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That certainly seems to be the plan, as she says she's been working with Mr. Neumeier himself: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwQcA6IHXFo/ It's a little weird though that she hasn't been cast yet. Maybe the idea of teaching Mathilde the role was a fairly recent one, and she didn't have the benefit of working on it last summer with the others.

San Francisco Ballet: SF Ballet Fan Fest: Company Class Observation "Celebrate Bay Area Dance Week with us! On April 27, watch an SF Ballet Company class led by one of our ballet masters, on stage at the beautiful War Memorial Opera House. It's free to attend, but make sure you RSVP! Plus, from 10 am-2 pm, Fan Fest returns with family friendly booths where you can try on a tutu, learn about pointe shoes, and learn the history of SF Ballet. And, you can grab a picnic lunch (or breakfast!) from Crepes 'N' Waffles' food truck, all in the outdoor courtyard between the Opera House and the Veteran's Building." Special Instructions for Participants: "Fan Fest is open from 10 am - 2 pm. Company Class viewing is from 12 pm - 1 pm. Doors open at 11:45 am. Enjoy open seating in the Opera House auditorium. No food, drink, or photography is permitted inside the Opera House." https://bayareadance.org/event-details/?e_id=98

But she's not an angry person - more of an imp, by nature. That's probably her 'game face' that you've noticed. More about Dores: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PGRtBAHpgc

SFB has been posting many enjoyable videos this year. Here's another worth a look: Marc Brew Creates quicksilver on SF Ballet School Trainees https://sfballet.blog/2019/04/01/marc-brew-creates-quicksilver-on-sf-ballet-school-trainees/

SFB posted a highlights video from last year's (2018) Student Showcase, and I rather liked it: https://sfballet.blog/2019/04/01/sf-ballet-school-spring-festival-highlights/

SFB Behind the Scenes video from Mermaid photo shoot: https://sfballet.blog/2019/04/10/the-little-mermaid-behind-the-scenes/

She may be working more as a model/muse for photographers than as a dancer (although I don't know that for certain). I know Nisian Hughes has photographed her, and his work is shown around the Internet quite a bit. Here's one of his portraits of Komyshan:

Maria Kochetkova – “STYX” by David Dawson 'Absolutely cosmic Maria Kochetkova in a new video by La Personne performs the profound choreography by David Dawson. No one but the choreographer would better tell about the magic of the piece Styx: “For me it is a dance about the final stage of life’s journey, and the crossing of the mythological river Styx into the next realm. It embodies that last moment, the final gasp of of breath, vitality, and the creativity of the soul. It is about the bright light before a new stage begins. A star that illuminates with the character of fire. It is a metamorphosis, and the last adventure of the human spirit. It’s dance about life”.' https://www.lapersonne.com/en/post/maria-kochetkova-styx-david-dawson Video by Alisa Aslanova Music Nils Frahm Costume by Chloé

Madison Keesler posted 3 brief videos of the promotions (we don't actually get to hear Tomasson speak): https://www.instagram.com/p/BwM-irol8a4/

Here's a nice tribute from Freemantle regarding Keesler's promotion: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwLQh86gifY/ "Feeling over the moon. Today after class @madisonkeesler was promoted to Soloist! I’ve never met someone who cared and loved ballet for all that it is. Someone who goes above and beyond for any role given to her. Someone who takes this job with the highest level of respect. Someone who I am proud to say is my partner. Congratulations love, you deserve this and so much more."

Remarkable that this is even remarkable. Having 'alumni' like Farrell, McBride, Villella etc. coaching the leads will hopefully now be the norm. Finally.

It looked to me like Keesler and Hernandez were getting a lot of attention (as in lead roles), so I'm not really surprised. The uncertainty hovering around Strongin may have something to do with Keesler's promotion. But who knows? She has certainly paid her dues. Conley has gotten good reviews from writers and audience, so he was in line for promotion. I'm just sorry we're not hearing about the promotion of Strongin to Principal.

I just received the email: Promotions for Esteban Hernandez, Madison Keesler, and Cavan Conley "SF Ballet Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson has promoted Soloist Esteban Hernandez to principal dancer, and Corps de Ballet members Madison Keesler and Cavan Conley to soloist. All changes are effective May 13, 2019. Please join us in congratulating Esteban, Madison, and Cavan on their promotions!"

SF Ballet: Two-Day "Splash" Sale Ends Tomorrow at NOON! We want to remind you that you can save $30 off performances of The Little Mermaid on April 23 or 24 .* This offer ends tomorrow at NOON. https://www.sfballet.org/season/2019-repertory/2019-Program-07

Jen Stahl is speaking tonight at the California Academy of Sciences about her life in ballet: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwDGgrjgUYc/ Cal Academy Brain and Body NightLife https://www.calacademy.org/nightlife/brain-body-nightlife-0 "8:00 PM Learn about the integral connection and balance of brain and body with a live talk from San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Jennifer Stahl."

Sasha De Sola performing chaîné turns in Lander's Etudes. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwFaq3QDYHP/

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi awarded Yuan Yuan Tan with a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition, which she received along with a SF Mayor's Art Award. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwD2_-6jf9_/ And April 9th was/is now Yuan Yuan Tan Day. 😉

Apparently April 9th was Yuan Yuan Tan Day - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi awarded YYT with a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition https://www.instagram.com/p/BwD2_-6jf9_/

Brian Seibert analyses the Bob Fosse dance style (similar in manner to Macaulay's analysis of certain Balanchine choreographies) Hands! Hips! Hats! The Why and How of Fosse/Verdon Dance Moves https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/arts/dance/fosse-verdon-dance.html

Great cast. Hopefully Helimets will get to dance again in one of the secondary casts.

Photographic evidence of Vladislav Koslov in costume: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwA-RDWg5KK/

His original post was simply, "thoughts with you Lauren", but of course that just made me wonder more what was going on. Well this is unexpected and sad. I wonder if her absence has been due to a larger health problem and not an athletic-type injury. I wish her well. EDIT: Strongin mentioned more than once in interviews that if she wasn't dancing she would want to be a doctor. Looking on the bright side, perhaps she decided that it was time to get started on that course of action - it's quite an investment of time and money.

Tonight's Instagram post by Lauren Strongin (regarding Die Toteninsel) gave me pause: "This experience has been beyond all expectations. So thrilled to get out there one last time tonight. Thanks to all who helped me get here. It’s been a real dream." https://www.instagram.com/p/BwDQc7TAMjz/ I'm not sure yet what it means.

Thanks, Josette. Well this seems to be Keesler's year of big roles, so maybe she'll finally get to use that knowledge this time around.

I think Keesler was cast at the same time as Feijoo - that may be what I'm remembering. But I didin't go to that performance so didn't know about the casting switches. I only saw the first cast (twice, but with different dancers as the Princess, as I recall). Totally agree about Zhao.