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Question: has anyone read Moira Shearer's Balletmaster: A Dancer's View of George Balanchine? Is it worth buying? Unfortunately, no library in my county has a copy.

Natasha Sheehan on video: Mirage by Myles Thatcher Don Quixote Kitri – Act 3 Natasha Sheehan (14) YAGP SF Semi-Finals 2014 - "Faces"

Angelo has a, seemingly, rare quality - he's an attentive, interested partner. And Tomasson is keen on danseurs who partner well.

All of those dancers have been on the stage this year though, so I'm sure you will get your opportunity. The many retirements are an unfortunate but inevitable change. Dance is one art form in which time is an especially precious commodity. The SFB principals are mostly all in the last years of their careers. And dance is hard on the body, so some have to leave before their time for health reasons (for example PNB's Carla Korbes or NYCB's Janie Taylor). The assumption is that dancers can last until they are about 40, but given the number of years that many of them have been dancing, that's often asking too much. Sarah Van Patten has danced professionally since she was 15. And Sofiane Sylve started at 14. They're both still dancing as if they don't want to do anything else, but I know that their retirements aren't far off. From the NYT: 'Patricia Neary, a principal dancer who exemplified the bold expansive style of Balanchine's City Ballet in the 1960's, is one of the foremost experts asked by the Balanchine Trust to stage his choreography. She discovered Ms. Sylve at 15 in the Karlsruhe Ballet, a provincial German company in the Black Forest. A seasoned entrant on the French junior ballet-competition circuit, Ms. Sylve had been snapped up at 14 by the Karlsruhe troupe. "I was invited to stage a Balanchine evening," Ms. Neary recalled in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "Thank God Sofiane was there. She was a baby but had glorious technique. I cast her in everything: the lead in 'Allegro Brillante,' in 'Four Temperaments' and 'Who Cares?' It was unbelievable to see such maturity, musicality and natural ability. She carried the whole evening." "To do Balanchine ballets," Ms. Neary continued, "you have to be at ease so that the public can enjoy them. There is real 'nonfear' in her dancing. I love dancers who don't analyze. She just dances." Ms. Neary, a former director of the Geneva Ballet, with Balanchine as her adviser, added: "She is a Balanchine dancer. Perhaps in a European way. But he loved European dancers."'

This debut for Max Cauthorn is a nice surprise. Good for him.

Multi-media is essentially a different art form, and so are costumes and staging for that matter, so there's simply more to work with, creatively speaking. That doesn't mean a ballet without much in the way of costumes and stagings is automatically inferior to one with all the bells and whistles - it's just a different approach. Audience members get to decide whether they think a ballet is a success, no matter what the approach taken, and I think that's fair. But choreographers and composers have to follow their own path in generating the works, and that path often takes past achievements into account while casting about for new perspectives or techniques. I was just reading an article in the NYT today which illustrates nicely how different artistic approaches can be: Janet Eilber on Martha Graham - "How are the two of you different? She doesn’t traffic in the mundane at all. We disagree there. In her work nobody just is. Everyone’s larger than life. Also, I’m so interested in objects and have a very nonhierarchical relationship to objects and the body. Everything for me is material: the body, the microphone, the chair. She doesn’t do that. She had an object in the piece, a big globe, and it meant the world, the universe. For her the globe was something valuable; for me it’s a round thing in space that can roll."

Yes! Good inclusion Daniel Benton. This all makes me wonder, who will write the history of ballet in Asia (Japan, Hong Kong, China, Korea, etc.)? The Australian segment is part of the Ballet Russes story, of course.

I'll second what Sandik has said - that many of the autobiographies and biographies are wonderful, and give a real flavor for the times, and life of a dancer. I also recommend that people start with Karsavina's Theatre Street, and then read: Choura - Alexandra Danilova Split Seconds - Tamara Geva Balanchine and the Lost Muse - Elizabeth Kendall I Remember Balanchine - Francis Mason [a compendium of reminiscences from all kinds of people associated with Balanchine] Thirty Years, The NYCB - Lincoln Kirstein Balanchine Variations, and More Balanchine Variations - Nancy Goldner [analysis of Balanchine masterworks] Stravinsky and Balanchine - Charles M. Joseph [both biography, and analysis of Stravinsky's music and Balanchine's choreography] I Was a Dancer - Jacques d'Amboise Prodigal Son - Edward Villella Holding On To Air - Suzanne Farrell with Toni Bentley Winter Season - Toni Bentley I, Maya Plisetskaya - Maya Plisetskaya EDIT: The first few books all deal with life at the Mariinsky school during the time of the last Czar, and at the time of the Russian Revolution. You could be the dullest person in the world, but if you lived through those times, your story would still be fascinating. The next group is all about Balanchine and NYCB dance culture. And finally, Plisetskaya's book deals with the post-revolution, Stalinist period at the Russian ballet.

