pherank
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Posts posted by pherank
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Vanessa Zahorian also paid tribute to Tomasson:
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8 hours ago, PeggyR said:
Believe it or not, I happened to wake up about 1 am this morning, and decided to take a chance and check if the casting had been updated. Very excited about the Park/Wang/Remez cast, and I think I managed to get the last available ticket for May 1. I’ve seen Park and Wang together before, and they seem to be a good pairing; Remez was very impressive as the Poet in The Little Mermaid, so I’m looking forward to an interesting Rothbart. (I’ve always thought we American ballet lovers don’t really appreciate good character dancers the way the Russians do; Daniel Deivison-Oliveira is another one I’ll go out of my way to see in character roles.)
Wish I could see all casts; my season ticket is for May 7, so looking forward to catching at least one other pairing (and to comments here about the rest).
It’s good to see completely sold-out performances, even the upper side balcony. So far as I know, standing room still isn’t being sold (it wasn’t for Nutcracker).
Remez has oodles of talent for character roles. He could go straight to Principal Character dancer at SFB.
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Julian MacKay and MacKay Productions produced a Helgi Tomasson documentary (excerpted at the celebration), which will be shown "in NYC May 23 at Chelsea Factory as a part of a celebration of his 37 year career!":
https://www.instagram.com/p/CczSoUMryq6/
It's nice that MacKay could be involved in this celebration - it seems to confirm that there are no issues between Helgi and Julian.
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Wei Wang posted this group photo from the celebration:
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4 hours ago, PeggyR said:
I am SO glad Chung is finally dancing O/O, and opening night, too! Based on her exquisite Giselle a few years ago, and her technical strength, she should be wonderful.
Agreed. All the couples would be great to see. I believe there's one more couple to be listed, too.
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Sasha De Sola (shown with Max Cauthorn) has posted this bit of rehearsal footage - looks like Helgi Tomasson and wife Marlene sitting with their backs to the camera:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cctin3GFFQG/
Misa Kuranaga says that her schedule for Swan Lake will be:
Saturday 4/30 at 8 PM
Thursday 5/5 at 7:30 PM
Sunday 5/8 at 2 PM
"I’m dancing the role of Odette/Odile with @_angelogreco_ as my prince. Photo by @sashaarro and he is my Rothbart." -
11 minutes ago, Josette said:
Throughout the last 14 years since I've been attending, SFB has regularly left a gap and added a performance for ballets such as Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet. I am attending the final four performances and went online yesterday to see how tickets were selling - extremely well, so this is terrific for those who want to go and will be able to get good tickets or take children/family and sit together.
I just noticed emails from Stanford Live and SFB announcing Starry Nights with SFB for two evening performances on Aug. 5 and 6, 2022. I went to SFB's first live performance last summer at Stanford's Frost Amphitheater and had a wonderful time. They are performing Tomasson's 7 for Eight, Robbins's In the Night, and Forsythe's Blake Works I.
Thanks for plugging Starry Nights, Josette - I just added that topic. As I recall, it was a success last time, and it makes sense for SFB to do these short "tour" performances in the greater Bay Area.
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SFB e-mail announcement:
Experience the Beauty of Dance under the Stars this Summer!
San Francisco Ballet presents Starry Nights in partnership with Stanford Live Arts Festival in a two-evening residency at Frost Amphitheater August 5–6, 2022 at 8 pm.The lively program thrills with audience favorites––three short ballets that range from romantic to athletic and brilliantly cool: Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson’s 7 for Eight, Jerome Robbins’ In the Night, and the South Bay premiere of William Forsythe’s Blake Works I, a ballet that "will explode your ballet prejudices'' (San Francisco Chronicle).
The Grammy Award–winning San Francisco Ballet Orchestra plays J.S. Bach's music for 7 for Eight and Chopin nocturne's for In the Night, while Blake Works I is danced to the sultry sounds of James Blake's 2016 album The Colour in Anything.
