PeggyR

Having computer problems, so just saw this info re Anima Animus being withdrawn.  I had purchased an extra ticket just to see that and Divertimento; I'm seriously upset about the change, particularly since the replacement is Hurry Up ..., which I loathed.  Fortunately, it's at the end, so I'll just leave early, but still.

Also (still trying to catch up):  Van Patten is pregnant again?  DELETED

‘Low key’ is putting it mildly; Like Hernando’s Hideaway, I could have used another showcase pas de deux to add a little zip to the proceedings (btw, Le Corsaire was performed at the 2018 Gala, with De Sola and Greco).  Most of the oomph was provided by terrific Kuranaga/Greco performances in Tomasson’s ‘Soirees Musicales’.  She’s wonderfully musical with glorious balances – relaxed, never forced or overheld for effect.  As expected, Greco dazzled.

Also liked ‘UnSaid’, even if it was a bit bleak for a gala.  I’d like to see what Rowe would do with an actual narrative story to tell, like Cathy Marston did with Ethan Frome.  I hope we see more from her.

‘Rubies’ fell a little flat for me.  Scheller was nicely flirtatious and, of course, danced beautifully, but she didn’t quite seem to capture that hip-swinging, jazzy flavor that I was expecting.  

11 minutes ago, Dreamer said:

It is less than one hour till curtain on the opening night! Who else is here?

On my way, assuming I can walk two blocks in heels!

The Gala has been shuffled around, plus the cast (previously TBA) for the Agon pas de trois is announced.  As far as I can see, the only dancer substitution is Luke Ingham for Ulrik Birkkjae in Etudes, which is really too bad:  this type of role isn't really Ingham's strong point, and Birkkjae would probably be stunning.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23 AT 8PM

Excerpt from Études

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

Sasha De Sola
Aaron Robison
Luke Ingham 

Pas de Deux from Handel—A Celebration

Choreography: Helgi Tomasson
Music: George Frideric Handel
Conductor: Martin West

Mathilde Froustey
Tiit Helimets 

Pas de Trois from Agon

Choreography: George Balanchine
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Conductor: Martin West

WanTing Zhao
Ben Freemantle
Jennifer Stahl

Soirées Musicales 

Choreography: Helgi Tomasson
Music: Benjamin Britten
Conductor: Martin West

Misa Kuranaga
Angelo Greco 

Pas de Deux from "Rubies"

Choreography: George Balanchine
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Conductor: Martin West

Ana Sophia Scheller
Vitor Luiz 

UnSaid

Choreography: Danielle Rowe
Music: Ezio Bosso
Natasha Feygina (piano) / Eric Sung (cello)

Sofiane Sylve
Aaron Robison 

Excerpt from Diving into the Lilacs

Choreography: Yuri Possokhov
Music: Boris Tchaikovsky
Conductor: Martin West

Yuan Yuan Tan
Carlo Di Lanno 

Excerpt from Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

Choreography: Justin Peck
Music: M83

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

Another casting update.  Just bought a ticket for this one.  

Sunday, January 27, 2019 – 2 pm
Conductor: Martin West 

Kitri: Dores Andre
Basilio: Wei Wang
Don Quixote: Alexander Reneff-Olson
Sancho Panza: Diego Cruz
Gamache: Myles Thatcher

5 hours ago, Josette said:

Casting for the first three performances is posted, showing that Wona Park and Joe Walsh are dancing together in the matinee on Saturday, and De Sola and Robison in the evening performance. 

Here’s the casting so far.  My season tickets are Saturday matinee, so I’m very happy to see the Park/Walsh cast.  Plus, Sohm is an excellent Don, and Thatcher, a hilariously over-the-top Gamache.   

DON QUIXOTE

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

Friday, January 25, 2019 – 8 pm

Conductor: Martin West

 Kitri: Mathilde Froustey
Basilio: Angelo Greco
Don Quixote: Jim Sohm
Sancho Panza: Pascal Molat
Gamache: Alexandre Cagnat 

Saturday, January 26, 2019 – 2 pm
Conductor: Martin West

 Kitri: Wona Park
Basilio: Joseph Walsh
Don Quixote: Jim Sohm
Sancho Panza: Davide Occhipinti
Gamache: Myles Thatcher 

Saturday, January 26, 2019 – 8 pm
Conductor: Martin West

Kitri: Sasha De Sola
Basilio: Aaron Robison
Don Quixote: Jim Sohm
Sancho Panza: Pascal Molat
Gamache: Alexandre Cagnat

1 hour ago, pherank said:

The beautiful/badass Kitri are also @sashadesola , @doresandre , @la_scheller and @wonapark.
The Basilio are @aaronrobison86 , @way8way (Wei Wang), @josephwalshsf and @ivitorluiz

Still no casts posted for the Don Q run on the SFB website; I do wish they’d hurry up.