Congratulations to Angelo - I think we saw that coming a mile away. ;)

Hello Altongrimes - there isn't really a "definitive" work that makes everyone happy. The Homans book is liked about as well as any - except for the ending section (she took a lot of flak for that part). You could try to locate this one at your library: Ballet in Western Culture: A History of Its Origins and Evolution Carol Lee https://www.amazon.com/Ballet-Western-Culture-History-Evolution/dp/0415942578 You really just have to read books that focus on particular eras and people, such as Lynn Garafola's Diaghilev's Ballets Russes to piece things together in your own mind.

Congratulations, Terez - keep those comments coming. The time does fly. "If innovation jolts people out of their comfort zones - and I saw other people wincing at the lights too - is it a good thing?" I think it's important to have a certain amount of boundary pushing, yes, but if every piece were created simply for its shock value, then art would be stuck in yet another rut (much like Hollywood tends to be these days: endless explosions and enormous monsters being battled by people who can leap from building to building in a single bound. This is not exciting - it's a predictably absurd display, and it is shallow). I like that you mention the lighting in the ballets, because I often have issues with strobe light effects used to no good purpose. They just hurt my eyes. With Frankenstein, you may see more of the principals dancing. Walsh and Chung can be counted on to appear, but I wonder if Van Patten and YYT will also be dancing leading roles? We may not see Froustey until Programs 5 and 6 - Salome was created on her, so I know she wants to be healthy for that one.

Does this mean that Tania Rodriguez does not possess a paper copy of the music either? Because it is easy enough to scan sheet music and save as a JPEG or PNG that could be shared over email. Failing that, if she can find a YouTube/Vimeo video with this precise music being played, she could send the link to the people who would know: conductors/music departments with ballet companies who perform Paquita with this variation.

If anyone is interested, I think this is the review of that same performance in the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/26/arts/international/paris-opera-shows-off-its-brilliance.html The cinematography is mostly excellent, though there are still times when the camera is zoomed in close on a soloist and the movements of the Corps dancers are essentially cropped out of the frame. I think a better approach to this would be to have separate cameras recording both the full stage, and following the soloists (full body please!), and the video audience should have the option of turning on the "soloist view", or resuming the full stage view.

Obviously Forsythe found something in it. ;) I think my one problem with this ballet is that the dancing and music appear to me to be simply occurring in the same space together, but I don't get a sense of the dance being a response to, or dialogue with, the music - but rather existing on its own level, and obeying its own rules. Sure the choreographer can do that, but it's not my favorite approach - it feels too conceptual to me. I remember watching a video in which Sofiane Sylve talks about the difficulties of dancing to some of the score - the dancers just used particular odd noises as cues. I wish I knew where that video was... Simply turning off the sound, gives one a really interesting experience of the tempo and flow of the choreography. I actually find myself filling in music. If we had never heard the music used for a given ballet, I wonder if people could begin to guess what the music was like from watching the choreography? https://vimeo.com/162575606 SF_Herminator: great story about the dog.

Benjamin Millepied's POB 2015-2016 opening program is available on YouTube Millepied: Clear, Loud, Bright, Forward Robbins: Opus 19/The Dreamer Balanchine: Theme and Variations

Looks like  Yuan Yuan Tan and Aaron Robison are back in the Optimistic Tragedy lineup - for Feb. 3 and 5: https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting The lucky latecomers should enjoy those performances. ;) And Jahna Frantziskonis and Max Cauthorn are part of the Pas/Parts lineup for each show - that's a good sign for those two.

That reminds me, I have a single ticket available: Program 2 Tuesday, January 31, 2017 7:30 PM Orchestra S 21 If interested, just PM me - it is a printable PDF (I don't think you have to have a color printer).

Welcome Hernando's Hideaway - a new member is always appreciated. ;) Your observations about the individual dancers echo my own typical impressions. Fragile Vessels seems to be a success with people (and that's always a good thing). Yes, Yuri tends towards kitschy visuals at times - if it is done playfully it can work, but too many visual cliches is always dangerous. The essential problem with Forsythe ballets (fortunately for him) isn't the Forysthe part, it's the "music" he chooses to spar with. The scores are often too loud and unpleasant to put up with. Don't leave your earplugs at home.

