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Something I always pay attention to: are there overlaps between programs to make visits more feasible/economical for out-of-towners? Programs 2 and 3 overlap, but I'm not seeing any other overlaps for the season until we get to the New Works festival. The season runs no longer than usual with the built in break periods (a break for the audience, a rehearsal period for the dancers). If Tomasson is doing this for the dancer's benefit, I forgive him, but it's not as helpful to the audience members, imo. The Program 3 text mentions that there "... will be a select world premiere from our 2017 Repertory Season." Interesting that the jury is still out on that one. Do people vote for Fragile Vessels, Salome or Ghost in the Machine?

As reported by California, there's a general announcement for the 2018 season now that mentions, "This festival, which replaces traditional Programs 7 and 8 on the schedule, consists of four programs: A (April 20-May 6, 2018), B (April 21-May 4), C (April 24-May 5) and D (April 26-May 5). Each features three debut works, still to be announced." So it looks like there is some overlap of these programs. I didn't see a mention of a new Possokhov ballet this time around - looks like Myles Thatcher will take his place.

Did anyone happen to attend any of the Gala des Écoles de Danse du XXIe siècle performances? I'm curious if there were any particularly good performers in the schools.

Probably criticism well deserved - was there no dry-run of the broadcast during the dress rehearsal(s)? Presumably the lighting, not to mention the camera setup and video quality were all approved initially. If that is the case, poor broadcast quality can only be blamed on the video techs. Is there likely to be a version available online? (Even with the technical difficulties, I think there will be an audience for this production.)

Angelo Greco shows his moves - filmed by Diego Cruz with Dean Martin accompanying: https://www.instagram.com/p/BStwjq0FN8Y/?taken-by=_angelogreco_

You and me both. ;) There are particular scenes that are very powerful, and then there are those many over-the-top moments, just played for laughs. I'm not certain the show's creators have found a good balance yet. The scene in which Maestro Rodrigo is cursed by his old mentor in front of the youth orchestra, is quite affecting. And the Dali-esque scene at the donor's party (Season 1?) where Rodrigo sees the young girl Alice playing the flute beautifully, and spends the rest of the episode searching for her in the house, and finally happens upon Alice standing in front of a white horse eating cake (inside the house) - that was all great. Sometimes it seems like he's used as a Don Draper (Mad Men) character - the person everyone else blames for their own inabilities to manage life.

Short commentary about the SFB production by Maria Kochetkova for KDFC radio: https://audioboom.com/posts/5756697-march-28-2017-the-state-of-the-arts She specifically mentions the challenge of dancing the O/O roles as a short-statured person.

FYI: Millepied posted "In Silence We Speak - Premiere June 14th" at the Joyce Theater. It looks like the LA Dance company appears the 13th through the 17th. The confusing thing is that "In Silence" isn't mentioned on the website, although there are two different mixed rep programs that alternate throughout the week. http://www.joyce.org/performances/la-dance-project

I don't know if you care, but the idea behind the music is kind of interesting: "On Greenaway's specific instructions, the film's musical score by Michael Nyman is entirely based on themes from the slow movement of Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante in E flat, bars 58 to 61 of which are heard in their original form immediately after each drowning. Greenaway alerted Nyman to the potential of this piece in the late 1970s and had previously used it as material for part of the score of his The Falls and for "The Masterwork" Award Winning Fish-Knife and Tristram Shandy.[5] "Trysting Fields" is the most complicated use of the material: every appoggiatura from the movement, and no other material from the piece, is used." [Wikipedia] Greenaway's films are intellectually fascinating, but not particularly easy to sit through. The cinematography is often gorgeous (if you are a photography buff).

Someone in the company mentioned online that Walsh was "on fire" right now, and I guess this proves that. Both he and Di Lanno are having to dance constantly, every program, almost every ballet. They both deserve the praise. I worry about injury and burnout though, and some dancers are not appearing enough. The company never talks openly about injuries so it's hard to know if the reason certain people are only appearing occasionally is that they are nursing an injury.

One thing I like about the show is that the characters do develop over time and the side characters are being fleshed out. One of the writer/critics that reviewed the show early on mentioned that Maestro Rodrigo was a stereotypical "Latin lover", and that may be the assumption in the beginning, but I find him to be a much more complex character than that, and fortunately, charming enough to bear up under repeated viewings. The same with characters played by Bernadette Peters and Malcolm McDowell - they begin as caricatures, but slowly become human. I appreciate one of the subtle themes of the show - that music is music, and genre names don't count for much. People of all times and ages have loved playing and listening to music.

