PeggyR

I've got tickets to both Saturday performances.  Last time around, the same cast danced the matinee and evening, so I'm glad to see different casts this time.  Interesting that Tan is in Chamber Symphony; is that a debut for her?  I don't remember her being in it previously.  Also, very glad to see Walsh in Chamber; he has the drama to do it justice.

On 4/26/2019 at 8:48 AM, Josette said:

Mathilde Froustey gave an utterly poignant, vulnerable, heartbreaking performance last night  - understated and deeply realized. I was in the second row, her eyes said everything that the Little Mermaid was feeling. 

The Little Mermaid 4/27 matinee

Froustey/Di Lanno/Remez/Keesler/Freemantle

Fully agree with Josette about Froustey’s exquisite Mermaid.  I’ve seen four Mermaids (Tan and Van Patten during the last run; this time Zhao and Froustey), and while all gave beautiful, very individual performances, Froustey is the only one who had me in tears.

Also notable was Nathaniel Remez’s excellent Poet.  As noted upthread he’s very young, and I really expected something more along the lines of ‘promising, but a work in progress’.  Instead, his Poet was detailed, mature, fully thought out, and nearly as heart breaking as Froustey’s Mermaid.  The Poet doesn’t really have much actual dancing, so it’s hard to judge his classical technique, but if it lives up to his acting abilities, he’s going to be very exciting to watch over the next few seasons.

Looks like SVP is a budding choreographer.  The article is about former SFB principal dancer Victoria Morgan and discusses her plans to showcase emerging female choreographers at Cincinnati Ballet, where Morgan has been Artistic Director for 22 years. 

Quote

 

This fall, the "Kaplan New Works Series" will showcase three emerging female choreographers:

• Heather Britt, a Cincinnati native
• Andrea Chermoly, resident choreographer at Louisville Ballet
• Sarah Van Patten, longtime San Francisco Ballet principal dancer. 

 

Saw the Zhao/Helimets/Ingham/Andre/Freemantle performance on Saturday afternoon 4/20.   

I’ve been a Zhao fan for a while now, and she didn’t disappoint in the title role.  No one can come close to matching Tan’s extraordinary fluidity but Zhao did well:  beautiful arms in Part I, touching and fragile in Part II. 

Dores Andre brought considerably more personality to Henriette/The Princess than either character deserved.

I thought The Poet’s slower, stylized movement suited Helimets better than the bouncy goofiness of Edvard/The Prince.  On the other hand, Luke Ingham handled the dual role with easy charm, although I still can’t figure out why anyone would be obsessing about golf in the middle of the ocean (or anyplace, for that matter).

But the show was pretty much stolen by Benjamin Freemantle’s creepy Sea Witch; think Petyr Baelish on steroids (for GOT fans only🙂).  Aside from his technical strength, Freemantle is proving himself to be a powerful and charismatic actor.  He’s only been a soloist since last year, but I hope he’s on the short list for principal.

On to the Froustey/Di Lanno cast for the Saturday matinee.  I’m curious about Nathanial Remez as The Poet; he was an apprentice in 2016, joined the corps in 2017, so he’s very young for a major role like this.  Extremely happy to see Freemantle will be dancing the Sea Witch again.

Promoted to the corps de ballet.  Congratulations on a well deserved promotion.

First intermission of Naghdi’s SB. One word to describe:  WOW.  Take out second mortgage if you need to, but go to her Friday performance.

14 minutes ago, PeggyTulle said:

Also, I swear Ami Yuki was originally listed for a debut as the Lilac Fairy, but now that's gone from the casting sheet.

According to my records, Yuki was scheduled on 3/16 matinee with Lucas Erni; Jennifer Stahl is taking her place.  I’m sure Stahl will be excellent, but I was looking forward to seeing Yuki’s debut. 

16 hours ago, pherank said:

So much for seeing the "new talent", eh? Except that you got to see Jasmine Jimison who is just an Apprentice. How was that?

In the Blue Bird, Jimison was excellent; I suspect we’ll be seeing her in the corps next season, and in more solo roles over the next few seasons.  A very confident, charming, technically secure performance.  I did think her smile looked pasted on, but that’s understandable in a relatively inexperienced dancer making a major debut.  Aside from that, there was no visible tension, although I didn’t think she and Hernandez had much stage chemistry.  He danced beautifully, but he doesn’t project much to the audience:  looks great, not a lot of presence.

As for other ‘new talent’:  in the third act, the Jewels’ Cavaliers were Cavan Conley and Lucas Erni, neither familiar to me, and both scheduled to dance Blue Bird later this week (I’m seeing Conley on 3/13, and Erni on 3/16 matinee).  Very impressive dancing from both.

