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PeggyR

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Everything posted by PeggyR

  1. Aw, come on sandik - taxes, ballet videos: what could possibly be more important?
  2. VAI Dance DVD sale. Their DVDs tend to be pricey, so these sales are a good opportunity to fill in some holes in your collection.
  3. Still no editing or quoting, but in reply to both Josette and seattle_dancer: I really hope Domitro is OK; he was superb in that role when I saw him last year. It's been wonderful watching Domitro the dancer develop into Domitro the artist over the past few years. This time around I saw Mungamba on Saturday matinee and I agree, he was equally superb. He's definitely one I've got my eye on. I'd like to see him cast as, e.g., Hilarion to see if he can create and sustain a character and not just rely on his beautiful dancing. seattle_dancer: I wondered about the height difference too. I've seen it with 3 different casts and the taller dancer has alwsays been the protective one; I just assumed it was deliberate, but from what you saw at ABT, maybe not. Re Karapetyan in Chamber Symphony: At the Saturday matinee, Ruben Martin Cintas danced that role, and in all honesty, he was barely adequate compared to DK. (Interestingly, I has the same reaction to the two of them dancing Onegin.) Aside from being a superb technician, Karapetyan can act, I mean really act, not just do the 'Oh, I'm unhappy' or whatever gestures. He brings those emotions up from inside and it makes all the difference. His interactions with the three women in his life were filled with humor, affection, frustration, agony, you name it. Martin Cintas just danced with three other female dancers. (I don't mean to be hard on Martin Cintas; I like him and have seen him give many fine performances, but this just isn't his role.)
  4. California, on 15 Apr 2015 - 07:26 AM, said: Do we know when SFB will actually announce their 2016 schedule? What has been the practice in the past? If memory serves, it's usually early to mid-April, so about now. However, as noted in the first post of this thread, subscribers got an email saying: "We are working out the final details for our 2016 Repertory Season..." I wonder if they anticipated the fevered speculation that would result from those tantalizing hints? mussel, on 15 Apr 2015 - 07:11 AM, said: RB just announced 2015/16, Scarlett's new full length Frankenstein is co-production with SFB, it'll premier on 5/4/16, so I assume it'll be part of 2017 season: http://www.roh.org.u...y-liam-scarlett Frankenstein, The Ballet. Hmmmm. I can see Dracula as a ballet (it's been done at other companies, I believe; and wasn't there a Dracula movie with ballet some years ago?), but a full-length Frankenstein. Should be interesting. Has Scarlett done any story ballets? Added: don't know what's wrong but all the editing tools (quotes, etc) are grayed out.
  5. Any giddy extrapolations about "... a new work by a young superstar -- his first for SF Ballet."?
  6. Swan Lake is certainly due for a return, but I can't see that as the "...enchanting full-length for the entire family,...". That sounds more like Sleeping Beauty or Coppelia, or maybe even the Wheeldon Cinderella. I could live without Cinderella, but agree with Josette: I'd love to see Coppelia again. Since we now seem to be getting three full lengths every season, how about SL, SB and Coppelia for 2016? And if they are going to keep up the trend toward more full lengths in the future (I sincerely hope they stop at three per season), I wish they would bring in more variety. Didn't they do Mark Morris' Sylvia some years ago? Could they rent productions of Raymonda, or Esmeralda, or Bayadere from somebody? I agree and really hope Froustey stays (thank you Spell Check for trying, but her name is NOT Frosty!). With Tan and Feijoo both at least 40, they are going to need more female principals (currently 8 females and 10 males after Molat retires at the end of this season, although Jaime Garcia Castilla almost never performs).
  7. Just a teaser, unfortunately. I’m hoping for Sleeping Beauty for the story ballet. I like full-lengths, but we’ve had an endless round of Giselle, Don Q and R&J lately. Time for a change. Curious to know about the “…work by a living legend that has only ever been performed by the Paris Opera Ballet…” Any guesses? And what about the ‘young superstar’? Justin Peck, maybe?
