Gina Ness

She was one of my most favorite dancers.... ever!!!!!

Thank you all so much! My brother also has always enjoyed photography... That is a photo of me as "Cinderella" taken by Tony (Anton) on the cover of his book. I still have my SOB button!

My brother, Anton Ness, has written a book telling the story of how, in 1974, the San Francisco Ballet almost went bankrupt and disappeared. Five corps de ballet dancers began a movement (The SOB Campaign) that eventually saved the ballet for future generations of dancers and their audiences. It is a great story, and I'm so glad that a more detailed recounting of this moment in time has finally been written... It's available on Amazon and Kindle... I'm very proud of my brother for writing this book! http://www.amazon.com/Save-Our-Ballet-During-Recession/dp/1478156112/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344928267&sr=1-1&keywords=Save+Our+Ballet

Thank you for posting this, Rosa! It was lovely... I loved Richard's dancing. I'll never forget him in Taming of the Shrew... Incredible natural "ballon"... My brother reminded me he could execute perfect triple tours en l'air. So handsome.... Such a fine actor... He shall truly be missed. One of the greats....

Thank you, Helene... Yes, this is the article... May she rest in peace, and I am so sorry for her family and friends.

Dancer, choreographer, teacher and actress Zina Bethune was killed in a tragic accident while trying to rescue an injured animal on the highway. I didn't know her, but several friends did (including my husband) and they speak so lovingly of her. I tried unsuccessfully to copy and paste an LA Times article on her. She has been posthumously given an award by PETA for her devotion to animals. After reading about her, she truly seemed a remarkable woman.

Thank you so much for posting this tribute, debhig. My husband, Gardner, has fond memories of working with him in LA.

Thank you, Brioche, for posting Ginny's tribute beautifully created by SFB's and ABT's David Coll...

I sadly report that Virginia Johnson, ballerina of the San Francisco Ballet, passed away on September 21, 2011. "Ginny" was one of the most talented and accomplished dancers trained by the Christensen brothers. She created the role of Cupid in Lew Christensen's popular comedy ballet Con Amore. She appeared as the Snow Queen partnered by David Coll for the premiere of the gorgeous 1967 Robert O'Hearn production of Lew Christensen's The Nutcracker. Ginny was one of my favorite company dancers when I was studying at SFB school. She could move like the wind with brilliant technical clarity. I loved that quality in her. When she retired from SFB, she became our Ballet Mistress staging and rehearsing many works for the company including our Balanchine repertory. She was one of the few people allowed to stage Mr. Christensen's ballets throughout the country. She shall be missed...

Hello, Sr. Lukas... Well, I don't know how you might expect to gather all that information at one meeting.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1d909b3127ccefded0257480a00000030O00BYt2rFw5ZNAe3nwI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/ Here I am at sixteen with Edward Smyth in Marc Wilde's "Afternoon of a Faun" 1967... Marc used the imagery and meaning of the scarf like Nijinsky's version... It is a pas de deux for a young man and woman who have a sexual awakening in the dance. The young man holds and plays with the scarf in her absence as he wants to hold and play with her... The scarf was used throughout the pas de deux making patterns, entwining, spinning in and out of it... Gorgeous choreography, beautiful to dance, incredibly musical... One of the most wonderful and exciting pas de deux I ever had the good fortune to dance...

Marc Wilde was one of my most influential teachers. I had the honor to work with him in the Marc Wilde Ballet when I was sixteen/seventeen. I was the first to dance his "Afternoon of a Faun" that was in the rep of Oakland Ballet for many years. I was actually performing with his company while a scholarship student at SFB. Got in a bit of trouble when the reviews came out! I got around it because I attended Marc's afternoon classes and rehearsals for high school credit! During this time, he also created the first "rock" ballet "Structures" (1967) using the music of Jefferson Airplane among others. I worked again with him at around age twenty (1971) when he worked with Alan Howard's Pacific Ballet where I danced before I rejoined SFB as a full company member in 1972. He created his ballet "To Love Somebody" then which featured the music and voice of Roberta Flack. This work, which incorporated film, was very avant-garde and the audience loved it. Marc was one of the most talented choreographers I have ever had the privilege to work with. He remained a friend throughout my life until he passed in the early part of the first decade of the new century.

