Terez

Oh, dear, what just crossed my mind was that Lauren Strongin has not been tapped - and it seems to me she's been dancing at SUCH a high level lately. : (

Pherank, we posted at the same time, and there you go, my opinion on Morse. Last spring - I can't remember which ballet, now, it was him with seven other dancers, all principals (and surely there was a soloist or two in the group) and he fit in so seamlessly, I was SO impressed. He really seemed ready to be moved up.

Well, I've been falling out of my chair all week long (and we'll include last week, too) at all these promotion announcements. Just love hearing them all! I'm particularly excited for Steven Morse, as I'd feared he might be overlooked and he had such a strong season last year, it seemed to me. Actually, I'm thrilled for all three; they are all a pleasure to watch. Wow, WHAT an eventful season for the SFB's roster!

Well, my goodness, the news keeps coming from the SFB, doesn't it? Very happy for both dancers; they were on my wish list for promotions, back last spring. As always, I feel a little sad for the dancers who came just shy of garnering this prize, but ah, well, that's how it goes in a dance company. Big congratulations to both dancers!

Loved your comments here, Josette - especially your description of Wei Wang as The Creature. I'm nodding over your comments that his Creature was the opposite of monstrous. I felt the exact same way about Taras Domitro in his interpretation. So much empathy arose in me, watching him, and yes, the rejection he keeps receiving felt so sorrowful. Am so glad the role and its interpretation was so nuanced and polished. (And it doesn't help that these men have superb, beautiful, can-stare-at-endlessly bodies, LOL!)

Me too, Dreamer! And I'm with you, that it would be so much fun to see a promotion being made publicly. Of course, with my luck, it would fall on a night other than the night I was there, and I'd be gnashing my teeth at having missed it. (Good thing for cell phone recordings and YouTube, however!)

Enjoyed your comments, Pherank. It will indeed be interesting to see if it shows up next year. Although with their New Works Festival, it's hard to imagine finding room amid the tried-and-true repertory the patrons will flock to. I wasn't really following the SFB at the time of their 2008 New Works Festival. Am wondering what the season is going to be like. And you have a good point, Pherank, on wishing we'd known all the changes that were going to come about this year (actually, the last couple of years). I have an uneasy feeling I will miss out on the chance to see Davit Karapetyan dance again, and that thought makes me sad. Ah, well. With departures come promotions, and that's been a lot of fun to follow over the past few years.

Watching Salome, wholly entertained by it unfolding onstage, the thought DID cross my mind that, wow, for all the wonderful theatricality of it, the great acting (just loved Val Caniparoli and Anita Paciotti as Herod and Herodias - and both André and Robison did a fantastic job), none of the actual dancing was staying in my mind, producing a "wow" feeling in me, the way Liam Scarlett's choreography, for example, will do. It was all about the amazing feeling of seeing a stretch limousine roll onstage, and the astonishing amount of confetti that kept being shot out from cannons in the downstage wings, watching Dores André, etc. The final pas de deux between André and Robison was very well done - some of that aching, imploring feeling that the final pas de deux in Frankenstein brought, although with obviously different motivations behind it, of course! I felt pretty riveted by the whole thing - a little unnerved at the very end. Although I would have loved to see Froustey do this, I thought Dores did an incredible job. She's really stepping up to the plate and doing a bang-up job as a principal this season, it seems to me. Nice to see. I just loved Possokhov's Fusion. Those men in skirts - wow, did that work well. I was slow in getting to my seat, so I didn't get to read program notes, and the ballet was new for me, so I'd had no idea they were representing whirling dervishes, at first. I just thought, hey, men in skirts. That's a good gender-bending tactic. Loved the ensemble effort of the quartet - it went beyond their being spot-on; they really did exhibit this serene spirituality that worked so well for me. All four couples did such a great job. So nice to see Yuan Yuan Tan performing; this it the first time I've seen her since last spring. The pas de deux with her and Luke Ingham was incredibly good. I missed Fearful Symmetries last year, but I saw the complaints about it looking too dark onstage, and they seem to have remedied that. I find that little coda at the end, new music/pacing/costumes/couple to be baffling. It's like Scarlett (or Adams) was given an extra two minutes' worth of music at the 11th hour and told "do whatever, just make it beautiful." The way the lights shut off just before, and just after - again, what was the point of that? It felt so abrupt. There was so much to like here, but it was so endlessly propulsive, it started getting hard to appreciate. I saw that SFB had some footage on their FB page and site, of Scarlett talking about the ballet, while showing five minutes of rehearsal time mixed with performance footage, and I enjoyed watching that over and over. I felt like only then could I appreciate the choreography. That's the problem with some of this fast-paced stuff (much like In the Countenance of Kings) - I honestly can't enjoy it fully. My brain wants a breather. Thank goodness Adams' score was melodic and likable - I'd been worried that it was going to be an atonal composition. In the end, I'd say I quite liked the program - maybe more than I liked Program 2, actually. I think I liked Frankenstein more than Salome - my thought upon seeing the former was, "I want to see it again! Soon!" I can't say that about Salome, actually. It had a sort of delicious shock value that might get old if one were to attend 2 or more performances in the same season. And the confetti cannons, shot off so effectively the first few times, started getting a little "done that already" by the third and fourth time. Sometimes more is less.

