Terez

I review performances in the SF Bay Area for Bachtrack (an international online review site) and the rules state that I cannot have any personal connection with the dancers/company or professional bias, etc. They're very proud of their neutral factor, and I know the SFB appreciates their unbiased reportage. I will say, though, that as a dance blogger (at The Classical Girl), if it's for my site alone, I'm more inclined to be supportive toward the company I'm reviewing. I know other dance bloggers, too, who prefer to stay on that side of things so that they can support the company and its dancers. But the big, professional publication reviews? Good Lord. That woman sounds like she had a personal agenda/vendetta against professional reviewers or the whole system. Maybe it was that way, back in the day, but it seems to me all the professional reviews I read these days are just that - professional reviews. There's too much backlash on social media nowadays if a reviewer misses the mark in a big way.

I was sorry to see that Grace Shibley was not on the roster. And surprised. Echoing others that I hope it's because she found a promotion elsewhere. Was rather surprised to see Ludmilla [Campos] Bizalion returning to the roster. How often do dancers go from SFB to Smuin to SFB? I knew Natasha Sheehan had a favorable place on the Gala roster, but I can't help but feel sad for the female apprentices who didn't make it to the corps - as if one grabbed the place the other might have thought they'd earned, simply as a rule of pecking order. But I guess that's how it goes when they spy someone they think is worthy of going straight from training to corps. Very, very happy to hear of the promotions to soloist. All of them were on my wish list. And I'm very happy for Elizabeth Mateer that she was able to escape the nastiness of the cut-backs over at the Pennsylvania Ballet. Have heard great things about her. Always exciting, this news about the new roster. I wasn't expecting it in May. Isn't it usually announced in July? I'm wondering if we will see a few names leave the roster before the season starts up. Have not seen or heard word of Jaime Garcia Castilla performing for the longest time. I thought he might be moving on. But I guess when you're a principal it's never a silent slipping away. (Or is it?)

Yes, I saw opening night. Absolutely lovely. What a great cast. I, too, would love to see more of the casts, and I've really been enjoying the corps dancers getting solo time, all season long. Can't wait to see who gets promoted - there are four or five strong candidates, both on the men's side and the women's. I imagine they'll be bringing in new talent from outside. (Elizabeth Mateer, from the Pennsylvania Ballet, is joining the SFB corps, confirmed in an article announcing a big roster cut over there, for starters.) I would particularly have enjoyed watching Lonnie Weeks as Lensky and Norika Matsuyama as Olga. She, in particular, seems well suited to the role. Lauren Strongin, on Sat pm, did a rock solid job, however. They all did. Watching Gennadi's Lensky, particularly his solo just before the duel, was so poignant. Wow, he's ending the season, and his performing career with the SFB on SUCH a strong note. He will be missed by many.

SFCleo, I very much enjoyed your review, and Pherank, your comment about the hair ornament made me laugh out loud. I very much enjoyed "Swimmer" - I'd missed it last year, and was uncertain as to whether I'd jump on the "you have to see this!" train this time around. In the end, I did, although I missed some of the subtler references that my friend, a decade older than I, appreciated about culture in the '60's. Was that really an image of Possokhov at the end, floating in the ocean? Oh, wow, that went over my head entirely. What fun, though! I am still shaking my head, chuckling, about that blinking hair ornament incident. That would have bothered the HELL out of me. I'm so very distractible, and while I think "Dances" is lovely, it always feels overlong to me, and somewhat repetitive by the end. What a gaffe on the woman's part (and tell me it was something she genuinely forgot she had on; could anyone be so obtuse as to think that a blinking ornament invisible to one's own eyes would be anything but an annoyance to all the people behind her?).