  8. I just got around to reading the SFBallet e-news letter for April. Here’s how Swimmer is described: I make no claims to being the least bit imaginative, so I’ll just wait and see how Cheever’s bleak story is translated into a “…grand-scale theatrical romp…”
  9. According to the casting list (as of now, anyway), Taras Domitro will be first cast.
  10. Here's a link to the original John Cheever short story, The Swimmer. posted by the Library of America.
  11. Initial casts. Shostakovich Trilogy Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky Music: Dmitri Shostakovich Wednesday, April 08, 2015 - 7:30pm Conductor: Martin West Symphony #9 Sarah Van Patten, Carlos Quenedit Vanessa Zahorian*, James Sofranko Taras Domitro INTERMISSION Chamber Symphony Davit Karapetyan Dores Andre, Mathilde Froustey, Sarah Van Patten INTERMISSION Piano Concerto #1 Sofiane Sylve, Tiit Helimets Frances Chung, Joan Boada Thursday, April 09, 2015 - 8pm Conductor: Martin West Symphony #9 Sarah Van Patten, Carlos Quenedit Vanessa Zahorian, James Sofranko Taras Domitro INTERMISSION Chamber Symphony Davit Karapetyan Dores Andre, Mathilde Froustey, Sarah Van Patten INTERMISSION Piano Concerto #1 Sofiane Sylve, Tiit Helimets Frances Chung, Joan Boada ETA link to casting.
  12. PeggyR

    Isaac Hernandez

    Isaac Hernandez is joining English National Ballet as a Lead Principal.
  13. I saw this production when it was new: bright and colorful, a bit cartoonish, but that's OK for Don Q. I'm seeing Chung/Domitro, Froustey/Quenedit and Feijoo/Luiz, all of whom should be good. I saw Chung last time around and she (predictably) was a delight, although she injected a note of unintentional humor when she came out for the Act 3 wedding pdd wearing one ankle warmer.
  14. Casts (Kitri and Basilio only) for the entire run. Don Quixote Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson and Yuri Possokhov (after Gorsky and Petipa) Composer: Léon Minkus Friday, March 20, 2015 - 8pm Conductor: Martin West Kitri: Mathilde Froustey Basilio: Carlos Quenedit Saturday, March 21, 2015 - 2pm Conductor: Ming Luke Kitri: Frances Chung Basilio: Taras Domitro Saturday, March 21, 2015 - 8pm Conductor: Martin West Kitri: Maria Kochetkova Basilio: Joan Boada Sunday, March 22, 2015 - 2pm Conductor: Martin West Kitri: Vanessa Zahorian Basilio: Davit Karapetyan Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 8pm Conductor: Martin West Kitri: Lorena Feijoo Basilio: Vitor Luiz Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - 7:30pm Conductor: Ming Luke Kitri: Frances Chung Basilio: Taras Domitro Thursday, March 26, 2015 - 8pm Conductor: Martin West Kitri: Maria Kochetkova Basilio: Gennadi Nedvigin Saturday, March 28, 2015 - 2pm Conductor: Martin West Kitri: Mathilde Froustey Basilio: Carlos Quenedit Saturday, March 28, 2015 - 8pm Conductor: Martin West Kitri: Vanessa Zahorian Basilio: Davit Karapetyan Sunday, March 29, 2015 - 2pm Conductor: Martin West Kitri: Lorena Feijoo Basilio: Vitor Luiz
  15. ‘Balancing Acts’, a book of photographs by Lucy Gray spotlighting former San Francisco Ballet principal dancers Tina le Blanc, Kristin Long, and Katita Waldo. Although Gray focuses on ballet dancers, she's targeting all working women who want to have a career and raise a family. The book chronicles the three ballerinas over a period of 15 years as they pursued their careers and raised their children. Available on Amazon via the BalletAlert link.
  16. Although I had to leave before the Shades scene, I enjoyed most of the rest of the program. Variations for Two Couples didn't impress me much, but I love Vertiginous etc. This was my first look at Carlo di Lanno and he's very impressive. He appears to be on the tallish side, which isn't always good for speed, but he has the ability to move fast without looking rushed. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's the next promotion to principal. Agree with Josette re Julia Rowe, who's rapidly becoming one of my favorites. I also liked the talented Myles Thatcher's Manifesto. He moved groups around well, although there were a few moments of incoherence as if he'd backed himself into a corner and couldn't figure out how to get back to center floor. I was somewhat less impressed with the three (if memory serves) pas de deux, which seemed rather ordinary, although Norika Matsuyama was a delight in the second. It will be interesting to see what Thatcher comes up with in the future. And I must say that I hope he continues to use mainly corp members for his future ballets. What a talented group they are and what a delight to see them shine as individuals.
