pherank

I was wondering about this after California's post, but I haven't been in the Friend category myself. In the past, did you use a special code in the shopping cart such as FRIEND(S)? I was able to purchase single seats for a couple of the earlier programs recently, and choose my own seats, but I logged in first so the SFB website could see that I have one of the subscriber packages. The ability to choose one's own seats only became available at the end of October (I recall) for subscriber's additional purchases. The SFB Friends page doesn't give away much info: https://www.sfballet.org/support-us/become-a-member/friends

Mingxuan Wang doing turns, and turns, and more turns: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbix3UWBTg-/?taken-by=balletrusse Ana Sophia Scheller publicity shot for Tomasson’s The Sleeping Beauty And another large version:

Short "documentary" video with Froustey by The Hive Studios http://thehivestudios.org/portfolio/addiction-micro-doc The video deals partly with the physical struggles of ballet and recovery from injury. "This intimate portrait invites you into the life of ballerina Mathilde Froustey at the peak of her career. Not in the midst of a successful season, but a serious foot injury that has forced her off stage. She must overcome the expectation that she is finished, and focus simply on daily grind of patience and recovery. Created as a passion project." [The trainer shown is Jaime Diaz former dancer with Boston Ballet, Ballet Nacional De Cuba and UBA personal trainer at The Garage SF. Teacher at San Francisco Ballet School.]

Joseph Walsh has been appointed John and Barbara Osterweis Principal Dancer in 2017. Congratulations to Joe - he is very deserving of sponsorship. And FINALLY!!! Sofiane Sylve has been appointed Diane B. Wilsey Principal Dancer in 2017. I'm so glad this finally happened. [Vanessa Zahorian (now retired) was formerly a Diane B. Wilsey Principal Dancer.]

It's a ways off of course (and who knows what will happen in the meantime), but I have tickets for each of the programs. So, barring any unfortunate developments, I'll try to type up my impressions. ;) Hopefully a number of people will report on the festival...

Great write-up, Sandik. I assume you recorded this session? Either that or you're a court stenographer by trade. ;) '"This confused some people in the audience. Several of them thought that “star” dancers would automatically be paid higher fees, or that they would negotiate their fees separately. And several people couldn’t understand that you would be paid even if you weren’t performing (whether you weren’t cast or you were injured)"' >>Maybe it would have been better to describe contracts as a "salaried" position that runs for a specific number of weeks/days. The dancers are paid for their general participation in class, ballet creation, rehearsals, touring and photo/video shoots for marketing, etc. (all necessary aspects of the job), not just for performances.

Angelo Greco with Isabella Devivo. Video by Diego Cruz. https://www.instagram.com/p/BbSeJVPHhtl/?taken-by=_angelogreco_ Kochetkova dancing Le Corsaire with Hong Kong Ballet: https://www.instagram.com/p/BbLz2VKBe6X/?taken-by=balletrusse

A warning from SFB: "this weekend is your final opportunity to watch or re-watch the full 2017 #WorldBalletDay LIVE broadcast! Enjoy on our Facebook or YouTube pages!" Meaning they will post a "highlights" version of the SFB section instead (which isn't quite as fun). I hope they keep the rehearsal footage intact, but there is going to be some editing done nonetheless.

I completely agree - if the selection process is overly concerned with physique (e.g. the current fascination with small head, long neck, long limbs, short torso...) then the school may very well miss out on some interesting talents who don't happen to have the 'optimal' physique (by school standards).