So very happy about this news; I've been looking forward to hearing it for a long time now. ((I'd been banking on a backstage promotion after a performance night of Frankenstein - but I'll take this!)) Well, knock me over with a feather - I had no idea about Max and Sasha. How charming to learn!

I was there Thurs pm, and wow, it was some show. Will report back with my own impressions later today, but I just wanted to contribute this link to Janice Berman's review, and wow, she did NOT like it. http://www.sfcv.org/reviews/san-francisco-ballet/new-salome-mediocrity-unveiled. I'm fascinated by the variety of opinions being voiced. A bit like Frankenstein, it would seem, with less agreement than usual among the usual top 5(ish) reviewers. Is it just me, channeling the tensions of the polarized US political situation right now, or is there more heated disagreement going on this season? I saw that Ann Murphy and Allan Ulrich have offered their two cents' worth, as well. I quite liked Claudia Bauer's review - a great, informative read in all ways.

Anybody know, BTW, why we've seen nothing of WanTin Zhao in recent programs? Or maybe it's just been luck of the draw and she hasn't performed in the three performances I've seen in the repertory season to date. And Pherank, I never got the chance to thank you for your comments on my last query about absent dancers. Yikes, I hope Sarah VP and Sofiane aren't thinking retirement any time soon. They dance so "young" in my mind. Crazy to hear that Sofiane started professionally at 14. Wow.

Pherank, thank you for the lovely shout-out! Much appreciated. The review was a bit longer than Bachtrack allows me (only 800 words) and that's one advantage of a blog review - you can really stretch out and offer thoughts about the mood, and such. Quiggin, like you, I enjoyed the production more than I'd expected I would. I was just crazy about Taras Domitro's performance, the raw emotion in it. Like I said in my review, the Creature was a being you could almost love, certainly feel a whole lot of sympathy for. I noticed in other reviews how more than one reviewer brought up how the story paralleled (or should have) today's technology and the "monster" we might be creating with artificial intelligence. No one brought up how the story relates to the way the "undesirables" of the world, those homeless wrecks you see on the streets of SF and go out of your way to avoid any contact with. There was this utterly brilliant moment during the Creatures early days of reanimation, where, through the scrim and a spotlight, you see him wandering the streets (sorta), being pushed and shoved and despised. It was fleeting, but just a brilliant way to encapsulate how he fared in that post-reanimation period. I thought Scarlett's production made the character wonderfully sympathetic. Those two pas de deux at the end, between Victor and The Creature, and the latter with Elizabeth - were so very, very good, both in performance and choreography. Such "love me - please!" yearning. Domitro didn't hold anything back. I remember being dazzled by his performance in Swimmer last season for the same reason. What a great dramatic artist he can be. I was thrilled to see Cast 2 perform and thought Max, Lauren, Taras, Julia Rowe and Angelo Greco did amazingly well. Was so hoping we'd hear news of a backstage promotion to soloist for Max, the way we heard of Jennifer Stahl getting promoted after Rite of Spring. Speaking of whom, she performed very well as Madame Moritz (?) the housekeeper. I didn't even recognize her; I had to check the name on the cast sheet at intermission. I heard Prokofiev's "Cinderella" in the final waltz scene (but not the bordello scene) - I was so relieved the score was more traditional than innovative. The ballet itself, or its libretto (is that what it's called in a ballet vs an opera?) was plenty innovation for me. I didn't need another Sufjan Stevens or Thom Willems score pushing me out of my comfort zone. Enjoyed your comments on the production, Quiggin. Anyone see Cast 3? Josette, I hope you enjoy the Sun matinee - do report in, if you can, on how Wei Wang did as The Creature. I imagine he'll do fine with it.

