sf_herminator

On 12/4/2021 at 10:20 PM, pherank said:

I don't know - it's unexpected, given that she was recently promoted to soloist, and she's having to step down a level to go to BB. I'm going to guess this has something to do with family/personal issues, or she realized she had spent so many years at SF that it was time to experience something different.

Yes, very unexpected and surprising.  Interestingly, the SFB website has not yet been updated as Jasmine is still listed under Soloists.  I am sure this will be updated very soon.

Perhaps with Helgi leaving at the end of the season (and we are still waiting for his successor to be announced) maybe she thought to change now rather than wait and see what happens?  

Casting for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evening

https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/casting/

Tuesday 12/14, 7 PM

• Uncle Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli
• Clara: Kendall Foley
• Queen & King of the Snow: Wona Park and Steven Morse
• The Sugar Plum Fairy: Isabella DeVivo
• Grand Pas de Deux: Sarah Van Patten and Luke Ingham

Wednesday 12/15, 7 PM 

(Julian MacKay's debut!!!)

• Uncle Drosselmeyer: Tiit Helimets
• Clara: Neve Margaret Chang
• Queen & King of the Snow: WanTing Zhao and Benjamin Freemantle
• The Sugar Plum Fairy: Norika Matsuyama
• Grand Pas de Deux: Nikisha Fogo* and Julian MacKay†

Thursday 12/16, 7 PM

• Uncle Drosselmeyer: Tiit Helimets
• Clara: Abby Cannon
• Queen & King of the Snow: Thamires Chuvas and Estéban Cuadrado
• The Sugar Plum Fairy: Jennifer Stahl
• Grand Pas de Deux: Misa Kuranaga and Angelo Greco

*Denotes principal role debut in current production

‡Denotes principal role debut at San Francisco Ballet

†Denotes principal debut in current production

Casting subject to change

More casting - but only principal roles.  Saturday 12/11 and Sunday 12/12 below.

https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/casting/

Saturday 12/11, 2 PM

• Uncle Drosselmeyer: Ricardo Bustamante
• Clara: Neve Margaret Chang
• Queen & King of the Snow: Isabella DeVivo and Lucas Erni*
• The Sugar Plum Fairy: Sarah Van Patten
• Grand Pas de Deux: Sasha De Sola and Aaron Robison

Saturday 12/11, 7 PM

• Uncle Drosselmeyer: Ricardo Bustamante
• Clara: Neve Margaret Chang
• Queen & King of the Snow: Wona Park and Steven Morse
• The Sugar Plum Fairy: Jennifer Stahl
• Grand Pas de Deux: Misa Kuranaga and Angelo Greco

Sunday 12/12, 2 PM

• Uncle Drosselmeyer: Pascal Molat
• Clara: Kendall Foley
• Queen & King of the Snow: WanTing Zhao and Mingxuan Wang
• The Sugar Plum Fairy: Sasha De Sola
• Grand Pas de Deux: Dores André and Max Cauthorn

Sunday 12/12, 7 PM

• Uncle Drosselmeyer: Pascal Molat
• Clara: Kendall Foley
• Queen & King of the Snow: Julia Rowe and Cavan Conley
• The Sugar Plum Fairy: Nikisha Fogo
• Grand Pas de Deux: Wona Park and Wei Wang

*Denotes principal role debut in current production

‡Denotes principal role debut at San Francisco Ballet

†Denotes principal debut in current production

Casting subject to change

On 12/9/2021 at 2:38 PM, Terez said:

I'm agog with the wealth of casting mentioned here. Yay! I was just now at their site and only found the 6-ish lead roles mentioned, but for several performance. I think you chanced on a lucky opportunity to see so much casting, sf_herminator. (And lucky us that you posted it here!)

I'm attending opening night and Saturday's matinee. Very excited, to say the least. But I have this PTSD feeling that I'm going to wake up tomorrow to bad news, which was the same situation as in March 2020, where I was holding tix for the Friday night and Sat matinee performance of Dream, and then The Really Bad News hit. But it's time to think positive!)

Excited, as well, to see Nikisha Fogo. And how exciting for Henry Sidford, an opening-night Snow King. Thrilled for him!

Yes, I was lucky to access the complete casting that day.  But now they are back to the standard of listing principal casting only.  I will also be in the house tonight for opening night.  Plus, as a volunteer will be chaperoning Saturday evening and in the gift shop Sunday evening.  

More casting has been posted which I will add shortly.

Nutcracker is back!!  Opening night is Friday 12/10 and casting is up!!!

https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/casting/

NUTCRACKER CASTING

Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson
Scenic Design: Michael Yeargan
Costume Design: Martin Pakledinaz
Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls
Projection Design: Wendall K. Harrington

Conductor: Martin West

ACT I

Uncle Drosselmeyer: Tiit Helimets

Clara: Abby Cannon

Fritz: Kai Hannigan

Housekeeper and Maid: Maggie Weirich, Ellen Rose Hummel

Dr. & Mrs. Stahlbaum: Nathaniel Remez, Katita Waldo

Grandparents: Jim Sohm, Kristi DeCaminada

Party Guests: Megan Amanda Ehrlich, Blake Johnston, Swane Messaoudi, Elizabeth Powell, Sean Bennett, Estéban Cuadrado, Joshua Jack Price, Jacob Seltzer, with Students of San Francisco Ballet School

Dancing Dolls: Lonnie Weeks, Lauren Parrott, Cavan Conley

The Nutcracker Prince: Joseph Walsh

King of the Mice: Alexander Reneff-Olson

Queen & King of the Snow: Yuan Yuan Tan and Henry Sidford

Snowflakes: Alexis Aiudi, Kamryn Baldwin, Juliana Bellissimo, Samantha Bristow, Olivia Brothers, Thamires Chuvas, Megan Amanda Ehrlich, Gabriela Gonzalez, SunMin Lee, Elizabeth Mateer, Carmela Mayo, Pemberley Ann Olson, Leili Rackow, Natasha Sheehan, Tyla Steinbach, Jamie Adele Stephens

ACT II

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Nikisha Fogo†

Spanish: Isabella DeVivo, Ellen Rose Hummel, Diego Cruz, Cavan Conley, Myles Thatcher

Arabian: WanTing Zhao with Daniel Deivison-Oliveira, Steven Morse

Chinese: Esteban Hernandez with Students of San Francisco Ballet School

French: Ludmila Bizalion, Blake Johnston, Maggie Weirich

Russian: Lucas Erni with Joshua Jack Price, Jacob Seltzer

Madame Du Cirque: Louis Schilling

with her Buffoons: Students of San Francisco Ballet School with Lleyton Ho

Waltzing Flowers: Alexis Aiudi, Kamryn Baldwin, Samantha Bristow, Olivia Brothers, Thamires Chuvas, Megan Amanda Ehrlich, Gabriela Gonzalez, SunMin Lee, Elizabeth Mateer, Carmela Mayo, Swane Messaoudi, Lauren Parrott, Leili Rackow, Natasha Sheehan, Tyla Steinbach, Jamie Adele Stephens

Grand Pas de Deux: Frances Chung and Joseph Walsh

*Denotes principal role debut in current production

‡Denotes principal role debut at San Francisco Ballet

†Denotes principal debut in current production

Casting subject to change

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First, I think it's wonderful that all casting is posted - not just the principal roles.  Excited to finally see Nikisha Fogo dance.  Also looking forward to Yuan Yuan Tan and Henry Sidford as the Queen & King of the Snow.

13 hours ago, pherank said:

Did you  watch the Mark Morris Dance Group livestream "Live from Brooklyn"? I did not myself, but apparently the new piece got a good reaction from the digital audience.

I had planned to, but did not set a reminder so I missed it....

2 hours ago, pherank said:

I finally noticed that Programs 4 and 5 also overlap considerably. So for out-of-towners that allows one the opportunity to see 6 ballets over a short period (I didn't analyze the individual dates).

 

It's actually Programs 1 (2/1-2/12) & 2 (2/3-2/13) and Programs 5 (4/2-4/16) & 6 (4/6-4/15) that overlap.  Program 4 (La Sylphide & The Seasons) is one week in March.

