PeggyR

Here's the link: http://www.sfballet.org/performancestickets/casting.asp

Choreographer and composer information has been added. Addtional casts will be entered when information becomes available.

Updated 1/29: added casting for matinee and evening 1/31

Program 2 Opening Night

Thursday, January 29, 2009, 8pm

NAKED

Conductor: Gary Sheldon

Choregraphy: Stanton Welch

Composer: Poulenc (Concerto in D minor for Two Pianos)

Piano: Roy Bogas

Kristin Long, Pascal Molat

Yuan Yuan Tan, Ruben Martin

Frances Chung, Brett Bauer

Nicole Grand, Hansuke Yamamoto

Elizabeth Miner, Diego Cruz

INTERMISSION

IBSEN’S HOUSE

Choregraphy: Val Caniparoli

Composer: Dvorak (Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81)

Conductor: Gary Sheldon

Piano: Roy Bogas

Violin: Roy Malan, Craig Reiss

Viola: Paul Ehrlich

Cello: David Kadarauch

Lorena Feijoo, Quinn Wharton*

Katita Waldo, Davit Karapetyan

Clara Blanco, Luke Willis

Courtney Elizabeth, Brett Bauer

Nicole Grand, Anthony Spaulding

INTERMISSION

IN THE MIDDLE, SOMEWHAT ELEVATED

Choreography: William Forsythe

Composer: Thom Willems

Music: Tape

Sofiane Sylve*, Yuan Yuan Tan*

Vanessa Zahorian*, Lorena Feijoo*

Elana Altman*, Frances Chung*

Pierre-François Vilanoba, Pascal Molat*, Joan Boada*

Program 2 Matinee

Saturday, January 31, 2009, 2pm

NAKED

Conductor: Gary Sheldon

Piano: Roy Bogas, Michael McGraw

Vanessa Zahorian, Hansuke Yamamoto

Rachel Viselli*, Brett Bauer

Jennifer Stahl*, Quinn Wharton*

Dana Genshaft, Matthew Stewart*

Clara Blanco, Benjamin Stewart*

INTERMISSION

IBSEN’S HOUSE

Piano: Roy Bogas

Violin: Roy Malan, Craig Reiss

Viola: Paul Ehrlich

Cello: David Kadarauch

Pauli Magierek*, Aaron Orza

Katita Waldo, Davit Karapetyan

Clara Blanco, Luke Willis

Shannon Roberts, Mateo Klemmayer

Patricia Perez, Sean Orza*

INTERMISSION

IN THE MIDDLE, SOMEWHAT ELEVATED

Music: Tape

Kristin Long, Katita Waldo

Maria Kochetkova*, Sarah Van Patten*

Erin McNulty*, Courtney Elizabeth*

Ruben Martin, James Sofranko*, Joan Boada

Program 2 Evening

Saturday, January 31, 2009, 8pm

NAKED

Conductor: Gary Sheldon

Piano: Roy Bogas, Michael McGraw

Kristin Long, Pascal Molat

Yuan Yuan Tan, Ruben Martin

Frances Chung, Brett Bauer

Dana Genshaft, Hansuke Yamamoto

Elizabeth Miner, Diego Cruz

INTERMISSION

IBSEN’S HOUSE

Piano: Roy Bogas

Violin: Roy Malan, Craig Reiss

Viola: Paul Ehrlich

Cello: David Kadarauch

Lorena Feijoo, Quinn Wharton

Dana Genshaft, Garen Scribner

Clara Blanco, Luke Willis

Courtney Elizabeth, Brett Bauer

Patricia Perez, Anthony Spaulding

INTERMISSION

IN THE MIDDLE, SOMEWHAT ELEVATED

Music: Tape

Kristin Long, Katita Waldo

Vanessa Zahorian, Lorena Feijoo

Elana Altman, Frances Chung

Ruben Martin, Pascal Molat, Joan Boada

Update 1/27: Added casting for January 30

Update 1/29: Added casting for February 1

Here's the link for updates: http://www.sfballet.org/performancestickets/casting.asp

I've added choreographer and composer information. Additional casting will be added as information becomes available.

