Josette

How were the Juliets for the two Wednesday performances?

I will be in the front row with three friends to see Shevchenko as Giselle on Thursday.

Bell performed Juan in one of the OC performances.

Yes, she said in an interview that the ballet was new for her. She had quite a recovery period after her injury, so it is all the more impressive.

Dudamel brought about 12 POB dancers for two performances at the Hollywood Bowl last summer and he conducted. It was a wonderful show, probably for the first time that many, many of the audience had seen ballet, or ballet at a such a high level. I live in L.A. and regularly have watched/heard Dudamel conduct at Disney Hall. I recall a performance where he conducted Apollo, which was performed by Roberto Bolle with Stella Abrera as Polyhymnia. Dudamel had been slated to conduct the first three performances of The Dante Project at the Palais Garnier when POB premiered it this May, with composer Ades to follow, but about six to eight weeks before the performances, the POB website showed that Ades would conduct the ballet for the first two performances, and Dudamel was not conducting. (I was there for the first four performances.) I do not keep an eye on Dudamel's schedule and am not going to research it or speculate, but the baton change is interesting to note. The Dante Project score was a commission or partial commission by the L.A. Philharmonic, which regularly performs Ades's works. Dudamel had conducted The Dante Project, music only, three times at the LA Music Center in April of 2022 (I attended twice, it was brilliant and appreciated by a diverse audience, Ades was in the audience and seemed quite happy, and I had the opportunity to speak with him). It has been recorded, with Dudamel conducting L.A. Phil. Off topic: The Dante Project as a ballet is a co-production by The Royal Ballet and POB. I saw both companies dance it multiple times and will see it again in London in December of 2023. It will be performed by The Royal Danish Ballet in November of 2023.

Guerin, an absolutely gorgeous etoile, coached Teuscher for Giselle.

I saw it a few years ago danced by NYCB and before that by Los Angeles Ballet, as Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2, but don't have a firm memory of it aside from the corps groupings. It's always interesting to see the cast lists.

Is there any more to watch online of The Royal Ballet in Ballet Imperial?

That's lovely news, PeggyTulle. It is interesting that yet another former SFB corps dancer is doing so well in another company (thinking of Kristina Lind, Alexandre Cagnat, Misa Kuranaga, and Isaac Hernandez, with these last two back after establishing themselves as principal dancers elsewhere).

That's lovely news, PeggyTulle. It is interesting that yet another former SFB corps dancer is doing so well in another company (thinking of Kristina Lind, Alexandre Cagnat, Misa Kuranaga, and Isaac Hernandez, with these last two back after establishing themselves as principal dancers elsewhere).

The Royal Ballet was at the Music Center in July of 2019 and the performances were sold out and the audience enraptured. It was a wonderful two weekends.

Natasha Sheehen was not featured much after her first year in the company. She was a lovely dancer that first year. Promotions were announced by Tomasson at various times during the season's performances, usually with the official date pending the new rehearsal period in the summer. For example, I recall Esteban Hernandez's promotion very quickly after he danced The Prodigal Son - which I saw him in - but the promotion went into effect after the dancers' early summer break for the new season and contract. I would be distressed to see Jimison promoted without Isabella DeVivo also promoted to a much-deserved principal rank. DeVivo has the radiance of a principal dancer as well as exceptional musical phrasing and beauty which is evident to anyone who has seen her in the Bluebird pas de deux, the Rose in Nutcracker, Snow pas de deux in Nutcracker; she stole the show in Ratmansky's The Seasons in 2022; and was beautiful as Cinderella. Her classical technique is stunning and her exquisite pointe work, on display in Cinderella, is rivalled only by Frances Chung at SFB. And she has a beautiful, light jump. Soloist Lucas Erni is joining the ballet company directed by Bridget Breiner at Badishes Staatstheater Karlsruhe. He was terrific in everything he danced, had a charismatic stage presence, and will be missed.

Pre-Covid, Segerstrom brought us the Hamburg Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, La Scala Ballet, and the Stuttgart Ballet. At a certain point, Segerstrom seemed to lose interest or became oblivious as to what was going on internationally in major ballet companies, and started relying on a certain agent and we got Eifman Ballet (not a favorite of mine, but excellent dancers) and Les Ballets de Monte Carlo too many times. I have heard repeatedly from the Music Center Dance Association (or whatever it is currently called) that many ballet companies are currently making up contracts that could not be honored due to Covid and, so I am hopeful that things will improve in the 2024-2025 season. In spring of 2022, when Los Angeles had the extraordinary Hamburg Ballet, it involved a co-production with LA Opera that was set up several years in advance, and it was a godsend to have them here for two weeks and see those beautiful dancers. I saw St. Matthews' Passion five times and Bernstein Dances three times. Here in Southern California, we very much need a dose of Swan Lake as we are starved for classical ballet, and it does not have to be a Russian ballet company to be worth attending. I wish that an arrangement would be made to have San Francisco Ballet in Southern California for a weekend each year. Tamaro Rojo said in an interview that I attended in Los Angeles this past winter, that she hoped to create relationships with other cities to bring SFB to perform.

I just purchased the series and was told that you can only purchase a Saturday night series; otherwise, it's single tickets only.

I agree totally with you, California, about Aaron Robison, and am also happy to see Tiit Helimets now officially on the roster as a Principal Character Artist along with Pascal Molat and Joanna Berman - all three exceptional former principal dancers.

I am a subscriber and did not get any notice of this. I can finally see Shevchenko as Giselle! \

I saw three performances of the newly designed Cinderella two weekends ago in London. I thoroughly enjoyed the production and the beautiful dancers. I would see three more performances of it in a heartbeat.

I am so excited to finally see Maia Mahkateli live on stage, after seeing her only online. Broken Wings will be premiered by San Francisco Ballet in 2024. It will be interesting to see the two works on several occasions and with different casts and companies.

Yes. I have tickets for all three performances. The Music Center”s CEO announced it at a donor event last fall before tickets were on sale and added that Smirnova would be dancing a performance, which I would assume would not be opening night.

I started attending San Francisco Ballet regularly in 2008. I believe that Tiit Helimets is the last in that wonderful group of principal dancers to have retired from SFB, though Taras Domitro is still dancing.

Rojo may have some dancers she wants to hire and this gives them the opportunity to experience the company.

Under Roster Changes 2023, I mention that I saw him as Benvolio and as Benjamin in Cinderella this season.

I just learned that the Sunday matinee was soloist Hansuke Yamamoto’s last performance with SFB. He is an audience favorite as well as one of mine. I’m so glad that I saw him this season as Benjamin in Cinderella and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet. The announcement is shown in the cast list online and also says that Anita Pacciotti is retiring. She has had a long career with SFB as a dancer and ballet mistress.

We are most fortunate to have her with SFB. Her Juliet was brilliant. It was the most distinctive interpretation of the four SFB Juliets. She established Juliet's personality from the first scene and it made me realize how many generic Juliets I have watched over the years, who do good work but, aside from their personal appearance, are not particularly unique. Her powerful dancing also enhanced and made its own statement in the Act Three scenes with her father and Paris as a strong-willed, frankly rebellious Juliet, whose decisions create her own destiny, which I think goes along with the play. And I need to add that she has a beautiful rapport with Aaron Robison, as he is a tall, strong, and passionate Romeo and they work really wonderfully together.

It was a wonderful weekend.