sf_herminator

Thanks - I just looked up Creature and other info about Mr. Khan. I wonder if Tamara will have him create a new work for SFB in the future. Interesting that there are no new works being created on SFB - while there were 2 new works created this season (Azure Barton's Mere Mortals & Arielle Smith's Carmen). Usually there are a couple of new works every year. But it is nice to see new works coming into the rep here.

Here is the FB post regarding the roster: (5) In addition to our exciting 24/25 Season... - San Francisco Ballet | Facebook The big news: Principal Dancers Max Cauthorn & Dores Andre are returning!! Also, promotions: Kamryn Baldwin, Carmela Mayo, and Joshua Jack Price are promoted to Soloist. Apprentices Sofia Albers, Jacey Galliard, and Dylan Pierzina are promoted to the Corps De Ballet New dancers: Soloists Fernando Carratala Coloma (Fernando Carratalá Coloma - English National Ballet) and Victor Prigent (Victor Prigent - English National Ballet) join as Soloists, having danced previously at English National Ballet Corps De Ballet Rebecca Blenkinsop (English National Ballet - Rebecca Blenkinsop - English National Ballet) Jakub Groot (Czech National Ballet - Jakub Groot (narodni-divadlo.cz)) Lucas Lopez (Joffrey Studio Company Archie Sullivan (English National Ballet - Archie Sullivan - English National Ballet) Juliette Windey

I agree - I would have liked to have seen Don Q (a lighter story ballet) or Serenade for some Balanchine.

Josette - I have not seen Creature. Who was the choreographer? I am going to YT to see if there are any clips....

ALSO:: Nutcracker - December 6-29, 37 performances NUTCRACKER - San Francisco Ballet (sfballet.org)

Along with the email I received regarding the 24-25 Rep Season, there was also a list of the dancer roster for next year. First, the bad news: Angelo Greco is leaving for Houston Ballet. His name was not on the roster, and Houston Ballet has posted to their IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/C51OY02sJHD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== There are other surprises, but do not want to post anything that cannot be verified (thus violating guidelines). As I find social media posts or any press release to confirm promotions or dancers coming/going, I am only going to share the news about Angelo. Apologies in advance.

The announcement is here: 24/25 SEASON - San Francisco Ballet (sfballet.org) Kenneth MacMillan's Manon (SFB Premiere) - January 24-Febrruary 1 Cool Britannia: Wayne McGregor's Chroma, Christopher Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour, Akram Khan's Dust (SFB Premiere) - February 13-February 19 Raymonda - Tamara Rojo, after Marius Petipa - March 1-March 8 Liam Scarlett's Frankenstein - March 20-March 26 Van Manen: Dutch Grandmaster -- Solo, 5 Tango's (SFB Premiere), Grosse Fuge, Variations for Two Couples - April 5-April 19 Broken Love: MacMillan's Marguerite & Armand, Lopez Ochoa's Broken Wings - April 8-18 Frankenstein Encore - April 26-May 4 A very exciting season!! However, I am a little perplexed with the return of Marguerite & Armand AND the premiere of Manon. I am happy with Manon coming into the SFB rep. I would rather have had a different Ashton piece, although given the name of the program 'Broken Love' then the pariing of M&A with Broken Wings makes sense. I am also very happy to have the return of a Liam Scarlett piece - I am already casting The Creature in my mind (Wei Wang is the only dancer still in the company who has danced it before). I am also really looking forward to the Cool Britannia program - Chroma & Within the Golden Hour are 2 of my favorite works. I am also disappointed not to see any Balanchine in the mix. FB Post: Facebook IG Post: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C51OdbUvTIk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Meet the Artist Interviews on Friday 4/12 and Sunday 4/14 - https://www.sfballet.org/productions/meet-the-artist-interviews/ April 12 at 7 pm – Textile Artist Maria Guzmán Capron, designer of the Dos Mujeres scenic curtain April 14 at 1 pm – Principal Dancer Esteban Hernández