I saw the Sun matinee performance of this after a Sat pm Program 7 performance, and I have to say, I really liked this one. I would have thought it might prove a little underwhelming after Program 7's "Countenance of Kings" and "Theme and Variations," etc, but it really suited me. The costumes were so much more appealing (Sat pm's "T&V" aside), the orchestra sounded great, and I liked seeing the pianist onstage for Ratmansky's "Seven Sonatas" versus in the pit, the way it had been for Wheeldon's "Continuum" on Sat pm. Really enjoyed Tomasson's "Prism." Francisco Mungamba was given the role of the solo man in the 3rd movement, and he was quite exciting to watch. Still a young dancer, obviously, but wow, some real potential there. He seemed to have that crucial ability to fill a stage with his body language and presentation (did that make sense?). I've really been enjoying the way Helgi's using corps dancers in soloist roles this season - or maybe I missed out on it over the last two years because I've been seeing the first cast perform. Wei Wang's another one who's more than ready to move up to soloist - I'm hoping to see one of these guys, if not both, get a promotion for next season. I quite enjoyed Wheeldon's "Rush," more than I thought I would. (Probably to make up for the fact that I enjoyed Saturday night's "Continuum" less than I thought I would.) Gorgeous costumes. Again, while the program lacks a high octane piece like "Countenance of Kings," I found the end result to be more satisfying on Sunday. This is the first time I've gotten to see two programs back-to-back in this way. What a luxury!

Dirac, I chuckled (and vicariously winced) at your comment. I must say, having seen Continuum once (this past Saturday), I don't feel the need to see it again. I enjoyed T&V a lot more than I'd expected I would. And, even though I'm supposed to be ooh-ing and aah-ing about "Countenance of Kings," I have to say, I found it all a bit exhausting by the end. What Allan U. likes so much, referenced in the above quote, I found not so much to my taste. Why is it so genius to use every single note of music, every last bit of the body? I would have liked... not sure what. Some breathing space. The music just felt like overmuch (or, it felt like the aural equivalent of an urban expressway, which was the composer's point). I am such a fan of classical and more traditionally orchestrated music, and the relentlessness of the horns at some point rubbed me the wrong way. And when they turned on the backdrop Broadway-style stage lights facing out into the audience, it felt like a sensory assault. Paradoxically, Allan U. didn't seem all that wowed about Possokhov's "Swimmer," and I must say, THAT has been the one that energized me and shook me out of my ballet comfort zone in a positive way. I certainly don't want to say I didn't enjoy "Countenance" - I just sometimes resist a product that's received tons of hype, if only b/c I want to make up my own mind about what the night's most compelling performance should be. I see it is set in Program 1 for 2017, so I'm sure I'll be seeing it again, and will likely enjoy it more. And in the meantime, what a surprise to have enjoyed the T&V as much as I did. Far and away the most enjoyable orchestra/music performance of the night for me. Boy, does the SFB orchestra sound good.

Wow, what a year for saying goodbyes to longtime SFB male principals. Next year's roster is going to be pretty interesting to behold. (Finally room for Di Lanno on the principal roster would be my guess.) I'm very happy for Nedvigin, but sad for us, the audience. I've seen lots of him so far this season, it seems. Have enjoyed everything he's done. Congrats to the Atlanta Ballet; this is exciting news.

What adorable photos these all are! Especially Sasha's "swans on the loose"!

Ooh, what a great thread to discover! (Why on earth didn't I come searching earlier?!) I'll be seeing Sylve/Di Lanno on Sat pm 2/27. Can't wait! And I'm putting money down on the bet that the female principals who didn't get rehearsed for Swan Lake (notably Chung) are instead being rehearsed for Coppelia. Time will tell...

Jayne, I love your idea. I just saw a Silicon Valley Ballet (rebranded Ballet San Jose) program on Saturday night and they had an asterisk by some of the names and a "leave of absence" explanation down below. I appreciated that. And it left things vague enough that it protected the dancer's privacy at the same time.

Thanks so much, all of you, for these thoughtful, insightful reviews. I gobbled up every word. (Didn't get to see Program 2 myself, alas.)

Very exciting news! So happy for her. I love it when former SFB dancers create a stronger, more positive reality for themselves. So empowering to follow them on their journey. Particularly easy with Madison, as she maintains a strong social media presence.

Wow, well put, and fascinating new insight for me. I'm enjoying this entire discussion thread!

Regrettably, I can't access the clip. Since when does the Chronicle require a digital subscription for some of their content? Bummer.

