pherank
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Posts posted by pherank
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I'm pretty sure there's a similar network of landlords in Queen Anne in Seattle that love to have dancers as tenants: most are in class by 10am, may be back home for lunch or a nap, and get home later to cook dinner and collapse, six days a week, which sounds pretty low-maintenance to me.
They're like grad students. ;)
Sadly, there are few inexpensive living options for such people in SF. Only the wealthy have options.
I have known people over the years who were in special situations, such as rent control in the Haight-Ashbury or Mission areas, but then you have to deal with the depressing street scenes outside your building. And crime.
I was wondering if there were landlords that specifically catered to the stage perfromers of SF (similar to what has existed in NYC).
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Thank you, Pherank. I thought what was meant was someone else from ABT. Phew!
You mean Bolle, Cornejo, Gomes, Hallberg, Herrera, Kent, Murphy, Osipova, Part, Semionova, Simkin, Stearns, Vasliev and Vishneva aren't enough for you? ;)
(Not to mention Boone, Copeland and Radetsky who all went to SFB School)
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POB managed beautifully with slightly soft formal tutus for "Diamonds," but the stage at the Bastille is so huge that when they do the last act of "Raymonda" as a stand-alone, it looks like none of the guests arrived for the wedding, and in "4 T's" Melancholic looks like he's doing his solo in the middle of the ocean.
Seems like that's where the art of stage lighting should come into play - to 'shrink' the stage when necessary, and expand the view when necesary. But I suppose some people would feel that's too much messing about with the visuals.
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Another one to SFB?!!! There's definitely something in the water.
I'm not familiar with Messmer's dancing, and it's not looking like there are many videos of her - Is there anything available on the Web?
Another one? Who was the first?
These discussions are getting all scatterd about on the forums, but what is known for now: Messmer and Mathilde Froustey to SFB, and Messmer herself says that a Bolshoi danseur is headed for SFB, but I've heard no confirmation of that. And I should say that SFB has made no official statements yet.
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Have we really ever heard of dancers complaining about SFB for its culture and environment? I can't think of any quotes, off hand. It's a vibrant city - though insanely expensive.
I'm a casualty of Bay Area high costs myself: it became prohibitively expensive to live where I wanted to live, and I refuse to live in the "sketchy" zones just to say I'm in the Bay Area. So now I dream about moving back to Marin or Sonoma. Or Santa Cruz.
I've been wondering what sort of support dancers get from the company regarding these moves.
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Hi Tutu, yes this is being talked about in a couple of different threads - Mathilde Froustey of POB is the other known dancer, but the reference to the Bolshoi danseur hasn't been confirmed that I know of. Froustey will be a principal, Messmer will have to make do with a Soloist rank for now.
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It's also interesting that the interviewer happens to be the much-maligned Gia Kourlas. Forum members have been writing a lot about her of late.
Yes, bon chance to everyone at SFB and ABT.
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Guillem rehearsing Dulcinea variation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzUL8SrW1vY
Dancing Bejart's La Luna from Heliogabale 1991
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNKRBGih6sw
Amusing "art film" by Guillem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0koV2SSE3eU
Grand Pas Classique
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDcPr2hL3ag
Kitri variation rehearsal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvENYGzPU9o
Swan Lake, Sylvie Guillem and Manuel Legris, Lisbon, 1987
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She Fascinates Me !I consider her totally one of a kind. Perhaps she is a 'personality' artist. It's possible that ABT simply decided that she didn't fit the 'criteria' or 'mold' to do the major roles. I think that if she ever did Odette/Odile we would have been discussing it for the next year. It would possible be unlike any Swan Lake that we've seen before. This is not an impossible idea.I think that there is a definite place for great artists who are hard to define and who work outside the box. I'm very sorry to see her leave ABT, both for her fans and for herself, considering the amount of time she devoted, but hopefully at SFB she'll get a chance to spread her wings.
A nice appraisal, Buddy. I hope she does find SFB to be a good fit. It seems that the 2014 season is going to be full of new surprises - for the audience and the company both.