SF Ballet will also co-present Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s Stanford Live debut on August 3 at 8:00 pm, presenting STAR DUST: From Bach to Bowie, featuring two exhilarating dance pieces inspired by musical masters. More information is available at this link.
Include Starry Nights into your summer plans; tickets go on sale on Friday, April 29, 2022 at Stanford Live.
https://live.stanford.edu/calendar/august-2022/starry-nights
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Helgi Tomasson's Swan Lake runs from April 29 to May 8, 2022. And as of today (04/21/22), a matinee has been added on Saturday, April 30, at 2 pm.
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Another dimension to Misty Copeland - she authored the NY Times review of Toni Bentley's "Serenade: A Balanchine Story":
"I have yet to dance “Serenade,” but I felt the spirit of the movements through Bentley’s descriptive prose. She weaves in impressive detail about the actual technique of ballet, articulating the dancer’s physical experience for the reader. Turnout, she writes — “the rotation of both legs from the hip sockets in opposite, outward directions, simultaneously” — is both the “core” and the “central contradiction” of classical ballet."
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/books/review/serenade-a-balanchine-story-toni-bentley.html
Will there be more articles from Ms. Copeland in the future?
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Misa Kuranaga posted images relating to the SVP farewell, and farewells to Ulrik Birkkjaer, Benjamin Freemantle, Madison Keesler and Julian MacKay:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcgljkfvWXK/
SFB video of SVP and Birkkjaer making their final bows: -
She seems to be giving lots of master classes these days. Here's her February 1, 2022 resignation announcement on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZcK3NEuNhD/
English translation:
"Dear followers, I wanted to tell you that yesterday I resigned from the position of director of the Ballet of the Teatro Colón,,, (I share in the photos the original letter that I send to the Director General, María Victoria Alcaraz, where I explain perfectly the reasons) I leave the position after 5 years, immensely grateful to the public who valued from the first day my management, always demonstrating their enormous affection and support, and of course to my work team that was by my side at the foot of the canyon ALWAYS! I will continue to work and enjoy this wonderful art that is dance, but in places where the love of dance can be truly enjoyed." -
18 minutes ago, Josette said:
It was a beautiful evening and so moving to see her dance with Ulrik, Luke, and Max. The Diamonds pas de deux was breathtaking. The four exceptional dancing excerpts showing her transparency and versatility as a performing artist were interspersed with videos of her talking about her career and life, including some clips in the Balanchine repertory, and homages by Helgi Tomasson, ballet masters, dancers, and choreographers, including a particularly serious comment by Yuri Possokhov.
👍 It's great that you could be there, Josette.
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Citing Ukraine War, an American Resigns From Russia’s Mariinsky
“There’s no way I could ever be in denial of what is happening,” said the conductor Gavriel Heine, a fixture at the prestigious Russian theater.'Mr. Heine, 47, had been increasingly disturbed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “There’s no way I could ever be in denial of what is happening in Ukraine,” he said during a series of interviews over the past week. “Russia is not a place where I want to raise my son. It’s not a place where I want my wife to be anymore. It’s not a place I want to be anymore.”'
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/18/arts/music/gavriel-heine-resigns-mariinsky.html
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3 hours ago, Ashton Fan said:
A change of director has a different effect on a ballet company' s personnel depending on where the company is based, local law and employment practices in the industry Local practice varies greatly across Europe. in some countries being a company member means permanent employment until a set retirement age is attained while in other countries there is no fixed retirement age as such.In the UK a change of director does not automatically trigger a change in the company's personnel and it is unusual to see an exodus of dancers in the wake of an announcement of the appointment of a new director. In Germany, as I understand it, the appointment of a new director can result in a complete change of personnel as it is for the director to choose the dancers with whom he or she wishes to work I would be interested to know whether Tamara Rojo's imminent arrival at SFB seems to have triggered a greater number of departures from the company than is usual at or near the end of a season?
Specifically at SFB, at the end of each season there's normally a handful of people who leave (for various reasons), but also a number of promotions are announced to balance things out.