  17. I saw the Saturday matinee of this program and completely agree about the wonderfulness (if there is such a word) of Dances at a Gathering. I like Hummingbird well enough, but like Pherank, wouldn't go out of my way to see it. What really distressed me, though, was the audience reaction: for Hummingbird, cheers, bravos, none undeserved for the performers, who were wonderful. But for Dances at a Gathering, tepid politeness (Sofiane Sylve in green deserved 20 curtain calls all to herself; she is quite simply, magnificent). A friend who attends these matinees with me and who knows nothing about ballet, said she kept dozing off ("...too much piano music..." and the dancers "...did the same thing over and over..." ). I suspect that kind of audience response is why lately we are getting more full lengths and fewer triple bills each season. Saturday, up in the Balcony/Balcony Circle where I sit, only about half the seats were occupied, while Giselle was packed and Don Q has added another performance because it's selling so well. Sigh.
  18. The Isadora Duncan Awards (“Izzies”) nominations and honorees for the 2013-2014 season include a number of SF Ballet performances and performers. Here’s the complete list of all nominees/honorees. [Edited to fix the link] Winners to be announced March 23, 2015. Outstanding Achievement in Choreography Alexei Ratmansky, Shostakovich Trilogy, San Francisco Ballet Company, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco Liam Scarlett, Hummingbird, San Francisco Ballet Company, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Ensemble Mathilde Froustey & Tiit Helimets, Giselle, San Francisco Ballet Company Damian Smith & Yuan Yuan Tan, After the Rain, San Francisco Ballet Company Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Company San Francisco Ballet Company, Borderlands (all performances) Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design John MacFarlane & David Finn, scenic design, lighting design, Hummingbird, San Francisco Ballet Company Outstanding Achievement in Restaging / Revival / Reconstruction Betsy Erickson, revival, Maelstrom; San Francisco Ballet Company Sustained Achievement Honorees Damian Smith
  19. That's enough to make my mouth water! Thank you so much for posting, and can't wait to hear more from you and all others who were there. BTW how long did the performance end up lasting? Did it come in at 3 hours? It sounds like there was a LOT of dancing. ETA: Also, how did the longer tutus look in motion? I always wondered if they would flop around or look ungainly to eyes accustomed to the pancake style.
  20. Casting isn't exactly coming thick and fast, so here's what's available. Program 4 - Thursday, February 26, 2015 - 8pm DANCES AT A GATHERING Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Composer: Frédéric Chopin Piano: Roy Bogas Pink/Purple: Maria Kochetkova*, Davit Karapetyan* Mauve/Green: Vanessa Zahorian, Carlo Di Lanno* Yellow/Brown: Mathilde Froustey*, Joseph Walsh* Blue/Blue: Sasha De Sola*, Steven Morse* Green/Brick: Lorena Feijoo, Vitor Luiz* INTERMISSION HUMMINGBIRD Choreographer: Liam Scarlett Composer: Philip Glass Conductor: Martin West Frances Chung, Gennadi Nedvigin Yuan Yuan Tan, Luke Ingham Maria Kochetkova, Joan Boada Program 4 - Saturday, February 28, 2015 - 2pm DANCES AT A GATHERING Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Composer: Frédéric Chopin Piano: Natal'ya Feygina Pink/Purple: Yuan Yuan Tan, Carlos Quenedit* Mauve/Green: Sarah Van Patten*, Luke Ingham* Yellow/Brown: Frances Chung*, Taras Domitro* Blue/Blue: Dores Andre*, Sean Orza* Green/Brick: Sofiane Sylve, Hansuke Yamamoto INTERMISSION HUMMINGBIRD Choreographer: Liam Scarlett Composer: Philip Glass Conductor: Ming Luke Sarah Van Patten, Pascal Molat Lorena Feijoo, Vitor Luiz Dores Andre, Joseph Walsh* Program 4 - Saturday, February 28, 2015 - 8pm DANCES AT A GATHERING Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Composer: Frédéric Chopin Piano: Roy Bogas Pink/Purple: Maria Kochetkova, Davit Karapetyan Mauve/Green: Vanessa Zahorian, Carlo Di Lanno Yellow/Brown: Mathilde Froustey*, Joseph Walsh Blue/Blue: Sasha De Sola, Steven Morse Green/Brick: Lorena Feijoo, Vitor Luiz INTERMISSION HUMMINGBIRD Choreographer: Liam Scarlett Composer: Philip Glass Conductor: Martin West Frances Chung, Gennadi Nedvigin Yuan Yuan Tan, Luke Ingham Maria Kochetkova, Joan Boada Program 4 - Tuesday, March 03, 2015 - 8:00pm DANCES AT A GATHERING Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Composer: Frédéric Chopin Piano: Roy Bogas Pink/Purple: Maria Kochetkova, Davit Karapetyan Mauve/Green: Vanessa Zahorian, Carlo Di Lanno Yellow/Brown: Mathilde Froustey, Joseph Walsh Blue/Blue: Dores Andre, Steven Morse Green/Brick: Lorena Feijoo, Vitor Luiz INTERMISSION HUMMINGBIRD Choreographer: Liam Scarlett Composer: Philip Glass Conductor: Martin West Frances Chung, Gennadi Nedvigin Yuan Yuan Tan, Luke Ingham Maria Kochetkova, Joan Boada