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"I think there’s a soloist from the Paris Opera going to San Francisco. And a boy soloist from the Bolshoi." Well I've been wondering about the male principal situation at SFB. They need at least one more danseur among the soloists. Any idea who this "boy soloist" is?
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This part of the interview is interesting - I like to hear about the details, the nuts and bolts, as it were:
Time Out New York: What rank are you going in as?
Simone Messmer: Soloist. Their rep is great. There’s all the Balanchine, a lot of new choreographers, which always works well for me, and enough full-lengths that there will be time to work on them. I have 13 weeks of rehearsal. Actual rehearsal!
Time Out New York: Did you audition for other companies?
Simone Messmer: No. I looked at the rep. I looked at who was running the company. I looked at the staff and in all honesty, I’m a New Yorker. I do not want to live in many other places, so San Francisco was the one place. I sent a small reel; they called me when I was in Beijing and said, “Come now.” I ended up flying from Beijing straight to San Francisco. And because Beijing’s pollution is so bad, my wisdom tooth got infected; I ended up having emergency oral surgery and having two teeth removed and my jaw scraped 12 hours before my audition. The dentist was like, “Don’t move for two weeks.” I was like, “Okay.” [Laughs] So I did my audition 12 hours later on only ibuprofen. I looked like I had been punched in the face. I couldn’t talk. I was like a chipmunk. It was the worst-case scenario. And 17 hours of jet lag on top of everything. -
Many thanks for posting, Plisskin!
I am very excited about this move: of all of the non-guest dancers I've seen in my last few visits to NYC, Messmer was, by far, my favorite, and she's even more reason to get to San Francisco for the Ratmansky program in 2014.
Yes, I guess Helene really will have to make it to SF next year. ;)
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I can't say I care for the choreography here, but the fact that she's (presumably) interested in contemporary ballet too, is going to be a major plus for SFB, since all principals are expected to take part in all ballets. And the SFB repertory is varied.
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Another one to SFB?!!! There's definitely something in the water.
I'm not familiar with Messmer's dancing, and it's not looking like there are many videos of her - Is there anything available on the Web?
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What books have you looked at?
What about Letellier's The Ballets of Alexander Glazunov: Scenes de Ballet, Raymonda and Les Saisons ?
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The YouTube poster "Mrossinifreak" likes to provide extensive program notes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtXKj_xKKnY
Ballet Raymonda: Olesia Novikova, La Scala.
Michail Jurovsky conducts
Raymonda is a ballet in three acts and four scenes with an apotheosis.
Choreography: Marius Petipa and others (among them Nureyev)
Music: Alexander Glazunov (Алехандер Глазунов)
Act I Scene I
The cast is set at the time of the crusades.
Raymonda, the niece of the Countess Sybil de Daurice, а French noblewoman, is betrothed to Jean de Brienne.
De Brienne arrives at the castle. Не has come to bid farewell to Raymonda before leaving to go on а crusade led by the King of Hungary, Andrei II.
Jean de Brienne presents her with a silk shawl as a farewell gift. Raymonda's first solo immediately shows her as an exquisite young woman whose path is strewn with flowers. When Jean puts the shawl around her shoulders she seems to sense the symbolic power of this gift of love but she also painfully senses that Jean's feelings for her have no real depth, that he will leave her easily for his world of knightly fights, tournaments and crusades. The guests try to cheer Raymonda up with a grand valse and can even persuade her to dance a solo by which she tries to overcome her melancholy mood.
Quite unexpectedly a new guest enters in the court: it is the Saracen prince Abderakhman who tries to overwhelm Raymonda with presents which she refuses. However, at the end -- deeply fascinated by the sensual power of the prince, - she accepts the gesture when Abderakhman presents her with a spray of jasmine.
The festivities are ending, but Raymonda is hypnotized, bewildered by the sudden intrusion of an erotic elemental force upon her seemingly secure happiness with Jean. Clémence, Henriette and the two troubadours try to cheer her up. And in a dance with Jean's shawl Raymonda tries to reassure herself of her love for him.
She takes leave of her friends and falls asleep. Entranced by the sweet scent of the jasmine that seems to embody an erotic oriental world, her shoulders wrapped in Jean's shawl, the symbol of the perfect elegance of the court, she begins to dream.