Program 1 Opening Night

Tuesday, January 27, 2009, 8pm

PRISM

Choreography: Helgi Tommasson

Composer: Beethoven (Piano Concerto No. 1)

Conductor: Martin West

Piano: Roy Bogas

1st Movement: Kristin Long, Ruben Martin, Hansuke Yamamoto

2nd Movement: Sofiane Sylve*, Ivan Popov*

3rd Movement: Taras Domitro

INTERMISSION

World Premiere

DIVING INTO THE LILACS

Choreography: Yuri Possokhov

Composer: Boris Tchaikovsky (who???) (Sinfonietta for String Orchestra)

Conductor: Martin West

1st Movement: Ensemble

2nd Movement: Maria Kochetkova*, Pascal Molat*

3rd Movement: Yuan Yuan Tan*, Anthony Spaulding*

4th Movement: Lorena Feijoo*, Joan Boada*

I Googled Boris T. and found some information: born 1925, died 1996; studied with Shostakovich and Miaskovsky; no relation to Pyotr Ilych.

INTERMISSION

THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS

Choreography: George Balanchine

Composer: Hindemith (Theme with Four Variations for String Orchestra and Piano)

Conductor: Martin West

Piano: Roy Bogas

1st Theme: Lily Rogers, Daniel Deivison

2nd Theme: Elana Altman, Brett Bauer

3rd Theme: Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun, Anthony Spaulding

Melancholic: Taras Domitro

Sanguinic: Sarah Van Patten, Ruben Martin

Phlegmatic: Pierre-François Vilanoba

Choleric: Sofiane Sylve

Program 1 Evening

Wednesday, January 28, 2009, 7:30pm

PRISM

Choreography: Helgi Tommasson

Composer: Beethoven (Piano Concerto No. 1)

Conductor: Martin West

Piano: Roy Bogas

1st Movement: Tina LeBlanc, Ruben Martin, Hansuke Yamamoto

2nd Movement: Sarah Van Patten, Pierre-François Vilanoba

3rd Movement: Taras Domitro

INTERMISSION

DIVING INTO THE LILACS

Choreography: Yuri Possokhov

Composer: Boris Tchaikovsky (Sinfonietta for String Orchestra)

Conductor: Martin West

1st Movement: Ensemble

2nd Movement: Maria Kochetkova, Pascal Molat

3rd Movement: Yuan Yuan Tan, Anthony Spaulding

4th Movement: Lorena Feijoo, Joan Boada

INTERMISSION

THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS

Choreography: George Balanchine

Composer: Hindemith (Theme with Four Variations for String Orchestra and Piano)

Conductor: Martin West

Piano: Roy Bogas

1st Theme: Charlene Cohen*, Daniel Deivison

2nd Theme: Jennifer Stahl, Brett Bauer

3rd Theme: Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun, Anthony Spaulding

Melancholic: Pascal Molat

Sanguinic: Vanessa Zahorian, Joan Boada

Phlegmatic: Davit Karapetyan

Choleric: Elana Altman

Program 1 Evening

Friday, January 30, 2009, 8pm

PRISM

Conductor: Martin West

Piano: Roy Bogas

1st Movement: Vanessa Zahorian, Pascal Molat, Mateo Klemmayer*

2nd Movement: Sarah Van Patten, Brett Bauer

3rd Movement: Hansuke Yamamoto

INTERMISSION

DIVING INTO THE LILACS

Conductor: Martin West

1st Movement: Ensemble

2nd Movement: Maria Kochetkova, Pascal Molat

3rd Movement: Yuan Yuan Tan, Anthony Spaulding

4th Movement: Lorena Feijoo, Joan Boada

INTERMISSION

THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS

Conductor: Martin West

Piano: Roy Bogas

1st Theme: Lily Rogers, Daniel Deivison

2nd Theme: Elana Altman, Brett Bauer

3rd Theme: Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun, Anthony Spaulding