Good news that Froustey gets opening night; she’s earned it and apparently, it’s her favorite role.

I’m going to do my best to see all the casts my (rapidly shrinking) wallet can manage, especially the ones with Wang or Park.  She’s technically strong, with great presence; if she can act at all, she should be terrific.  And I’m really curious to see Wei Wang.  Technically he’ll have no problems, but I’ve never thought he projected very well:  maybe this role will show hidden talents.   Hoping the same for Scheller, who I think would be a good Mercedes, but Kitri?  Maybe they will both be happy surprises.

1 hour ago, pherank said:

Matching Park with a partner as experienced as Luiz would be a good idea though.

Matching a debut with an experienced partner seems to be the usual practice in the past, so I’d guess it’s likely here, too.  Which brings up Wang and who will be his partner if four out of five Kitris are debuts.  Plus, there appear to be four Basilios to five Kitris, so one of the men will have to double up.  I saw the Wang/Park Waltz Couple in Serenade and they’re a good match, but since these are both debuts, maybe that pairing won’t happen.  

Mathilde Froustey discusses Kitri's variation and some of its difficulties. 

28 minutes ago, Dreamer said:

The appearance of Misa Kuranaga is very strange indeed when Frances Chung, Sarah Van Patten and Jennifer Stahl are missing from the program. 

21 minutes ago, pherank said:

Not to mention Frantziskonis, Julia Rowe, Zhao, Park, Ishihara, Strongin (probably injured), and more. But, it's not exactly a secret that not everyone love's the gala craziness.

The Pas de Trois from Agon is still to be cast, so maybe some of the above will show up there.

Why is Strongin 'probably injured'?

According the Kuranaga's bio on the BB site, she was an apprentice at San Francisco Ballet in 2001, then joined BB in 2003.  

Quote

3 minutes ago, pherank said:

Misa Kuranaga dancing in the gala? What's the meaning of that? 'Enquiring minds want to know'.  😉

 

It does seem a little odd, bringing an outside dancer (Boston Ballet) in for a performance that's supposed to show off the company dancers.  Maybe it's an 'audition'?

OPENING NIGHT GALA: THIS IS PASSION

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23 AT 8PM

Pas de Deux from "Rubies"

Choreography: George Balanchine
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Conductor: Martin West

Ana Sophia Scheller
Vitor Luiz

 UnSaid

Choreography: Danielle Rowe
Music: Ezio Bosso
Natasha Feygina (piano) / Eric Sung (cello)

Sofiane Sylve
Aaron Robison

 Pas de Deux from Handel—A Celebration

Choreography: Helgi Tomasson
Music: George Frideric Handel
Conductor: Martin West

Mathilde Froustey
Tiit Helimets

 Excerpt from Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

Choreography: Justin Peck
Music: M83

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

 Soirées Musicales

Choreography: Helgi Tomasson
Music: Benjamin Britten
Conductor: Martin West

Misa Kuranaga
Angelo Greco

 Pas de Trois from Agon

Choreography: George Balanchine
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Conductor: Martin West

Soloists to be announced.

 Excerpt from Diving into the Lilacs

Choreography: Yuri Possokhov
Music: Boris Tchaikovksy
Conductor: Martin West

Yuan Yuan Tan
Carlo Di Lanno

 Excerpt from Études

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

Sasha De Sola
Aaron Robison
Ulrik Birkkjae

I hope the result on the stage is a little more exciting than it appears on the page:  I can’t picture the lovely, but rather aloof Ana Sophia Scheller in the Rubies PdD; two unfamiliar (to me) Tomasson ballets which I expect will be as prettily bland as his other works; and Justin Peck’s sneaker ballet ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming”, which I didn’t like.  At least we get something from Agon, plus the lovely pas de deux (which is the usual excerpt from this ballet) from Diving Into the Lilacs.