Scene II
In her dream The White Lady appears and leads Raymonda into an unknown world.
Raymonda falls under the spell of the dance of a group of fairytale girls that finally leads her to a magic reunion with Jean in an adage. At the climax of the dream which follows the formal structure of classical ballet with the adage followed by variations for Clémence, Henriette, the White Lady and Raymonda herself, as well as a coda where Jean can demonstrate his virile strength -- Raymonda suddenly sees the Saracen prince Abderakhman in the place of Jean and is overwhelmed by his fascination, his seductive power and blunt erotic attack. Only the intervention of the White Lady averts the extreme. Raymonda awakens in deep confusion, with the shawl and the jasmine spray in her hands.
Act II Scene I
The court society assembles for a festivity called "La Cour d'amour", a popular pastime of the aristocracy in the South of France, at which troubadours court elegant ladies according to strict rules of etiquette. Jean de Brienne, busy with preparations for the crusade, is delayed and instead, Abderakhman appears. Raymonda is dismayed and delighted at the same time. They dance together and he observes the exquisite rules of the courtly festivity with perfect politeness. His entourage entertains the society with exotic dances ending in a bacchanale. At its climax, in a fury of passionate love, Abderakhman commands the abduction of Raymonda.
At this moment Jean de Brienne and King Andreas II appear. The king urges the two men to decide their rivalry, as befits knightly rules, in a duel. This seems to end in a draw until the White Lady appears and gives Jean the strength to inflict a deadly wound on Abkerakhman. The Saracen dies at Raymonda's feet. She is deeply distressed and can only see Jean as Abderakhman's murderer.
Jean senses Raymonda's predicament and her repulse. Again he begins to court her and for the first time really endeavours to win her love. He succeeds in winning back her confidence.
Scene II
The wedding ceremony confirms the love between Raymonda and Jean de Brienne. In honour of the Hungarian King Andreas II the courtiers are dressed in Hungarian style, dance the czardas and finally the "grand pas classique hongrois". It begins with a great adage for nine couples led by Raymonda and Jean. This is followed by variations for four men (Béranger, Bernard and two other troubadours), for two ladies (Clémence and Henriette), for Jean and finally for Raymonda. Her solo expresses her strength of character and secret melancholy of conquered pain. The coda leads to an apotheosis and the blessing by the White Lady.Obviously, there's a problem with the labeling of the acts above. ;)
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Of course, who knows how things will play out over her year in San Francisco - I only hope there is not too much culture shock for her. Aside from Pascal Molat and Sofiane Sylve, and maybe Dana Genshaft, I don't think there are any other French speaking company members, so there will be difficulties. And San Francisco/West Coast of North America are very different environments from Paris, France!
I keep thinking of the interview in which Aurelie Dupont mentions emailing ABT, because she wanted to perform in Onegin with ABT and would they be interested? But they weren't not interested at the time. And I keep thinking, she obviously sent her email to the wrong Creative Director: SFB has been performing Onegin for the last 2 years! Of course, Dupont just wanted to "guest" with ABT, but what a great arrangement for a smaller company like SFB - to start having guests from time to time *might* be an exciting change of pace. But I would definitely not want to see a permanent ABT situation set up in San Francisco with lots of permanent "guests". One of the strengths of the company is its cohesion - everyone working together, year after year.
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if you're going to make such serious allegations, you need to back it up with more than just hearsay.
To be fair to Lunkina, it's awfully difficult to "prove" your conversations with friends and associates. And how sad that we live in a world in which we seem to need to. She's not a reporter, or a lawyer, but she may be forced by circumstances to live like one.
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Svetlana Lunkina unleases on Sergei Filin. It's a quick and dirty translation, so my apologies.
Well, that was interesting, to say the least. Thanks very much, Volcanohunter. The more I read, the more the Bolshoi seems like a furious tangle of interests: self-interests, and politics (actually involving the government). So many egos, visions, and fragile artistic personalities in collision. Really, the POB seems like a rather dull sanitarium compared to this.
Every point Lunkina makes probably has 5 sides to it. Which doesn't make her assertions untrue, but it's all in the viewpoint.
