PeggyR

Alas, I just paid income tax, and property tax is due at the end of the month, so I need to forget you mentioned this.....

Aw, come on sandik - taxes, ballet videos: what could possibly be more important?

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.

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.)

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.

Any giddy extrapolations about "... a new work by a young superstar -- his first for SF Ballet."?

The story ballet is definitely Swan Lake. It's pretty obvious if one has been paying attention to little slips here and there by those in the know.

I wish they'd perform Balanchine's Coppelia again.

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).

Just a teaser, unfortunately.

April 10, 2015

Dear SF Ballet Subscriber:

We are working out the final details for our 2016 Repertory Season and I think you’re going to love the results. Next season will feature one of best-loved story ballets of all time, an enchanting full-length for the entire family, an American premiere of a work by a living legend that has only ever been performed by the Paris Opera Ballet, and a new work by a young superstar—his first for SF Ballet. .

Don’t miss your chance to hold onto your seats for what promises to be one of our richest and most rewarding seasons yet. So, stay tuned—your invitation to renew your subscription will arrive in your inboxes and mailboxes later this month.

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.

I just got around to reading the SFBallet e-news letter for April. Here’s how Swimmer is described:

“The third ballet on this triple bill is a surprising new work by SF Ballet Choreographer in Residence, Yuri Possokhov. A stylish mediation on 1960s America, and a grand-scale theatrical romp, Possokhov’s Swimmer is inspired by John Cheever’s short story “The Swimmer.” The new work features a score by our own Shinji Eshima as well as music by Tom Waits, and boasts a wide array of 60s literature and pop-culture references.”

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…”

... I think Tiit Helimets will be dancing the 'Burt Lancaster' role at the opening. ...

According to the casting list (as of now, anyway), Taras Domitro will be first cast.

Here's a link to the original John Cheever short story, The Swimmer. posted by the Library of America.

He had an inexplicable contempt for men who did not hurl themselves into pools.

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.

Isaac Hernandez is joining English National Ballet as a Lead Principal.

Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director of English National Ballet said; “Isaac is an incredibly talented dancer, having seen him perform with Dutch National Ballet I invited him to guest with us in Swan Lake and I was blown away by his performance as Prince Siegfried at the London Coliseum in January. It gives me great pleasure to welcome Isaac to English National Ballet.”

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.

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

‘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.

“I made this book for working mothers in general,” Gray says. “There are 75 million working mothers in this country, and half the workforce is women, yet we’re so backwards in how we think about mothers and work. I’d like the dance world to take notice, yes, and then everyone else. It’s cuckoo that the subject of working mothers still needs to be on the table. Why wouldn’t we want to support working mothers?”

The book chronicles the three ballerinas over a period of 15 years as they pursued their careers and raised their children.

“LeBlanc: (Having a baby) took the “live or die” out of it. It’s just a pirouette. That was fun. Ballet became “Let’s just dance!” And back home was the important stuff.”

Available on Amazon via the BalletAlert link.

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.

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.

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

I don't think I have it in me to do a big review but here are my overall impressions (and if you have a question, I'm happy to try to answer):

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.

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

They've also removed all of Sunday's cast for Program 3 from the website, so likely that will change too.

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*

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.

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.

Meet the Artist: New principal Joseph Walsh will be interviewed at 7:00 pm before tonight's performance (1/30/15).