Melancholic: Taras Domitro

Sanguinic: Lorena Feijoo, Ruben Martin

Phlegmatic: Ivan Popov

Choleric: Sofiane Sylve

Program 1 Matinee

Sunday, February 01, 2009, 2pm

PRISM

Conductor: Martin West

Piano: Roy Bogas

1st Movement: Vanessa Zahorian, Ruben Martin, Mateo Klemmayer

2nd Movement: Sofiane Sylve, Ivan Popov

3rd Movement: Taras Domitro

INTERMISSION

DIVING INTO THE LILACS

Conductor: Martin West

1st Movement: Ensemble

2nd Movement: Maria Kochetkova, Pascal Molat

3rd Movement: Yuan Yuan Tan, Anthony Spaulding

4th Movement: Lorena Feijoo, Joan Boada

INTERMISSION

THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS

Conductor: Martin West

Piano: Natal’ya Feygina

1st Theme: Charlene Cohen, Daniel Deivison

2nd Theme: Jennifer Stahl, Brett Bauer

3rd Theme: Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun, Anthony Spaulding

Melancholic: Pascal Molat

Sanguinic: Vanessa Zahorian, Joan Boada

Phlegmatic: Davit Karapetyan

Choleric: Lily Rogers*

Here's the cast listing (sorry, I'm at work and don't have time to make it pretty).

CastingOpening Night Gala

Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 8pm

Opening Night Gala Opening Night

Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 8pm

TARANTELLA

Conductor: Martin West

Piano: Michael McGraw

Frances Chung*, Daniel Deivison*

PAS DE DEUX from POLYPHONIA

Piano: Michael McGraw

Katita Waldo, Ivan Popov*

TCHAIKOVSKY PAS DE DEUX

Conductor: Martin West

Tina LeBlanc, Isaac Hernandez

CONFIDENCIAS

Piano: Roy Bogas

Lorena Feijoo*

EXCERPT from GISELLE, ACT II

Conductor: Martin West

Yuan Yuan Tan, Ivan Popov

EXCERPTS from DOUBLE EVIL

Music: Tape

Elana Altman, Pauli Magierek, Dores Andre, Maria Kochetkova

Anthony Spaulding, James Sofranko, Pascal Molat, Garen Scribner

INTERMISSION

RAYMONDA PAS DE DEUX

Conductor: Martin West

Maria Kochetkova*, Joan Boada*

PAS DE DEUX from IN THE MIDDLE, SOMEWHAT ELEVATED

Music: Tape

Sofiane Sylve*, Pierre-François Vilanoba

PAS DE DEUX from LE CORSAIRE

Conductor: Martin West

Vanessa Zahorian, Taras Domitro

MEN'S REGIMENT and FINALE from STARS AND STRIPES

Conductor: Martin West

Pascal Molat*

Rachel Viselli*, Hansuke Yamamoto*

Elizabeth Miner*

Lily Rogers*

* Designates premiere in a role.

Casting subject to change.

If you're a foodie, and you don't mind something very low key and gentle, try the French/Danish 'Babette's Feast'. Based on a Karen Blixen novel set in a remote part of Denmark in the late 19th century, it tells the story of a French woman refugee from whatever was going on in France at that time who turns up on the doorstep of two elderly Danish sisters. Despite their own poverty, they take her in and for many years she cooks and cleans for them until an unexpected opportunity arises for her to repay the sisters' kindness. Surprises (and lots of food) are in store for everyone. A real charmer.

Thank you for gently making a point. Now, if you could find a way to discourage the noisy unwrapping of candies, that would be a great help. (I have been known to suggest, during an applause break after a divertissement or variation, "Now would be a good time to unwrap your candy," usually to no avail )

When I used to have season tickets to the opera, someone sitting a few rows away began unwrapping candy (or whatever) the second -- I mean the nano-second -- the curtain went up. The beginning of every performance, after every intermission. I have no idea what it was or what happened to the wrappers, but the noise, the NOISE went on for a good ten minutes every single time. Many an intermission was spent consulting with the other patrons in my row trying to figure out who the guilty party might be -- triangulations were involved -- but we never determined the offender (lucky for him/her: proposed solutions ranged from a quiet word before the next performance to BB guns under cover of darkness).