That reminds me - the one glaring omission from the festival would be Millepied. Why have him create a dance for the gala, but not have any follow-up commission? The inclusion of Stanton Welch seems like a gentlemanly way to say, "sorry for taking your dancers away from you." But is he more deserving of the opportunity than other struggling choreographers?

So many losses of late - this one at least, is not unexpected: https://www.sfballet.org/about/media-center/press-releases/17_LorenaRetirement?source=26534& It will be sad to see you go, Lorena.

Great feedback from everyone, and I agree with many of the suggestions. I asked the question precisely to force people to play A.D. - there is no escaping the difficult choices, even if you expand the list somewhat (but this isn't going to be a Stravinsky Festival with 30-odd ballets). Miliosr: I agree that Liang's work doesn't tend to be 'significant', but he is significant to the Asian ballet scene (and I believe is good friends with Yuan Yuan Tan who is one of the most revered Asian dancers ). Not inviting Wheeldon would be odd given his strong relationship with Tomasson and the SFB dancers (e.g., he's largely responsible for Kochetkova being in SF). Peck is getting to be overexposed, and yet I would definitely like to see him create another piece on the SFB dancers. It's almost like there needs to be two festivals - one can be "New Works" and feature bigger rep choreographers, and one can be "Emerging Artists" to feature 'promising' or overlooked choreographers (and this group could feature a predominant number of women looking for more exposure). I agree with Quiggin's assertion about SF being in a bubble. Partly that's a response to the bubbles around New York and New England. Anything west of the Ohio river remains the cultural "wild west". ;) It's difficult to be taken seriously in the arts, so usually it's just better to do the work, and not worry endlessly about one's 'reputation'. SF, Vancouver, and Los Angeles are all important gateways to Asian culture, but the east coast is oblivious to these developments. (The new administration will definitely hinder that relationship anyway.)

I'll share some of the feedback to SFB on Instagram: "Very exciting. Please include more women choreographers next time, though!" "Not a very balanced programme... it's 2017 #morewonderfulwomenplease" "FINALLY A BALLET BY ALONZO KING FOR SFBALLET. WAY OVERDUE. TOO BAD AFTER MINE AND SO MANY OTHER DANCERS TIME. BUT SO PLEASED TO SEE HIS NAME ON THE LIST AND EXCITED FOR THE COMPANY TO EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH HIM FINALLY." "Only two females? Ugh." "2 women out of 12 choreographers? Shameful..." ---------------------------------------------------------- Granted, tempers are short right now, so I'm not surprised by these opinions. But assuming there can only be 12 ballets (budget and time-wise), who should be replaced, and by whom? And can you defend your choice? Yuri is the resident choreographer for SFB, so he's sort of a given to take part. But for that reason, he could demure and choose to create on a different company in 2018 to open a space for a guest choreographer. A festival with only 1 or 2 female choreographers places even more pressure on the women (than the men) to produce significant work. If the ballets turn out badly, or are simply dull/predictable, the women won't be able to shrug it off as easily as, say, Christopher Wheeldon. I'm inclined to give at least 2 more women a shot at this, but I concede that I don't have any particular favorites that I really need to see creating a ballet for the festival. I would like to hear some suggestions from people who are more knowledgeable. I can guess that the last thing Tomasson wants to deal with is politics, but arts and aesthetics always make some commentary on society and politics, even if it is subtle commentary.

Unfortunately, it looks like she may have more 'medical issues' - she posted a photo taken from the window of the Pacific Medical Center. I really hope she hasn't had another seizure.

"Many of the choreographers featured in the festival will be familiar names to SF Ballet audiences—Edwaard Liang, Trey McIntyre, Justin Peck, Arthur Pita, Stanton Welch, Christopher Wheeldon, and our Resident Choreographer Yuri Possokhov. We are also welcoming several choreographers who are new to SF Ballet—David Dawson, Alonzo King, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Cathy Marston, and Dwight Rhoden. It’s a tremendous group of artists, and I eagerly anticipate seeing what each of them will create for us." https://www.sfballet.org/2018festival

The new Possokhov work was being created on Robison and Tan, and Feijoo, but interestingly, only Feijoo is in the opening. So we will see, but I don't think we can read anything into this yet. Yuan Yuan is in Shanghai at present.