Principal Casting has been posted for the Swan Lake Encore - https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/casting/ Tuesday, April 30, 7:30 PM Odette/Odile: Natalia Osipova* Siegfried: Isaac Hernández Von Rothbart: Alexander Reneff-Olson *Guest artist courtesy of The Royal Ballet Wednesday, May 1, 7:30 PM Odette/Odile: Jasmine Jimison Siegfried: Aaron Robison Von Rothbart: Nathaniel Remez Thursday, May 2, 7:30 PM Odette/Odile: Misa Kuranaga Siegfried: Angelo Greco Von Rothbart: Daniel Deivison-Oliveira Friday, May 3, 8:00 PM Odette/Odile: Natalia Osipova* Siegfried: Isaac Hernández Von Rothbart: Alexander Reneff-Olson *Guest artist courtesy of The Royal Ballet Saturday, May 4, 2:00 PM Odette/Odile: Nikisha Fogo Siegfried: Daniel Camargo* Von Rothbart: Alexander Reneff-Olson *Guest artist courtesy of American Ballet Theatre Saturday, May 4, 8:00 PM Odette/Odile: Jasmine Jimison Siegfried: Aaron Robison Von Rothbart: Nathaniel Remez Sunday, May 5, 2:00 PM Odette/Odile: Misa Kuranaga Siegfried: Angelo Greco Von Rothbart: Daniel Deivison-Oliveira

When you enter the theater at the Opera House for the performances of Dos Mujeres, there is a beautiful curtain created by Oakland based artist Maria Guzman Capron. https://www.sfballet.org/discover/backstage/local-artist-crafts-vibrant-scenic-curtain/?fbclid=IwAR2N3KySeCYYQ1a_4PETSe_a6WBc885fgt0xm6sVuC4ukVMaDd8mNZuktMU_aem_Aea2igRWPtHlYBWFlGCrXyKYhi8rcCOXvc_I1XEr-ONmv5RbNlk-y91RHusLItN73yhi1j1aasHPAXkVerNkCl0e https://www.instagram.com/p/C5YqjEIOu9b/

A short clip of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa speaking about the Fridas:

Meet the Artists Interviews take place 1 hour before performances on Friday evenings and Sunday matinees. For the next@90 Curtain Call performances: Friday, April 5, 7 PM: Principal Dancer Wei Wang Sunday, April 7, 1 PM: Rehearsal Director and Former Principal Dancer Tina LeBlanc Most interviews become available via podcast. Links are posted on the SFB Website Meet the Artist Interviews - San Francisco Ballet (sfballet.org) and wherever you get your podcasts.

I was at last night's performance. I enjoyed Carmen and look forward to seeing it again - but I will say that it is not your mother's Carmen. Broken Wings is a very special piece. It literally is art coming to life!! Visually stunning costumes, wonderful choreography for the 'Frida' group (men as different versions of Frida's self portraits). I don't think there are words to express what I experienced watching this piece, but I cannot wait to see it again this weekend!! Kudos to everyone, but especially Isabella DeVivo as Frida Kahlo. Run, don't walk to see this one!!

Dos Mujeres is the last new program of Tamara Rojo's inaugural season. For this program, the story of two different women - one a real life artist and the other a well known operatic character - come to life through two different choreographers. Carmen is a World Premiere choreographed by Cuban-born Arielle Smith - her first for SFB, with an original score by Arturo O'Farrill. It is a new version of the familiar character from Bizet's opera. Broken Wings, which is making its SF Ballet debut, portrays the art and life of Frida Khalo. This is the second piece from Annabelle Lopez Ochoa to enter the SFB rep. Guernica was part of the 2018 Unbound festival. This piece was originally created in 2016 for English National Ballet, which had Tamara Rojo in the role of Frida Kahlo. Details and Principal Casting: DOS MUJERES Carmen (World Premiere) Choreographer: Arielle Smith Composer: Arturo O’Farrill Set Design by: Riccardo Hernández Costume Design: Gabriela Hearst Lighting Design: Jim French Dramaturg: Lucinda Coxon Broken Wings (SF Ballet Premiere) Choreographer: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa Composer: Peter Salem, “La Llorona” sung by Chavela Vargas Staged by: Daniel Kraus Scenic and Costume Design: Dieuweke van Reij Lighting Design: Jim French Dramaturg: Nancy Meckler Assistant to the Choreographer: Garen Scribner Casting subject to change Thursday, April 4, 7:30 PM CARMEN Carmen: Sasha De Sola Jose: Joseph Walsh Escamillo: Jennifer Stahl Gilberto: Wei Wang BROKEN WINGS Frida: Isabella DeVivo Diego: John-Paul Simoens* Sister: Sasha Mukhamedov Alfonso: Cavan Conley Saturday, April 6, 2:00 PM CARMEN Carmen: Jasmine Jimison Jose: Esteban Hernández Escamillo: Sasha Mukhamedov Gilberto: Myles Thatcher BROKEN WINGS Frida: Nikisha Fogo Diego: Nathaniel Remez Frida's Sister: Jihyun Choi Alfonso: Esteban Hernández Saturday, April 6, 8:00 PM CARMEN Carmen: Sasha De Sola Jose: Joseph Walsh Escamillo: Jennifer Stahl Gilberto: Wei Wang BROKEN WINGS Frida: Isabella DeVivo Diego: John-Paul Simoens* Sister: Sasha Mukhamedov Alfonso: Cavan Conley Tuesday, April 9, 7:30 PM CARMEN Carmen: Jasmine Jimison Jose: Esteban Hernández Escamillo: Sasha Mukhamedov Gilberto: Myles Thatcher BROKEN WINGS Frida: Nikisha Fogo Diego: Nathaniel Remez Frida's Sister: Jihyun Choi Alfonso: Esteban Hernández Wednesday, April 10, 7:30 PM CARMEN Carmen: Jasmine Jimison Jose: Esteban Hernández Escamillo: Sasha Mukhamedov Gilberto: Myles Thatcher BROKEN WINGS Frida: Nikisha Fogo Diego: Nathaniel Remez Frida's Sister: Jihyun Choi Alfonso: Esteban Hernández Friday, April 12, 8:00 PM CARMEN Carmen: Sasha De Sola Jose: Joseph Walsh Escamillo: Jennifer Stahl Gilberto: Wei Wang BROKEN WINGS Frida: Isabella DeVivo Diego: John-Paul Simoens* Sister: Sasha Mukhamedov Alfonso: Cavan Conley Sunday, April 14, 2:00 PM CARMEN Carmen: Sasha De Sola Jose: Joseph Walsh Escamillo: Jennifer Stahl Gilberto: Wei Wang BROKEN WINGS Frida: Isabella DeVivo Diego: John-Paul Simoens* Sister: Sasha Mukhamedov Alfonso: Cavan Conley *Guest Artist

