me in his total commitment, charisma, and natural acting ability; I also appreciated the performances of James Whiteside and, especially, Cory Stearns. Cory Stearns did traditional mime in his role and he had a centered stillness in his characterization that I found impressive. Catherine Hurlin gave an excellent first performance in a principal role, dancing with fluidity, beautiful line, and musicality - as she always does-, but was not expressive facially (unlike Aran) and she tended to have her mouth partially open at all but a few moments. I was in the front row, and her lack of emotional range at this point in her career was troublesome for me. She did not, however, do any fake acting or put on a phony acting face, so she will likely grow in that area. Aran already shows exceptional, believable emotional range, both facially and in his body. I also have to say that I was uncomfortable with a newly created ballet where women are valued as to which is the most beautiful (irresistible) and especially in the scene where the King intends to take her without her consent, knowing that she loves her husband and with the husband present. There was a lovely moment near the end where the reunited couple kiss downstage and she is lifted above him diagonally and at an angle while he is kneeling - easily the best part of the evening and very moving. I am very interested in seeing the other two casts.

I stay at either Hayes Valley Inn or Inn at the Opera when I go to the ballet. There's a good variety of restaurants in the area. The breakfast at Hayes Valley Inn for the ten-ish years I've been staying there, including twice last month, has always included thin slices of ham and American cheese slices, plain yogurt, and peanut butter.

Sasha Mukhamedov looks tall, but maybe someone who saw her in The Sandpaper Ballet can let us know. Thanks for posting the first night cast. I am attending only one performance, on March 12. I wish that they would post Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius. The lovely and talented Madison Keesler publicly posted on her FB page a clip of Patricia McBride's dancing the solo for Hermia, so perhaps you can extrapolate some meaning from that.

Ben Freemantle's comment about one show, no tech ... Is something that will happen, even no stage rehearsal and learning the role two hours (or less) before the show.

I agree- I very much miss Aaron Robison and Ulrik Birkkjaer, as much as I do appreciate all the dancers.

I saw Van Patten dance Juliet twice and was bowled over, I also loved her in Diamonds and in Swan Lake. I saw De Sola again last night in Etudes and found her in her element, dancing with radiance and finesse. I particularly appreciate her in the Sylphide section, which can sometimes come off as camp. De Sola danced one of the most effective Olgas I have seen in Onegin, where she and Myles Thatcher as Lensky had a deep connection.

I did not find Cnderella to be one-dimensional and loved preparing and performing the role.

Sasha Mukhamedov said in a pre-performance talk on February 21 that she was cast as Hippolyta and learning Titania (which Yuan Yuan Tan is cast as, as well as Sasha De Sola, as shown in the photo above). She also said that she will be dancing the tall girl in Rubies, which she danced at the Dutch National Ballet, and is learning Diamonds and loves Diamonds. Esteban Hernandez said in a previous pre-performance talk that he is cast as Puck and learning Oberon. Oberon does not do any partnering but does dance fast and furiously. I'm sure most people here know that Villella was the original Oberon and Arthur Mitchell the original Puck. Titania has a pas de deux with a consort and also with Bottom and does not have a pas de deux with Oberon. There are a lot of opportunities for the dancers, what with the two sets of lovers and the beautiful divertissement pas de deux in the second act. I am most interested in who will be cast in the second act pas de deux. Do we know for a fact that Angelo is cast as Puck? He could be cast as Oberon. He danced brilliantly in Etudes on the 21st.

I saw two performances of Cinderella this season. The first featured Sasha De Sola in her premiere, dancing with Luke Ingham. I thought she looked tense in the first act. Honestly, I was underwhelmed by her performance and felt she was making faces without her understanding who her Cinderella is, and this was not helped by the fact that Sarah Van Patten was on stage, more brilliant a presence and actress than ever. During the intermission and upon leaving the opera house, I heard numerous people rhapsodizing about Van Patten's performance. I feel so fortunate to have seen Van Patten in this role. De Solo was technically precise, but I found myself thinking how beautiful her feet were, which is a sure sign that nothing much is happening artistically or dramatically; there was no musical phrasing in the Act II solo; as clean and exquisite as the execution was, her dancing lacked feeling, musicality, and sweep. Also, at her premiere, Sasha De Solo did not convincingly engage with Luke Ingham, who was fully there for her, and who gave an excellent, natural performance. I can assume that her third performance of the role improved, as she has always grown in artistry since the time that she was promoted to soloist. Kudos to the four remarkable men who act as her protectors, they each danced exceptionally well and supported their Cinderella physically and emotionally. And it's time to let Max Cauthorn dance more leading roles. The following night I saw Misa Kuranaga and Angelo Greco, along with Hansuke Yamamoto giving an absolutely wonderful performance in all ways as Benjamin. Kuranaga's Cinderella had pathos, which is so needed as indicated both in the story and Prokofiev's score. Her dancing is extraordinary and musical, with beautiful phrasing. All her movements are graceful and filled with meaning. She has warmth and a heart that goes out to the audience. Though she is technically phenomenal, she does not display it; her execution is effortless. Additionally, we had Isabella DeVivo as an utterly adorable stepsister. Maggie Weirich was excellent as the stepmother. It was a wonderful show.

I went to the performance on Feb. 11, and loved everything about Sandpaper Ballet. I was smiling throughout the whole ballet, it was such fun. And I agree about Diego Cruz, Phrenchphy11. My eye always goes to him because of his joy.

He is still listed on the Segerstrom website. I was interested to see that he is performing at the Hollywood Bowl, with Dudamel conducting, on August 11.

pherank, do you recollect when Possukhov last choreographed for SFB? There must have been something after Swimmer, which I sadly never saw. Thanks for providing the message by Madison. I am eager to see who is cast for A Midsummer's Night Dream.

What would be the grounds for Ramassar's attempting to abrogate the protesters' first amendment rights of free speech and the right to assemble? The protesters' words have not caused him to lose employment. Subjectively, the protesters' words could be considered to be in bad taste, but there are a lot of things stated that are abhorrent that are not unlawful conduct or speech.

That's great news and a great photo of Aaron!

I agree, @Emily12. I saw Gillian Murphy dance Giselle with the New Zealand Ballet and loved her so much that I went back for her second performance. Her port de bras was beautiful, her jumps were lighter than many a smaller ballerina, she was convincing dramatically and did not dance like a powerhouse but had a delicacy and effortless quality as you describe so well. I do not understand the ongoing paradigm of a Giselle as restricted to the body-type of Kirkland and/or Makarova.

I received an email from the Joffrey Ballet with the 2020-2021 season announced. http://www.joffrey.org/subscriptions?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SubscriberAcquisition2020-2021_%231&utm_content=version_A Manon in October Serenade and Of Mice and Men in February Neumeier's The Little Mermaid in April-May (and The Nutcracker in December)