Josette

Always so interesting to read all the comments! I was at the Friday night program 3 on February 28. I thought the corps did fine work - that adagio is going to be somewhat more difficult for a group of diversely trained dancers to breathe together, get the line of their individual gazes together while using peripheral vision to keep in perfect lines, etc. I was sitting in the second row and it was indeed the lovely Elizabeth Powell who had the honor-responsibility of leading the Shades out on to the stage. There were discrepancies in the arabesque heights (second Shade's arabesque was only 90 degrees en fendu, which is strange because when you tilt forward into an arabesque allongé, your arabesque leg should naturally go up beyond 90 degrees) but it went very well. I did not care for the principals - effortful, tense, a display of working hard; not only lacking spirituality from the female principal but there was no classical ease that is needed for this role to make it beautiful. For me, the highlight of the evening was Yuan Yuan Tan as the Firebird. (Also enjoyed Tiit Helimets very much.) What an exquisite dancer she is- refined, pure and uncluttered technique, utterly graceful, beautiful port de bras, no mugging, honest. She is a dream. I am back in SF on March 13 and 14 to see Cinderella. I was hoping that Vanessa Zahorian would be on stage again, but, as was reported here a few weeks ago, she injured herself (a broken toe) when she danced the Diana and Acteon pas de deux at the gala, although she finished the performance. This was reported in one of the SF papers.

I was the second corps Shade when dancing for the National Ballet of Canada. On the ramp - and in some theatres you have a double ramp (this means you climb a sort of ladder off stage and wait on a dark platform before you get into place for your first arabesque) - you have a bright light shining right in your range of vision when facing into the wings and it is hard not to be blinded by that light surrounded by the dark stage and wings. If you get spots in your eyes, you will be have a rough time seeing anything. All the rehearsing in the rehearsal room and on stage without that lighting cannot help you deal with that stark light in your eyes surrounded by black everywhere else. The whole entrance of arabesques going into the beautiful adagio by the corps requires an adagio technique which is not stressed in class or other ballets. It is a beautiful ballet to dance, and hard and on the legs and breath for the corps because of the sustained control of the adagio followed by the following waltz where the three soloists come on stage. I am flying into SF to see tomorrow night's show.

I didn't completely miss her Giselle- for about 12 hours her performance was posted through Dansomanie and I dropped everything and watched it when I discovered it one Saturday afternoon, knowing that it would probably disappear, as it had by the next day. I am impressed with her spontaneity and think that she has a beautiful technique that permits spontaneity. I am partial to the Paris Opera Ballet School training. Lucky you to have seen her on stage as Giselle.

Yes, I am going to two performances of Cinderella, and was so hoping that she would be doing the lead. So far, I have only seen her in the Nutcracker grand pas de deux, where she was radiant.

Mathilde Froustey will be dancing Kitri in Don Quixote with the Paris Opera Ballet in Japan on March 14 and 16, 2014, as a replacement due to the injury of POB étoile Ludmila Pagliero. Mlle. Froustey has danced Kitri before in the POB production, choreographed by Nureyev, which I believe is available for viewing online.

Having seen Matvienko, it seems an odd decision (to me) to bring him and cast him over the SF male dancers. He's fine, but If there has to be a guest, why not Issac Hernandez, former SF soloist who joined the Dutch National Ballet 1 1/2 years ago and was just promoted principal? Hernandez has matured into a more musical dancer, has more height to his jumps, has better line, and is a more finished dancer than Matvienko. Oh well ....

I'm going up to San Francisco to see the February 14 Midsummer Night's Dream.

I loved it both times I saw it, Friday and Sunday, and was having a hard time keeping myself from sobbing the last few minutes. It was so moving. That company has brilliant dance-actors who are so utterly invested in what they are doing.

According to Janos Gereban's article in San Francisco Classical Voice, see https://www.sfcv.org/article/sf-ballet-gala-fun-profitable-and-showing-up-the-nfl, dancing in the gala, Vanessa Zahorian slipped and fell during the Diana And Acteon pas de deux, and continued dancing with a broken 5th metatarsal. There is an obligatory two weeks off, so she is not dancing Giselle.