As far as exits related to directorship change, I would say that we have yet to hit an unusual number of exits. It's the added exits due to retirement that are going to hurt this next season - unless there are going to be important new hires coming from Rojo. And those hires will have to happen before rehearsals begin later this summer (SFB begins new work creation and rehearsals in the summer, even though they don't perform on the Opera House stage again until December). Losing the young principal Ben Freemantle is a shock because he's the kind of person we would expect to see as a mainstay of the company going forward. Trained at the SFB Ballet School, Freemantle was asked to join the Corps in 2015 and was promoted to principal in 2019 - a mere 4 years. That's very unusual, but Freemantle is that talented. And he's still growing as an artist. So we're losing the poster boy for the school.
Hopefully the various injured dancers from this year, such as Fogo, Robison, Mukhamedov, are still planning to return next year to see how things go under Rojo.
EDIT: Like Keesler, Robison spent time at ENB, so if he decides to leave this year, it will make people very nervous about Rojo.
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1 hour ago, volcanohunter said:
I am surprised that these dancers are so forthcoming. Normally, I wouldn't expect a dancer to admit that his contract hasn't been renewed, or that Bigwig X makes a her heart sink. I have never thought it a good idea to direct public criticism at my employer or boss, though I've certainly had cause. I always assumed that coming across as disgruntled would make me an undesirable employee.
Times have changed though, and dancers are definitely expecting more from their 'employers'. I think it's fair to say that Keesler is one of the dancers that has been pushing for change in the ballet workplace. EDIT: I'll add that performers attitudes now parallel changes in the tech industry workplace (and other industries) over the last 20 years. Workers can't rely on loyalty from employers, or a reliable pension, so they are willing to ask for more up front, and move around from place to place gathering experiences.
Madison Keesler's announcement on Instagram makes for a nice tribute to Tomasson:
"Thank You, San Francisco… Hello NYC!
I am finally ready to make my big announcement...
This will be my last season with @sfballet.
My final performances will be this May in Swan Lake in the roles of “Pas de Trois” and “Aristocrats”.✨In June I will be moving to New York City!
I have had an incredible 15-year career in ballet while dancing within some of the world’s best companies — The Hamburg Ballet, English National Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet. And my career performing ballet is definitely not over. I will be continuing to perform classical ballet as a freelance artist and I’m currently looking for principal guesting opportunities and gala performances.
I’m also excited to spread my wings into some new directions through Broadway, acting onstage and on-camera, print modeling, and much more.
When it was first announced that Helgi Tomasson would be succeeded by Tamara Rojo my heart sank because I knew that my time in San Francisco had to come to an end.
San Francisco and San Francisco Ballet has been the one place that always felt like home. I grew up coming to the San Francisco Ballet School summer programs since I was 14 and I have worked in the company for a total of 9 years out of my 15-year career. Helgi Tomasson has played a huge role in shaping my career throughout all these years and I have endless gratitude for all that he has done for me. Helgi gave me opportunities and believed in me even before I believed in myself. He allowed me to leave and come back not once, but twice. My life and my career would not be the same without the support and understanding he always gave me.
Leaving my friends, this company, the SFB audience, and this city to head to New York City is certainly bittersweet. However, I know with all my heart this is meant to happen right now. I’m scared, but also so freaking excited!!! I’m grateful that life is giving me the push I needed to continue following my dreams within ballet and to finally start pursuing my dreams in acting, singing and so much more.
I’m thrilled to be able to call New York City my new home!"
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Forgetting about Birkkjaer, Fogo, MacKay, Freemantle, SVP, Robison and Tan for the moment (and Dores Andre who shows little interest in Swan Lake-type roles) - that leaves Cauthorn, Chung, De Sola, Froustey, Greco, Helimets, Hernandez, Ingham, Kuranaga, Park, Stahl, Walsh, Wang and Zhao of the principals. And there may be a couple of soloists who are being groomed for this - Mukhamedov being one likely choice. Froustey isn't doing much at present so she may have an issue we don't know about.