My initial reactions:

• Disappointed that there is no Giselle and no Serenade.  Giselle is my favorite of all the full lengths and hasn't been seen since 2015.  However, Swan Lake is more well known to the general public and would be better to attract new and less frequent ballet attendees.  Swan Lake was also Helgi's last full-length creation.  I thought for sure Serenade would be back - it was my pick to be the first ballet to be performed when SFB returned to the stage (maybe the opening season gala???).  However, very happy for the return of Symphony in C - not seen since 2011.
• Pleasantly surprised with La Sylphide.  Royal Danish Ballet performed La Sylphide on tour in Berkeley in June 2011 and I was fortunate to have seen it.  I found SFB performed La Sylphide in 1997 (I did not see SFB until 2001).  
• Very happy for Blake Works.  I have wanted to see anything by Forsythe.  I was secretly hoping for the return of Artifact Suite, but really looking forward to Blake Works.
• Happy for new works from Dwight Rhoden & Christopher Wheeldon.  It would have been nice to see more new works, but I must imagine this must have been a challenge to decide upon choreographers for new works.  Would have liked to have seen Mark Morris, which was planned for this year until it became a digital season.
• We will finally get to see Ratmansky's The Seasons and Marston's Mrs. Robinson!!
• Normally there have been 8 programs, but there are only 7.  Perhaps because of the last year or so, probably safe to program only 7?  When the 2021 season was announced, there were only 7 programs, but that may have been related to the fact that the War Memorial Opera House was going to close to have new seats installed.

I wonder whether there will be a limit to number of people in the audience.  Performing arts venues are starting to open up again.  SF Symphony is returning to live performances, but haven't looked to see any details.

Casting for Swan Lake is now up.  It looks like it will now be an archival performance rather.  Swan Lake was last performed during the 2017 Season.

https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/casting/

Odette-Odile: Yuan Yuan Tan
Prince Siegfried: Tiit Helimets
Von Rothbart: Alexander Reneff-Olson
Pas de Trois: Dores André, Taras Domitro^◊, Sasha De Sola

It's amazing the things you find when you go down the YouTube rabbit hole....

Here is an interview courtesy of National Ballet of Canada.  Koto Ishihara, currently First Soloist at NBOC and former Soloist at SFB, is in conversation with Yuan Yuan Tan, SFB Principal Dancer:  

Program 5 Change:  I noticed it on the website earlier today.  For some reason I do not receive all the emails from SFB.  It is disappointing Mrs. Robinson could not be filmed - but then again (assuming we are able to attend  performances again next year) we will see Mrs. Robinson as it was intended to be seen on the Opera House stage.

On 2/10/2021 at 1:23 PM, pherank said:

This is the last day of Program 1 availability - A Midsummer Night's Dream AND the 2021 Virtual Benefit Gala video. Tomorrow we have access to Program 2 [Rhoden's Let's Begin at the End, a world premier of Thatcher's ColorForms, and Morris' Sandpaper Ballet] until March 3rd.

Purchase a subscription or single program access here:

https://www.sfballet.org/productions/digital-program-02/

Streams are viewed on the SF Ballet @ Home website (creating an account here is free):

https://www.sfballet.tv/

 

The Gala is no longer available -but Midsummer still is available.  I did purchase the entire season, so maybe that's why I still have access - for now???

If I understand correctly, the single purchase stream is available for 72 hours once you begin watching.

2 hours ago, pherank said:

Some Program 2 thoughts...

Let's Begin at the End I talked about back in the spring when it was first streamed. My only real issue was Rhoden's tendency to arrange the dancers symmetrically, and have everyone dancing the same steps without any variations. Morris, on the other hand, offers a master class in variation and subtle alteration in his group dances that I find fascinating. It bears repeated viewing.  

I liked the use of props in Thatcher's ColorForms. Sasha chewing bubblegum on the steps was amusing. I appreciate Thatcher's impulse to highlight some of the Corps dancers in his various works. We get to see more of Maggie Weirich and Jasmine Jimison than is perhaps usual. And that's a very good thing. During one of the group dances I remember De Sola and Birkkjaer just beaming. In fact, everyone seemed to be particularly happy at that point in the proceedings and it made me smile to see it. It's the little things.

There's a real sense of camaraderie in Thatcher's ballets (which I suppose is natural given that he creates on his friends) that I think is refreshing. And hopefully, that spirit is communicated to most audience members.

The ColorForms film itself is fun to watch, though conceptually speaking it's not as tight as it could have been. Certain visuals have more obvious references than others. Garish colors blasting my retinas isn't really my thing. It's the playful touches - like paper airplanes, apples, balloon animals, and Sean Bennet with a topknot(!) that kept me interested. The dancers perform surprisingly well on redwood chips in the park, if that means anything. I do wonder what ColorForms is going to look like on an actual stage - Thatcher is going to have rework a great many things to fit that ballet in the opera house.

I was happy that Jahna Frantziskonis was featured in Sandpaper Ballet. I hadn't seen much of her in the last couple of years - I know that she's struggled with injury. I always look for her. JF's PDD with Cavan Conley was wonderful. Her articulation of the steps is so lovely and nuanced. She's blessed with great proportions, so that always helps. It was nice to get to see Sasha Mukhamedov and Vlad Kazlov taking part again too (he is now with Bayerisches Staatsballett).

Is that a "Tall Girl" (Rubies) send up when Mukhamedov is partnered by three men? I see references to Serenade, perhaps, and probably a half dozen other ballets in the steps.

Program 2 gives us more Cavan Conley, which is a wise move, as he's quite entertaining - he has one of the more expressive faces in the company. I enjoyed his dance with Frantziskonis.

Wona Park looked a little stiff to me in the Morris PDD. She's not really as soft and supple in her movements as the choreography seems to warrant, and I'd like to see her be more playful in her demeanor. She does the steps but I didn't feel particularly engrossed in what she was doing or how she was doing it. But, she's young, and that was my first impression of things. Daniel Deivison-Oliviera looked much more physically attuned to the spirit of things. He looks like he belongs.

I was very pleased to see the Sunday matinee performance of Sandpaper Ballet from last season's Program 2 as I also am excited whenever I see Jahna is cast.  I was able to see the other casts of Sandpaper Ballet.  Jahna did dance in other casts - but this performance that is part of Program 2 is the only performance where she danced the PDD (Trumpeter's Lullaby) with Cavan.  The other dancers who danced this PDD were Misa Kuranaga/Esteban Hernandez and Julia Rowe/Joseph Walsh.   I actually went to 4 of the 6 1/3 performances - the second performance during the run ended about halfway into the first piece because of a power outage.

And Yes - that was a tall girl Rubies homage with Sasha Mukhamedov (Jennifer Stahl danced this part in another cast).  Last year there was an event called 'Exploring Sandpaper Ballet' which I was able to attend.  In one of the sessions, the moderator showed some clips from a previous performance of Sandpaper Ballet and asked what we saw.  When I saw Sofiane Sylve with her leg being held up by one of the men, I immediately yelled out 'Tall Girl in Rubies'.  And then the next slide showed a pic of Sofiane in Rubies next to her pic in Sandpaper Ballet!!  And it was discussed that there are a lot of playful references to other iconic dance moments in the piece.

Here is the announcement on the SFB website:  https://www.sfballet.org/leadership-announcement/

Press Release:  https://www.sfballet.org/discover/press-center/press-releases/release/announcement/

3 hours ago, pherank said:

Welcome news:

Helgi Tomasson is finally choreographing a new piece, and he's shown here working with Fogo and MacKay [edit: these two will be dancing a Swan Lake PDD], as well as other familiar faces such as Greco, Sheehan and Rowe (behind the masks). Music will be by the Baroque era composer Rameau.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJJo-AYjiTQ/

This clip was also posted on their YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSR_UsCn3rI.  

Nikisha Fogo is now in San Francisco!!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHGO0Enp5-E/

8 minutes ago, California said:

I'm confused. The entire spring season will be on-line? Will these be recordings from previous seasons? New performances on stage to an empty theater?

My guess is it will be a combination.  The new works will be created with current social distancing guidelines applied.  I have heard some details about one of the pieces, but because it was not in a public forum I will not divulge the info - besides, things are constantly changing that it might be something completely different from the original concept.  From the press release (https://cdn.sfballet.org/2019/10/27122047/Digital-Season-Announcement-Final.pdf) one of the mainlines state:  New digitally conceived Swan Lake based on Helgi Tomasson’s original choreography, as well as a new film capture of George Balanchine’s Emeralds.  Regarding the new works:  Tomasson curated a reimagined season that includes three world premieres by Cathy Marston, Danielle Rowe, and Myles Thatcher fully conceived for film.