Joy in the Morning is my favorite Wodehouse book!

Mlle. Froustey is definitely dancing Giselle. She has a short video extract of her rehearsing the Act I solo on her facebook page, Mathilde Froustey Danseuse. SFB still has not posted casting for any of the Giselles.

Surely it's MacMillan's wife who has the rights to Manon.

San Francisco Ballet does not have Manon. Sarah Van Patton would be incredible in it.

Kochetkova's tweet explains why she looked less than joyous and not very interested during her penultimate grand pas de deux on Friday evening. Both Mathilde Froustey on Dec. 26 evening and Sasha De Sola at the Dec. 27 matinée gave radiant performances of the grand pas de deux with beautiful execution and musicality. Mlle. Froustey had family from France attending, including her father!

Thanks, volcanohunter, for the casting! I am going Thursday night and also to Liliom twice in Orange County. I was wondering whether Cojocaru would be on the tour, since she left the Royal Ballet.

Feijoo danced Giselle the last time they performed it, and I was lucky (and grateful) to be there. She gave a beautiful, deeply felt performance, and her port de bras was exquisite. Her farewell to Albrecht as she exited into the wings took my breath away. I personally would take Giselle over Cinderella.

Hooray!

Abatt, I know you don't live in the Bay Area, but if you ever have a chance to see Van Patten's Giselle, don't miss it, especially if Helimets is her Albrecht. Their second act is simply breathtaking. And once again, I'm so glad Hansuke Yamamoto is being recognized for his consistently fine work. And she is breathtaking in the Jewels Diamond pas de deux and as Juliet. I, too, am delighted to read all the comments about Hansuke Yamamoto, who deserves the recognition and a promotion.

I see about 20 performances of San Francisco Ballet each season. If I could only go to one performance of Cinderella, it would be Friday night with Vanessa Zahorian and her husband, Davit Karapetyan. Zahorian is a lyrical and effortlessly brilliant dancer and her acting is completely natural. Tan is a subtle, ethereal ballerina who excelled in Neumeier's Little Mermaid. I find tiny Kochetkova mannered in her dancing and contrived, cutesy and one-dimensional in her acting and stage manner, so I avoid her in the major roles. I saw Sarah van Patten and Frances Chung in Cinderella, and both were exceptional in dancing and characterization.

So happy for the news that Forster and Gorak get this opportunity!

It's been such a pleasure to watch all the video clips and read the comments. Thank you, all, for this. I was especially impressed with Nina Kaptsova and Ruslan Skvortsov. Many years ago, my mom took me to the Stuttgart Ballet to see Onegin with Marcia Haydee, Heinz Claus, Egon Madsen, and Suzanne Hanke, who were the originators of the production when Cranko revised it (I think that Ray Barra originated the title role). I still remember parts of it vividly. Haydee was unforgettable, and I recall Madsen's anguish as Lensky. The lead roles are coveted by dancers.

I saw both the stage rehearsal earlier in the day and the performance. Tom Forster did a wonderful job. He was ardently attentive and chivalrous in his partnering of Ms. Part, and gave us elegant, unrushed, and precise dancing in the fourth movement. It was a pleasure seeing this tall, 6'3" dancer in the final movement -- a true danseur noble. Eric Tamm in the first movement was also excellent in every way.

As a former dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, thank you, kbarber, for the previous email!

I've read several of Macauley's reviews where he praises Vanessa Zahorian and Sarah Van Patten, and it is wonderful to see both of these beautiful, uniquely gifted ballerinas singled out!

I remember the first time i saw Thomas Forster, when he first joined ABT: he did a saute (sorry, no accent on the e) in arabesque from the upstage left wing onto the stage in The Sleeping Beauty vision scene; and I have been following him ever since. He is a wonderful, well-trained dancer, excellent partner, always fully invested in what he is doing, is natural on stage, and is tall and has beautiful feet. I have been waiting for years to see him given the opportunities his talent and work merits.