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Is anything clear on Social Media? You may be right, but we likely won't know until that program comes along. Or there's more definitive photos 😉 I thought she was making a subtle point. Thanks everyone for the reports - it must have been good fun. I wish I had seen Sylve and Robison dance together.

"Luke Ingham who replaced Ulrik Birkkjaer was replaced by Ulrik Birkkjaer" LOL! All pregnancies? (not Isaac, obviously) Two female principals out at the same time is unfortunate. I wonder if that has something to do with Elizabeth Powell learning/rehearsing the Little Mermaid role. There's going to be a lot of substitutions then.

Chung danced Divertimento in the 2018 NYC tour, I believe. I'm planning on seeing Program 2. Finger's crossed. 😉

I recently happened upon the updated written version of this symposium from 2015... Russian Movement Culture of the 1920s and 1930s A Symposium Organized by Lynn Garafola and Catharine Theimer Nepomnyashchy February 12-14, 2015 Harriman Institute Columbia University Edited by Lynn Garafola https://harriman.columbia.edu/event/russian-movement-culture-1920s-and-1930s-international-symposium A PDF of the Symposium can be downloaded here: https://harriman.columbia.edu/files/harriman/newsletter/Russian Movement Culture Corrected July 2017pdf.pdf

Hopefully. She mentioned on Instagram - last summer, I think it was - that she was finally past a long period of "dancing in pain". But those long term injuries can always re-assert themselves. It's always possible she decided to step aside so someone else could have a chance (like Wona Park), and she'll be dancing in upcoming programs. Finger's crossed.

Yep. I've wondered if Birkkjaer was nursing an injury given that he didn't participate in The Nutcracker program (at all?), although he managed to appear in LA for Festival Ballet Theatre's Nutcracker, as I recall. Sofiane being paired with Robison should be memorable - I'm not sure if they've really danced together before. And Zhao and Stahl make an appearance so that's good.

Forgetting about Macaulay for a moment... It's not quite clear, but you seem to be suggesting that nothing remains of Petipa's original choreography because Gorsky replaced all the dances with his own creations. But there's no proof of that 'fact', nor agreement, by ballet researchers as you have asserted. I've certainly read that Gorsky inserted additional choreography and mimetic sequences (that were controversial in 1900, not now), but left Petipa's divertissements alone. Kitri’s final-act solo came entirely from Gorsky, as I understand it. Proof of origin is very hard to come by for choreographic works created before the 20th century. It all ends up being a case of "to the extent of our knowledge", such and such probably happen this way. But as in the legal world, the introduction of new evidence reshapes our understanding. There are older threads on Ballet Alert dealing with this very issue: https://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/21739-petipas-choreography-for-don-quixote/

Those are interesting choices. Park and Walsh could be a wise pairing. I can't wait to hear people's reports on these shows. 😉

Ah ha! I suppose WEir's program is well known to Bay Area residents. But since I've been exiled to So Cal I'm not as up on SF TV shows. Weir has to have some kind of donor connection to SFB. Now I'm wondering if she talks much about the "students" backgrounds, or if it's kept quiet.

OK, I was flipping past one of the PBS channels, and on the Joanne Weir cooking show there was a young woman standing next to her that made me do a double take - it looked just like Sarah Van Patten. Once the friend began talking, then I knew it was definitely SVP. Unfortunately the episode was close to the end so I didn't get to watch the entire thing. I'm not sure if SVP was only part of the Pastitso segment or if she's also making Scordalia with Joanne Weir. 😉 I'm guessing Weir is a SFB supporter. It was mentioned that SVP has Greek ancestors, so that kind of figured into the episode theme. It occurs to me that it's sad that seeing someone from the dance world on a non-dance TV program seems so startling. They are not part of the mainstream entertainment business in that sense. Episode 110 The Greek Kitchen [from 04-09-2018] "Travel to the tiny Island of Kea in Greece to learn all about Moussaka and Scordalia. Back home in Joanne’s San Francisco kitchen, we’ll make Scordalia and Pastitso." https://vimeo.com/ondemand/joanneweirplatesplaces/266603863 Its looks like SVP is in more than one episode too [she's in Episode 101: Brassicas too]: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/27767/116019607

Yes, you can tell Scheller came to SFB hoping to check off certain boxes, and now she will dance Kitri. (She danced the lead in Swan Lake for the first time this past year in Kiev, with Tiit Helimets as her coach.) I was kind of assuming that the order of Basilio's listed matches the order of Kitri's, but of course that may not be true. Matching Park with a partner as experienced as Luiz would be a good idea though.

Mathilde announced on Instagram today that she will be dancing Kitri opening night, with Greco as Basilio: "I’m beyond happy to dance Kitri for the Opening Night of Don Quixote on Friday January 25th. I’m also very excited to dance for the 1st time with this handsome, brillant and fun partner @_angelogreco_. Get ready for some caliente on stage! Make sure to come to see Don Quixote at @sfballet any other day, every single cast of Principals and Soloist dancers are amazing and the corps dancers are absolutely stunning in this ballet! The beautiful/badass Kitri are also @sashadesola , @doresandre , @la_scheller and @wonapark. The Basilio are @aaronrobison86 , @way8way (Wei Wang), @josephwalshsf and @ivitorluiz All of them are amazing !!!! https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsvqhzplz8E/

