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PeggyTulle

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Posts posted by PeggyTulle

  1. A few other thoughts. WanTing may not be tall, but she sure dances tall. I kept thinking she was the tallest one on the stage. She commands presence and boy does she move swiftly and every so cleanly. She looks to be dancing in the softest pillows, not rock-hard pointe shoes. Bravo to her. I really liked Sasha in "Diamonds", which didn't surprise me. She seems to do diva (ballet-wise) quite well. Full of passion and she just exudes confidence. I also really enjoyed Natasha Sheehan in the corps. She shone quite brightly throughout. 

    One side note: seeing the archived recordings reminds me of how diverse the corps used to be, especially for the women. The corps roster for next year has, if I'm mistaken, no dancers that identify as Black. Am I right?

  2. I'm watching and rewatching the Jewels program, especially "Emeralds" since it's one I haven't seen as often. One thing that I'm particularly awestruck by is Sasha Mukhamedov. She breathes such life into not just the steps, but all of the inbetweens. Watching her, I feel like I'm lifted and just bouyant. She is stunning and such a gem; she elevates this "Emeralds" to a whole new level. Bummed that she wasn't promoted last year; I fear her ACL tear may hinder possibilities for the next year or so. Wona Park, in the pas de trois, was also lovely and bright, and seemed to have that wispy, dream-like air to her.  

  3. SAN FRANCISCO BALLET 2022 REPERTORY SEASON
    ARTISTS OF THE COMPANY 


    ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL CHOREOGRAPHER
    Helgi Tomasson


    PRINCIPAL DANCERS

    Dores André
    Ulrik Birkkjaer
    Max Cauthorn
    Frances Chung
    Sasha De Sola
    Nikisha Fogo
    Benjamin Freemantle
    Mathilde Froustey 
    Angelo Greco
    Tiit Helimets
    Esteban Hernandez
    Luke Ingham
    Julian MacKay
    Misa Kuranaga
    Wona Park 
    Aaron Robison
    Jennifer Stahl 
    Yuan Yuan Tan
    Sarah Van Patten
    Joseph Walsh
    Wei Wang
    WanTing Zhao


    PRINCIPAL CHARACTER DANCERS
    Ricardo Bustamante

    Val Caniparoli

    Anita Paciotti


    SOLOISTS
    Cavan Conley
    Diego Cruz
    Daniel Deivison-Oliveira
    Isabella DeVivo
    Lucas Erni
    Ellen Rose Hummel
    Jasmine Jimison
    Madison Keesler
    Steven Morse
    Sasha Mukhamedov 
    Elizabeth Powell 
    Julia Rowe
    Henry Sidford
    Myles Thatcher
    Lonnie Weeks
    Hansuke Yamamoto 


    CORPS DE BALLET
    Kamryn Baldwin
    Sean Bennett
    Ludmila Bizalion
    Samantha Bristow
    Olivia Brothers
    Thamires Chuvas
    Rubén Cítores
    Estéban Cuadrado
    Megan Amanda Ehrlich
    Luca Ferrò
    Max Föllmer
    Gabriela Gonzalez
    Lleyton Ho
    Anatalia Hordov
    Blake Johnston
    SunMin Lee
    Elizabeth Mateer
    Norika Matsuyama
    Carmela Mayo
    Swane Messaoudi
    Davide Occhipinti 
    Lauren Parrott
    Joshua Jack Price
    Leili Rackow
    Nathaniel Remez 
    Alexander Reneff-Olson
    Jacob Seltzer
    Natasha Sheehan
    John-Paul Simoens
    Tyla Steinbach
    Bianca Teixeira
    Mingxuan Wang
    Joseph Warton
    Maggie Weirich 
    Adrian Zeisel


    APPRENTICES
    Alexis Aiudi
    Teague Applegate
    Juliana Bellissimo
    Andris Kundzins
    Nicole Moyer
    Pemberley Ann Olson
    Jamie Adele Stephens
    Alexis Valdes