Yes, the candy wrapper issue is relatively trivial, but learning/teaching respect for the environment, be it national park or theater, is not. In a perfect world, the complainant would have politely confronted the miscreants and explained their crime, they would have been eternally grateful for the enlightenment and forever ceased dropping candy wrappers on floor, street or meadow. However, on this planet erpollack's response seems reasonable given the possible consequences of confrontation. Maybe they learned a lesson, maybe not. At least nobody resorted to BB guns.

Rachel Howard writes about Tina LeBlanc's scheduled retirement at the end of this season...

BUMMER!!!!!!!

I have every finger and toe crossed that she'll be dancing Odette/Odile...

Ditto...I'm seeing three SLs and two Jewels; somebody is going to have some explaining to do if she doesn't turn up in one of them!

Edited to add:

I'm glad that serious injury from 2007 isn't the way her career ended. At least she's able to retire as a dancer should: healthy and still delighting her fans so we can give her a proper farewell. It's still a bummer, though.

Thank you for bringing Delgado to light. In the La Sylphide and Giselle Act II clips, she was truly a lithograph come to life -- absolutely enchanting. Makes you realize what a rarity a truly 'romantic' ballerina is these days. What I wouldn't give to see her in the complete ballets.

By contrast, in Diana and Acteon and Esmeralda I thought she looked tentative and much less at ease than she does in the romantic ballets. Clearly she's not a highly technical dancer (and more power to her).

Slightly OT, but what happened to Aurora's entrance and Rose Adagio choreography? Not to mention sending somebody wearing pointe shoes down a long, steep flight of steps (no hand rail or 'spotter' that I could see).

The article is so brief, it really doesn't say exactly what the objections were to the BW's Nutty Nutcracker. Did people object to what was done, or to the fact that anything was done? I mean, come on; if rubber chickens are involved, it couldn't be all bad.

Looks like I'm the only Royal Ballet voter so far. I'd love to see the 1949 opening night in New York, Fonteyn as Aurora.

I think he was mentioned a couple of years ago on this thread, but I have to add my vote for John Kriza.

Thanks; that was interesting. I especially enjoyed the ads for American Hotrod and American Chopper superimposed over the pink satin pointe shoes. Must be an interesting audience they're aiming for.

I have to agree about Wheeldon's memorable 'Within the Golden Hour', although for me the whole SFB New Works Festival had to count as a highlight, despite the 'beige' nature of some of the new ballets. It was worth nine misses (or interesting near misses) to come up with one work like the Wheeldon.

And while I know it's an unfair way to judge anyone, based on what has been posted on Ballet Talk and what I've seen on YouTube, another highlight would be not seeing Somova in her Bay Area appearances in 2008.

Note that Taras Domitro is scheduled for 12/23 matinee, 12/26 evening, 12/27 evening.

Here's the link: http://www.sfballet.org/performancestickets/casting.asp

Monday, December 22, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: Nathan Fifield

Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel

Queen and King of the Snow: Dores Andre*, Anthony Spaulding

Sugar Plum Fairy: Frances Chung

Grand Pas de Deux: Vanessa Zahorian, Tiit Helimets

Monday, December 22, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith

Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung, Hansuke Yamamoto

Sugar Plum Fairy: Lorena Feijoo

Grand Pas de Deux: Katita Waldo, Ivan Popov

Tuesday, December 23, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith

Queen and King of the Snow: Vanessa Zahorian, Taras Domitro*

Sugar Plum Fairy: Rachel Viselli

Grand Pas de Deux: Clara Blanco, Nicolas Blanc

Tuesday, December 23, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: David LaMarche