 I’m unfamiliar with Danielle Rowe, choreographer of UnSaid:  according to Wikipedia (so no guarantees for accuracy), she’s from Australia and has danced with Houston Ballet, The Australian Ballet, and Nederlands Dans Theater, and “has been in a long term relationship with fellow South Australian [SFB principal dancer] Luke Ingham”.  

Last year SFB had a series of lectures/interviews about the history of ballet in the USA and San Francisco.  The lectures were good, but the best parts were the interviews/conversations with current and former dancers – very articulate and funny, so this should be entertaining.

Ballet Talk - Don Quixote Dancer's Cut

What does it take to be a character dancer? And what goes through their mind on stage? Come find out. Hear insights and commentary on a video capture of Don Quixote from regular SF Ballet character dancers, Ballet Master Anita Paciotti and SF Ballet School faculty Pascal Molat.

January 26, 2019 Time: 5–6:30pm 
Location: Dollar Board Room, Chris Hellman Center for Dance 
Price: $35/$30 (subscribers and donors above $75) 

Note that if the Company runs true to form, performance casts probably won’t be posted until sometime next week.

On ‎12‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 6:46 PM, pherank said:

The Froustey/Wei Wang pairing strikes me as odd. Wang has looked good in solo sections - it was his partnering skills (and strength) that needed development.

They seem to be well matched physically - she's petite so should be easy to lift.  Plus, he doing the GPdD with Andre next day, so at least he's getting plenty of practice with experienced partners.

If there are any standing room tickets available, I'm definitely going to the Frantziskonis/Cauthorn performance.

More casts.  Good to see Pascal Molat back on stage; he should be a good  Drosselmeyer.  I'm hoping to get to either 12/15 evening to see Park/Greco, and Froustey/Wei Wang (which sounds like an interesting pairing), or 12/16 matinee for everybody, but particularly Frantziskonis/Cauthorn.

Terez, enjoy opening night and be sure to let us know what you think of the new flower costumes.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2018, 2 PM

Conductor: Ming Luke

 Drosselmeyer: Pascal Molat
Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung, Tiit Helmits
Sugar Plum Fairy: Sasha De Sola
Grand Pas de Deux: WanTing Zhao, Carlo Di Lanno

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2018, 7 PM

Conductor: Ming Luke

 Drosselmeyer: Pascal Molat
Queen and King of the Snow: Mathilde Froustey, Wei Wang
Sugar Plum Fairy: Frances Chung
Grand Pas de Deux: Wona Park, Angelo Greco

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2018, 2 PM

Conductor: Ming Luke

 Drosselmeyer: Ricardo Bustamente
Queen and King of the Snow: Jahna Frantziskonis, Max Cauthorn
Sugar Plum Fairy: Koto Ishihara
Grand Pas de Deux: Dores Andre, Wei Wang

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2018, 7 PM

Conductor: Tara Simoncic

 Drosselmeyer: Alexander Reneff-Olson
Queen and King of the Snow: WanTing Zhao, Mingxuan Wang
Sugar Plum Fairy: Mathilde Froustey
Grand Pas de Deux: Sofiane Sylve, Tiit Helmets

First few days of casting :

Nutcracker

Choreography: Helgi Tomasson
Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Wednesday, December 12, 2018, 7 pm

Conductor: Ming Luke

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli
Queen and King of the Snow: Mathilde Froustey, Carlo Di Lanno
Sugar Plum Fairy: Sofiane Sylve
Grand Pas de Deux: Sasha De Sola, Aaron Robison

Thursday, December 13, 2018, 2 pm

Conductor: Ming Luke

Drosselmeyer: Alexander Reneff-Olson
Queen and King of the Snow: Dores Andre, Luke Ingham
Sugar Plum Fairy: Julia Rowe
Grand Pas de Deux: Ana Sophia Scheller, Vitor Luiz

Thursday, December 13, 2018, 7 pm

Conductor: Ming Luke

Drosselmeyer: Tiit Helimets
Queen and King of the Snow: Norika Matsuyama, Hansuke Yamamoto
Sugar Plum Fairy: Sasha De Sola
Grand Pas de Deux: Frances Chung, Joseph Walsh

Friday, December 14, 2018, 2 pm

Conductor: Tara Simoncic

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli
Queen and King of the Snow: Isabella DeVivo, Max Cauthorn
Sugar Plum Fairy: Ana Sophia Scheller
Grand Pas de Deux: Jennifer Stahl, Tiit Helimets

Friday, December 14, 2018, 7 pm

Conductor: Ming Luke

Drosselmeyer: Ricardo Bustamente
Queen and King of the Snow: Yuan Yuan Tan, Carlo Di Lanno
Sugar Plum Fairy: Dores Andre
Grand Pas de Deux: Mathilde Froustey, Luke Ingham

18 hours ago, dirac said:

Margot Fonteyn had beautiful knees. Of course, hers were also virtually invisible when not bent.