    BALLET MASTERS & ASSISTANTS TO THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
    Ricardo Bustamante
    Felipe Diaz


    BALLET MASTERS
    Tina LeBlanc
    Anita Paciotti
    Katita Waldo


    COMPANY TEACHERS

    Helgi Tomasson
    Patrick Armand
    Ricardo Bustamante
    Felipe Diaz
    Tina LeBlanc


    CHOREOGRAPHER IN RESIDENCE
    Yuri Possokhov


    MUSIC DIRECTOR AND PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR
    Martin West
    ####

  4. From the email to subscribers: 

    Company Roster for 2022 Season

     

     

    San Francisco Ballet announces two promotions and the appointment of four apprentices for the 2022 Season. New positions are effective July 1, 2021.

    SF Ballet corps de ballet member Jasmine Jimison is promoted to soloist and apprentice Olivia Brothers is promoted to the corps de ballet. Both dancers received training at SF Ballet School.

    "Jasmine is an immensely talented and dedicated young dancer who excels in her roles on stage, and this year, on the screen in Myles Thatcher's COLORFORMS," says SF Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson. "Olivia is a fresh talent who proved this year she is ready to join the corps de ballet. What I am most grateful for in this difficult year is that we've kept our entire company of dancers working, and that I was able to offer four apprentice positions to students from San Francisco Ballet School's Trainee Program. The pandemic has been so difficult for dancers everywhere, but especially those dancers just beginning their careers after years of hard work. I am proud of these dancers and look forward to working with them in the 2022 Season."

    Jasmine Jimison, called a "breakout talent" (San Francisco Chronicle) for her role in Myles Thatcher's COLORFORMS in the 2021 Digital Season, is a native of Palo Alto. Jimison joined SF Ballet School in 2014, advanced to Trainee in 2017, and performed the principal pas de deux in Balanchine's Stars and Stripes during the School's 2018 Student Showcase. She joined SF Ballet as an apprentice in 2018 and became a member of the corps de ballet in 2019.  Pointe magazine named Jimison one of 2019's Stars of the Corps. See Jasmine Jimison's bio here.

    Olivia Brothers is promoted to corps de ballet after joining the Company as an apprentice for the 2021 Season. A native of Palos Verdes Estates, California, Brothers won first place at Youth America Grand Prix San Francisco in 2017 as a member of the Marat Daukayev School, after which she joined SF Ballet School as a Level 7 student, moving to Level 8 in 2018, and joining the Trainee Program in 2019. See Olivia Brothers' bio here.

    NEW APPRENTICES
    Four SF Ballet School Trainees have been named apprentices for the 2022 Season: Teague Applegate, Juliana Bellissmo, Nicole Moyer, and Jamie Adele Stephens. As apprentices, dancers will take Company class and perform corps de ballet roles in SF Ballet productions.

    Read the full press release here.

    Let's congratulate these wonderful dancers who do so much to deliver art today and every day.

     

     
  5. 49 minutes ago, pherank said:

    I wish more people would comment on the programs.

    I have been biting my tongue... I wanted to like Symphony #9, but something just kept rubbing me wrong. Not sure what it is yet (the dancing is great! But the theme and music just didn't work for me). Thoroughly enjoyed Swimmer. Joseph Walsh is great, and the story of him dipping into pool after pool.. Hokey but in a nostalgic kind of way. 

    Wooden Dimes, though.... I love Sarah Van Patten. But that film just doesn't do her justice. The video capture was so dark, and often I had to make sure my screen's brightness was up (and I'm fairly young). Only because I had read the program notes did I get the importance of the supporting characters (Tiit, Madison, Dores, etc.). The extras in the story itself seemed to get lost in translation. And I felt like I often missed the grandness that should have been there (such a stark stage set with lots of close shots). 

  6. I'm still thinking about how Sofiane would (at least in my imagination) be a wonderful AD. What about Edwaard Liang? He's been getting experience leading BalletMet, he's choreographed for SFB and many other companies, former NYCB dancer, doesn't have "history" from being in the company with the current set of dancers (so perhaps less conflict of interest than some of the others), and I believe he's a Bay Area native. 