  21. They've also removed all of Sunday's cast for Program 3 from the website, so likely that will change too.
  22. Partial casting for Program 3. Note the world premiere of Myles Thatcher's Manifesto. Also, note that soloist Anthony Spaulding is now known as Anthony Vincent. Program 3 - Tuesday, February 24, 2015 - 8pm - Opening Night VARIATIONS FOR TWO COUPLES Composers: Benjamin Britten, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Stefan Kovács Tickmayer, Aster Piazzolla Choreography: Hans van Manen Conductor: Martin West Frances Chung*, Davit Karapetyan* Sarah Van Patten, Carlos Quenedit PAUSE THE VERTIGINOUS THRILL OF EXACTITUDE Composer: Franz Shubert Choreography: William Forsythe Conductor: Martin West Carlo Di Lanno*, Gennadi Nedvigin, Sasha De Sola, Vanessa Zahorian, Sofiane Sylve INTERMISSION World Premiere MANIFESTO Composer: Johan Sebastian Bach, arranged by Matthew Naughton Choreographer: Myles Thatcher Conductor: Martin West Jennifer Stahl*, Sean Orza* Sasha De Sola*, Steven Morse* Dores Andre*, Hansuke Yamamoto* INTERMISSION "THE KINGDOM OF THE SHADES" FROM LA BAYADERE, ACT II Choreographer: Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa Composer: Ludwig Minkus with orchestration by John Lanchbery Conductor: Martin West Yuan Yuan Tan, Taras Domitro* Mathilde Froustey, Frances Chung,Dores Andre Program 3 - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - 7:30pm VARIATIONS FOR TWO COUPLES Composers: Benjamin Britten, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Stefan Kovács Tickmayer, Aster Piazzolla Choreography: Hans van Manen Conductor: Martin West Frances Chung, Davit Karapetyan Sarah Van Patten, Carlos Quenedit PAUSE THE VERTIGINOUS THRILL OF EXACTITUDE Composer: Franz Shubert Choreography: William Forsythe Conductor: Martin West Carlo Di Lanno, Gennadi Nedvigin, Frances Chung, Jennifer Stahl, Sofiane Sylve INTERMISSION MANIFESTO Composer: Johan Sebastian Bach, arranged by Matthew Naughton Choreographer: Myles Thatcher Conductor: Martin West Kristina Lind*, Henry Sidford* Norika Matsuyama*, Benjamin Freemantle* Alexandra Meyer-Lorey*, Daniel Deivison-Oliveira* INTERMISSION “THE KINGDOM OF THE SHADES” FROM LA BAYADÈRE, ACT II Choreographer: Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa Composer: Ludwig Minkus with orchestration by John Lanchbery Conductor: Martin West Maria Kochetkova, Joseph Walsh^ Mathilde Froustey, Sasha De Sola, Dores Andre ^Premiere in this production Program 3 - Friday, February 27, 2015 - 8pm VARIATIONS FOR TWO COUPLES Composers: Benjamin Britten, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Stefan Kovács Tickmayer, Aster Piazzolla Choreography: Hans van Manen Conductor: Martin West Sofiane Sylve, Luke Ingham Vanessa Zahorian, Vitor Luiz* Sofiane Sylve, Luke Ingham Vanessa Zahorian, Anthony Vincent PAUSE THE VERTIGINOUS THRILL OF EXACTITUDE Composer: Franz Shubert Choreography: William Forsythe Conductor: Martin West Francisco Mungamba, Gennadi Nedvigin, Julia Rowe, Jennifer Stahl, Dores Andre Francisco Mungamba, Joseph Walsh, Julia Rowe, Vanessa Zahorian, Dores Andre INTERMISSION MANIFESTO Composer: Johan Sebastian Bach, arranged by Matthew Naughton Choreographer: Myles Thatcher Conductor: Martin West Jennifer Stahl, Sean Orza Sasha De Sola, Steven Morse Dores Andre, Hansuke Yamamoto INTERMISSION “THE KINGDOM OF THE SHADES” FROM LA BAYADÈRE, ACT II Choreographer: Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa Composer: Ludwig Minkus with orchestration by John Lanchbery Conductor: Martin West Maria Kochetkova, Joseph Walsh Koto Ishihara, Norika Matsuyama, Sasha De Sola Frances Chung, Vitor