I know - I was pretty surprised to see that! Delighted though, as I've always enjoyed watching him, and that's the performance I'll be attending. Am also seeing Lauren Strongin in a lot of principal sort of roles so far this season. Wouldn't surprise me if (when?) it happens. It's all a little disorienting, though. I feel like the company is undergoing quite a changing of the guard. Haven't seen Sarah VP since her return from maternity leave. Nor Vanessa, since opening night of Nutcracker. Nor YY, at all. Ah well, the season has just begun.

This was great news to hear! Makes me feel a tiny bit better about the company losing Davit K. Anyone know how old Greco is?

I, too, am enjoying the conversation! And just wanted to chime in that I loved Possokhov's "Swimmer." I liked it even more than I was expecting to. .... And speaking of Frankenstein, WHEN is that casting list going to come out?! Surely any moment now (and didn't they used to post at least 10 days prior)? Can't wait to see who's dancing the leads on Sat pm.

Hey! I'm a "senior member"! Didn't notice that. (Must roll over at 100 posts?) I still feel new. Ahh... so many ballets, so little time.

Wow, I'm so enjoying reading all these comments and summaries! It's a real wealth of perspective, and I love hearing people's reasons for liking/disliking the different ballets and/or their music. I'm a sucker for the classical music stuff, and I really enjoyed Fragile Vessels, which I saw last Sat (Feb 4 matinee). I'd heard about the so-so costumes and their too-blend-in color, and the way the choreography was at odds with Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, so I was able to be pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The second movement and its pas de trois with Dores, Wei and Joseph W - wow, LOVED it. Was one of my favorite parts of both Programs 1 and 2. I loved the music from Optimistic Tragedy, too, no surprise. Very cinematic. Someone else brought up a great point, of how, if you didn't read the program notes scrupulously, you were sort of at sea (okay, pun intended) about the story line. Impressive pas de deux with Lorena and Luke Ingham; she will be remembered for this role once she leaves at the end of the season. I see the importance of clever, innovative ballets like In The Countenance of Kings, and Pas/Parts 2016, but something in me sort of resists them. Brilliant choreography, great dancing. I wonder if it's not me resisting the music innovation (I am of the "hated it" camp on Thom Willems' funky score. The blaring horn at one point made me recoil in irritation - how can this be a good thing?). I also recoiled in irritation at the stage lights blaring out at the audience during Countenance of Kings. How did this make the piece better? If innovation jolts people out of their comfort zones - and I saw other people wincing at the lights too - is it a good thing? Rhetorical question; I honestly don't know the answer. Was able to see lots of the young, newly promoted dancers in these two programs, which is great fun. So impressed with how Mungamba and Wang have asserted themselves as strong soloists in such a short time (but they were good last year). Lauren Strongin, replacing Froustey in Haffner Symphony, is looking like a principal, and so was Jennifer Stahl in Fragile Vessels. Great to see. I'm sad that there's been no Froustey to rave over, and would have loved to be seeing Norika Matsuyama and Sarah Van Patton, and I haven't seen YY yet this year. Nor the new principal Aaron Robison. But I got to see more of Angelo Greco, and he's an exciting one to watch. And they have one hell of a male roster right now. You really notice it in something like Optimistic Tragedy. Program 1 was awfully sparse for the female corps dancers, alas. What's more, I get the feeling Helgi's got more female corps dancers than he can use. When he added Megan Amanda Erlich back to the roster, I thought "yay!" for her, but, really, I thought "gulp!" for the other female corps dancers, whose slice of the pie got potentially smaller. Then again, there's Swan Lake. Maybe Program 1 with its stronger emphasis on the males in the company is the anomaly. Looking forward to seeing how Frankenstein will be cast.

Thanks for sharing the news, sf_herminator. I was wondering/worrying about her.

Agreed on all levels! : ( Ugh, I hope all if this isn't a sign of how 2017 is going to continue to unfold [everywhere]...

Josette - you certainly get to hold on to the memory of a lifetime! I've seen someone's YouTube footage of the moment after he gets on one knee, and it charms me over and over. Pherank, thanks for the entertaining links. Yes, life goes on, and it goes on beautifully, at the SFB. Just love seeing Masha scampering off after she does her little dévelopé off the road sign. Whoops, bad timing for a Big Sur road trip! (IS that Cruz with the beard?! Not something I see on the dancers too often - the advantage of rehearsal weeks, I suppose.)

