pherank

Now I understand: "celebrating Helgi Tomasson’s 30th Anniversary as artistic director. The season includes three of Tomasson’s greatest story ballets: Romeo & Juliet, Don Quixote, and Giselle"

Pointe magazine article online: http://www.pointemagazine.com/issues/aprilmay-2014/time-shine

I would also like to see Dances at a Gathering, though I'm not sure if the Scarlett is necessarily a great paring for that program. Program 1 will certainly be 'ecelectic'. Program 7 could be interesting as well - depending on whether Tomasson's Caprice proves to be a success this season. And hopefully he will work to improve any weak points by next year. ;) Interesting that they are repeating Giselle, again. Here’s where I’d rather see an unusual revival (I mentioned Ashton’s Illuminations before, or Picnic at Tintagel). A bit of American ballet history. Or, a recreation of a Diaghilev Ballet Russes work would be very fun, or less-seen Balanchine (Orpheus, Bacchus and Ariadne, Le Chant du Rossignol) - with costumes that were true to their source. Another Balanchine idea would be to present 4 or 5 short works in one program: “Pas De Dix”, “A La Francaix”, Pas de Trois, "Scherzo á la Russe". But scattering them throughout the season would be a good strategy in general. I guess I mentioned before that having only a single Balanchine/Robbins program was not as desirable, to me, as mixing these ballets into the season's offerings. Maybe Tomasson heard me - ha! - since he's bringing back The 4 T's near the end of the season.

Centre National du Costume de Scene A nice online collection of images on theatre costume design Collections: http://cncs.skin-web.org/skinwebsearch?f[0]=field_sktype%3Acostume Here are a few examples: http://cncs.skin-web.org/costume/danseur-0 http://cncs.skin-web.org/costume/une-mazurkas http://cncs.skin-web.org/costume/aurore http://cncs.skin-web.org/costume/la-reine-3

Thanks for the article link, Helene. I couldn't help but notice the ads for "Moulin Rouge, The Ballet" beside the article. Yikes.

I do have some appreciation for Fleet Foxes, but Chromatics? - vapid electronica. And I can't really imagine Fleet Foxes being danceable. Certainly not by a ballet company.

Good find, Eshana!

We don't often get to see these four dancing on stage at the same time: Yuan Yuan Tan, Damian Smith, Maria Kochetkova, Vitor Luiz

That should make some people happy, for a night or two.

Sounds like a scene out of a Beat novel. How great. Were any details given regarding the Villella footage? And is there more somewhere in the NYC Performing Arts Library?

Ballet 1933! What a great idea. ;) I know what you are saying about the stylistic differences (though I thoroughly enjoy Dupont and Belarbi on the DVD version of Jewels). But the POB (Bolshoi, Mariinsky, etc.) versions are not going to be close reproductions of the original roles. Companies are given too much leeway when 'trying on' a ballet for that to ever happen. They would have to be schooled in the approach/style. And for a lot longer than 3 weeks. I don't want to see Froustey lose her POB style; I would just like to see her modify it successfully when a particular ballet demands a different approach. This is out of left field, but I was thinking of what Janie Taylor could be doing post-retirement. How about teaching the Balanchine 'method' as a permanent class in the San Francisco Ballet School? Taylor at least, cares about how things were done originally:

I believe it has been (or will be) 7 years since SFB has performed a Sleeping Beauty. My own dreams run more to what Balanchine or Robbins I would like to see them do, or oddities like Ashton's Illuminations, but that's just me. I also wish Tomasson would spread out, say, 3 different Balanchine ballets throughout the season for once, rather than have a Balanchine program. As to whether Froustey can dance such things successfuly - there's no way to find out except to try. I've seen the Serenade footage of POB, and level of execution was high (as one might expect). And I liked the French 'perfume' given to that work by POB, but theirs is a style that appeals to me.

Sad, or pensive? The Instagram caption says it all: “Somewhere in between San Francisco, Paris and Tokyo …” [ from http://instagram.com/p/l3lmoqHrRg/ ]

I think the first worry is the impact on the musicians (most of whom are part of the SD Symphony) - will the reduction in income necessitate leaving the area? Or are there simply too few places to fine equivalent work? As for a rescue of the Opera, I think that will require the participation of the under 30 crowd. And that's not happening.

Youtube happens to have a preview video of one of the operas that I saw this past season: Donizetti's Elixir of Love. This gives some sense of what is going away (and all the people being impacted)...

It's hard to imagine any great changes - after all, there has to be some kind of system in place to deal with promotions at what is still a very large company. And the majority of individuals would have to have faith in the rules (and I think that, by-and-large, they do). There is no perfect way, and Froustey's promotion troubles are a demonstration of that, but as Volcanohunter has mentioned, it would be no improvement to conduct promotions based on special negotiations, special favors, etc. The Bolshoi would seem to have enough of that sort of thing going on, and what good has it done for ballet at the Bolshoi?

Advancement in the POB involves winning a series of exam/contests, and I think she tended to show nerves and didn't do particularly well in the exams, but seems to do well on stage before the public (which is what really matters, lets face it). From what I can tell, Froustey would return to POB if they would assure her of a path to the etoile level, but that would recquire a change in how things are done - who knows what will happen under Millepied? I think she is just enjoying the attention, and any chance to perform on stage, so she is going where the opportunities arise. Sometimes she sounds a bit like a "kid in a candy store", but I have a feeling that is partly to hide her own self-doubts. A couple of years spent around Masha Kochetkova and the others might actually help her to find a path that fits her. Masha is a good influence: she knows all about work ethic, focus and humility. This Froustey interview is worth a read if you haven't already seen it.

Tomasson has, so far, given Messmer more than one soloist role in a number of ballets - so she is getting dance time. I think we can expect to see her in a couple of different roles in the Shostakovich as well. Of course you have to be willing to go on different nights to be able to see different casts, and not everyone can do that. I'm not sure if Program 5 is likely to sell out - it may be possible to wait until casting has been posted to get a somewhat decent seat.

Ms. Froustey posted this Instagram clip of her 'balancing act' in the Don Q production with POB: http://instagram.com/p/lttuNqnreH/#

Polls in the U.S. have shown for some time that the citizenry are convinced that the economy is doing poorly (even when in fact - by the usual indicators - it isn't doing all that badly. The economy continues to grow, and unemployment isn't nearly as bad in the US as in most other nations). But "consumer confidence" is definitely low. I think a great many people in the US feel like they are barely keeping their heads above water, or they aren't. I suppose I am in the same boat, but I have to think that the real issue is how people feel about their lives - if you like what you are doing in life, it doesn't matter nearly as much that you are not wealthy.

The website is only listing the one million and above grants from donors, but we can imagine that in years when there are no large grants, these art companies really rely on grass root efforts - and those are falling way short these days.

I was hoping to gain some insight into the casting from this video, but I think things may well have changed since these earlier rehearsals took place. I'm sure you will be seeing Messmer dance, but exactly what role - who knows?

In this country, yes. The list of large donors is always advertised on the pamphlets handed out at the opera (and it's a long list of people, many of whom are prominent in SD/Southern California). I found this interesting website that charts donations for U.S. non-profit organizations: http://www.milliondollarlist.org/recipients/san-diego-opera

Nancy Raffa from ABT talks about the ballet: