sf_herminator

Initial reactions: Excited for A Midsummer Night's Dream. I don't recall this ever being done, at least since I began attending SFB in 2001 Excited for the return of Jewels!!! Excited for the return of Morris's Sandpaper Ballet. I think this may be the 20th anniversary of the piece. Happy for new commissions from Trey McIntyre & Cathy Marston - what music will Mr. McIntyre choose and what literary work will Ms. Marston adapt??? Happy for a new Ratmansky piece Finally get to see Anima Animus and The Infinite Ocean again, along with Bespoke. As these are being performed in London, I expected to see them - along with Scarlett's Hummingbird Disappointed not to see Scarlett's Die Toteninsel - or maybe that is the 'Work to be Announced' on Program 6?

Carlos Quenedit will be joining Miami City Ballet for the 2019-2020 season, where he danced as a Soloist in 2009: https://www.miamicityballet.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/FINAL-2019-20-MCB-Company-Roster-Announcement-04-16-19.pdf

FB post: IG posts Congratulations to Esteban, Madison, and Cavan on their well-deserved promotions!!!

Also: Sea Witch: Wei Wang Casting is subject to change. https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting

Here is a short clip with the creative team behind Marie: Dancing Still - thank you 5th Avenue Theatre for being part of this show's journey!!

(Helping seattle_dancer out here - plus I was curious about other clips which I will look for later....) Here is the clip of 'Looking Back At Myself' - if my memory serves me right, this is adult Marie's first number when she went to prove she was indeed Marie all grown up. I am not sure how much has changed for the current production:

I saw this over the weekend (thanks to seattle_dancer for bringing this to my attention). The big draw for me was Tiler Peck. I have seen her dance with NYCB since 2011 and what a wonderful opportunity to see her in a musical. I really did enjoy it, although the music was not a high point. However, the numbers did move the story along. I think you should go see it if you have the chance. I do hope the show makes it to New York. I managed to find a few clips on YouTube: Tiler Peck (Marie) and Terrence Mann (Degas): A clip of Marie (Peck) and Christian (Kyle Harris) from the first incarnation of the musical previously called Tiny Dancer - happily Kyle is performing the role again in Seattle:

Casting for Sunday 3/31, Wednesday 4/3, and Thursday 4/4 performances - https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting Casting is subject to change. SPACE BETWEEN Sunday, March 31, 2019 – 2:00 pm Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes Choreography: Justin Peck Music: Aaron Copland Conductor: Martin West Sofiane Sylve Carlo Di Lanno Esteban Hernandez Hansuke Yamamoto Wei Wang Die Toteninsel Choreography: Liam Scarlett Music: Sergei Rachmaninoff Conductor: Martin West Cavan Conley Jahna Frantziskonis Max Cauthorn WanTing Zhao Luke Ingham Steven Morse Björk Ballet Choreography: Arthur Pita Music: Composers: Björk Gudmundsdottir, Alejandro Ghersi, and Sjón Conductor: Martin West Carmela Mayo Dores Andre Elizabeth Powell Joseph Walsh Luke Ingham Ulrik Birkkjaer * Second cast for Scarlett's Die Toteninsel. Another great opportunity for new Corps member Cavan Conley Wednesday, April 3, 2019 – 7:30 pm Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes Choreography: Justin Peck Music: Aaron Copland Conductor: Martin West Dores Andre Ulrik Birkkjaer Max Cauthorn Daniel Deivison-Oliveira Cavan Conley Die Toteninsel Choreography: Liam Scarlett Music: Sergei Rachmaninoff Conductor: Martin West Cavan Conley Jahna Frantziskonis Max Cauthorn WanTing Zhao Luke Ingham Steven Morse Björk Ballet Choreography: Arthur Pita Music: Composers: Björk Gudmundsdottir, Alejandro Ghersi, and Sjón Conductor: Martin West Miranda Silveira Ellen Rose Hummel Madison Keesler Wei Wang Henry Sidford John-Paul Simoens *Cavan Conley debuts in Peck's Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes. Looks like he will be in the trio with Max & Daniel. I looked at last year's cast sheets to see who he was replacing - it's James Sofranko, who came to my mind when I saw Cavan in Peck's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. Also, second cast for Björk Ballet. Thursday, April 4, 2019 – 7:30 pm Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes Choreography: Justin Peck Music: Aaron Copland Conductor: Martin West Sofiane Sylve Carlo Di Lanno Esteban Hernandez Hansuke Yamamoto Wei Wang Die Toteninsel Choreography: Liam Scarlett Music: Sergei Rachmaninoff Conductor: Martin West Esteban Hernandez Lauren Strongin Joseph Walsh Dores Andre Vitor Luiz Wei Wang Björk Ballet Choreography: Arthur Pita Music: Composers: Björk Gudmundsdottir, Alejandro Ghersi, and Sjón Conductor: Martin West Carmela Mayo Dores Andre Elizabeth Powell Luke Ingham Joseph Walsh Ulrik Birkkjaer

Casting for Tuesday 4/2 - https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting Casting is subject to change. LYRIC VOICES Tuesday, April 2, 2019 – 7:30 pm Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem Choreography: Trey McIntyre Music: Chris Garneau Ethan Chudnow Jahna Frantziskonis WanTing Zhao Elizabeth Mateer Cavan Conley Alexandre Cagnat Mingxuan Wang David Occhipinti Sean Bennett Bound To Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon Music: Keaton Henson Conductor: Martin West Wona Park Ellen Rose Hummel Thamires Chuvas Ludmila Bizalion WanTing Zhao Alexandre Cagnat Steven Morse Max Cauthorn Esteban Hernandez Davide Occhipinti Jaime Garcia Castilla (final solo) ". . .two united in a single soul. . ." Choreography: Yuri Possokhov Music: Daria Novo, after George Frideric Handel Conductor: Martin West Countertenor: Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen Esteban Hernandez Sasha De Sola Max Cauthorn Jennifer Stahl Benjamin Freemantle *Second cast for Bound To and ...two united in a single soul....

A few pics from IG of Possokhov's new work "...two united in a single soul..." in the studio: Program notes have also been posted: https://sfballet.blog/2019/03/22/two-united-in-a-single-soul-program-notes/ Looking forward to seeing this on Wednesday....

Casting for Saturday 3/30 performances - https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting Casting is subject to change. Saturday, March 30, 2019 – 2:00 pm Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem Choreography: Trey McIntyre Music: Chris Garneau Ethan Chudnow Jahna Frantziskonis WanTing Zhao Elizabeth Mateer Cavan Conley Alexandre Cagnat Mingxuan Wang David Occhipinti Sean Bennett Bound To Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon Music: Keaton Henson Conductor: Martin West Dores Andre Sasha De Sola Isabella DeVivo Jennifer Stahl WanTing Zhao Jaime Garcilla Castilla (final solo) Steven Morse Benjamin Freemantle Angelo Greco Lonnie Weeks ". . .two united in a single soul. . ." Choreography: Yuri Possokhov Music: Daria Novo, after George Frideric Handel Conductor: Martin West Countertenor: Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen Joseph Walsh Yuan Yuan Tan Aaron Robison Sofiane Sylve Luke Ingham *Second cast debut in Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem (except for Alexandre Cagnat - unless he is performing the same role). Looking forward to this - especially seeing who will per form the foot stool pas de deux (Benjamin Freemantle's role). In Bound To, Jaime Garcia Castilla will debut in the final solo (Lonnie Weeks in the initial performances). It also looks like Wan Ting Zhao and Steven Morse will be in the roles debuted by Yuan Yuan Tan and Carlo Di Lanno. Saturday, March 30, 2019 – 8:00 pm Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem Choreography: Trey McIntyre Music: Chris Garneau Benjamin Freemantle Isabella DeVivo Sasha De Sola Jennifer Stahl Steven Morse Jaime Garcilla Castilla Alexandre Cagnat Esteban Hernandez Lonnie Weeks Bound To Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon Music: Keaton Henson Conductor: Martin West Dores Andre Sasha De Sola Isabella DeVivo Jennifer Stahl Yuan Yuan Tan Jaime Garcilla Castilla Carlo Di Lanno Benjamin Freemantle Angelo Greco Lonnie Weeks (final solo) ". . .two united in a single soul. . ." Choreography: Yuri Possokhov Music: Daria Novo, after George Frideric Handel Conductor: Martin West Countertenor: Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen Joseph Walsh Yuan Yuan Tan Aaron Robison Sofiane Sylve Luke Ingham

You may be right - I don't recall Sofiane dancing in any of Yuri's previous works. Yuan Yuan, Lorena, and Maria were the female dancers he usually went to. Dores, Jennifer, and Frances are other women who I recall have performed in his works. Then there were others (Dana Genshaft, Lauren Strongin, Wan Ting Zhao) who appeared in Swimmer. But I can't think of Sofiane in anything of Yuri's.

Casting has been posted for opening night of Program 6-Space Between - https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting Casting is subject to change. SPACE BETWEEN Friday, March 29, 2019 – 8:00 pm Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes Choreography: Justin Peck Music: Aaron Copland Conductor: Martin West Sofiane Sylve Carlo Di Lanno Esteban Hernandez Hansuke Yamamoto Wei Wang Die Toteninsel (world premiere performance) Choreography: Liam Scarlett Music: Sergei Rachmaninoff Conductor: Martin West Esteban Hernandez Lauren Strongin Joseph Walsh Dores Andre Vitor Luiz Wei Wang Björk Ballet Choreography: Arthur Pita Music: Composers: Björk Gudmundsdottir, Alejandro Ghersi, and Sjón Conductor: Martin West Carmela Mayo Dores Andre Elizabeth Powell Joseph Walsh Luke Ingham Ulrik Birkkjaer *Will be nice to see Lauren Strongin back onstage in Liam Scarlett's new piece, which takes its title from the music - Rachmaninov's The Isle of Dead. I was wondering who would dance Maria Kochetkova's role in Björk Ballet - looks like Carmela Mayo. Elizabeth Powell will dance Sarah Van Patten's parts. And Joseph Walsh will make his debut in the piece.

Casting has been posted for the first two performances of Program 5-Lyric Voices - https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting Casting is subject to change. LYRIC VOICES Wednesday, March 27, 2019 – 7:30 pm Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem Choreography: Trey McIntyre Music: Chris Garneau Benjamin Freemantle Isabella DeVivo Sasha De Sola Jennifer Stahl Steven Morse Jaime Garcilla Castilla Alexandre Cagnat Esteban Hernandez Lonnie Weeks Bound To Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon Music: Keaton Henson Conductor: Martin West Dores Andre Sasha De Sola Isabella DeVivo Jennifer Stahl Yuan Yuan Tan Jaime Garcilla Castilla Carlo Di Lanno Benjamin Freemantle Angelo Greco Lonnie Weeks (final solo) ". . .two united in a single soul. . ." (world premiere performance) Choreography: Yuri Possokhov Music: Daria Novo, after George Frideric Handel Conductor: Martin West Countertenor: Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen Joseph Walsh Yuan Yuan Tan Aaron Robison Sofiane Sylve Luke Ingham Thursday, March 28, 2019 – 7:30 pm Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem Choreography: Trey McIntyre Music: Chris Garneau Benjamin Freemantle Isabella DeVivo Sasha De Sola Jennifer Stahl Steven Morse Jaime Garcilla Castilla Alexandre Cagnat Esteban Hernandez Lonnie Weeks Bound To Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon Music: Keaton Henson Conductor: Martin West Dores Andre Sasha De Sola Isabella DeVivo Jennifer Stahl Yuan Yuan Tan Jaime Garcilla Castilla Carlo Di Lanno Benjamin Freemantle Angelo Greco Lonnie Weeks (final solo) ". . .two united in a single soul. . ." Choreography: Yuri Possokhov Music: Daria Novo, after George Frideric Handel Conductor: Martin West Countertenor: Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen Joseph Walsh Yuan Yuan Tan Aaron Robison Sofiane Sylve Luke Ingham No major cast changes to the first two pieces from last year's Unbound. Excited for Yuri's new work.

I received an email yesterday (and confirmed with someone in Audience Engagement) the talk has been cancelled because of scheduling conflicts. This is unfortunate as I was really looking forward to this talk, especially since I will miss Exploring Rodeo on Sunday 3/24 (https://www.sfballet.org/season/events/audience-engagement/exploring-ballet).

Jasmine Jimison will get another chance as The Enchanted Princess tonight (hope to see Jahna back onstage soon): Saturday, March 16, 2019 – 8:00 pm Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Conductor: Martin West Aurora: Yasmine Naghdi, Guest Artist Courtesy of The Royal Ballet Prince Desiré: Joseph Walsh Lilac Fairy: Koto Ishihara Bluebird: Esteban Hernandez Enchanted Princess: Jasmine Jimison

On Tuesday 3/19 there will be a related talk: Ballet Talk - Your Flesh Shall Be A Great Poem and Bound To Dancer's Cut. Insight and discussion with dancers Benjamin Freemantle and Lonnie Weeks. Tickets are still available: https://www.sfballet.org/season/events/2019-Ballet-Talk-Dancer’s-Cut - I've got mine!!!

Carlo Di Lanno is tonight's dancer in the Meet the Artist interview: https://www.sfballet.org/explore/meet-the-artist Also, the podcast of the Meet the Artist interview with Yasmine Naghdi is now available: https://sfballet.blog/2019/03/14/yasmine-naghdi-principal-dancer-the-royal-ballet/.