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“He who hears not the music thinks the dancer mad.”
—African proverb -
You're probably right there Helene. I could of course be placing too much faith in Laurent Hilaire here but he has never come across as somebody who is particularly institutionalised. Why he or Manuel Legris didn't become director remains to be seen - I guess that's what happens when a board isn't involved, but two opera directors, one of whom likely didn't interview Benjamin Millepied himself - but given Brigitte Lefevre's wishes for Hilaire or Legris to take the healm, I don't think Millepied will be able to implement a lot of change quickly. She's lasted this long for a reason.
Mathilde Froustey has taken a maximum year's sabbatical for her move to SFB. She doesn't seem too sure about her future in Paris either: link (in French).Millepied is simply one big question mark, but it's difficult to believe he will be able to make institutional changes, and WISE ones.
The title of the Froustey article, certainly makes a statement: "Mathilde Froustey, l'étoile américaine"! I don't know the inflection behind the title or article: Bitter? Astonished? Resigned?
I had to use online translation tools to get a gist of the article, but the last part sounds interesting:
"Allowed [into the company] without passing an audition.
Mathilde sent to San Francisco a candidature by e-mail. With her resume/letter of her motivations[?], and the video of her performance in Don Quichotte. Helgi Thomasson, director of San Francisco Ballet, did not make a request (for an audition]. He did not even ask Mathilde to pass a hearing. The year that Mathilde will be on the other side of the Atlantic sounds ostentatious[?]: “a tour to New York, Gisele, ballets of Justin Peck and Liam Scarlet, she will be Cinderella for Christopher Wheeldon in July, then the Summers tour to dance at the Châtelet”, she says."
I think this confirms that Tomasson has been looking about for at least one other principal ballerina (and most likely a danseur as well). The SFB principals have been looking overworked of late, and there have been losses in the ranks - some perhaps dismissed, but a few that just felt it was time to move on. That's not so surprising at year's end, but in smaller companies it is still going to make people anxious about the future.
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I don't believe anyone in this thread has linked to this truly wonderful article, "Muse, Interrupted", but I think it deserves to be joined to this discussion:
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/22/magazine/muse-interrupted.html
By Holly Brubach
Published: November 22, 1998"When the New York City Ballet commemorates its 50th anniversary with a tribute to Le Clercq this Tuesday, opening night of its fall season, the audience will be transported back to those early years, with the same program that the company performed at its debut: ''Concerto Barocco''; ''Symphony in C,'' in which Le Clercq -- then 19 -- danced the breathtaking adagio; and ''Orpheus,'' in which she led the Bacchantes. It was an exhilarating time. Balanchine's longstanding dream -- of creating a company that would dance in a new style and serve as his instrument -- was at last becoming a reality: his fledgling New York City Ballet was installed at the City Center, and the first generation of students at his School of American Ballet, established 14 years before, had come of age.
Among them was Le Clercq, whom, in restrospect, we can now identify as the prototype for that exquisite thoroughbred the Balanchine dancer. Her elegant lyricism and her physique, attenuated and strong, set the precedent for a series of roles that occupy center stage in Balanchine's vast repertory. The line of succession, from Le Clercq through Allegra Kent and Suzanne Farrell to Darci Kistler, is direct....She has reached the age of 69 with her pride and her beauty intact. Even seated, she has the unmistakable posture of a dancer. Her hair is blond now, her skin still pale. Her vivacious intelligence and the sharpness of her wit animate the conversation. I write this not only as a journalist but also as a friend of some 17 years. And so it is with a sense of relief and delight that I have witnessed her obligation to ballet history win out, however briefly, over her longstanding insistence on her privacy. ''And then I'll lapse back into obscurity,'' she says dryly."
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Semperoper Ballet shown performing Rubies - with some real verve (especially the "Tall Girl").
Leads: Anna Merkulova, Jiří Bubeníček, Julia Weiss
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Here's a little Symphony in C with Allegra Kent / Conrad Ludlow, with voice over from the master himself:
There is also a generous portion of Symphony in C with Kent and Ludlow in the "Dancing for Mr. B." documentary:
New Dancers, 2014 season
in San Francisco Ballet
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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.