Welcome to the forum, Yodasan. ;) The music in the trailer is "Wheelbarrow Walk" which I believe appeared in the Peter Greenaway film Drowning by Numbers (but it's played much more slowly in the film). The ballet uses a number of different Nyman pieces, I believe. Here's the fast version: https://www.amazon.com/Wheelbarrow-Walk/dp/B01C6RHX40/ref=sr_1_3?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1491767021&sr=1-3&keywords=Nyman+wheelbarrow+walk

Just a side note: Masha just mentioned on her Instagram page the following: "After our last Swan Lake yesterday. Thank you to this amazing guy [Walsh] for learning this ballet in one week and being there for me and of course to @feldiazinsane [Felipe Diaz, Ballet Master] https://www.instagram.com/p/BSo-1GyhsSc/?taken-by=balletrusse I kind of remember Walsh mentioning this situation as well somewhere, but I don't know why this was the case. Usually rehearsals for these roles begin way in advance, and then continue a few weeks before the performances. EDIT: Just found Walsh's statement: josephwalshsf: "Surreal is probably the only word that could slightly encapsulate the feelings I have had this past week and especially last night. Last Thursday I found out I would be learning Swan Lake, only to find out my first show would be opening. I have never performed any of this role besides one variation at a strange jet lagged competition in china in 2007. I have the best support system in the world pushing me to accomplish this. Maria and Felipe, I don't know what to say, we did it, and I almost didn't forget a step! Not to mention I sprained my toe two days ago. Lauren is a hero for putting up with my hours of extra rehearsal in the living room, and night sweat fever dreams ?? love you endlessly. Mom and dad, thanks for the calming chats on the phone, and so happy to have you here after the show to hug and pass out on ;)"

Has anyone else been watching Amazon's Mozart in the Jungle episodes? (If you own a newer TV, it's not difficult to connect to Netflix and Amazon streaming services.) The series was created by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers, and directed by Paul Weitz. I've seen the first 2 seasons and find it mostly very enjoyable. Something makes me think that if one likes the New Yorker magazine, one will enjoy this show. It does try too hard sometimes to be playfully debauched, or too obviously "hipster". But's it's really a middle-aged person's view of what is hip. The main characters were well cast. The episodes shot in Mexico City were well done and now seem very timely. NPR: What We Love And Hate About 'Mozart In The Jungle' http://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2015/01/15/377232599/what-we-love-and-hate-about-mozart-in-the-jungle Classical Music as ‘Jungle’ Rings True https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/arts/television/mozart-in-the-jungle-an-amazon-series.html

I made no plans to go to SL this year because of that same, "once is enough" feeling. The San Francisco audience is not Swan Lake obsessed in the same way that one may find in other cities. The YYT and Sofiane Sylve performances would be the ones that I would prefer, but what you say about Masha is to the point: she dances at a high level, with much heart, and the SF audience appreciate her. And for good reason: I literally have never seen a ballet over the years in which she danced poorly, or in a disinterested manner. She might seem somewhat miscast in certain ballets, but at SFB, the principals are involved in most all ballets in the repertoire. There aren't any dancers that "just dance traditional ballet" and get to ignore the contemporary works, for example. If there is a particular SFB dancer characteristic, it would be that they are expected to be able to dance Odette/Giselle in a virtuosic and believable manner AND dance Forsythe/Robbins/van Manen/Morris/Balanchine etc. convincingly (hopefully as well as anyone in the world).

‘Golden Hour’ tops a glowing SF Ballet program — Allan Ulrich http://www.sfchronicle.com/performance/article/Mixed-repertory-program-at-SF-Ballet-comes-11055136.php KQED Interview with Myles Thatcher "With one more week till opening night, how do you feel about Ghost at the moment? Have you turned to anyone for feedback?" "Helgi Tomasson, artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet, has given me a lot of room to make artistic decisions. He’s very hands-off. I sent a video to Alexei Ratmansky and he had some good feedback. But there’s nothing better than stepping away from a piece for eight months and then coming back to it, which I did. My problem is that I always want to stuff too much into a ballet. Editing is the hardest thing. What I need to work on now is building authentic emotional cues between the dancers. Sometimes this is tricky, because we are so used to ballet mime."

Thankfully, they got the speed of the silent film footage right - presumably much easier to do now that everyone converts to digital video (no more putting 13 frame per second film in a 24 fps projector). I like the looks of their "modern" piece at 3:41. I just wish there was a lot more to be seen.

Thanks, AltonGrimes. That's a great quote.

Here's a TV interview with Chan Hon Goh (former National Ballet of Canada principal and daughter of the founders) about the Goh Ballet Academy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwIW6chX09E

RIP "Mr. Warmth" - a huge figure in the comedy scene of the 1960s and 70s. Not a bad actor, either.

As posted by aurelie__dupont on Instagram: "Soon coming! Le grand défilé de l'Opéra de Paris pour l'hommage à Yvette Chauviré le 22 avril." Does anyone know if this will be live streamed or otherwise filmed?

