Dreamer

I am glad we still have ballet companies, though very few, which can put 32 shades (swans, willis) on the stage. This wouldn't be possible if a company only had 60-65 dancers on its roster. Thirty two women dressed in tutus moving in unison to beautiful music is such a mesmerizing image and I don't want it to become history, remote memories of vanished traditions. Don't future generations deserve to see it too? If there are companies willing to and capable of preserving the traditional ballet reportoire we should applaud their efforts. The world is becoming so homogenized; we already see the same chains of department stores, restaurants, bakeries, shops, etc. in every major city. Old traditional country-specific businesses are disappearing and being replaced by multinational corporations. It would be a truly sad day when this trend extends to the world of ballet.

Millepied sounds like a person who put on a hat too big for him. He can't do other than try to americanize the POB.

Sofiane Sylve is tall, not thick. She's currently the tallest ballerina at SFB. Sofiane is well proportioned and looks very much as a Balanchine ballerina. I am quite surprised by such unflattering characterization of her, especially when it's not true.

Thanks, ksk04. It's great to know that getting good seats shouldn't present a problem. And I do normally receive an email from SCFTA about priority access. Raymonda is such a treat, so I am planning on spending a weekend in SoCal and seeing multiple casts.

Does anyone know when individual tickets for Mariinsky go on sale?

Maybe to give an opportunity to Yuan Yuan Tan and Tiit Helimets to dance it one more time while they still can. I don't mind Swan Lake that much since it might be the last time we can see these wonderful dancers perform it.

Well, the wait is over. I just received an email from the company about the 2016 season. The work by a living legend is Forsythe's Pas/Parts. The best-loved story ballet is Swan Lake. Other full-length ballets returning next season are Coppelia and Onegin. A young superstar making his first work for SFB is Justin Peck. For the overview of the season follow the link below: https://d2ypq1gviimup.cloudfront.net/res/pdfs/seasonbrochures/2016_Season_Overview_Renewal.pdf?utm_source=mail2&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=15RenewalSubsNOPSPMKTG

I see your point, Drew, and agree with it to some extent. Of course, what San Francisco has to offer in terms of live performances doesn't come anywhere close to NYC. If I lived in New York I probably wouldn't be going to ballet as often as I do it in San Francisco. Having so many choices would likely drive me insane. But because San Francisco doesn't offer as much as NYC it also doesn't get the same amount of tourists, both national and international, who come for its art scene. SFB has to rely strictly on the local audience. And with locals overall preferring outdoor activities, dining or sporting events, filling up 3,300 seats is not an easy task. That's why I see the attendance number at SFB as quite an achievement of its artistic management. I didn't intend to give ABT a slap in the face by bringing SFB as an example; I simply refuse to believe that ABT can't survive without guest artists. And thank you for your kind words about SFB I wish I could reciprocate and say the same about ABT.

It is taking the SFB unusually long this year to announce its next season. By this time last year I already had my subscription. But as of today I have not received any communication from the company about the renewal. The excitement is building up. Hopefully the SFB won't disappoint. I would like them to take a risk and come up with unusual programming. Ubiquitous Wheeldon, Scarlett, Ratmansky are getting too redundant for my taste, although I love them all. But with these choreographers having presence at every major ballet company I am ready to see a new name. I know that "Swimmer" is returning next year; Maria Kochetkova mentioned it in her Twitter.

By looking at the MET website I can't say that Osipova's performances are selling much better than any other performance of the same ballet. And individual tickets have been on sale for almost a month now. You would think that anyone who's eager to see Osipova would have already secured his/her ticket. There is definitely no frenzy in buying tickets to see her or any other guest artists. Unless there will be some crazy last minute rush I don't see much proof to the claim of guest artists being a better box office draw. I have no plans of seeing anything at ABT this season as I rather spend my budget on attending my hometown ballet company (SFB). With no guest artists and a population smaller than that of NYC, the SFB can fill the house to its 80% capacity. And our War Memorial Opera House has only 500 seats less than the MET. Last year run of Cinderella was completely sold-out. No guest artists required.

I personally find Taylor's statement of 40% more in ticket sales for guest artists exaggerated. If we assume that those performances were sold-out (highly doubtful), then the "in-house" principals would only fill the theater to 60%. Since complete sold-outs rarely happen it means the ticket sale for lesser known principals is hovering at around 50%. Such low number just doesn't look right me. I don't buy it.

Yes, it was Yuri splashing in the water.

The production credits in the cast sheet list "Green Grass", "If I Have to Go" and "The Ocean Doesn't Want Me Today" by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan and "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet" by Gavin Bryars. All songs were played as a recording. The original music by Shinji Eshima, however, was performed by the live orchestra.

"Apartment" is also in the Bolshoi's repertoire. Although "Ivan the Terrible" was created for the Bolshoi, the POB is the only "outside" company that performed it. Considering Possokhov's ties to the Bolshoi and the fact that he's currently creating a full-length ballet there I still find "Ivan" to be a possibility. I personally would welcome it.

I'll take a wild guess: Lil Buck.

Yuri Grigorovich staged Ivan the Terrible for POB in 2003. The current roster of male corpes de ballet dancers at SFB is very capable of doing Grigorovich's choreography. They were incredible in Swimmer, a new Possokhov's ballet.

I wish that "an American premiere of a work by a living legend that has only ever been performed by the Paris Opera Ballet" would be Yuri Grigorovich's "Ivan the Terrible". Neumeier's "La Dame uax Camelias" was performed by the Bolshoi and is currently on the porgramm at the Dutch National Ballet.