The recent Conversations on Dance interview with Misa Kuranaga talks a bit about her time in San Francisco. It's an entertaining show. http:// https://conversationsondancepod.com/2018/09/17/misa-kuranaga/

Today was the first time I've gone to the SFB website and received this message: "This page will refresh automatically in 30 seconds To ensure the best experience possible, you have been placed in a virtual waiting room to assist with traffic flow to our website. Please don’t leave this page; your status in the queue will automatically be updated. Once you reach the front of the queue you will automatically move forward to complete your purchase. Thank you for your patience." Can there really be that many people visiting the website? Or has the audience finally discovered all the video and audio files? SFB recently posted an impressive-looking video of 4 minutes of Marston's Snowblind - all dance and mime. https://sfballet.blog/2019/01/15/dance-film-snowblind/ There's also a short piece with Mathilde Froustey on Don Quixote's Kitri solo: https://sfballet.blog/2019/01/14/talking-dance-mathilde-froustey-on-don-quixote/ There's also a general Don Q page with short videos of Frances Chung as Kitri and the Corp dancing "The Dream": https://sfballet.blog/2018/12/29/the-story-of-don-quixote/ And a To-the-Pointe podcast on Don Q: "Join Jennie Scholick, PhD for a deep dive into Don Quixote, appearing at San Francisco Ballet in January 2019. Learn about this iconic ballet’s history, story, and what to look for." https://sfballet.blog/2018/12/27/to-the-pointe-don-quixote/ And, they've posted the hour long podcast interview with Tomasson, Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Frohlich (with a photo from the session - I just wish there was a video version to post): "In this special episode moderated by Ellen Sorrin, Director of the Balanchine Trust, San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson is joined by Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Frohlich to discuss the life and choreography of Jerome Robbins, in honor of his centennial." https://sfballet.blog/2018/09/14/celebrating-jerome-robbins-helgi-tomasson-patricia-mcbride-jean-piere-frohlich-and-ellen-sorrin/

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, thrill to the artistry of TO BE ANNOUNCED!"

She never participated in the Nutcracker program series, as far as I know (tell me if I'm wrong). Scheller was briefly injured (and mentioned it online) but seems to be ready to go. The same for Natasha Sheehan who missed the Nutcracker series.

Not to mention Frantziskonis, Julia Rowe, Zhao, Park, Ishihara, Strongin (probably injured), and more. But, it's not exactly a secret that not everyone love's the gala craziness.

I've heard before that BB and SFB enjoyed a "special relationship" though I'm not sure what that consists of.

Certainly has that feel to it. Appearances in someone else's Nutcracker is another way to "try out" a company. I think Sarah Lane danced in SFB's Nutcracker a year or two ago. But I didn't really expect her to stick around - she got promoted at ABT around the same time. Maybe it was a ploy to get McKenzie to finally promote her.

Misa Kuranaga dancing in the gala? What's the meaning of that? 'Enquiring minds want to know'. ;) Interesting side note: there's a Master Class with Sofiane Sylve on Études February 3, 2019 10 am–noon Ages 15–19

SFB does also offer beginner's level adult classes - it's a hodgepodge offering: https://balletalert.invisionzone.com/forum/59-san-francisco-ballet/?page=3 Drop-In Ballet Classes Beginner Ballet Series Adult Ballet Summer Workshop Ballet 101 @ Fitness SF Ballet 201 @ FITNESS SF Both PNB and SFB have been offering Ballet 101, 202, etc. designated classes that are for general educational purposes - ballet terminology, the ballet business, current artistic trends and such. I've not heard whether there are academic credits associated with any of these seminars (I sort of doubt anyone is being tested on anything).

A couple of worthwhile Pointes of View podcasts from the end of last season: Classical, Neoclassical, and Contemporary Ballet with Principal Dancer Tiit Helimets https://sfb-pov.fireside.fm/67 Episode 66: Creating Unbound SF Ballet Writer Cheryl Ossola discusses the behind-the-scenes work of Unbound with General Manager Debra Bernard, Production Director Christopher Dennis, and Ballet Master Anita Paciotti. https://sfb-pov.fireside.fm/episodes SFB has redesigned their video and audio pages: https://sfballet.blog/category/listen/ https://sfballet.blog/category/videos/

I personally love the idea of it: "Masterclass" online education in various arts, games, sports, science and the humanities… https://www.masterclass.com/ I watched a YouTube commercial for Masterclass by Ron Howard (on film directing) and was immediately interested. Just some of the various masterclass teachers: Alice Waters Stephen Curry Bob Woodward Reba McEntire Helen Mirren Judy Blume David Mamet Carlos Santana Spike Lee Gary Kasparov Herbie Hancock Frank Gehry Serena Williams Dr. Jane Goodall Might make a nice gift for someone you know.

Studying literature and creative writing in school, I naturally spent time reading fairy tales and mythology texts. And old European fairy tales (and songs) are not the least bit happy and pretty. But that's part of the fascination - they teach a great many things, and sometimes in a subversive manner. Andersen's tales are plainly Christian in their bent, but it's not a warm and fuzzy approach. "The Little Match Girl" would be one example - maybe he was actually trying to drive people to Buddhism. 😉

Maria Kochetkova posted a short Russian Orthodox-themed video on Instagram. She's back to working with Marat Daukayev in L.A. to keep her classical ballet techniques intact. Happy Christmas! https://www.instagram.com/p/BsWsWDHlro5/