SFB principal Frances Chung was a Goh Ballet student - a technically brilliant dancer. It's interesting that she saw her early training as being "European" in spirit and aesthetic: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sean-martinfield/a-conversation-with-franc_b_9678494.html

Perhaps Rogers should have given the new regime more of a chance, but emotions have to be running high, and people tend to make impetuous decisions under those circumstances. It's good to show respect and loyalty for your teachers and leaders, but those positions always change over time, and it's unfair to blow off the new and incoming programs and assume the worst. It could be that Rogers just does not enjoy classical ballet and is a champion of new contemporary works and wants to spend as much of her remaining career as possible working with contemporary choreographers. It could be nothing more than that. FYI: the "poetry and personality" reference was alluding to this line: 'Dancers have often said McFall viewed them as “visual poets” with their own individual artistry, and he gave them permission to experiment and even bring their own personalities into their performances.' I seriously doubt that Nedvigin does not think of dancers as artists (he is, after all, a dancer himself), but it probably isn't his style to address dancers in the manner described above. And at the larger companies, the ability of dancers to express personality and "experiment" with performances is controlled as much by the choreographers as it is by the Artistic Director. For example, as a hypothetical situation, if a soloist spent time arguing with Yuri Possokhov about how she should be able to "interpret" and "experiment" with the Firebird role to her liking, that may not go over well - especially if the dancer had not proven herself to Possokhov. (I don't think that Possokhov is known for being especially rigid or uncompromising). It isn't good form to argue openly with respected choreographers, or for that matter, mediocre ones, unless they are truly making your life hell. I doubt that Atlanta Ballet is even dealing with that kind of situation right now, but they ARE being presented with some new and different works and situations. Let's hope people will rise to the occasion. EDIT: I was just adding a comment on a different thread about the Goh Ballet Academy, and I mentioned that SFB's Frances Chung had trained there. This interview with Chung provides an interesting contrast in dancer attitudes - [A couple of years ago I saw Justin Peck’s Everywhere We Go at New York City Ballet. It was in combination with some other ballets. Very American. It opened my eyes. I know the company is different now than it was ten years ago. Between the dancers and what I observed in terms of dynamic dancing - I’d never seen anything like it. Every Balanchine ballet I approach now is so different than the way I would have even just several years ago. I go on YouTube, I try to do as much research as possible before I dance something. I used to look waist-down a lot more than I do now. For me, what’s more important is waist-up. Generally, we work in class everyday on waist-down - and granted, co-ordination and port de bras [carriage of the arms] is very important. But after class and before going into rehearsals and performances - by the time I’m onstage, I only think about waist-up.” I asked Frances about the advice she would give an aspiring ballerina today. The hidden challenges that go with ‘you have to give up this if you want to be that’. Or learning how to negotiate with various people if you want to stay on stage and how to deal with a whole lot of temperament. “You just said it all! I think I’d have advice for one day and something else the next. These days, because I’m here from 9:30 in the morning until 9:30 at night - I have to remind myself ‘it’s just ballet’ and there are a lot of frustrations that come with putting something onstage. Other days, I see young dancers and I see myself when I was young. I specifically remember seeing balletmasters or choreographers at the front of the room telling me I had to get out of my skin and dance as though my life were depending on it. Those things come with experience. But seeing the kids now - it’s that thing of wishing you knew then what you know now.” ...At this point in my career, it’s not too hard to see the end. I think the idea that I can’t do this forever and that I should really enjoy each moment - because I know I’m going to miss it. Helgi came to class one morning and announced that Gennadi was leaving. It was such a shock, I just started balling. Another factor is just knowing that people I’m dancing with, that I have special connections with onstage - that’s not going to last forever either.]

Agreed - it's a difficult job climate for dancers. I'm not as sympathetic towards the "stars" who have chosen to walk away rather than make an attempt to learn new and different things. I have to think they are feeling way outside their comfort zone to make that kind of decision. "I have long wanted Atlanta to have a more ballet based repertory, but honestly always pictured this as meaning more (neo)classical mixed bills--rather like the upcoming program of Balanchine, Possokhov, and Kylian--not Don Quixote and Act III of Swan Lake, which are currently planned for next year, and which, to be candid, are not terribly exciting to me as Atlanta Ballet offerings" >> I would be very surprised if Gennadi did not offer primarily a mix of neo-classical and contemporary works. Swan Lake acts as a kind of litmus test for a ballet company - the dancers either have the training, techniques and aptitude to dance that kind of work, or they don't. I have to think that he felt the company could pull it off (before the contract announcements even took place). But now he will have to work twice as hard to create a team of soloists for next year. Good luck to Gennadi, and best of luck to all the dancers leaving for other opportunities (we hope).

Instagram post by Benjamin Millepied: benjaminmillepied My new piece "In silence we speak" with @carlakorbes and @janieclaire will premiere @ladanceproject @thejoycetheater in June. https://www.instagram.com/p/BSc3L5GBNxU/?taken-by=benjaminmillepied