pherank

Do I trust the board? No. That's the world of super money and super egos and there's political infighting that goes on - everyone wants to be the biggest influencer. I didn't mean to suggest that Tomasson and SFB didn't hire from the outside (and the best that can be found) - every company does this to survive. But ABT has been relying on an 'international stars' model for decades. The stars had precedence over dancers who had come up slowly through the ranks. I happen to like the school-centered company model. That's me. It may be a quieter means of establishing a style and approach, but it is very effective over the long term, and binds people together (internally) in a way that the eclectic stars approach can never do. Yes, I have a feeling this may be what we will see a lot of. To me, bringing in another version of Giselle, no matter how 'interesting', is not really pushing the art form forward. Hopefully she will continue the interest in new ballets,a nd new platforms to present them on.

N95 is an American designation/rating, but the N95 masks aren’t certified for medical use in the EU (every country and region has its own standards). I believe the FFP2 and N95 rated masks offer basically the same amount of protection though. So in public, you should be safe to use either. At the performance venues the local protocols are going to be strictly enforced. At least they gave you a mask to wear rather than send you home - that was nice.

One specific concern I have is that Rojo would bring in a few "stars" to make the company more like ABT (no thanks), and de-emphasize the importance of the SFB School to the company - something Tomasson spent 3 decades on. If my memory serves me, over 60% of the dancers spent time at the SFB School. [Just checked, and the website say's "more than 65%"].

The Hernandez brothers together again at last. Well I suppose that's something. One thing that Rojo may be able to improve upon - getting SFB a real, continuous, online presence in the form of streamed performances and interviews/classes/seminars, etc. All those great things they started doing during the lockdown and then...? Here's an idea: a shared West Coast digital platform with channels for PNB, SFB, Millepied's LA Dance Project, Lines Ballet, etc.

Yes, I read that bit about Hernandez "rejoining" SFB, but it was news to me, and I think to everyone else that follows SFB. There was never any PR announcement of this fact. It's obviously just part of Rojo's package deal. Even if SFB pays fairly well, the cost of living is so high in the Bay Area that I would think that would mitigate the salary benefits. And of course the artist would have to prove they care about a lot more than money to get the A.D. job. 😉 I'm just not sure what the attraction would be for Rojo. I seem to recall that both Rojo and Tomasson were on the panel of one of those "What is the future of ballet? symposiums, and that may have been where they first talked in depth, and perhaps, that's how the idea of coming to SFB got into her head.

You know, I'm still wondering: Why is Rojo leaving ENB? If things have turned out so well for her there (as the p.r. makes it sound), why not continue to build up ENB? And why go halfway around the world - leaving behind the usual ballet centers to lead a US West Coast company? What's the benefit to Rojo? I would think it would be more difficult, not less, to get notice for her 'artistic vision' when located in California. Perhaps she intends on making SFB tour more (good luck with that). Or maybe the point is to get away from all the touring that ENB has had to do?

Rojo would not be my choice as a best fit, not by a long shot, but as audience members we have little choice but to ride with it and see what happens. My guess is the chemistry will be very different, so yes, there may be some dancers jumping ship (or being pushed). I would have to think that there are SFB dancers who support this choice and it would be interesting to hear their take on things. What I do like: SFB chose a woman as AD, and an experienced one.

"Announcing the Denis de Coteau fellowship, a partnership between SF Ballet and the SF Conservatory of Music, created to advance opportunities for Black musicians..." https://www.instagram.com/p/CYXUykROGPO/ Official Press Release: https://www.sfballet.org/discover/press-center/press-releases/release/san-francisco-ballet-partners-with-the-san-francisco-conservatory-of-music-to-create-a-new-fellowship-advancing-opportunities-for-black-musicians/ And more about Denis here: Take a Bow: Celebrating Denis de Coteau’s legacy at SF Ballet https://www.sfballet.org/take-a-bow-celebrating-denis-de-coteaus-legacy-at-sf-ballet/

I didn't receive the e-mail(!), but on SFB's Instagram page they've posted basically the same message: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYUieBwBFJ3/

Rachel Howard wrote recently that Nutcracker was "arguably Tomasson’s finest achievement during his 37 years leading the company". It strikes me as a more cohesive production than some. I only wish the 2nd Act wasn't quite so minimal in its stagings. I never liked the overly stuffed Kingdom/Land of Sweets look that NYCB uses, but I think there needs to be "richness" to the fantasy, if that makes any sense. And since the stagings reference the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, I wish they had shown more of the glamorous architecture that was present.