Was so very sad to hear this news, too. Davit K is far and away my favorite male principal, and if you count the retirements of Damian Smith (liked him SO much) and Rubén Martín Cintas, that makes a whopping six they've lost in three (?) years. While the current principals are certainly talented, (please, Tiit Helimets, don't go anywhere) there now seems like a big hole in the male principal roster. I very much enjoyed Hansuke dancing the Grand Pas during the Nut Run, but he seems to be more along the lines of the principals they already have - lean, great jumps, fine partners, but not the powerful theatricality and stage presence of Davit K. Not to mention his breathtaking technique. I'm very sorry to see Vanessa go as well, but, knowing this was her 20th year, I knew it was a matter of time (I, too, expected the exodus of one or two others first, tho). But it seems to me Helgi's got some wonderful female talent in the company, at all three levels. Now would be a great time for Helgi to poach a world class Russian male principal, huh? (One can dream, right?) I saw Steven Morse performing alongside principals in more than one ballet last season, and I thought he fit in splendidly. Not that that helps the principal situation, but it seems to me he's read to be bumped up at least to soloist. In spite of my own sadness, I am, of course, happy for the two of them. And Josette, lucky for you, to have been in the audience the night Davit proposed to Vanessa. That had to have been absolutely thrilling!

Yes, such riches the SFB has in their roster! Although I'm sorry, in retrospect, that they couldn't keep Simone Messmer there; I see she's landed as principal at MCB. Well deserved; the SFB's loss, but I imagine it was a matter of juggling at the time, and to keep Froustey as principal is a precious thing for both the SFB and audiences. ' Always enjoy your comments and perspective, pherank!

Oh, what a cute pic - I always love seeing backstage photos. I'm probably the only balletomane who doesn't have an Instagram account. (May be time to change that!) Yes, indeed, Japan and the SFB are having a good relationship, when including Norika and Ami Yuki. Am wondering if this is occurring in other big companies around the U.S.? The gasps of disappointment on opening night, when they announced that Carlos Q was taking Davit's place, were audible. I've come to dread that "Attention, ladies and gentlemen..." substitution announcement. Sure hope Davit's healing and will be good to go in January.

Just back from seeing this production a 2nd time. A substitution for the Tues 12/27 2pm performance allowed me to see Isabella DeVivo and Mingxuan Wang perform as the Snow Queen & King. What fun to see! I was puzzling through the performance, however, as they'd announced six substitutions (ah, late in the Nutcracker run - isn't that invariably the case?) and I forgot who was dancing King. I don't think I've ever seen Mingxuan Wang in such a big role - he looked really great! I sensed a little unsteadiness in lifts and getting the groove right in the partnered pirouettes, and I'm never sure whether it's the unsteadiness of the male or the female - maybe a mixture of both here. I had to hunt down a SFB representative during intermission to find out who'd been dancing the role. Aha! Was a lot of fun, as well, to see Hansuke Yamamoto dancing as Nut Prince. I thought he did a great job. There is something so likable about him that really served the role well. Lent a graciousness to it that I didn't see in Carlos Quenedit in opening night. (Well, I was crushed that Davit K wasn't dancing, so regrettably there was that strike against Quenedit to begin with.) In the Grand Pas, Koto Ishihara showed solid improvement from last year, really technically on the mark this year, but a rather one-dimensional adult Clara, acting-wise. Ah well, she's young, and she's got great role models there at the SFB on how to flesh out the role. She's proven she's got the technical chops for the role.

She is so very much Someone to Watch. Saw her yesterday in Nutcracker's Spanish Dance, and it's pretty astonishing to see such a mature stage presence in a first year corps dancer (who skipped the apprentice year). Seems as though they've had big plans for her for a few years now; didn't she had a notable role in last year's gala? And on World Ballet Day coverage in San Francisco, there was almost a hush in Helgi's voice on when he mentioned her while pointing out some of the dancers in the room behind him. (Anyone else notice that?) I always feel a twinge of sadness, strangely, when a few of the new dancers are highly favored and the previous year's new-and-highly-favored dancers are dropped from the limelight. I was thrilled watching Norika Matsuyama last year and was hoping to see her in a good role in Nutcracker. ((Whoops, I see she was cast as Sugar Plum Fairy originally. But did she get dropped from that casting? It doesn't appear on the online casting sheet.)) But then again, she might have danced Spanish or French and you don't see those roles on the casting lists, and I only went to two Nut performances. I wish they'd supply casting names for those roles online, as well. I just love seeing how Helgi tests out certain dancers in certain roles. Always exciting to see one take the opportunity and run with it. I sense we'll see Sheehan being given some enviable chances this season.