Luiz Sasha De Sola, WanTing Zhao*, Norika Matsuyama Program 3 - Sunday, March 01, 2015 - 2pm VARIATIONS FOR TWO COUPLES Composers: Benjamin Britten, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Stefan Kovács Tickmayer, Aster Piazzolla Choreography: Hans van Manen Conductor: Martin West Sofiane Sylve, Luke Ingham Vanessa Zahorian, Anthony Vincent Sarah Van Patten, Carlos Quenedit PAUSE THE VERTIGINOUS THRILL OF EXACTITUDE Composer: Franz Shubert Choreography: William Forsythe Conductor: Martin West Francisco Mungamba, Gennadi Nedvigin, Sasha De Sola, Jennifer Stahl, Dores Andre Esteban Hernandez*, James Sofranko, Sasha De Sola, Jennifer Stahl, Norika Matsuyama* INTERMISSION MANIFESTO Composer: Johan Sebastian Bach, arranged by Matthew Naughton Choreographer: Myles Thatcher Conductor: Martin West Kristina Lind, Henry Sidford Norika Matsuyama, Benjamin Freemantle Alexandra Meyer-Lorey, Daniel Deivison-Oliveira INTERMISSION “THE KINGDOM OF THE SHADES” FROM LA BAYADÈRE, ACT II Choreographer: Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa Composer: Ludwig Minkus with orchestration by John Lanchbery Conductor: Martin West Frances Chung, Vitor Luiz Mathilde Froustey, Julia Rowe,* WanTing Zhao* Maria Kochetkova, Joseph Walsh Koto Ishihara, Frances Chung, Julia Rowe*
  23. I bought a ticket for Tuesday just to see Feijoo, so I'm terribly disappointed she won't be dancing, but can't say I have any problems with Froustey as a substitute: she was glorious when I saw her last season. Really too bad about Feijoo, though. I hope she's OK.
  24. I was lucky enough to see Frances Chung's luminous debut Giselle on Saturday. When I saw her cast in the role, my immediate thought was that she would be superb in Act I; maybe less to in the second act. Not exactly the opposite was true, but the performance was very different from what I expected from this dancer who is so athletic and feisty in contemporary works. Her Act I Giselle was very low key: young, gently warm, and very vulnerable. The mad scene was refreshingly devoid of histrionics, although maybe just one histrionic would have been a good idea, something to create a little more contrast. Interesting approach, though. When she discovered Albrecht's deceit, she didn't exactly go mad; she just wilted, like all the water had been poured out of her vase. Chung really came into her own in Act II. Having mostly seen her in more modern ballets, I had no idea she has such an exquisite classical line, feather light and beautifully capturing the romantic style with seamless phrasing (and her pointe shoes were silent). What I really liked (and this was true of Froustey's debut last year, too), was that she carried the character of her Act I Giselle through into the second act. Sometimes it seems as if the second act is treated almost as an abstract ballet without much relation to what went on before. Chung kept her character's sweet gentleness intact in the white scenes, which made Albrecht seem like even more of a cad. It's encouraging to see Chung do so well since she's a dancer who has moved up the ranks at SFB, from corps, to soloist to principal. While I think Tomasson has made wise choices in the prinicpal dancers he as brought in, Chung (among others, of course) is an excellent example of how well developing from within can pay off. I've seen comments elsewhere that she is underestimated, and that's probably true, but this performance should rectify that mistake.
  25. Meet the Artist: New principal Joseph Walsh will be interviewed at 7:00 pm before tonight's performance (1/30/15).
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