pherank

The April 2016 San Diego Magazine has an article - titled "Dancing Queen" - about Ariana Gonzalez, principal at City Ballet: http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/San-Diego-Magazine/May-2016/Dancing-Queen/

I'm really happy to see this celebratory videos from SFB - a nice gesture, and well done too.

I'm going to put in a plug for the cinema documentary, From Caligari to Hitler: German Cinema in the Age of the Masses - there is some spectacular footage from many old silent films. I just wish the DVDs I get were as beautifully restored as most of these film segments. Venice Film Review: ‘From Caligari to Hitler: German Cinema in the Age of the Masses’ http://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/venice-film-review-from-caligari-to-hitler-german-cinema-in-the-age-of-the-masses-1201297252/ On Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80017036

Good news, indeed. Since this is a collection of coaching sessions and interviews, they are steering clear of performance videos at present. Presumably there are too many licensing issues with performances. Ah well. The coaching sessions should be very interesting if you want to know something of the intent behind the movements.

As it happens, I have an extra ticket for Program 7, Wednesday April 13, 7:30pm - a nice seat: Orchestra D 10 (4th row). If anyone is interested, I will accept PayPal payment, and can send a printable PDF of the ticket in return. Send me a message if you are interested. Ticket is $64.

Well that's lame. But I guess it shows that the P.R. around the Peck ballet worked in so far as it brought in people who wouldn't normally go to the ballet. But walking out before T&V is quite lame.

"If the legendary chefs acquired their reputation by using every bit of the animal in their recipes, then Justin Peck may well be the Escoffier or Brillat-Savarin of choreographers. He uses every part of the human body, even in repose and he uses every note of a musical score. Nothing is ignored or wasted. That’s one reason why Peck’s “In The Countenance of Kings,” unveiled Thursday evening, April 7, at the War Memorial Opera House by the San Francisco Ballet is the most exhilarating company commission in years." — Allan Ulrich http://www.sfgate.com/performance/article/Peck-s-In-the-Countenance-of-Kings-reigns-7236862.php Here is Masha's commentary on dancing Balanchine's Theme and Variations

Live rehearsal of Frankenstein by the Royal Ballet and Scarlett going on today, now: https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/production/overview/program-3-2017 Scroll down on page to see video.

Click the "Edit" link on your original post, and then look for the Use Full Editor button (beside the Save Changes button) at the bottom of the post edit window. Using that mode will allow you to update the title.

The video is proving to be a hit, indeed. A few more Peck moves with Frances Chung and Gennadi Nedvigin: https://www.instagram.com/p/BDkSG-ip4TW/?taken-by=franadian https://www.instagram.com/p/BDkRXFxJ4SQ/?taken-by=franadian

Thanks for the heads up, Volcanohunter. Hopefully RB will archive the video online as well.

Thank you for the video link, and welcome, Deflope.

I think this may be one of the many lost ballets - I found out about it reading Edwin Denby's essay, Balanchine Choreography, in which Denby attempts to give a blow-by-blow account of what it is like to watch Balanchine's creation process in the studio. And Variants happens to be the ballet that Balanchine was creating under Denby's observation. So I guess in that sense, the ballet has been immortalized, but Denby noted that after the first performance, "there was polite applause". It makes one keenly aware that even for ballets that may flop, there is often an incredible amount of work going on behind the scenes in preparation for the opening night. "Between September and November, he made four new pieces. The first, set to the most recent Stravinsky score [Monumentum pro Gesualdo ???], was followed by a ballet to Donizetti music; then he presented an hour-long ballet set to two song cycles by Brahms and called Liebeslieder Walzer. Liebeslieder Walzer -- with a cast of eight -- turned out to be a masterpiece, glorious and magical. No other choreographer, no other company could have done it; but one isn't aware of that, the poetry of it -- the secret image -- is so absorbing. Two weeks after Liebeslieder he presented Ragtime, a duet witty and deceptively elementary in the way the Stravinsky score is. Six days after Ragtime, he began Variants."

Continuum Composer: György Ligeti Choreographer: Christopher Wheeldon In the Countenance of Kings Composer: Sufjan Stevens Choreographer: Justin Peck Theme and Variations Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreographer: George Balanchine Apr 7 -Apr 17 SFB just released a promo video for Justin Peck's In the Countenance of Kings - Dores Andre, Frances Chung (and her dog Iggy), Gennadi Nedvigin and Joseph Walsh lead Corps members through a section of In the Countenance of Kings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMTv_Y0Zrl4 I'm happy to see that SFB keeps creating these video shorts - they seem to be coming more and more rapidly.

I wish I could say, "only in San Francisco", but this kind of off-putting behavior seems to occur at live productions more and more. The weird part is how seemingly oblivious these people are to their own actions and appearance "(I have a model 747 crashed into an airplane hanger in my hair, but I've forgotten all about it!") Swimmer can be described as a collage of 1960s associations - related only in that they individually mean something to Yuri P. So, a hodgepodge. Since there's only barest thread of a story line, I think Possokhov and composer Shinji Eshima mean for these various scenes and associations to be held together by music and mood. A modernist poem, rather than an actual short story. Cheever's The Swimmer was only the initial catalyst for Possokhov. I find it quite an enjoyable mass of stuff, but the moment I walked out of the theater, my mind began to try to figure out how to fix some of the organization problems, and weaker scenes. But the fact that I even cared to try to do that meant that what was working for me felt significant and worthy. Definitely this ballet makes best use of the men in the company, and the women don't get as much attention. The repertoire needs a few "male featured" pieces though, so I don't really object to that myself. From what I've read, the Dances at a Gathering soloists have been rotating between the different colors/roles each performance, which could definitely mean that someone is hot one night, and cold the next. Froustey often dances with a big smile on her face - if she's not smiling, then something is wrong. ;)