As to the rest of the performance (Sunday, 3/10):

Froustey was a delight, although a few of her supported turns with the suitors needed to be hauled back to the vertical, which I suspect was the fault of partnering, since she’s usually very centered.  The Rose Adagio went well, the balances somewhat less ‘milked’ than I’ve seen from her before, and the last one was pretty spectacular.  But her insistence on visibly holding on to the balance makes her look tense instead of relaxed and confident.

 Vitor Luiz gave his usual excellent performance: very clean, neat technique, and big, airy jumps.  Turns aren’t his strongest point, but the finishes are clean, which counts for a lot with me.

Among the various Jewels and Fairies, Ellen Rose Hummel stood out as Courage (I think that’s the one where she points her fingers). I really hope she makes it to soloist soon.

Speaking of soloists, Julia Rowe was the Meet the Artist interviewee.  She revealed that she will be debuting as one of the women in Shostakovich’s life during the Shostakovich Trilogy (second movement) later in the season.  

15 hours ago, Josette said:

Luke Ingham danced last year.  I saw him step in for Carlo di Lanno at the last minute when Luke danced with Sasha De Sola.    From what I am advised, I don't think this was an issue of stepping in this season, but of distribution: Casting subject to change.  Luke was quite good and found a refreshing touch of humor in the hunt scene.    

13 hours ago, pherank said:

I like Ingham as an actor - he's an asset to the story ballets in that sense. I don't know about his 'fine classical technique' though.   😉
He's a versatile dancer, and reliable partner, which matters. I was thinking that it might be odd for Froustey to then dance with a new partner. Ingham is considerably taller than Luiz isn't he? I would think that would shake things up a bit. But you would know better than I, as a a former dancer.

Ingham has danced with Froustey on at least two occasions that I saw:  Giselle and Swan Lake.  As I’ve said before, I don’t think he’s best suited to white tights roles, but he’s a good actor, plus he and Froustey have excellent stage chemistry and he’s a secure partner, so I’d guess she already feels comfortable with him.

Performance of March 10, 2 pm, Bluebird Pas de deux: Esteban Hernandez replaces Nicolai Gorodiskii.  It’s always a pleasure to see Hernandez, but I enjoy getting a look at talented corps members, so a bit of a disappointment.

Sunday, March 10, 2019 – 2:00 pm

Aurora: Mathilde Froustey
Prince Desiré: Vitor Luiz
Lilac Fairy: WanTing Zhao
Bluebird: Esteban Hernandez
Enchanted Princess: Jasmine Jimison*

Cute video of Froustey rehearsing a variation.

Quote

“Rehearsal is called Répétition in French.
As you can see here It also means repetition... most of the time a lot of repetition.”

 (Putting this here because I think it’s from Sleeping Beauty.)

6 hours ago, Katia Kapustin said:

I can understand some fans are upset because their favourite soloist will not get a chance to debut as Aurora but I think the most important factor here is that Joseph Walsh needed a suitable and experienced partner, and for this reason Helgi must have felt the need to invite a guest ballerina who has Aurora in her repertoire. The Royal Ballet's Principal Yasmine Naghdi is a highly classical ballerina and no doubt she and Joseph Walsh will look stunning together. Thanks to her coming over from London Joseph Walsh will be able to dance his debut as Prince Desire.

Good point.  However, during the Don Quixote run, Walsh debuted Basilio with the also debuting Wona Park, so he didn’t need an experienced ballerina for that, and Basilio has a lot more dancing/acting than the rather bleh Desiré (who seems to me to be more of a device than a character – but that’s a different discussion). 

 Also, now that we know Wei Wang is guesting at the RB in Frankenstein, perhaps this was an exchange situation:  one of ours there, one of theirs here, which I think is good for the dancers and good for the audience now and then.   Based on the favorable comments re Naghdi on this board, I’m very much looking forward to seeing her.

9 hours ago, PeggyTulle said:

Ludmila Bizalion danced Lilac last year. Wonder if she'll be cast again...? 

I saw her last year and she was good, though I think she needed more majestic sweep, but it was a good start.  

Also looking forward to another Carabosse from WanTing Zhao:  very vivid characterization.

37 minutes ago, Dreamer said:

I am beyond excited over the news of guest appearance of Yasmine Naghdi. And with none other than Joe Walsh as her Prince.

34 minutes ago, PeggyTulle said:

Huh. I feel like there are some amazingly able soloists ripe for Aurora. Imports can be nice, but not thrilled about it.

To be honest, I'm kind of torn between both reactions:  on the one hand, excited to see Naghdi (just bought a ticket), but -- disappointed an in-house dancer isn't getting a chance.  SB was performed last season, so I'm a little surprised at least one other soloist didn't prepare the role at that time (of course, maybe someone did and it just didn't work out for some reason).  Agree with PeggyTulle’s comment upthread that Rowe and (especially) Devivo would likely be lovely Auroras.  Plus, I'm surprised Dores Andre hasn't danced the role either last season or (so far) this season.

Having said all that, the 3/13 cast looks especially interesting:  I was worried Walsh wouldn’t get a Desiré, so happy for that.  Very much looking forward to Ishihara and Rowe.  Cavan Conley is a totally unknown quantity from the corps, so that’s going to be interesting.

I’m going Sunday and Saturday 3/16; very happy to see Froustey, a truly delightful Aurora, and Luiz, who’s always good.  Don’t know anything about Gorodiskii (link to his bio; looks like he’s danced all over the place), but I saw apprentice Jimison as Amor during the Don Q run and she was very good, so this should be an interesting pas de deux.  

Sometimes it’s good to see a performance that doesn’t knock your socks off, but just gives you a nice, comfortable feeling of satisfaction.

 Saturday 2/16 matinee 

 The Fifth Season (Tomasson) Tan/Powell/Olivier, Robison/Di Lanno/Simoens

The Fifth Season is probably the only Tomasson ballet that I actually look forward to seeing:  good music, attractive costumes, and some interesting choreography.  

 As sf_herminator noted above, Froustey/Deivison-Oliveira were replaced by corps dancers Kimberly Marie Olivier and John-Paul Simoens, both of whom held their own very well.  Olivier seemed a little nervous at first, but settled down and was particularly effective in the flirty Tango.  Lately, I’ve been viewing Simoens as a future soloist, and this performance reinforced that opinion.

 Elizabeth Powell continues to impress with her long, beautiful lines and solid technique.  I’d like to see her in something dramatic; if she can act, I’d say she’s definitely on principal track in the next few years.

 Snowblind (Marston) Birkkjaer/Stahl/Froustey

Just as compelling as it was last year, with vivid performances from all.  Jennifer Stahl had the unenviable task of taking over a dramatic role from Sarah Van Patten.  Stahl was excellent, although nobody can match Van Patten’s pale blue, slightly manic gaze.

 Etudes (Lander) De Sola/Greco/Walsh/DiLanno

I’ve always had fond memories of seeing this back in the 60’s with, if memory serves, Toni Lander dancing the lead.  However, in all honesty, this time it wore out its welcome a little sooner than I expected, although overall, the company danced it well.  I know it’s meant to mimic the progression of a ballet class, but really, how many battement tendus does anybody really need to see.  So, enjoyable with slight reservations.  

The four soloists were excellent:  Walsh completely back on form, De Sola appropriately glittering, Greco grinning hugely, Di Lanno scowling like he wanted to strangle somebody.

 Too bad about the music.🤯

16 minutes ago, Josette said:

I agree with the comments above about Hurry Up, and would  rather see just about anything else, even Nana's Lied. 

Well, I wouldn't go that far ... 🙄

1 hour ago, Terez said:

Is there another thread that mentions when/why David Dawson's amazing Animus Anima got replaced by Justin Peck's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming? It was only last week that I realized Dawson's ballet doesn't show up anywhere at all this season, and as it was my favorite from the Unbound Festival, I'm gritting my teeth in disappointment. There are more than one references online to it still being part of Program 2 -- one of the perils of making programming public in spring/summer, having it go out to all media outlets, and then instituting changes. Feels like salt in a wound to see it mentioned as part of tonight's program. Nope. I'm not too curious about seeing Peck's work, either. It's going to be a propulsive sneaker ballet with tons of clever movement flung at the audience. Or am I selling it short? Am I being an old fogey stick-in-the-mud for not embracing a younger generation's definition of new, exciting ballet? 

Regardless, I'm looking forward to the rest of the program.  

Terez, I’m totally in sympathy with you re the Dawson being displaced; it was my favorite too.  In fact, I bought a ticket to see a second performance of Program 2 just to see the Dawson and Divertimento 15 again.  I’ve liked the other Peck ballets SFB has performed, and absolutely loved Rodeo:  Four Dance Episodes, so I don’t automatically assume I won’t like his ballets.  Having said that, my 2 cents re Hurry Up…  

-      Music:  Really don’t like the music.  I’ve never liked ‘pop’ anyway, and this score is a pop sub-genre I think of as ‘soppy pop’.  Give me the Rolling Stones any time.

