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Thanks for the great write-up Drew. Well I'm glad that at least the dancing was a success for you. Not having been there, I can't really know what it was like, so I appreciate your candor, and detailed description. I tend to err on the side of, "at least they are trying things" - there is creativity afoot (even if it isn't your cup of tea). I'm happy to hear that the Philharmonic is experimenting with new ideas for performance, rather than following the predictable and safe path with every performance. It sounds to me like this appoach needs work, but could be sculpted into something successful.

This blog "essay" was so well written that I thought we should link to it here: http://www.sfballetblog.org/2013/04/juliet-burnett/ “I had heard a lot about the company. Led by its long-time director Helgi Tomasson, with its exciting dancers and repertoire, it has forged a formidable international reputation. I wanted to discover more about the company, but also the American style of ballet, now that I had delved into the English and European styles on my travels. I have been trained in the Italian Cecchetti method, the English RAD method and the Russian Vaganova method, with each informing my classical ballet technique to varying degrees, but the American technique has long eluded me..."

Thanks for those links Peggy, I liked this statement in particular (from McCullagh), "It’s also quite unique in that it breaks down the barriers that are often established within the ranks of SFB. I have loved getting to work so closely with some of the principal dancers of SFB that I have, in many instances, grown-up watching and admiring on the stage. Now I find myself working on group projects with them or helping them edit an essay!" Helene's comment reminded me that I also took an Arts Management class (at San Francisco State U.) at about the same time - it was a "bleeding edge" class. No one had done it before, and the 2 gentlemen who ran the class were partly trying to figure out just what such a class should consist of. I'm pretty sure that none of the students knew what to expect, but we all found it fascinating. Partly because we had speakers from the arts come into the class to talk about their experiences. I remember the editors of an underground magazine coming for one class, as well as the woman curator who founded the art exhibitions at San Francisco International airport, which have since become a permanent fixture. Now days, it's possible to study non-profit management at many schools, so curriculum has been better thought out since the 1980s.

Nice - and long! Quite long. I actually get some sense of the person from the backstage shots. I've been wishing that SFB would alter their video style to incorporate longer sequences, and both rehearsal and performance footage.

I was just looking at the Stanislavsky's schedule and I see that they performed The Little Mermaid, which impressed me - I didn't think any of the Russian companies had attempted this work, or much Neumeier in general. Did Dmitry Zagrebin happen to dance in either of the productions that you saw?

I found this description of the NY Philharmonic performance very interesting, and wish I could be there to see it: Everyone’s a Dancer at the Philharmonic ‘A Dancer’s Dream’ Includes Orchestra in Stravinsky Ballets "For the New York Philharmonic’s production of Petrushka that opened on Thursday night at Avery Fisher Hall, part of an ambitious season-ending program called “A Dancer’s Dream,” the director and designer Doug Fitch did not have a corps de ballet to enact the scene. Still, he had very willing substitutes: the Philharmonic players." -- I think Diaghilev is smiling. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/29/arts/music/a-dancers-dream-includes-orchestra-in-stravinsky-ballets.html

And I believe we see Ruth Sobotka as Apollo's mother, Leto, in the d'Amboise version of Apollo on DVD. She was Stanley Kubrick's second wife.

That sounds very similar to the Second Stage program that Helene was describing.

I Am A Dancer documentary - Fonteyn and Carla Fracci also appear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vl2ckI3Qak 1st Appearance on US TV:

It is a great idea, and I wonder how it all came about... [Edit] I see Yuan-Yuan is on pg 2 of their brochure, and Vanessa Zahorina on pg 3. ;) http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/files/LEAP2010Viewbook.pdf "Second Stage" sounds like a well developed program - being able to attend college at any school of your choice is a big deal, in itself. Pretty interesting that dancers are also able to receive funding for their entrepreneurial pursuits. It's great that they are recognizing, and doing something about, the difficulties dancers face once the stage career is over.