Violette Verdy would be another obvious example of a dancer not coming from a SAB background. It's rarely a good strategy for an artist to stick to only one method, technically or stylistically speaking. Most artists are hungry to learn about everything that is compelling and effective in their field. Established professional dancers often seek out renowned coaches to work with - they don't depend solely upon the in-house ballet masters of their company. I would say, the more serious and committed the artist, the more likely they are to seek out advice and coaching from internationally known coaches. But there are obviously some great dancers who spend their entire career within the confines of one company. In Balanchine's day at NYCB, many of the best ballet instructors were concentrated around New York, but things are more eclectic these days. Florida and the West Coast of the US have no problem getting access to top teachers/coaches. Ballet is truly international in that sense. If you mean is it a problem for company dancers to spend time learning/rehearsing with non-SAB coaches? I haven't heard of this particular prejudice at NYCB. When it comes to hiring aspiring dancers (students), NYCB definitely looks first to SAB (and are well aware of the most promising of the students). The same is true for ABT, SFB, PNB, and MCB. The Mariinsky, Bolshoi and Paris Opera Ballet all look to their own schools, but they will occasionally make exceptions for talented young dancers trained elsewhere.

From Pointe Magazine: Brighten Up Your Culinary Routine with These Original Recipes from San Francisco Ballet's Natasha Sheehan http://www.pointemagazine.com/natasha-sheehan-recipes-2503922457.html 'As for her love of photography, Sheehan says that "kind of came out of nowhere. I've always been a perfectionist, even before I started ballet, and like to treat each meal as a celebration to truly enjoy by making it look aesthetically appealing." '

SFB will be hosting a symposium in conjunction with the UNBOUND Festival: April 27–29, 2018 - I think Tomasson has taken to heart the discussions he witnessed at the Positioning Ballet conference (hosted by the Dutch National Ballet in February 2017). Boundless: A Symposium on Ballet’s Future "Bringing together noted artists, scholars, and critics, this symposium provides an opportunity for discussion, debate, and collaboration about ballet in the 21st century..." https://www.sfballet.org/season/events/unbound-2018/boundless-symposium SFB is also setting up a webpage on which related short films will be posted: "Think ballet can only happen on stage? Think again. As part of Unbound, we’re partnering four festival choreographers with film directors to create short dance films inspired by the emotional impact, daring physicality, and artistic expression of these new ballets." https://www.sfballet.org/season/events/unbound-2018/dance-films-unbound

Some excellent long photo series by photographer Jack Devant of SFB dancers: Dores Andre, Joseph Walsh, Lauren Strongin and Carlo Di Lanno in Variations for Two Couples Benois de la Danse 2017, Brilliant Quarter of Century, shot in the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow on 31.5.2017 https://www.jackdevant.com/dores-andre-joseph-walsh-lauren-strongin-and-carlo-di-lanno-in-variations-for-two-couples/ Yuan Yuan Tan and Davit Karapetyan in The Bells Music by Sergei Rachmaninoff, choreography by Yuri Possokhov. Dance Open 2017 Gala, shot 24.4.2017 in the Alexandrinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, Russia. https://www.jackdevant.com/yuan-yuan-tan-and-davit-karapetyan-in-the-bells/ Yuan Yuan Tan and Davit Karapetyan in Finding Light Music by Antonio Vivaldi, choreography by Edwaard Liang. Dance Open 2017 Gala, shot 24.4.2017 in the Alexandrinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, Russia. https://www.jackdevant.com/yuan-yuan-tan-and-davit-karapetyan-in-finding-light/ Maria Kochetkova and Sebastian Kloborg in the Swimmer (Lolita scene) Music by Tom Waits, choreography by Yuri Possokhov. Dance Open 2017 Gala, shot 24.4.2017 in the Alexandrinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, Russia. https://www.jackdevant.com/maria-kochetkova-and-sebastian-kloborg-in-the-swimmer-lolita/ Maria Kochetkova in Styx Shot in the State Kremlin Palace (Moscow, Russia) on 15.10.2016, Kremlin Ballet Gala 2016. https://www.jackdevant.com/maria-kochetkova-in-styx/

I got the feeling that he was liked well enough by staff and the other dancers, so I don't think there were "personality" issues. It was just unfortunate timing for SFB that he got such a tempting offer. He did mention the expense of living in SF (a problem for everyone not of the 1%). I hadn't seen this Erik Tomasson photo before - posted by Aaron (shown with WanTing Zhao). Yowza!