-      Lighting: Very dark.  Very, very dark.  Very, very, very dark.  Bright lights at the rear of the stage directed straight into the audience render the dancers more or less entirely in silhouette.  It’s kind of like driving on a busy four-lane street in December at evening rush hour in the pouring rain.  I should point out that I’m old and my eyesight isn’t happy with this kind of lighting, so maybe someone younger would have an easier time of it.  I’ve seen the ballet from both the Balcony Circle and the Dress Circle, and the angle doesn’t seem to have any effect on visibility.

-      Costumes: Due to the darkness, for all I know the dancers could be starkers.  At the curtain call  (when the lighting was more reasonable), it was a surprise to see the costumes were kind of glittery.

-      Choreography: Note that I have no objection to sneaker ballets in principle.  What I could see looked pretty standard for this type of dance – a lot of running around and vaguely acrobatic moves – but the darkness makes it difficult to see the stage as a whole, so it’s hard to get a feel for how everything fits together, and frankly, it just didn’t seem worth the effort to figure out what was going on.  

Looking forward to hearing what you think.  

14 minutes ago, Josette said:

Don't you assume Ian is Aaron Robison?!   I hope they make the correction quickly.

 

Well, yes.  I was just making a joke.  Sorry! 😀

35 minutes ago, pherank said:

I don't envy her the task of competing with SVP's acting abilities, but if Stahl succeeds, she will look like a hero. Toi toi toi.

Although I didn't see her performance, word was that she was excellent as the Chosen One in Rite of Spring a few seasons ago, so the omen is promising that she'll do well with this.  It's just that, after seeing Van Patten in just about any dramatic role (or comedy, for that matter:  SVP is very funny), it can be hard to imagine anyone else.  Plus, Stahl has to hold her own with Birkkjaer and Froustey, both excellent actors.

Programs 2 and 3 run concurrently.

I'm interested to see Jennifer Stahl as Zeena Frome, since I haven't really seen much of her since her promotion, and nothing that was an acting role.  The part was originated by Sarah Van Patten, who's a superb dramatic actress.

The Etudes cast looks exciting with four virtuoso dancers.  

Program 3: In Space & Time

Thursday, February 14, 2019 – 7:30 pm

The Fifth Season
Choreography: Helgi Tomasson
Music: Karl Jenkins
Conductor: Martin West

Dores Andre
Vitor Luiz
Sofiane Sylve
Luke Ingham
Yuan Yuan Tan
Tiit Helimets

Snowblind
Choreography: Cathy Marston
Music: Amy Beach, Arthur Foote, Arvo Pärt, Philip Sweeney
Conductor: Martin West
Piano: Mungunchimeg Buriad

Ethan Frome: Ulrik Birkkjaer
Zeena Frome: Jennifer Stahl
Mattie Silver: Mathilde Froustey

Etudes
Choreography: Harald Lander
Music: Knudåge Riisager after Carl Czerny
Conductor: Martin West

Sasha De Sola
Tour: Angelo Greco
Mazurka: Joseph Walsh
Pas de Deux Man: Carlo Di Lanno

Programs 2 and 3 run concurrently. 

Program 2: Kaleidoscope
Tuesday, February 12, 2019 – 7:30 pm

Divertimento No. 15
Choreography: George Balanchine
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Conductor: Martin West

 Angelo Greco
Ben Freemantle
Lonnie Weeks
Sasha De Sola
Mathilde Froustey
Isabella Devivo
Julia Rowe
Koto Ishihara

Appassionata (SF Ballet premiere)
Choreography: Benjamin Millepied
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven

Dores Andre
Ulrik Birkkjaer
Sasha De Sola
Benjamin Freemantle
Elizabeth Powell
Jaime Garcia Castilla

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Choreography: Justin Peck
Music: M83

Dores Andre
Joseph Walsh
Elizabeth Powell
Luke Ingham
Gabriela Gonzales
Ulrik Birkkjaer

Wednesday, February 13, 2019 – 7:30 pm

Divertimento No. 15
Choreography: George Balanchine
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Conductor: Martin West

Angelo Greco
Ben Freemantle
Lonnie Weeks
Wona Park
Mathilde Froustey
Isabella Devivo
Julia Rowe
Koto Ishihara

Appassionata (SF Ballet premiere)
Choreography: Benjamin Millepied
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven

Jennifer Stahl
Ian Robison Not sure who Ian Robison might be (presumably not the proof reader).
Mathilde Froustey
Henry Sidford
Madison Keesler
Steven Morse

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Choreography: Justin Peck
Music: M83

Dores Andre
Joseph Walsh
Elizabeth Powell
Luke Ingham
Gabriela Gonzales
Ulrik Birkkjaer

Closeup of the beautiful Don Q/Dryad tutus.