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Elana Altman, Brett Bauer

Sugar Plum Fairy: Kristin Long

Grand Pas de Deux: Maria Kochetkova, Gennadi Nedvigin

Wednesday, December 24, 2008, 11am

Conductor: David LaMarche

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung, Anthony Spaulding

Sugar Plum Fairy: Elana Altman

Grand Pas de Deux: Rachel Viselli, Tiit Helimets

Wednesday, December 24, 2008, 4pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel

Queen and King of the Snow: Sarah Van Patten, Pierre-François Vilanoba

Sugar Plum Fairy: Kristin Long

Grand Pas de Deux: Tina LeBlanc, Joan Boada

Friday, December 26, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel

Queen and King of the Snow: Katita Waldo, Hansuke Yamamoto

Sugar Plum Fairy: Maria Kochetkova

Grand Pas de Deux: Kristin Long, Joan Boada

Friday, December 26, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: David LaMarche

Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith

Queen and King of the Snow: Vanessa Zahorian, Taras Domitro

Sugar Plum Fairy: Rachel Viselli

Grand Pas de Deux: Maria Kochetkova, Davit Karapetyan

Saturday, December 27, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith

Queen and King of the Snow: TBA

Sugar Plum Fairy: Tina LeBlanc

Grand Pas de Deux: Katita Waldo, Ivan Popov

Saturday, December 27, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Vanessa Zahorian, Taras Domitro

Sugar Plum Fairy: Maria Kochetkova

Grand Pas de Deux: Sarah Van Patten, Pierre-François Vilanoba

Sunday, December 28, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: David LaMarche

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung, Hansuke Yamamoto

Sugar Plum Fairy: Tina LeBlanc

Grand Pas de Deux: Vanessa Zahorian, Tiit Helimets

Sunday, December 28, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: David LaMarche

Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel

Queen and King of the Snow: Katita Waldo, Ivan Popov

Sugar Plum Fairy: Frances Chung

Grand Pas de Deux: Maria Kochetkova, Davit Karapetyan

I do have one question however...we were worried about the dancers for the snow scene. Did anyone think that there was WAY TOO MUCH coming down?? We were concerned someone might slip and fall!!! It really looked like A LOT of snow to us. Did anyone else feel that?

Mobadt

During the blizzard at the 12/17 matinee, one of the snowflakes took a spill (she kept going though, so no apparent damage done, thank goodness). It wasn't really visible on screen, but at the live performances I've seen there had to be at least two inches of the stuff on the floor. Despite the hazards, that scene is spectacular in the theater; it's blunted on screen because you can't see the sparkle and glitter.

I found this funny picture of the SFB website (scroll down to the 'Pic of the Week': http://www.sfballetblog.org/

Here's the photo as a standalone, in case it disappears from the website: Captioned: Dancers take cover from the "snow" after the curtain comes down on the first act of Nutcracker (2006 © Erik Tomasson) http://www.sfballetblog.org/wp-content/upl...et006_small.jpg

Ok. That's it. I'm moving to Canada.

Love the idea of 'beige' ballets -- and you don't even need to be a synesthete!

Helgi Tomasson's 'Blue Rose' would qualify as my 'beige'. Pretty costumes, pretty music, lots of tricky-looking lifts presumably interspersed by pretty steps, but I just couldn't keep my eyes open. (The only other ballet that has ever put me to sleep was 'The Dybbuk', but that wasn't beige, that was awful.) It was like watching an advanced ballet class I had seen -- or taken -- dozens of times before.

I do have one question however...we were worried about the dancers for the snow scene. Did anyone think that there was WAY TOO MUCH coming down?? We were concerned someone might slip and fall!!! It really looked like A LOT of snow to us. Did anyone else feel that?

Mobadt

During the blizzard at the 12/17 matinee, one of the snowflakes took a spill (she kept going though, so no apparent damage done, thank goodness). It wasn't really visible on screen, but at the live performances I've seen there had to be at least two inches of the stuff on the floor. Despite the hazards, that scene is spectacular in the theater; it's blunted on screen because you can't see the sparkle and glitter.