Aaron is a Lead Principal at ENB so he gets to dance all the good stuff. ;) But to be fair to SFB, he would have had his pick from among 24 ballets in the 2018 season. 12 of them brand new. That's not really a lame offering. I think he's just happy to be back in England though. I don't fault Madison Keesler for leaving ENB - she was too far down the ladder to get the kind of opportunities that Aaron now receives.

This caught my eye: Maria and Carlo participated in the Canadian "All Star" Dance Gala in Toronto, and it looks like former SFB dancer Aaron Robison showed up as well: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DNaeXT4V4AAfMD2.jpg https://twitter.com/balletrusse

I learned that Madison Keesler of SFB (previously of ENB) is taking part in Mentorly, which is a general arts mentorship program. It's an interesting idea, and hopefully will prove to be a success. Mentor and apprentice programs should be an essential part of the arts and crafts world (and once were), but this approach somehow got lost in the age of free-market economics. But I suppose one could argue that education and learning in general are suffering in the present era. "Our mission is to empower artists by fostering learning through creative exchanges and to giving back to the community through our InKind Fund." "Mentorly is the very loved brainchild of professional Dancer, Ashley Werhun and Filmmaker, Katherine Macnaughton. As working artists, both experienced a significant gap in mentorship within the arts. After speaking to hundreds of artists and assessing their all-too-common pain points, the gap led to an urgent call to action: to provide artists with direct access to mentors who are eager to help them grow and steer their careers forward." https://mentorly.co/

Masha tries Misha's exit door: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba0au4XhgE5/?taken-by=balletrusse

Not a video, but a particularly nice Erik Tomasson photo with Dores and Luke: https://scontent-lax3-2.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/22794310_133731547283562_3353762901419622400_n.jpg

I agree - Argerich continues to boggle the mind. I always enjoy Respighi's Fountains and Pines of Rome, but the orchestra and conducting seemed particularly good in this performance.

It kind of sounds like they were told about a great many "exciting plans" , and possibly, the original 'founders' pushed all the right buttons and people went along with their amorphous dream. But business gets dicey fast if management keeps changing/disappearing. I keep wondering why the originators didn't just wait until they had all their ducks in a row. Hiring the dancers should be one of the last things done - once finances, housing for the company/school and artistic direction are all established and secured.

I fixed the link to the Dance Magazine article - sorry. ;) A quote from that article: 'The founders, Doug and Ashley Benefield, had few ballet credentials but ... Unfortunately, this turnover isn't altogether surprising. Octavio Martin, a former principal with Cuban National Ballet and Sarasota Ballet, was originally named artistic director last spring. In August, however, ANB's website suddenly announced that Rasta Thomas would be artistic director, with Martin leading the second company. Both names were removed a few weeks later. Bogush says the new artistic director will come from the company that ANB is merging with, and Alexandre Proia will lead the second company. Part of the reason that so many changes have happened so quickly is because there was a transition in management this summer, which Bogush says was due to personal issues. "The new management represents a new vision," she explains. "The company was founded by a group of people with an idea in mind to highlight diversity, so we—close to 50 dancers—signed on for that," says former ANB dancer Christopher Charles McDaniel, who resigned earlier this month. "But between being hired in June and arriving in September, that group shifted. That left us dancers with new management that had never seen us, and were confused about what to do with us.'

Emphasizing the historic bond between the taxi industry and the ballet world? You know, I hadn't really thought about it before, but perhaps ABT is run similarly to Yellow Cab. Will Uber-izing ballet bring us more and cheaper ballet? Stay tuned to find out more...

And then there are various worthwhile Jerome Robbins' ballets to be seen at NYCB, such as: Fancy Free Afternoon of a Faun The Cage Glass Pieces Dances at a Gathering In the Night The Concert

Happy Birthday to Diego Cruz - apparently everyone went to company class with his picture on their tops: https://www.instagram.com/p/BautBPBFcdZ/?taken-by=diegocruzcooosss Short video of the surprise: https://www.instagram.com/p/BaurH4MFSzw/?taken-by=diegocruzcooosss