Hello, Sr. Lukas... This is indeed interesting to me. I didn't know what Sven was up to after he left SFB. I've known Sven since I was quite young. He is older than I am by a few years. We danced together when I was a kid at Ballet Celeste in San Francisco during the late 50s early 60s. Sven went on to dance at SFB, as did I later, although we didn't work together at SFB. He left before I arrived... Our paths may have crossed when I was studying at SFB school (mid sixties), but I'm not certain... The ballet you speak of is by Lew Christensen... Sven must be pictured with Nancy Robinson, a principal SFB dancer during the sixties. I don't know where he is now. I believe (I heard from a reputable source) he was in a very serious car accident quite a few years ago. He has dropped off the radar. He did not attend the SFB reunion in 2008. P.S. I have a few photos of a very young Sven as Franz in Coppelia with Ballet Celeste...

The central figure in the shades reminds me of John Hart... Looks like him...

I am sad to read of her passing. I saw her dance with Lawrence Rhodes in After Eden when I was a teenager and it was memorable. I loved them both as dancers and artists...

I am sorry to read of Janice Bering's passing. I wonder if Christensen ballerina Christine Bering of SFB was a relative?

Wow...mimsyb...You were an original cast member! I also danced Magic Flowers during the seventies, and my brother Anton Ness and I danced the Rose Waltz principal couple mid-seventies... During the time when the Panovs were guesting with SFB...

As Brioche mentioned, Lew Christensen choreographed a wonderful version for San Francisco Ballet which premiered in 1958. The music was chosen from different Tchaikovsky works, including the Symphonies 1,2, and 3 (Winter Dreams being my favorite!) and Theme and Variations. It was a magical ballet. I loved the opening scene with the Stags dancing in the forest. It was in SFB's repertory until the early eighties when a new production designed by Jose Varona was unveiled with one piece of added choreography...a pas de six, in which I danced...

As Leigh Witchel mentioned, different ballets or even the same ballet, require different stages of shoes being broken in. For one part, with a lot of releves/virtuoso steps, a dancer needs really firm, newer pointe shoes. For something softer or more fluid with a lot of "roll throughs", a dancer might opt for a more worn pair. All shoes by the same maker are not created equal, as well. Some are just made better than others. So, it is the quality/personality of the dance that dictates the pointe shoes worn...

Here is a link to some film coverage of the special event in Los Angeles honoring Mr. Moreno... Men of the Ballet Russe:

I just heard very recently that Ballet Russe's Victor Moreno has passed away. Here is a link to an obituary. He was honored in 2007's Men of the Ballet Russe event in Los Angeles. http://www.tributes.com/show/Victor-Moreno-89091589

Yay!!! Thank you, Mme. Hermine, for posting Cynthia Gregory's Rose Adagio. I almost did the other day! One of my favorite dancers of all time! She is the complete package in this clip...So charming, technically gorgeous without tutus flopping onto the back of her head with an unattractively high arabesque and an a la seconde develope so high that it looks bizarre with a classical tutu (Somova). Cynthia...a class act, so to speak! In total agreement, aurora...

Thank you, cubanmiamiboy, for posting Viengsay Valdes's Rose Adagio. Her balances were amazing...the best I have ever seen...wow! Even though the choreography is a bit different in some places, it didn't go so far as to spoil the dance and the scene, for me, anyway...She was very sweet and charming in her demeanor, which is just so vital for this famous adagio. She was Aurora...not just a technical whiz. I love her!

Hello, ladyerayne...I just heard about Gene's sad loss quite recently. I was very sorry to hear of it. Thank you for your post.

Hello...Mme. Hermine, I wasn't seeing his obituary in your link for some reason. My brother Tony sent me this one... http://www.hayworth-miller.com/visitations/View.php?id=2471