 Can’t dispute you there.  I only saw Fonteyn during the Nureyev years, so she was past her prime, but her knees probably had more artistry than some ‘stars’ have these days in their entire bodies.

I disliked them too:  unflattering design and muddy colors - they kind of look like flowers grown in toxic waste, to be brutally honest.  The sketches for the new designs look good, especially the longer skirt.  The shorter length put too much attention on the knees, and even dancers' knees aren't particularly glamorous.

My mother studied voice when she was young, and had her own unfulfilled aspirations to be an opera singer.  She was very critical of most singers (Callas absolutely drove her up a wall), but there were two sopranos about whom she refused to hear a word of criticism:  Tebaldi and Caballé.  I never heard Caballé live, but even in recordings the purity of her voice was astonishing.  

Rest in peace.

3 hours ago, Dreamer said:

Now I can scream from joy. Welcome back, Aaron!  

I’ll second that!  

I only saw him a few times, but Robison was always very impressive, and he was one of the few saving graces of Frankenstein.  I hope this is a permanent return and not just for 2019.  

SFB is lucky to have such a strong roster of male dancers at all levels.

Good promotions, particularly Park; I've only seen her twice, but she makes an impression, especially for one so apparently young.  

I agree (hope) that Hummel may be next; she's very musical.  Bizalion only showed up on my radar from her Lilac Fairy performance -  mature, polished, beautiful port de bras - and I look forward to seeing her development.

3 hours ago, pherank said:

...there is that issue of who will fill Kochetkova's principal position. ... I expect there's a certain amount of pressure to replace her with an experienced, proven talent from Europe, Cuba, etc.

I'm curious why you think there's pressure to hire from outside, and pressure from whom?  I can't imagine that anyone (audience, hiring committee, whatever) who knows enough about ballet to recognize genuine talent, as opposed to performers of stupid pet tricks, wouldn't acknowledge the talent in the soloist and corps ranks and prefer to see promotions from within whenever possible.  Strongin would seem likely to take over Kochetkova's spot; very different type of dancer but Kochetkova is unique anyway - no point trying to 'replace' her.  Of course, when the inevitable retirements of Tan and Sylve happen, then I can see bringing in from outside if the soloist women haven't developed enough to take on principal.

In any case, interesting to see what happens down the road.

I’ve been Googling for reviews for a few days and nothing at all, not even the SJ Mercury, which seems to post reviews fairly promptly, and nothing from SFGate so far.  Very curious.

 The best news in Macaulay’s review is that Joseph Walsh is back on stage, although Franziskonis’ partner is listed in the on-line Casting as corps dancer Joseph Warton.  Given that later in the review, Alonzo King’s ballet 'The Collective Agreement' is referred to in shortened form as ‘Argument’ (“As in Mr. King’s ‘Argument’, these duets…”), it’s a little hard to know what, if anything, is correct.

 Anyway, it sounds like the first three each had various merits; I look forward to hearing other opinions from BTers.

Just got the email myself.  Surprised and sorry to see her leave.  I wonder if there will be a place for her at ABT, or maybe she's just going to freelance for a while.  She will be missed, and it will be interesting to see where she ends up next.  Lucky company that gets her.

The question has to be asked, will this leave room for another promotion?  The female principal group is a strong one, but with Tan and Sylve approaching retirement age, and Kochetkova leaving, I hope that leaves an opening for Lauren Strongin.

For my money, Keesler is no more than competent; there’s none of the technical proficiency and especially the movement flow and beauty that I look for.  Although she’s certainly photogenic, she’s just never stood out in any other way.  I’d certainly prefer any of the dancers Pherank mentions, particularly Hummel, always watchable, and Park, who was simply lovely in Serenade (I’m really interested to see if/how newcomer Park will develop over the next few seasons). 

7 hours ago, PeggyTulle said:

...  I remember that she stood out with her rock-solid technique and how she made every step look effortless!

And she still dances that way; plus, she can act.  One of the best all-around dancers in the company.