Somewhat by accident, while on LinkedIn.com, I happened to notice that Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets, Alana Altman and Sasha De Sola of SFB have all received degrees through Saint Mary's College of California. And there may be more (but I'm not going to get obsessive about it). I'm assuming there's some kind of program available to stage professionals at Saint Mary's. Does anyone know more about these sorts of programs - are they common in the major cities (NYC, Chicago, LA, etc)?

If Genshaft is a French-speaker, then she may have been able to use the language on a recent trip to New Orleans to teach class for the New Orleans Ballet Associate students. I don't know for certain, but she spent some of her teenage years at the L’Ecole de l’Opera de Paris. At one time, SFB was claiming they had dancers from 17 different countries, which I can believe. That has to make for some interesting communication issues at times.

On the SFB blog there's a good starter article regarding stage managing...it left me wanting to know even more: http://www.sfballetblog.org/2013/06/stage-managing-101/#more-6754 By Jane Green Stage Manager for San Francisco Ballet June 25, 2013

Aren't they great? I had the same reaction - the dancers do a good job of appearing vivacious and bouyant without actually leaping about - there's only around 30 feet of space to work with for 4 couples! I happened to read a passage from Edward Villellas's book last night, in which he describes the early days of dance on TV, and the constraints and conditions were pretty much awful. It was like being forced to perform inside a prison lunch room, while being shot by cameras.

Maria Tallchief and Andre Eglevsky - Pas de Dix (Balanchine, 1955; TV Performance, 1957) - Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST3C9SixavU Pas de Dix - Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY6ImEdJ-Mc

NYCB has published a series of videos that feature different principals talking about particular Balanchine ballets. I imagine many of us have seen at least a few of these. There is now one for Teresa Reichlen in which talks about the Firebird role. I can't remember seeing much of any footage of Balanchine's Firebird, so I thought it would be good to add to the thread: Perhaps a repeat, but here's Maria Tallchief rehearsing the role: Tallchief at Jacob's Pillow in Firebird and Sylvia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDbYI9-qjL4

Looks like the link has been changed (don't you just hate that?). I think this must be the one: https://twitter.com/balletrusse/status/350115966539157504/photo/1

Is Zagrebin friends with Zakharova from Bolshoi days?

Can I just say that sounds really funny. ;)

After watching that video, I have to think there are 30 companies standing in line, wanting a piece of McRae. I agree that the Stanislavsky needs to be mentioned in this deal. But who knows what has to happen to "borrow" a Russian dancer for a while.

We can count on Volcanohunter to find some good Russian videos. ;) That first video was a blast - I applaud Zakharova for getting outside her comfort zone and doing something new and different. I love the Chaplinesque quality of that routine - McRae is amazing, and Zagrebin held up his end well. HIs leaps and spins are quite impressive. Something about his expressiveness is unusual - different from most other Russian danseurs.

So it is official. I'm curious about Zagrebin of course - Has anyone seen him dance? The politics of acquiring anyone from Bolshoi/Russia have to be daunting. I wonder how it all came about...

That's part of what I was referring to though - despite individual people's complaints - ABT continues to attract first-rate dancers from all over the world. NYCB gest plenty of criticism these days as well, but it remains a world-class company. I think all the criticism goes with the territory of being a major company.

Just making a quip, Angelica. Nothing to worry about. I was just commenting on the personnel changes (that were being leaked out) - all involving SFB.

Part of what I'm learning from all this is that SFB seems to be making a bigger impression on the community of dancers - more than ever before. Dancers in Europe, Great Britain, Australia, even Russia, actually seem to have it on their list of desirable companies. Tomasson isn't having to 'shop around' and go begging - the dancers are coming to him. And most dancers seem to say that it is the diversity of the company and the diversity of the repertory that is most attractive. And we can add: very little in the way of soap-opera relationships and politics at SFB, which has to appeal to some.