Froustey and Tiit Helimets were awarded an "Izzie" for best Ensemble Performance, for Giselle: https://www.instagram.com/p/BDP1meonrXr/?taken-by=lapetitefrench_

There's a new set of podcasts for 2016 online (and presumably more to come): https://www.sfballet.org/interact/listen/meet_the_artist_podcasts These are great little interviews - well worth a listen. Some of what is available: Liam Scarlett "Choreographer Liam Scarlett is a vivid spokesperson for the art form, and he describes the choreographic process with eloquence." Cordula Merks "German violinist Cordula Merks is the new concertmaster of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, and she started her tenure with the orchestra with the December 2015 Nutcracker performances." Tina LeBlanc "In her current role as as a member of the faculty at the San Francisco Ballet School, former SF Ballet principal dancer Tina LeBlanc talks about what’s important to her as a teacher." Jennifer Stahl "Soloist Jennifer Stahl discusses working with choreographer William Forsythe during rehearsals for Pas/Parts 2016..." Chris Dennis "..Christopher discuss(es) the role of the production director in the day-to-day as well as in the process of remounting a large-scale ballet such as Swan Lake." Luke Ingham "Principal Dancer Luke Ingham discusses his professional path from his native Australia to the San Francisco Ballet stage..."

[i fixed the video link - sorry about that] Her control, fluidity, quick and precise footwork, and those liquid arms, it's all quite impressive - especially for someone feeling sick with nerves. Obviously the judges were not looking for those things. ;) The Manon solo is challenging for the way that it weaves together both brusque movements and languid, coquettish and proud. I think she chose well, even if it didn't achieve the desired result with the judges.

Yes, that seems to be the same type of movement, and there can be endless variation of how to move/place the limbs. Thank you, PeggyTulle - that helps. When I looked up cambré, it seemed to be referring to the upper body motion only. How would you describe the arm and leg movements in the Coppelia version? "Cambré is a classical ballet term meaning “arched.” When a dancer is doing cambré, their body is bent from the waist and stretching backward or sideways with the head following the movement of the upper body and arms."

Pointe Magazine: Mathilde Froustey Dances Manon in POB’s Annual Concours http://pointemagazine.com/views/mathilde-froustey-concours/

I just saw this video for the first time on the Jacob's Pillow site: http://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/san-francisco-ballet/apollon-musagete-apollo/ Only a portion of the ballet is shown, but it's still interesting. I assume Lew Christensen was doing a lot of the coaching. "As the site of its East Coast debut, Jacob’s Pillow played a significant role in the development of the San Francisco Ballet. The three-week season included two ballets by George Balanchine (leading off with his Concerto Barocco) and six by company director Lew Christensen, garnering enthusiastic international press attention that led directly to a State Department tour of eleven countries in the Far East. Revered as America’s oldest classical company, the San Francisco Ballet began in 1933 as an adjunct to the San Francisco Opera and continues today under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. Among the well-known dancers who have risen through the company’s ranks is the Apollo seen here, Conrad Ludlow, who went on to an illustrious career as a principal dancer with New York City Ballet." Recorded at Jacob’s Pillow August 8, 1956 Soloists Conrad Ludlow, Nancy Johnson, Christiane Bering, Sally Bailey Choreography George Balanchine (1928)

Not knowing the technical term, I always referred to this step as the "quick reverse". ;) What does seem to be very Balanchine, is the initial repetition of the movement which sets up audience expectation, and when Kochetkova repeats the movement at around 3:40, instead of doing it twice, she does a variation the second time. Balanchine loved to toy with expectations, and subvert cliches. It reminds me a bit of a similar movement in La Valse, in which Le Clercq throws up her arm in a Russian or gypsy-fashion (0:46) and looks quickly to the side - this is repeated with variation.

Is the unsupported version what we see Zahorian do at 1:12 here? (with fast cut away) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQIoBFpVtKQ and Kochetkova perform three times at 3:37 here? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drcEqlAA4F4

Now I'm curious, Paul - can you point us to some video online to see what movement you are referring to? The good news is, Jahna is being used fairly frequently in demi-soloist type roles. She is getting to dance as much as anyone in the Corps. But there is a lot of talented competition, and Tomasson has to find opportunities for all these Jahna's. It will be fun to watch how things develop... The SFB promo video for Coppelia is worth another look - I had forgotten that Tomasson was the original Franz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQIoBFpVtKQ And there is a new video with Andre and Walsh talking about their debut in the lead roles: https://www.facebook.com/sfballet/videos/10153805513131293/ These videos are a reminder of how great Pascal Molat and Gennadi Nedvigin are in character roles, and how difficult it will be to replace them.

Composer Shinji Eshima on Swimmer http://sfballetblog.org/2016/03/composer-shinji-eshima-on-world-premiere-of-swimmer/ "Swimmer is the third ballet that I have composed for SF Ballet Choreographer in Residence Yuri Possokhov. The first was RAkU in 2011, which has since toured the globe and was also presented as part of Program 1 of the current season. When I first met Yuri on June 19, 2010 at the bar in Jardinere restaurant and he asked me to compose music for him, little did I know how our lives would be intertwined."