Just received an email: Mark your calendar for April 16 when the 2024-25 Season will be announced. Stay tuned!!!

Performance dates have been announced for Natalia Osipova and Daniel Camargo - https://www.sfballet.org/productions/swan-lake-encore/ Natalia Osipova Tuesday, April 30, 7:30 PM Friday, May 3, 8 PM Daniel Camargo Saturday, May 4, 2 PM Due to unforeseen circumstances, Jacopo Tissi will not be performing Full casting will be announced closer to the performance dates.

next@90 Curtain Call is the first of 2 programs which will alternate with Dos Mujeres beginning April 2 through April 14. Three works from last year's next@90 New Works Festival return to the Opera House Stage: Nicolas Blanc's Gateway to the Sun, Yuri Possokhov's Violin Concerto, and Dani Rowe's MADCAP. Here are the program details - NEXT@90 CURTAIN CALL - San Francisco Ballet (sfballet.org) and principal casting - CASTING - San Francisco Ballet (sfballet.org): Gateway to the Sun Choreographer: Nicolas Blanc Composer: Anna Clyne Scenic and Costume Design: Katrin Schnabl Lighting Design: Jim French Violin Concerto Choreographer: Yuri Possokhov Composer: Igor Stravinsky Scenic Design: Alexander V. Nichols Costume Design: Sandra Woodall Lighting Design: Jim French Assistant to the Choreographer: Tiit Helimets MADCAP Choreographer: Danielle Rowe Composer: Pär Hagström Music Arranged by: Philip Feeney Costume Design: Emma Kingsbury Lighting Design: Jim French Assistant to the Choreographer: Garen Scribner *Casting Subject to Change Tuesday, April 2, 7:30 PM GATEWAY TO THE SUN Poet: Isaac Hernández Second Movement: Sasha De Sola, Wei Wang Third Movement: Jennifer Stahl, Steven Morse VIOLIN CONCERTO Muse: Sasha Mukhamedov Principal Couples: Wona Park, Joseph Walsh Julia Rowe, Esteban Hernández Carmela Mayo, Cavan Conley MADCAP Clown: Myles Thatcher Oracle: Jennifer Stahl Mirror: Jasmine Jimison Wednesday, April 3, 7:30 PM GATEWAY TO THE SUN Poet: Isaac Hernández Second Movement: Sasha De Sola, Wei Wang Third Movement: Jennifer Stahl, Steven Morse VIOLIN CONCERTO Muse: Sasha Mukhamedov Principal Couples: Wona Park, Joseph Walsh Katherine Barkman, Luca Ferrò Norika Matsuyama, Daniel Deivison-Oliveira MADCAP Clown: Myles Thatcher Oracle: Jennifer Stahl Mirror: Jasmine Jimison Friday, April 5, 8:00 PM GATEWAY TO THE SUN Poet: Myles Thatcher Second Movement: Wona Park, Cavan Conley Third Movement: Jasmine Jimison, Parker Garrison VIOLIN CONCERTO Muse: Frances Chung Principal Couples: Elizabeth Mateer, Joshua Jack Price Julia Rowe, Esteban Hernandez Carmela Mayo, Cavan Conley MADCAP Clown: Nathaniel Remez Oracle: Sasha Mukhamedov Mirror: Katherine Barkman Sunday, April 7, 2:00 PM GATEWAY TO THE SUN Poet: Myles Thatcher Second Movement: Wona Park, Cavan Conley Third Movement: Thamires Chuvas, Steven Morse VIOLIN CONCERTO Muse: Sasha Mukhamedov Principal Couples: Wona Park, Joseph Walsh Katherine Barkman, Luca Ferrò Norika Matsuyama, Daniel Deivison-Oliveira MADCAP Clown: Myles Thatcher Oracle: Jennifer Stahl Mirror: Sasha De Sola Thursday, April 11, 7:30 PM GATEWAY TO THE SUN Poet: Wei Wang Second Movement: Wona Park, Cavan Conley Third Movement: Thamires Chuvas, Steven Morse VIOLIN CONCERTO Muse: Frances Chung Principal Couples: Elizabeth Mateer, Joshua Jack Price Julia Rowe, Esteban Hernandez Carmela Mayo, Cavan Conley MADCAP Clown: Myles Thatcher Oracle: Jennifer Stahl Mirror: Jasmine Jimison Saturday, April 13, 2:00 PM GATEWAY TO THE SUN Poet: Myles Thatcher Second Movement: Sasha De Sola, Wei Wang Third Movement: Jasmine Jimison, Parker Garrison VIOLIN CONCERTO Muse: Frances Chung Principal Couples: Elizabeth Mateer, Joshua Jack Price Julia Rowe, Esteban Hernandez Carmela Mayo, Cavan Conley MADCAP Clown: Nathaniel Remez Oracle: Sasha Mukhamedov Mirror: Katherine Barkman Saturday, April 13, 8:00 PM GATEWAY TO THE SUN Poet: Isaac Hernández Second Movement: Sasha De Sola, Wei Wang Third Movement: Jennifer Stahl, Steven Morse VIOLIN CONCERTO Muse: Sasha Mukhamedov Principal Couples: Wona Park, Joseph Walsh Katherine Barkman, Luca Ferrò Norika Matsuyama, Daniel Deivison-Oliveira MADCAP Clown: Myles Thatcher Oracle: Jennifer Stahl Mirror: Sasha De Sola

