sf_herminator

Guest Artist Joaquin De Luz (partnering Maria Kochetkova in Other Dances) posted some pics on his Instagram: Flowers for my love: https://www.instagram.com/p/BgokCKjgN02/?taken-by=joaquindeluz Let's have a drink: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgp3F9TAXVk/?taken-by=joaquindeluz Love that the pics were taken on the Fancy Free set Here we go!! https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgl0Vy2AbW6/?taken-by=joaquindeluz On the last pic, there is a comment from stager Isabelle Guerin 'pink is the new blue'. If I recall correctly, dancers were in blue costumes when SFB last danced this piece in 2006. But now they are in pink. Update: My memory was correct!! http://www.ballet-dance.com/200604/articles/SFB20060311.html (see pic in upper right hand corner of Tina LeBlanc & Joan Boada)

From Yuan Yuan Tan's Instagram - her transformation into The Novice from The Cage The final result: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgh9u-8H_2T/?taken-by=tanyuanyuansf

SFB has posted Jerome Robbins: In His Own Words on their YouTube channel:

Cathy Marston on her piece Snowblind The piece is inspired Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome. One of the Unbound films is Snowblind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0aFbYvwr0I and is part of Unbound B.

Christopher Wheeldon on his piece (Bound) for the Unbound Festival Things to note: Technology, disconnectiveness of our time and how we are 'bound' to our devices is theme of the work. Women are in ballet flats and not pointe shoes. Dancers spotted: Jaime Garcia Castilla, Lonnie Weeks, Yuan Yuan Tan, Carlo DiLanno, Benjamin Freemantle, Angelo Greco, Esteban Hernandez, Davide Occhipinti, Alexandre Cagnat, Minghuan Wang, Frances Chung.

An interview with Dwight Rhoden (Artistic Director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet) has been posted to the SFB YouTube channel. His piece LET'S BEGIN AT THE END (link to the short film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG4jv4_L_i8) is part of Unbound D.

Remainder of Program 5 casting (https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting): Friday, March 23 - 8 pm OPUS 19/THE DREAMER Composer: Sergei Prokofiev Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Violinist: Cordula Merks Wei Wang, Mathilde Froustey THE CAGE Composer: Igor Stravinsky Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Novice: Maria Kochetkova 2nd Intruder: Steven Morse Queen: Sofiane Sylve OTHER DANCES Composer: Frédéric Chopin Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Pianist: Natal'ya Feygina Frances Chung, Angelo Greco FANCY FREE Composer: Leonard Bernstein Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Esteban Hernandez, Benjamin Freemantle, Lonnie Weeks Sasha De Sola Dores André Saturday, March 24 - 2 pm OPUS 19/THE DREAMER Composer: Sergei Prokofiev Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Violinist: Boxianzi Ling Carlo Di Lanno, Sarah Van Patten THE CAGE Composer: Igor Stravinsky Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Novice: Lauren Strongin* 2nd Intruder: John-Paul Simoens* Queen: Ludmila Bizalion* OTHER DANCES Composer: Frédéric Chopin Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Pianist: Natal'ya Feygina Frances Chung, Angelo Greco FANCY FREE Composer: Leonard Bernstein Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West James Sofranko, Ulrik Birkkjaer, John-Paul Simoens Elizabeth Mateer Ellen Rose Hummel Saturday, March 24 - 8 pm OPUS 19/THE DREAMER Composer: Sergei Prokofiev Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Violinist: Cordula Merks Vitor Luiz*, Dores André THE CAGE Composer: Igor Stravinsky Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Novice: Maria Kochetkova 2nd Intruder: Steven Morse Queen: Sofiane Sylve OTHER DANCES Composer: Frédéric Chopin Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Pianist: Natal'ya Feygina Sasha De Sola*, Wei Wang* FANCY FREE Composer: Leonard Bernstein Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Esteban Hernandez, Benjamin Freemantle, Lonnie Weeks Madison Keesler Dores André Sunday, March 25 - 2 pm OPUS 19/THE DREAMER Composer: Sergei Prokofiev Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Violinist: Boxianzi Ling Angelo Greco, Ana Sophia Scheller THE CAGE Composer: Igor Stravinsky Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Novice: WanTing Zhao* 2nd Intruder: Sean Orza* Queen: Ludmila Bizalion OTHER DANCES Composer: Frédéric Chopin Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Pianist: Natal'ya Feygina Sasha De Sola, Wei Wang FANCY FREE Composer: Leonard Bernstein Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West James Sofranko, Ulrik Birkkjaer, John-Paul Simoens Madison Keesler Dores André Casting subject to change *Denotes premiere in ballet

A pic from a rehearsal of Fancy Free with the opening night men, courtesy of Joaquin De Luz's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BgeRFN7gp5r/?taken-by=joaquindeluz Another cast of Other Dances, courtesy of Wei Wang's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgc2mRRl7X7/?taken-by=way8way

Casting has been posted for the entire run (https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting - scroll to the middle of the page after Program 5 casting) Program 06: The National Ballet of Canada NIJINSKY A Ballet by John Neumeier Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - 7:30 pm Choreography: John Neumeier Music: Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Dmitri Shostakovich Conductor: Martin West Vaslav Nijinsky: Guillaume Côté Romola Nijinsky: Heather Ogden Serge Diaghilev: Ben Rudisin Wednesday, April 4, 2018 - 7:30 pm Choreography: John Neumeier Music: Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Dmitri Shostakovich Conductor: Martin West Vaslav Nijinsky: Skylar Campbell Romola Nijinsky: Sonia Rodriguez Serge Diaghilev: Piotr Stanczyk Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 7:30 pm Choreography: John Neumeier Music: Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Dmitri Shostakovich Conductor: Martin West Vaslav Nijinsky: Francesco Gabriele Frola Romola Nijinsky: Svetlana Lunkina Serge Diaghilev: Piotr Stanczyk Friday, April 6, 2018 - 8 pm Choreography: John Neumeier Music: Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Dmitri Shostakovich Conductor: Martin West Vaslav Nijinsky: Guillaume Côté Romola Nijinsky: Xiao Nan Yu Serge Diaghilev: Ben Rudisin Saturday, April 7, 2018 - 2 pm Choreography: John Neumeier Music: Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Dmitri Shostakovich Conductor: Martin West Vaslav Nijinsky: Skylar Campbell Romola Nijinsky: Sonia Rodriguez Serge Diaghilev: Piotr Stanczyk Saturday, April 7, 2018 - 8 pm Choreography: John Neumeier Music: Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Dmitri Shostakovich Conductor: Martin West Vaslav Nijinsky: Francesco Gabriele Frola Romola Nijinsky: Svetlana Lunkina Serge Diaghilev: Piotr Stanczyk Sunday, April 8, 2018 - 2 pm Choreography: John Neumeier Music: Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Dmitri Shostakovich Conductor: Martin West Vaslav Nijinsky: Guillaume Côté Romola Nijinsky: Heather Ogden Serge Diaghilev: Ben Rudisin

Yes, there should be. But they didn't have that for Aaron Robison for Frankenstein - although the casting sheet noted him as a guest artist. I am also excited to see Joaquin. I saw him for the first time in NY in May 2011 and could not take my eyes off him. When I went to ABT in May last year for Giselle, I saw him and Sara Mearns at intermission, but was too timid to approach them. Per Megan Fairchild's IG, he will be retiring in the fall (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfzbn4Lltay/?taken-by=mfairchild17)

Additional casting for Wednesday and Thursday (https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting) Wednesday, March 21 - 7:30 pm OPUS 19/THE DREAMER Composer: Sergei Prokofiev Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Violinist: Cordula Merks Wei Wang*, Mathilde Froustey* THE CAGE Composer: Igor Stravinsky Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Novice: Yuan Yuan Tan* 2nd Intruder: Luke Ingham* Queen: Jennifer Stahl* OTHER DANCES Composer: Frédéric Chopin Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Pianist: Natal'ya Feygina Maria Kochetkova*, Joaquin De Luz FANCY FREE Composer: Leonard Bernstein Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West James Sofranko, Ulrik Birkkjaer*, John-Paul Simoens* Madison Keesler* 3/18 updated to Elizabeth Mateer* Ellen Rose Hummel* Thursday, March 22 - 7:30 pm OPUS 19/THE DREAMER Composer: Sergei Prokofiev Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Angelo Greco*, Ana Sophia Scheller* THE CAGE Composer: Igor Stravinsky Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Novice: Yuan Yuan Tan 2nd Intruder: Luke Ingham Queen: Jennifer Stahl OTHER DANCES Composer: Frédéric Chopin Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Pianist: Natal'ya Feygina Maria Kochetkova, Joaquin De Luz FANCY FREE Composer: Leonard Bernstein Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Esteban Hernandez, Benjamin Freemantle, Lonnie Weeks Sasha De Sola Madison Keesler* (updated 3/18 to denote premiere) Casting is subject to change. *Denotes premiere in ballet

Some pics of The Cage rehearsal on their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BgRoeuYlVxT/?taken-by=sfballet https://www.instagram.com/p/BgRocwvF7-I/?taken-by=sfballet https://www.instagram.com/p/BgRodunl3v9/?taken-by=sfballet It appears Yuan Yuan Tan and Jennifer Stahl are the other cast to Sofiane Sylve and Maria Kochetkova, with Luke Ingham as one of the intruders....

Jaime danced in Peck's Rodeo-Four Dance Episodes as part of the blue crew in Program 2. He had the same role as Taylor Stanley at NYCB (where the other four men lifted him up). In Program 3 he was in Thatcher's Ghost in the Machine. He danced the opening PDD with Frances Chung (new to the role this year). Last year he danced with Julia Rowe. IIRC he will be in Wheeldon's Bound (he was one of the dancers in the webcast).

Here's the trailer for Robbins: Broadway & Ballet:

Casting is up for opening night Tuesday 3/20 (https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting) PROGRAM 05: ROBBINS: BALLET & BROADWAY Tuesday, March 20 - 7:30 pm OPUS 19/THE DREAMER Composer: Sergei Prokofiev Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Carlo Di Lanno*, Sarah Van Patten THE CAGE Composer: Igor Stravinsky Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Novice: Maria Kochetkova* 2nd Intruder: Steven Morse* Queen: Sofiane Sylve* 1st Intruder: Lonnie Weeks* OTHER DANCES Composer: Frédéric Chopin Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Frances Chung*, Angelo Greco* FANCY FREE Composer: Leonard Bernstein Choreographer: Jerome Robbins Conductor: Martin West Esteban Hernandez*, Benjamin Freemantle*, Lonnie Weeks* Sasha De Sola* Dores André* Casting is subject to change. *Denotes premiere in ballet Initial reaction: WOW to the Fancy Free casting. Not a single principal male - one soloist and two corps. Lonnie dancing in two pieces. So excited for opening night!!!

Thanks Helene - I just cleared my history and now I see the casting.

Terez - You can see Ulrik in two of the Unbound films: Let's Begin at the End (choreographer Dwight Rhoden) and Snowblind (choreographer Cathy Marston). Snowblind is on Unbound B and Let's Begin at the End is on Unbound D. Here is the link for the Unbound films: https://www.sfballet.org/season/events/unbound-2018/dance-films-unbound. The casting for the Robbins program (opening on 3/20) should be posted sometime later this week (at least the first one or two nights) so we shall see what Ulrik will be in.

No, I just tried look for some reviews other than SF Gate but haven't found any. Everything else I've found is from last year. I have to admit that I wasn't looking forward to seeing Frankenstein again this year. I liked it when I saw it last year, but not enough to see it again this year. Well, watching it again this year completely changed my view of Frankenstein. I found this to be a beautiful production and a great fit on the wonderful San Francisco Ballet. This year I saw Friday night (Max Cauthorn, Lauren Strongin, and Wei Wang) and Saturday night (Aaron Robison, Frances Chung, and VItor Luiz). Plus, I saw Act 3 on Wednesday night (Ulrik Birkkjaer, Dores Andre, and Luke Ingham) [Full Disclosure: I was one of the backstage chaperones for the SFB School Students in the production, so went to SRO to watch Act 3 when done with chaperone duty]. Both in dancing and drama, all casts delivered. I also want to give credit to the Justines (Jahna Frantziskonis and Julia Rowe) and Henrys (Esteban Hernandez, Angelo Greco, and Diego Cruz). In watching it again this year, I also found it not to be as dark in terms of costuming and lighting as I had thought last year - especially in Act 3. Lastly, kudos to all the dancers in the company. It was brilliant in all 3 acts. And thank you to Liam Scarlett for his vision. Back to the choreography, the company in the lab class in Act 1 and the ballroom scene in Act 3 were so inventive. The Creature weaving in and out of the crowd, causing Victor great turmoil was especially menacing. I could go on and on, but I am happy that we got to see this again. I must also give a shoutout to Max Behrman-Rosenberg, the young student who is dancing William Frankenstein. Frances Chung was the Meet the Artist Interview on Friday night. She spoke about the creation of Frankenstein and dancing the role of Elizabeth. She also talked a bit about the choreographers she worked with for the Unbound festival. The podcast will be available shortly here: https://www.sfballet.org/explore/podcasts. In the meantime, you can check out the podcasts so far this season that have been posted as well as podcasts from last year. Of particular note here (as they are related to Frankenstein) are the ones with Max Cauthorn, Luke Ingham, and Liam Scarlett. One final note: Prior to the start of Friday's performance, there was an announcement that the Orchestra was being recorded for future commercial use. Which must mean a digital download or CD of the score will be available in the near future. A few people told me last night this same announcement was also made Wednesday night.

Unless I've done something wrong, casting is no longer there. I saw it late Friday night....

Casting for Opening Night of Liam Scarlett's Frankenstein (https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting) FRANKENSTEIN Tuesday, March 6, 2018 - 7:30 pm Choreography: Liam Scarlett Music: Lowell Liebermann Conductor: Martin West Victor Frankenstein: Max Cauthorn Elizabeth Lavenza: Lauren Strongin The Creature: Wei Wang Casting is subject to change.

So this came up in my FB feed this morning: But what also caught my eye about this post is Company Dancer Moises Martin. How did I miss that??? Here a link to his dancer bio (you'll need to scroll down a bit): https://www.atlantaballet.com/about/dancers/company.

Casting for the first performance of Program 3 - Distinctly SF Ballet has been posted (https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting) Thursday, February 15, 2018 - 7:30 pm ON A THEME OF PAGANINI Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson Conductor: Martin West Pianist: Roy Bogas Sasha De Sola*, Wei Wang*, Max Cauthorn* Maria Kochetkova, Vitor Luiz* IBSEN'S HOUSE Composer: Antonín Dvořàk Choreographer: Val Caniparoli Pianist: Roy Bogas Musicians: Cordula Merks, Craig Reiss, Yi Zhou, Eric Sung Dores André, Vitor Luiz Jennifer Stahl*, Myles Thatcher Sofiane Sylve, Tiit Helimets Kimberly Marie Olivier, Luke Ingham Ellen Rose Hummel, Sean Orza GHOST IN THE MACHINE Composer: Michael Nyman Choreographer: Myles Thatcher Conductor: Ming Luke Frances Chung*, Jaime Garcia Castilla Sasha De Sola, Steven Morse Dores André, Carlo Di Lanno Isabella DeVivo, Esteban Hernandez Ellen Rose Hummel, Max Cauthorn *Denotes premiere in ballet. Casting is subject to change.