SFB's version refers to the Chinese New Year's parade in SF Chinatown which happens to feature martial arts clubs in the parade, and of course the big dragon. So Tomasson gives us a taste of those things without really paying much attention to the original "tea" theme (or "chocolate" or "coffee" for that matter). His emphasis is more on the character dancing than on the original idea of a Land of Sweets: QUOTE: For Tomasson, the idea of a Clara transported to “Sugarland” as he calls past productions of Act II, never worked for him. “No one seems to know where Sugarland is,” he says, laughing. “Why can’t Clara imagine that her fantasy is taking place in her own city in one of those incredible pavilions? “Looking at photographs of the Exposition, it must have been incredible,” says Tomasson. “I thought, ‘Why not use the concept of the beautiful international pavilions—in a loose way, of course—to suggest the time period in Act II?’”

For additional Nutcracker-related fun: go to Tiit Helimet's Instagram page and look for his pas de deux with his now 11 year old daughter Chloe (it's about 5 minutes long). She already has a very soft and elegant movement style - and she's obviously pretty fearless to take this on. I just hope she isn't too disappointed when she starts partnering classes with the boys more her age. 😉

A big surprise - Mathilde Froustey returned to the stage December 24th to dance the Nutcracker Grand Pas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CX7HCoYBwnm/ And here's a fun time-lapse video of backstage preparations for The Nutcracker: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXwSE3WBF6y/

SFB has posted a time-lapse view of the backstage preparations for Nutcracker - I always find these fascinating: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXwSE3WBF6y/

Photos posted by Joe Walsh (with Frances Chung and Nikisha Fogo): https://www.instagram.com/p/CXVarGMrAFL/ More from Nikisha: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXjiu7nv403/

I believe this will be a free streaming event: Stream Ailey’s Opening Night Gala from December 22-28, 2021 "The Opening Night Gala features performances of Robert Battle’s Ella (performed to live music by Jazzmeia Horne) and the finale of Love Stories, plus 'Bird' Lives!, an excerpt from Alvin Ailey’s For ‘Bird’ – With Love featuring Company member Clifton Brown with students from The Ailey School, and Mr. Ailey's beloved Revelations." https://www.youtube.com/c/AlvinAileyAmericanDanceTheater/videos

To be clear, ultimately it is our own immune systems that are doing the protecting. I'm not sure how you're defining "getting the virus", but to me, once a virus is inside my body, I've "got" the virus, and can pass it on. How my body and immune system respond to that virus is another matter. There are various scenarios that can play out. A local news station was interviewing a mother outside a school the other day, and she was complaining about new mask mandates in California. She remarked, "so what was the point of all those vaccinations?" (if the children have to wear masks again). I was thinking, is it possible for people like this to still know nothing about masks and vaccines after 1 1/2 years? It's hard to remember how long it has been, but it certainly feels like years. I agree with this. And so we continue to need both the vaccinations and the effective mask wearing (no junk masks) if we're going to control the spread at all. However, it does seem like humans in the West are more and more fed up with mask wearing and are willing to just roll the dice. In Asia people have been wearing masks of their own volition for many years (for various reasons). There' s not so much of a stigma there. I'd say it's the psychological game that we're losing here - rather than take things for what they are, and working with it, there's been an over reliance on fear and anger to drive the situation.

Vaccines don't protect a person from exposure to a virus, but they do (in most cases) guarantee only a mild illness. Only N95 masks are really good at keeping viruses out of your respiratory system. But many dancers were lately rehearsing without masks, and certainly performing without masks, so there's going to be plenty of opportunities to pass along germs to anyone nearby. Whether we like it or not, this virus is here to stay.

That's called doing things the old fashioned way.

Apparently Vanessa and Davit now have a second child, Giselle Maria: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWtA6S6A06_/

Yes, welcome Emmy8.

I don't know - it's unexpected, given that she was recently promoted to soloist, and she's having to step down a level to go to BB. I'm going to guess this has something to do with family/personal issues, or she realized she had spent so many years at SF that it was time to experience something different.

Here's Sofiane Sylve's impressive looking resume posted to Ballet San Antonio (I like her new short hairstyle, and the Goth spikes around her collar are very Sofiane): SOFIANE SYLVE Artistic Director, Ballet San Antonio Director, School of Ballet San Antonio https://balletsanantonio.org/dancers/sofiane-sylve/ Pandemics are good for something: "Sylve has successfully completed and received her Management Essentials and Leadership Principles certificates from the Harvard Business School Online."

Sahsa De Sola and Aaron Robison guesting in Nutcracker (Boca Raton, Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/CW3vfAHvxkT/