I wonder if an e-mail "on-slaught" will do any good with PBS?

I suspect Suze Orman in toe shoes would do more good than e-mails

If you miss Ballet Shoes on TV, it's available on DVD in the US; I got it through Netflix. It's a real charmer.

Here are some updates to SFB's Nutcracker casting from tonight's performance through Sunday, 12/21 evening (and I sincerely apologize for heaping abuse upon the SFB webperson for lack of updates )

Thursday, December 18, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: Gary Sheldon

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung, Anthony Spaulding

Sugar Plum Fairy: Kristin Long (was Van Patten)

Grand Pas de Deux: Vanessa Zahorian, Pierre-Francois Vilanoba (was Karapetyan)

Friday, December 19, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: Nathan Fifield

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Vanessa Zahorian, Pascal Molat

Sugar Plum Fairy: Elana Altman (was Viselli)

Grand Pas de Deux: Kristin Long (was Kochetkova), Gennadi Nedvigin

Friday, December 19, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel

Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung, Anthony Spaulding (was Van Patten/Vilanoba)

Sugar Plum Fairy: Sofiane Sylve

Grand Pas de Deux: Lorena Feijoo, Ivan Popov

Saturday, December 20, 2008, 2pm NO CHANGES

Conductor: Nathan Fifield

Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel

Queen and King of the Snow: Elana Altman, Brett Bauer

Sugar Plum Fairy: Frances Chung

Grand Pas de Deux: Rachel Viselli, Tiit Helimets

Saturday, December 20, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith

Queen and King of the Snow: Katita Waldo, Ivan Popov

Sugar Plum Fairy: Sofiane Sylve

Grand Pas de Deux: Kristin Long, Gennadi Nedvigin (was Zahorian/Karapetyan)

Sunday, December 21, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith

Queen and King of the Snow: Vanessa Zahorian, Pascal Molat (was Chung/Spaulding)

Sugar Plum Fairy: Rachel Viselli (was Altman)

Grand Pas de Deux: Frances Chung (was Van Patten), Pierre-François Vilanoba

Sunday, December 21, 2008, 7pm NO CHANGES

Conductor: Nathan Fifield

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Katita Waldo, Hansuke Yamamoto

Sugar Plum Fairy: Kristin Long

Grand Pas de Deux: Lorena Feijoo, Ivan Popov

Wednesday, December 17, 2008, Matinee

A snowflake fell, a French dancer got the twirler caught in her headdress, the GPdD foutees wandered around the stage (they were probably looking for someplace warm; it's coooooold out here). Originally I hadn't intended to comment on this routine performance, but I have to gush a little about Tina LeBlanc, who danced the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Last season she didn't show up on any of my series performances (I think she was injured part of the time), so this was my first chance to get a good look at her. Based on what I saw today, LeBlanc is the kind of dancer who makes me glad somebody invented ballet all those years ago.

She isn't ultra skinny, her extensions don't poke holes in the ceiling, she doesn't have legs up to her armpits. What she does have is that stage encompassing 'star' quality that even some of SFB's otherwise fine principals lack. And don't get me started on her superb ballon, or her open and expressive upper body (something you don't realize a lot of dancers don't have until you see somebody who does). I'm so grateful to have finally been able to experience her magic. :flowers:

Paul:

Thank you for that stunning video. I feel like having a good cry over what ballet has lost with the passing of Sibley and Dowell's generation of dancers. They can teach, but is anyone learning?

Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets

Sugar Plum Fairy: Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun

Grand Pas de Deux: Lorena Feijoo, Ivan Popov

Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: Gary Sheldon

Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith

Queen and King of the Snow: Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets

Sugar Plum Fairy: Kristin Long

Grand Pas de Deux: Tina LeBlanc, Joan Boada

Wednesday, December 17, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: Gary Sheldon

Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith

Queen and King of the Snow: Vanessa Zahorian, Pascal Molat

Sugar Plum Fairy: Tina LeBlanc

Grand Pas de Deux: Clara Blanco, Nicolas Blanc

Wednesday, December 17, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel

Queen and King of the Snow: Rachel Viselli, Mateo Klemmayer

Sugar Plum Fairy: Sofiane Sylve

Grand Pas de Deux: Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets

Thursday, December 18, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel

Queen and King of the Snow: Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun, Brett Bauer

Sugar Plum Fairy: Lorena Feijoo

Grand Pas de Deux: Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets

Thursday, December 18, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: Gary Sheldon

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung, Anthony Spaulding

Sugar Plum Fairy: Sarah Van Patten

Grand Pas de Deux: Vanessa Zahorian, Davit Karapetyan

Friday, December 19, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: Nathan Fifield

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Vanessa Zahorian, Pascal Molat

Sugar Plum Fairy: Rachel Viselli

Grand Pas de Deux: Maria Kochetkova, Gennadi Nedvigin

Friday, December 19, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel

Queen and King of the Snow: Sarah Van Patten, Pierre-François Vilanoba

Sugar Plum Fairy: Sofiane Sylve

Grand Pas de Deux: Lorena Feijoo, Ivan Popov

Saturday, December 20, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: Nathan Fifield

Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel

Queen and King of the Snow: Elana Altman, Brett Bauer

Sugar Plum Fairy: Frances Chung

Grand Pas de Deux: Rachel Viselli, Tiit Helimets

Saturday, December 20, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith

Queen and King of the Snow: Katita Waldo, Ivan Popov

Sugar Plum Fairy: Sofiane Sylve

Grand Pas de Deux: Vanessa Zahorian, Davit Karapetyan

Sunday, December 21, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith

Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung, Anthony Spaulding

Sugar Plum Fairy: Elana Altman

Grand Pas de Deux: Sarah Van Patten, Pierre-François Vilanoba

Sunday, December 21, 2008, 7pm

Conductor: Nathan Fifield

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Katita Waldo, Hansuke Yamamoto

Sugar Plum Fairy: Kristin Long

Grand Pas de Deux: Lorena Feijoo, Ivan Popov

* Designates premiere in a role.

Casting subject to change.

I was disappointed to miss Taras Demitro as King of the Snow, inexplicably absent--probably shuffled up to an evening performance.

I had planned to go standing room for this one just to get a look at him; glad I didn't bother (no disrespect to the rest of the cast, but they're known quantities; I'm very curious to see Domitro). Who replaced him?

(One usher told me that in the future I should check online for casting, while the other very dismissively said never, never pay attention to what's online, while unhelpfully offering no alternative source of info.)

I've got tickets for the 17th and 26th. Oddly, if you look at the website for casting as of this writing, the lists for the 11th through 14th are still there with this at the top: "No Casting is available at this time. Please check back a few days before a performance." Well, it IS 'a few days before', where are the casts? Very annoying, despite the inevitable changes.

Edited to add:

Finally, casts are up through 12/21 http://www.sfballet.org/performancestickets/casting.asp.

Here's the 'not to be missed' one for me:

Sunday, December 21, 2008, 2pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith

Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung, Anthony Spaulding

Sugar Plum Fairy: Elana Altman

Grand Pas de Deux: Sarah Van Patten, Pierre-François Vilanoba

Chung is one of my favorite soloists; my first chance to see newly promoted soloist Spaulding somewhere besides at the back of the corps; and Van Patten is always worth seeing.

I'm not sure if it's ok to post this; please delete if inappropriate.

Meredith Monk's "Book of Days" is now available on DVD for $20.  This is the full-length, 74 minute version (the one shown on PBS was truncated by about 15 or 20 minutes) and is paired with another of Ms. Monk's works, "Ellis Island" (23 minutes).

Follow this link for ordering information:  http://www.meredithmonk.org/