Casting for the first two performances of Program 2 (https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting) Tuesday, February 13, 2018 - 7:30 pm SERENADE Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreographer: George Balanchine Conductor: Martin West Yuan Yuan Tan, Carlo Di Lanno Mathilde Froustey Jennifer Stahl Luke Ingham THE CHAIRMAN DANCES—QUARTET FOR TWO Composer: John Adams Choreographer: Benjamin Millepied Conductor: Martin West Maria Kochetkova, Carlo Di Lanno Yuan Yuan Tan*, Ulrik Birkkjaer* Jennifer Stahl*, Benjamin Freemantle RODEO: FOUR DANCE EPISODES Composer: Aaron Copland Choreographer: Justin Peck Conductor: Martin West Dores André*, Ulrik Birkkjaer* Esteban Hernandez, Hansuke Yamamoto, Wei Wang Wednesday, February 14, 2018 - 7:30 pm SERENADE Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreographer: George Balanchine Conductor: Martin West Sofiane Sylve, Tiit Helimets Frances Chung Jennifer Stahl Ulrik Birkkjaer THE CHAIRMAN DANCES—QUARTET FOR TWO Composer: John Adams Choreographer: Benjamin Millepied Conductor: Martin West Maria Kochetkova, Carlo Di Lanno Yuan Yuan Tan, Ulrik Birkkjaer Jennifer Stahl, Benjamin Freemantle RODEO: FOUR DANCE EPISODES Composer: Aaron Copland Choreographer: Justin Peck Conductor: Martin West Sarah Van Patten*, Luke Ingham* Max Cauthorn, Daniel Deivison-Oliveira*, James Sofranko* *Denotes premiere in ballet Casting is subject to change.

Updated casting as of Friday 1/19 (https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting): In the event of injury or illness, casting is subject to change. THE SLEEPING BEAUTY Tuesday, January 23, 2018 - 7:30 pm Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Conductor: Martin West Aurora: Sasha De Sola† Prince Desiré: Carlo Di Lanno† Lilac Fairy: Sarah Van Patten Carabosse: Anita Paciotti Bluebird: Wei Wang Enchanted Princess: Dores André† Wednesday, January 24, 2018 - 7:30 pm Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Conductor: Martin West Aurora: Ana Sophia Scheller† Prince Desiré: Angelo Greco† Lilac Fairy: Sarah Van Patten Carabosse: Anita Paciotti Bluebird: Max Cauthorn† Enchanted Princess: Lauren Strongin† Thursday, January 25, 2018 - 7:30 pm Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Conductor: Martin West Aurora: Frances Chung† Prince Desiré: Vitor Luiz† Lilac Fairy: Jennifer Stahl† Carabosse: Katita Waldo Bluebird: Hansuke Yamamoto Enchanted Princess: Julia Rowe† Friday, January 26, 2018 - 8 pm Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Conductor: Martin West Aurora: Maria Kochetkova† Prince Desiré: Carlo Di Lanno† Saturday, January 27, 2018 - 2 pm Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Conductor: Martin West Aurora: Ana Sophia Scheller† Prince Desiré: Angelo Greco† Saturday, January 27, 2018 - 8 pm Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Conductor: Martin West Aurora: Mathilde Froustey† Prince Desiré: Luke Ingham† Sunday, January 28, 2018 - 2 pm Choreography: Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Conductor: Martin West Aurora: Sasha De Sola† Prince Desiré: Carlo Di Lanno† LEGEND *Denotes premiere in ballet. †Denotes premiere in role for current production.

Also to note in the updated casting: Friday night has Kochetkova partnered by Carlo Di Lanno. At last night's gala prior to the start, there was a change in the evening's program announced. Because of the noise, all I could make out was Joseph Walsh. Of course, I was a bit alarmed as he was supposed to partner Frances in the Robert Binet piece. But he did dance with Frances. When I looked at the casting sheet, he was also listed in Peck's Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes (as part of the male quintet). When that piece came on, it was Jaime Garcia Castilla dancing in place of Walsh. I do hope he is OK and hopefully will be able to dance Sleeping Beauty towards the end of the run.