Wow, one needs to live in a very small country to make THAT work. Then again, thanks to his success, Helgi can go by first name alone here in the U.S., or certainly throughout the ballet world! Iceland must be so very proud of him.

Yes, I noticed this too! (Although my thought was "hey, how did I miss that last year?" Good point, about how it lessens the dramatic impact at the end.

Does Helgi frequently take the company "home" to his native country? I can't help but visualize some new corps dancer, excited about international touring, visualizing Paris and London and Beijing, and then... Iceland. I suppose the feeling would be much worse if it were an Oct/Nov tour. That's a very early tour for them, though, right on the heels of their repertory season. Although the works will still be fresh in their mind, if they cull from 2016 season.

Do we know why Yuan Yuan isn't dancing?

Lovely pic! Will be exciting to watch what they do with her.

I am just agog at the variety of dancers they're using in solo roles this Nut season. I was there on opening night and got to see Jahna Frantziskonis (and I now know that spell check will try to absurdly correct her name) dance Spanish. Ellen Rose Hummel joined her as the 2 females of the quintet. They both looked really good. WanTing Zhao was notably good in Arabian, and I see they've got her cast as Snow Queen one show. French featured two new corps dancers (who were apprentices last year): Maggie Weirich and Ami Yuki, along with Rebecca Rhodes. All these corps dancers getting great exposure. I was wowed by Norika Matsuyama last season; she's SPF on Mon matinee. I think they've got plans for both Matsuyama and Frantziskonis; casting sure looks that way. Mentioned this to Kyra Jablonsky on opening night in the press room, and she seemed in agreement, that they are being watched with interest, so to speak. The Sarah Lane addition shocked me. Wonder why that was deemed necessary, with so many company dancers prepped to perform? Hardly seems like the company needs help selling seats for this production. Although it's unfortunate that they started the run so late and are ending it so late. Makes you wonder how full the house is going to be as New Year's Eve approaches. (On the other hand, a great opportunity for bargain seats!) I tend to focus on the females, but here are some of the male corps dancers being given a chance in good roles on opening night: Spanish: Max Cauthorn, Aaron Renteria Arabian: Gaetano Amico (who was also Mouse King) Chinese: Lonnie Weeks Russian: Francisco Sebastiao, Blake Kessler I think it's very exciting to see these kind of casting choices being made. I did notice, though, that Shannon Marie Rugani is off the roster; didn't notice that in July. And no sign of Feijoo anywhere in the picture.

Thanks for posting this, Peggy. I've been longing for some dialogue on casting choices, but was too busy/lazy to start the thread myself. It sure felt strange not seeing Maria or YY's name on there. I don't think I've ever seen Lorena F in a Nutcracker, but my viewing experience is limited to 1x a year for 3 years, so that's not saying much. I so wish I could see more performances, particularly with these new dancers they have. I was very impressed with Norika Matsuyama last year; I'd love to see how she did as SPF. Nice to see Julia Rowe doing it one afternoon, as well. I'm agreed that this is a fun opportunity for audiences to see the rising talent within the company. I wonder if it would hurt ticket sales if it became that more and more (and a rest for the principals, as you said, Pherank). Doubt it; most SF audience members go to Nutcracker for the experience of going to a peerless Nutcracker. If there ever were a time to take a risk with casting, I guess this would be it. Dang, wish I could go more than once and see some of these newer dancers (or new to the role) perform! I look forward to hearing what others have to say about this run...

Enjoyed these - thanks for posting/linking!

Wow, sounds like it was incredible. I would so love to see some of these dancers perform, but, alas, the West Coast thing makes it tough. I enjoyed reading all these comments, tho.

Oh, WOW. Gosh. I'm going to miss seeing her this season. But still, brava for her!!

Yay, thanks on the naming, Quiggin! I was thinking maybe it was him, as I've really enjoyed bits of his dancing since his first season with the company, but it's funny how a close up of the corps dancers' faces doesn't always help, since you're used to seeing them from a distance and under bright lights. I enjoyed the comments you made about the comparisons between the PNB and the SFB. Well put!