  7. 31 minutes ago, PeggyR said:

    Agree that Thatcher fulfilled expectations, although I suspect the director gets some of the credit too.  It would be interesting to know how a choreographer and film director collaborate.  I'd love to have the them interviewed together and hear how it worked.

     

    Ezra Hurwitz, a former Miami City Ballet dancer and dance filmmaker, directed the video. He's collaborated with SFB and many others in the past, and I believe he's also partners w/Gonzalo Garcia (former SFB and current NYCB principal). 

  8. Really enjoyed Colorforms as part of Program 2, so much so I've re-watched it several times. The visual richness, quick and playful editing, and camaraderie that I think many of us are missing these days... Myles Thatcher hit it out of the park with this one. I'm curious how it'll translate to the stage in the future. 

  9. An email update today from SFB on Program 5:

    Programming Change for Program 05

     

     

     

    These last 11 months have brought about much uncertainty and change with the world. As an organization, we have done our best to adjust and pivot where we can, announcing an all-digital season, and 3 world premieres created specifically for the screen.

    However, the safety of our audiences, dancers, and musicians has been at the forefront of our work, and COVID-19 related obstacles created unforeseen delays with the film capture of Choreographer Cathy Marston's Mrs. Robinson at the War Memorial Opera House this month. Therefore, we have made the joint decision with the American Guild of Musical Artists to continue to prioritize the health and safety of our artists and support staff by pausing filming. Mrs. Robinson will be rescheduled for live performance as part of the 2022 Season. An archival capture of Marston’s revered Snowblind, created for the 2018 Unbound Festival, will replace Mrs. Robinson for Program 05
    .

    Snowblind takes you inside the complicated relationships between Ethan Frome, his wife Zeena, and Zeena's cousin Mattie. But fear not! In 2022 you'll see our heroine in Mrs. Robinson exploring her relationship with Benjamin Braddock. Throw in the added complication of Mrs. Robinson's daughter Elaine, and you've got something worth waiting for.

     
    "[Snowblind] gripped the audience so tightly that when the score abruptly vanished, the emotional tension held us in breathless suspension...."  Dancing Times

     

     

    We thank you for your continued support of SF Ballet.
  10. Gotta say, I love the idea of Sofiane as AD. She seems to check off all the boxes (I don't think she's a big schmoozer (sp?), but she has glamourous name recognition) plus she doesn't seem to be buddy-buddy with a bunch of the current dancers, which I think would be key for a new AD (from IG, Gonzalo and a few others are still close friends with current dancers on the roster, which could present potential conflicts of interest). Considering that, I'd have former principal dancer and choreographer Parrish Maynard (ballet master at Kansas City Ballet) on my list. Any thoughts on Larissa Ponomarenko, who is currently on faculty with the school?

     

     

  11. https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/dance/helgi-tomasson-to-step-down-at-s-f-ballet-in-2022-after-nearly-40-years-at-the-helm

    "Helgi Tomasson will step down as artistic director and principal choreographer of the San Francisco Ballet by June 2022, the company announced Wednesday, Jan. 6."

     

    "“This had been on my mind for a while, even before the pandemic,” he said in a video interview over Zoom. “And as I assess where we are now, I feel the company has come through this very well."

  12. From a logistics perspective, holding the full lengths until the end may be wise to allow the company members to better socially distance themselves until there is (cross those fingers) a vaccine. Full lengths mean the entire company (and towards the end, crew and orchestra) is hanging out constantly. 

  13. I'm a bit surprised by the hiring of Fogo as a principal. I assumed that Sasha Mukhamedov would have gotten the nod if they hired another leading lady.

    Ami Yuki's gone from the roster. She's posted on IG about being home in Japan and many of her SFB colleagues have said they will miss her and wished her good luck in Japan. 

    Others missing from the roster that I can see from a quick glance: Vladislav Kozlov, Alexandre Cagnat, Max Föllmer, Skyla Schreter, Miranda Silveira, 

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