Sat 1/26 2 pm Kitri:  Wona Park Basilio:  Joseph Walsh Driad Queen:  Jennifer Stahl

 I really hate to call anything ‘flawless’, because nothing is, but this performance came close enough.  The company as a whole looked relaxed and well-rehearsed.

 Wona Park’s excellent Kitri had it all:  stellar technique; musicality; long, relaxed balances; dead-center turns (Walsh didn’t really need to do anything but spin her a few extra spins-she stayed vertical on her own); glorious, floating ballon; and good character development.  I just can’t say enough about how good she was (which is consistent with her Waltz Girl in Serenade last season, and the Nutcracker Grand Pas de deux in December). It’s almost too bad that there is at least one, maybe two, promotion-worthy female soloists right now, so Park may need to wait a bit.  I hope the company keeps her happy and she sticks around; she’s pretty special.

 Joseph Walsh, and wasn’t it great seeing him back on stage in his debut as Basilio.  Although I thought his turns weren’t up to his usual standard, there was nothing ‘off’ about the rest of his dancing.  In particular, there are two one-hand overhead lifts:  the first one held fully for the length of the music; who thought the second one could be better, but Walsh got Park overhead, then walked across the stage; both lifts ended with a clean drop and end pose.  Just spectacular.

 Walsh was interviewed Sunday for Meet the Artist.  He said he was feeling ‘pretty trashed’ after his debut.  He and Park only found out three weeks ago they would be doing this performance, so they had to work hard to get used to each other so quickly.  When someone asked how he approached the character of Basilio, he pointed out that Basilio isn’t the nicest guy on the stage, what with giving all the girls the glad eye, and he tried to make him ‘a little less of a prick’, which got a good laugh.

 Stahl’s Driad Queen variation was everything you could ask for:  easy, relaxed Italian fouetees, beautiful lines, and those opening side jumps/développés were perfection.

 Cupid was performed by an apprentice, Jasmine Jimison (is that a great stage name or what?).  I love this role and how it can showcase a young dancer. Jimison needs a little more crispness in her batterie, but otherwise, she was technically excellent, and managed to be adorable, but avoid the cuteness that can sometimes overtake the role.

 And I have to mention corps member Gabriela Gonzalez as the Gitana Woman in the Gypsy encampment scene. This is one of those clichéd character dances (a lot of scarves and skirts) that almost always ends up looking like a pulled up, turned out ballet dancer unsuccessfully playing at being an earthy character dancer.  Gonzalez, however, simply got it:  uninhibited, sexy, totally abandoned.  She was so good, it was a little startling.  

Sunday 1/27 2 pm Kitri:  Dores André  Basilio:  Wei Wang

This performance didn’t come close to reaching the heights of Saturday’s, but nevertheless, an enjoyable afternoon.  Wang and the always watchable André worked well togetherand he showed a nice flair for comedy, plus he let loose with some truly gorgeous turns. The single-hand overhead lifts didn’t go well, but otherwise his partnering looked good.  I wonder if he’ll get a crack at Sleeping Beauty.

23 minutes ago, sf_herminator said:

Updated casting for Sunday 2/3 performance (https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting😞

Sunday, February 3, 2019 – 2:00 pm

Choreography: Alexander Gorsky after Marius Petipa
Staging and Additional Choreography: Helgi Tomasson and Yuri Possokhov
Music: Ludwig Minkus
Conductor: Martin West

Kitri: Sasha de Sola
Basilio: Vitor Luiz
Don Quixote: Nathaniel Remez
Sancho Panza: Davide Occhipinti
Gamache: Myles Thatcher

Interesting; I believe that spot originally belonged to Scheller.  Her replacement means Park and De Sola each get three performances (if my counting is correct) and Scheller none.  I had planned to go again this Saturday to revisit the Park/Walsh pairing, but now I think I'll go Sunday instead to see De Sola.  While I couldn't imaging Scheller as Kitri, I think she would be a beautiful Queen of the Driads.  Anyway, looking forward to De Sola/Luiz.

22 minutes ago, Helene said:

Has SFB or Chung or a colleague on public-facing social media confirmed anything about why she is or isn't dancing?  Did she show at a public ballet-related event visibly pregnant, like van Patten?   

If yes, please provide a source.  If not, the only official news is whether she has or hasn't been cast. 

My apologies; I didn't mean to start rumors but was just trying  to clarify comments re Chung upthread and on other threads that I didn't fully understand.  Offending comment has been deleted.