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SWAN LAKE duet by David Dawson (Sofiane Sylve & Carlo Di Lanno performing at San Francisco Ballet Gala 2020) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ8aEPQE9u0

Arielle Smith's new Carmen in rehearsal at SFB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfdCAk7FbOM

Thanks, PeggyTulle! Perfect timing. I missed that announcement completely.

SF Ballet School Leadership and Faculty as of November 2023 Patrick Armand stepped down from the Director position but he is still being listed as "Guest Faculty." The current "interim" Director is Katarina Wester, hailing from Sweden: https://www.sfballet.org/artist/katarina-wester/ Former SFB Principal and current Principal Character Dancer Pascal Molat is being listed as "Associate Director" and Faculty. Former SFB Soloist Dana Genshaft continues to teach Contemporary Dance at the school and is the Artistic Director of SFDanceworks. Some newer faces:(to me) that have joined the faculty: Emily Borthwick https://www.sfballet.org/artist/emily-borthwick/ Victor Talledos https://www.sfballet.org/artist/victor-talledos/ Yasmine Oiknine https://www.sfballet.org/artist/yasmine-oiknine/

The face of the Sept/Oct 2023 issue of Pointe magazine - Jasmine Jimison! https://www.instagram.com/p/CwpucbJrlwq/?img_index=1

En Face dance magazine has a new interview with Dani Rowe: https://enfacemagazine.com/blog/2023/11/05/qa-with-dani-rowe/

Here's the archived WBD segment - I think it will be up until the end of the month, but best to watch right away in case it gets pulled sooner:

The WBD YouTube page seems to be the place to go:

San Francisco Ballet will participate this year after a hiatus of a few years: https://www.sfballet.org/world-ballet-day/

SFB e-mail announcement: JOIN US FOR WORLD BALLET DAY NOVEMBER 1 Join San Francisco Ballet, the Royal Opera House, and other companies around the globe for a day of live streamed rehearsals, backstage access, and exclusive footage. See class taught by guest coach Julio Bocca and SF Ballet Artistic Director Tamara Rojo. Immerse yourself in the creation of Mere Mortals—SF Ballet’s new full-length with choreography by Aszure Barton and a new score by British DJ and producer Floating Points. Observe the creation of a new Carmen by Olivier Award-winning choreographer Arielle Smith, featuring a new score by jazz legend Arturo O’Farrill. Get to know SF Ballet star Yuan Yuan Tan as she prepares the iconic role of Marguerite in Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand. Finally, see the White Swan and Black Swan pas de deux and learn what it takes to embody these roles. It’s all in World Ballet Day! Stay tuned for a special World Ballet Day offer! World Ballet Day Schedule San Francisco – Wed 11:30am PDT London – Wed 7:30pm GMT+0 Melbourne – Thu 5:30am GMT+11 11:30 AM – Men’s center work with guest coach and rehearsal director Julio Bocca 12:00 PM – Women’s center work with SF Ballet Artistic Director Tamara Rojo 12:30 PM – Swan Lake Act II pas de deux rehearsal 1:00 PM – Preview of Arielle Smith's Carmen 1:15 PM – Principal Yuan Yuan Tan discusses Sir Frederick Ashton's Marguerite and Armand 1:30 PM – Aszure Barton’s Mere Mortals rehearsal 2:00 PM – Swan Lake Act III pas de deux rehearsal Schedule subject to change.

YY is very quiet about her personal life, so it was a surprise for me to learn of this. Best wishes for them both.

Paul Reubens passed away recently at the age of 70: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/01/arts/television/paul-reubens-personal.html

LOL. It's the little things in life. I just finished reading Paulette Jiles' News of the World, and there it was the insistence on using no punctuation (other than sentence-ending periods) that really threw me. Punctuation in English is a reader's aid, and sometimes you just have to have it. Trying to distinguish narrative text from character dialogue is pretty hard without any punctuation. An otherwise excellent book though.

Mathilde Froustey reported on Instagram that she is having knee surgery done (bummer). So I'm not sure when she will actually be starting with Bordeaux Ballet. Maria Kochetkova gave birth to "Cleo" at the end of May: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cstx7myviBM/ Congratulations to Masha and Sebastian Kloborg.

Tiit Helimets mentioned that Chloe Helimets is going to the ABT Summer School: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtnrkvDOi2y/

All of which could have been cleared up with a few words of explanation to Ashley. Certainly lends credence to the old assumption that dancers aren't great communicators (with words).

I rather thought he only had one tempo: fast.

It's just interesting that both SFB and ABT have lost their executive directors, all of a sudden, this year.

From today's e-mail: Fjord's Next Chapter As many of you will know, over the past decade the majority of dance publications have folded, and most newspapers have laid off their dance critics. There is a crisis in cultural coverage, as yet unabated. Fjord Review has stood against the tide, commissioning original reviews, interviews, essays, features and more, and has sought to provide rich coverage of dance, worldwide. We remain dedicated to expanding our coverage of the endlessly changing art of dance, with expert writers and a commitment to excellence at the heart of our enterprise. After a decade of providing free access to our online articles, to protect our work and maintain our standards, a few changes are necessary. Dance Digest articles will remain free to access this week, however after that, you will need a subscription to access our full article and podcast library. We are providing two subscription options: for those reading only online, we suggest the Digital Subscription for $49.95 annually; and for those who enjoy an analog experience, we suggest the Print + Digital Subscription, providing excellent value at $99.95 annually, which includes two beautiful print magazines shipped anywhere in the world, plus unlimited access to our online content. Becoming a reader-supported platform means two things for us as an organization - we are committed to providing the content that you want to read, in a way that is convenient and accessible to you. To that end, we have designed a beautiful new website to provide a seamless digital experience across all devices. It also means that we are here to take care of our subscribers - you can expect support in managing your subscription, and exclusive offers from our fellow creatives in the dance world. I hope you will join us by becoming a subscriber today, and look forward to welcoming you to the new Fjord Review. Sincerely, Penelope Ford

Yes, welcome and have fun!

I too had a similar reaction to the book. The absence of information about Alexandra Danilova was another one of those head scratchers for me. We still need to go to Elizabeth Kendall's book and the various autobiographies to get a decent picture of Balanchine's early school days (and the various important relationships).

Rachel Howard reported on the SFB School performance in the latest Fjord Review online. She was impressed with performances by "stars of tomorrow" Mimi Lamar, Raphaël Brunais Besse, Sofia Albers (all three are now apprentices with the company), and Henry Reed.

Sasha De Sola, Aaron Robison and Myles Thatcher flew to Athens, Greece to perform Thatcher's 05:49. Photo #6 shows the dynamic trio with Alexei Ratmansky backstage: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs1cg3vrILt/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Csyy0U5uc1K/

It seems to be difficult to last in Paris, or sit comfortably there. Although this may be entirely Dudamel's doing.

Thamires Chuvas and Cavan Conley traveled to the North East US and spent some time with Madison Keesler and Ben Freemantle: https://www.instagram.com/p/CspAozJJlzN/ Angelo Greco had some ankle surgery but he says all is well: https://www.instagram.com/p/CsoUfdBLZfR/