Principal Casting for the first three performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream has been posted (CASTING - San Francisco Ballet (sfballet.org)) As always, casting is subject to change. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM Choreographer: George Balanchine Composer: Felix Mendelssohn Staged by: Sandra Jennings Scenic and Costume Design: Christian Lacroix Lighting by: Jennifer Tipton Tuesday, March 12, 7:30 PM Titania: Sasha De Sloa Oberon: Esteban Hernández Puck: Cavan Conley NOTE: If you saw the video capture back in 2020, this is the same cast Wednesday, March 13, 7:30 PM Titania: Nikisha Fogo Oberon: To be announced Puck: Alexis Francisco Valdes Thursday, March 14, 7:30 PM Titania: Jennifer Stahl Oberon: Wei Wang Puck: Luca Ferrò Initial reactions: Happy to see Jennifer Stahl will finally get to dance Titania. She danced Hippolyta on opening night and was slated to dance Titania Wonderful opportunity for 2 Corps dancers (Alexis and Luca) to portray Puck Wonder who will be Nikisha's Oberon.... Can't wait to see additional casting!!

Swan Lake will return April 30-May 5. This run will feature Internatiomal guest dancers!! They are: Natalia Osipova - Principal Dancer at The Royal Ballet Daniel Camargo - Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre Jacopo Tissi - Principal Dancer at Dutch National Ballet Who will they dance with?? Stay tuned, as casting will be announced closer to the April 30th date. https://www.sfballet.org/productions/swan-lake-encore/

I was there that night. There was so much excitement in the air. I was working at the pop-up table (pointe shoes, ballet flats, sneakers, & other shoes used onstage). Then someone alerted us to the news. At the time we all thought it would be 2 weeks at most….. What really made me sad was all dancers who were going to take on some of the roles that we never got to see. But now other dancers will get their chance. BTW - I’ll be working in the gift shop on the mezzanine level or the kiosk in the lobby for the Saturday evening performances - stop by & say Hi 👋

In 2020, the company used the sets & costumes from Pacific Northwest Ballet. For this season’s performances, the sets & costumes are from Paris Opera Ballet, designed by Christian Lacroix.

George Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream returns to the stage after a very brief run in 2020. The opening night performance on Friday 3/6 also turned out to be the closing performance when the mayor declared all venues closed due to beginning of the COVID pandemic. There was a student performance earlier that day. A final performance was put together a few days later which was recorded for subscribers to access. Since it had been over 30 years since SFB last performed Midsummer, there were multiple debuts that never happened. Here is a link to the thread from 2020: https://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/45357-sfb-program-4-a-midsummer-nights-dream/#comment-422928 Following was the principal cast for the March 6 performance (full casting may not have been posted): A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM Fri, March 6 at 8:00 pm Composer: Felix Mendelssohn Choreographer: George Balanchine Conductor: Martin West Chorus: Volti Singers: Gabrielle Haigh, Alice Del Simone Puck: Esteban Hernandez*† Oberon: Joseph Walsh*† Titania: Yuan Yuan Tan*† Lead Butterfly: Wona Park*† Hippolyta: Jennifer Stahl*† Pas de Deux: Misa Kuranaga‡, Angelo Greco*† Hopefully, principal casting will be up after the Swan Lake run.

Full cast for the opening night performance of Swan Lake - https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/casting/ Friday, February 23, 8:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Violin: Cordula Merks Cello: Eric Sung Odette-Odile: NIKISHA FOGO Prince Siegfried: AARON ROBISON Von Rothbart: NATHANIEL REMEZ Queen Mother: Katita Waldo Wolfgang, The Tutor: Ricardo Bustamante PROLOGUE Odette, Von Rothbart ACT I – OUTSIDE THE PALACE Prince Siegfried, Queen Mother, Wolfgang Pas de Trois: KATHERINE BARKMAN, ESTEBAN HERNÁNDEZ, ISABELLA DEVIVO Aristocrats: Kamryn Baldwin, Thamires Chuvas, Gabriela Gonzalez, Elizabeth Mateer, Anatalia St. Clair, Rubén Cítores Nieto, Luca Ferrò, Steven Morse, Joshua Jack Price, Mingxuan Wang Peasants: Sofia Albers, Samantha Bristow, Olivia Brothers, Maya Chandrashekaran, Jihyun Choi, Mimi Lamar, Katharine Lee, Carmela Mayo, Swane Messaoudi, Pemberley Ann Olson, Tyla Steinbach, Seojeong Yun, Benjamin Davidoff, Lleyton Ho, Andris Kundzins, Simone Pompignoli, Jacob Seltzer, Alexis Francisco Valdes Ladies in Waiting, Guards, Peasants, and Children: Supernumeraries and Students of San Francisco Ballet School – INTERMISSION – ACT II – THE LAKESIDE Odette, Prince Siegfried, Von Rothbart Cygnets: Katherine Barkman, Isabella DeVivo, Norika Matsuyama, Julia Rowe Swan Maidens: Kamryn Baldwin and Sasha Mukhamedov Swans: Sofia Albers, Samantha Bristow, Olivia Brothers, Jihyun Choi, Thamires Chuvas, Jacey Gailliard, Gabriela Gonzalez, Katharine Lee, SunMin Lee, Elizabeth Mateer, Carmela Mayo, Swane Messaoudi, Pemberley Ann Olson, Anatalia St. Clair, Tyla Steinbach, Angela Watson, Victoria Wright, Seojeong Yun – INTERMISSION – ACT III – THE PALACE BALLROOM Odile, Prince Siegfried, Von Rothbart, Queen Mother, Wolfgang Spanish Princess: Sasha Mukhamedov with Rubén Cítores Nieto and Mingxuan Wang Czardas Princess: Anatalia St. Clair with Daniel Deivison-Oliveira and Samantha Bristow, SunMin Lee, Carmela Mayo, Swane Messaoudi, Andris Kundzins, João Percilio da Silva, Jacob Seltzer, Alexis Francisco Valdes Neapolitan Princess: Julia Rowe with Cavan Conley Russian Princesses: Kamryn Baldwin and Thamires Chuvas with Joshua Jack Price and Steven Morse Master of Ceremonies: Benjamin Davidoff Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court: Students of San Francisco Ballet School Grand Pas de Deux: Odile and Prince Siegfried ACT IV – THE LAKESIDE Odette, Prince Siegfried, Von Rothbart, Swans *Casting subject to change

Principal Dancer Sasha De Sola will be the Artist in the opening night's Meet the Artist Interview. Principal Dancer Joseph Walsh will be the Artist in Sunday's Meet the Artist Interview. https://www.sfballet.org/productions/meet-the-artist-interviews/

Cygnets rehearsing: https://fb.watch/qkPHwB2for/