True, not many screenings in the US. Fortunately for San Franciscans the screening are at the Clay Theatre on Fillmore. For R & J, it will be screened on July 9. In San Francisco, the showings are at the Clay Theatre in Fillmore. This link has all upcoming screening in San Francisco at the Clay Theatre on Fillmore: https://www.roh.org.uk/screenings?location=USA&showing=&northEastLat=43.6269362&northEastLng=-112.9574805&southWestLat=36.5259768&southWestLng=-126.9760352&centerLat=40.1692256&centerLng=-119.9667578&zoom=6&cinema=clay-theatre&dateTo=&locationLat=37.09024&locationLng=-95.71289100000001 The next Royal Ballet screening will be Don Quixote on Tuesday 4/2: https://www.landmarktheatres.com/Special-Events-San-Francisco. I have attended a few of these screenings in the past, including the new Swan Lake from Liam Scarlett last summer.

Welcome!! So nice to have you visiting. What part of Canada are you from? Are you only seeing the Wednesday performance or are you seeing any others?

Yes, Meet the Artist interview is for ticket holders of that particular performance. Please also remember the interviews are available as podcasts about one week after the interview. They are available through all podcast venues such as iTunes and they are also posted here: https://sfballet.blog/category/listen/. It is only Pointes of View lectures which do not require a performance ticket.

Meet the Artist and Pointes of View related to The Sleeping Beauty Meet the Artist interviews are 1 hour before the performance on opening night, Fridays, Sundays, and post-performance on select dates - check the schedule. These are free to ticket holders and last about 30 minutes. Meet the Artist - https://www.sfballet.org/explore/meet-the-artist Saturday 3/9, 7:00 PM - Yasmine Naghdi, Principal Dancer of The Royal Ballet Sunday 3/10, 1:00 PM - Julia Rowe, Soloist Pointes of View lectures are on Wednesdays at 6:00 PM. You do not need a performance ticket to attend. Enter the Opera House via the North Carriage doors. These lectures last about 45 minutes. Pointes of View - https://www.sfballet.org/explore/pointes-of-view Wednesday 3/13, 6:00 PM - The Sleeping Beauty Frances Chung, Principal Dancer, and Esteban Hernandez, Soloist, discuss The Sleeping Beauty’s three pivotal dance challenges—the Rose Adagio, the wedding pas de deux, and the Bluebird pas de deux—with dance educator Mary Wood.

Aurora & Prince Desire pairings posted for remaining performances - https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting Casting is subject to change. Friday, March 15, 2019 – 8:00 pm Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Aurora: Mathilde Froustey Prince Desiré: Luke Ingham Saturday, March 16, 2019 – 2:00 pm Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Aurora: Wona Park* Prince Desiré: Angelo Greco Saturday, March 16, 2019 – 8:00 pm Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Aurora: Yasmine Naghdi*†, Guest Artist Courtesy of The Royal Ballet Prince Desiré: Joseph Walsh*† Sunday, March 17, 2019 – 2:00 pm Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Aurora: Sasha De Sola Prince Desiré: Carlo Di Lanno Sasha will dance three performances while the other Auroras will get two (unless you count Student Matinee for Mathilde). Mathilde will have two different Princes - Vitor on Sunday and Luke on Friday.

I have to say I have been impressed with Cavan Conley. I saw him as Russian in Nutcracker, Espada to Madison Keesler's Mercedes in DonQ, Etudes, The Fifth Season (corps), and Hurry Up We're Dreaming. It was when I saw him in Hurry Up we're Dreaming dancing with Wei Wang that I realized who he reminded me of - former Soloist James Sofranko.

Additional Casting Posted (Tue, Wed, Thur): https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting Casting is subject to change. Tuesday, March 12, 2019 – 7:30 pm Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Conductor: Martin West Aurora: Wona Park* Prince Desiré: Angelo Greco Lilac Fairy: Jennifer Stahl Bluebird: Esteban Hernandez Enchanted Princess: Jahna Frantziskonis* Wednesday, March 13, 2019 – 7:30 pm Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Conductor: Martin West Aurora: Yasmine Naghdi*† Prince Desiré: Joseph Walsh*† Lilac Fairy: Koto Ishihara* Bluebird: Cavan Conley*† Enchanted Princess: Julia Rowe Thursday, March 14, 2019 – 7:30 pm Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Conductor: Martin West Aurora: Sasha de Sola Prince Desiré: Carlo di Lanno Lilac Fairy: Koto Ishihara* Bluebird: Mingxuan Wang* Enchanted Princess: Elizabeth Powell* LEGEND *Denotes role debut in current production †Denotes debut in current production ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First, I am happy that debuts are being noted again. Second, lots of exciting debuts: In addition to Wona as Princess Aurora and Joseph as Prince Desire (not to mention Guest Artist Yasmine Naghdi as Princess Aurora), we also have Jahna & Elizabeth as The Enchanted Princess and Cavan & Mingxuan as The Bluebird. Plus Koto as The Lilac Fairy - funny, I thought she had done this last year. I will have to double check with last year's casting.