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38 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:
Still, wouldn't it be worth it to keep MacKay for Swan Lake in case of an injury to another dancer?
I'm guessing there was already a backup in place (since it's a plum role). Or perhaps maybe MacKay wanted to be free to move on before the last program occurred. Off to NYC.
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49 minutes ago, PeggyTulle said:
Well, guess that shouldn't be too surprising, considering the new AD's track record... but I also feel like McKay didn't dance a lot when he was here...? So maybe this is for the best.
With Fogo injured, no Swan Lake for JM. I'm sure Tomasson intended to bring MacKay "into the fold" as it were, and shape him more as a dancer, but the pandemic ruined many plans.
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One last photo from dressing room 10 - SVP wearing her "SVP MVP" tag:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcboFNZP7kx/
Even Lorena Feijoo comments of this one. I'm noticing Sara Mearns putting emoji comments on a number of IG posts from SFB dancers lately - so she's paying attention to what's going on over here.
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Mathilde Froustey's tribute to SVP on Instagram:
"It’s hard to find the words to say goodbye to you @sarah.vanpatten ..
I guess I’ll just say thank you.
For your kindness, you have guided me when I arrived in SFballet, for your generosity, you always helped when someone asked for advices and most of all thank you for your artistry. Watching you being Juliette, Giselle, Mrs Robinson, Odette/Odile, the mermaid, Anastasia and so many other amazing women on stage was a privilege and I will always cherish the memory of your interpretations.
Also thank you for showing to the ballet world that it’s possible to be a great principal dancer and loving mother of 2.
I’ll miss you mama Sarah❤️" -
39 minutes ago, Phrenchphry11 said:
I was glad I got to be at his (and Freemantle’s) final performance. I know his initial hiring garnered lots of discussion here, but I thought he brought lots of energy to his performance and looked great in the Rhoden piece (which is very contemporary).
Which is all good to hear, and it's a shame that MacKay won't be around anymore. I never doubted his basic talent.
I should point out that so far, this is the only loss that can be tied to the change in directorship. The other retirements and leavings seem to have been initiated by the dancers themselves. There's no evidence yet that any of those people were told that they were no longer wanted. -
1 hour ago, Helene said:
Instagram is an official source, if there's a link to the post*, it is public-facing (ie, not restricted in any way/private), and it's from a ballet professional. (Or noting that it was part of a ballet professional's Instagram stories.)
*For those not familiar with Instagram, to get the permalink to the post itself, click the time/datestamp on the post, and Instagram will navigate you to a page with the post. You can copy the URL from there. Facebook and Twitter work the same way.
The text was posted on this other thread: https://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/46885-roster-changes-2022/#comment-439207
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12 hours ago, naomikage said:
Julian MacKay has written on his Instagram story that leaving SFB was not his choice. He is thanking Helgi Thomasson for his guidance during his time there.
For the record, this is what MacKay posted on Instagram (these posts sometimes disappear):
"When you get a raise and your boss is happy with your work, things are going well.
So I was quite shocked when I recently found out that my contract for next season would not be continued with SFB.
When my director first called me on the phone, I was still working in Russia.
One of the first things I said was I was tired of all the politics and wanted a place to grow and explore new ballets…. and that is what I have found these past 2 years with SFB.
Now it makes me quite emotional to hear from my director that the decision to not offer me a contract for next year was not made by him but rather someone who I’ve never worked with and was not present for the last 2 years here.
Thank you for telling me the truth Helgi and thank you to all the wonderful people that have supported me in San Francisco and at my performances with SFB!
In the spirit of Easter I’m looking forward to new beginnings and sharing with you all my summer performance schedule soon"
Keeping Up With SFB Veterans
in San Francisco Ballet
Posted
Jahna Frantziskonis performing the role of Darlene in Lanford Wilson's ''Balm in Gilead'':
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc3uK53P80Q/