An updated link for the 2021 season which includes Nutcracker Online:  https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/2021-season/

Looks like there has been some shifting of the programs per this document on the choreographers:  https://cdn.sfballet.org/20201023092452/2021SeasonChoreographers.pdf

Programs by Choreographer:

Program 1:  Balanchine (Midsummer)

Program 2:  Mark Morris, Dwight Rhoden, Myles Thatcher

Program 3:  Yuri Possokhov, Alexei Ratmansky, Danielle Rowe

Program 4:  Balanchine (Jewels)

Program 5:  David Dawson, Cathy Marston, Helgi Tomasson

Program 6:  Tomasson (Romeo & Juliet)

Program 7:  Tomasson (Swan Lake)

George Balanchine is listed for Program 1-A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Originally Program 1 was a mixed bill which included new works by Myles Thatcher and Danielle Rowe, plus the return of Possokhov's Swimmer.

Myles Thatcher has been moved to Program 2.  His new piece was previously slated for Program 1.  Also on Program 2 are Mark Morris's Sandpaper Ballet (which was part of the 2020 season) and Dwight Rhoden's Let's Begin at the End (part of the 2018 Unbound Festival).  Looks like we will have to wait for a new Mark Morris piece - but very happy to see Sandpaper Ballet again.

Alexei Ratmansky is listed for Symphony #9 on Program 3, which if you recall is the opening section of the Shostakovich Trilogy.  It looks like the SFB premiere of The Seasons will be delayed again.  Danielle Rowe is now on Program 3, along with Possokhov's Swimmer.  

George Balanchine's Jewels is Program 4 - originally it was Midsummer.

Program 5 is now a mixed bill with the (long delayed) return of David Dawson's Anima Animus, the long awaited premiere of Cathy Marston's Mrs. Robinson, and Helgi Tomasson's 7 for Eight.

Programs 6 & 7 are still Swan Lake and Romeo & Juliet, but the order is now reversed.

A press release was posted to SFBallet.org:  https://www.sfballet.org/discover/press-center/press-releases/release/san-francisco-ballet-announces-2021-digital-season/?fbclid=IwAR2duMIul6_P5hn8Fm5Z6tyMUkPasZmRuQ3J6l_eKvM6CfH-WezMe9rWQ34

PDF of press release:  https://cdn.sfballet.org/2019/10/27122047/Digital-Season-Announcement-Final.pdf

Tickets will go on sale November 17 per FB post:  https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=639181936771524

I renewed my subscription, so not sure how this will work but will provide info if I find something....

This came across my YouTube page:  

Trying to find more information on SFBallet.org and will post more information as I find it.  I will also search my emails to see if the company has sent any information to subscribers.

(I posted this in the SFB forum since the video began there originally, but am posting here since PNB will now be a part of it)

Around the time the pandemic began, SFB premiered a video called Sequentia.  One dancer would begin to dance and pass on to another dancer.  The new dancer would begin their movement in the pose or movement the previous dancer ended with.  After SFB, NYCB picked up where SFB ended.  Shortly thereafter, ABT added their moves. Tomorrow at 10 AM PT, PNB will add their moves.  Here are links from the SFB FB and YouTube pages:

https://www.facebook.com/sfballet/videos/350845619702284

YouTube:

And the baton is passed to - Pacific Northwest Ballet

Sequentia continues!!!  If you all recall, at the time the pandemic began SFB premiered a video called Sequentia.   A dancer would begin to dance and then pass on to the next dancer whose movement would begin with the previous dancers last move.  New York City Ballet picked up where SFB left off, and then ABT followed.  Up next is Pacific Northwest Ballet.  The video will premiere tomorrow at 10 AM PT.  I found links on their FB and YouTube pages:

https://www.facebook.com/sfballet/videos/350845619702284

YouTube:

Ballet Shop now online!!

As a volunteer, I worked in the gift shop for Saturday evening performances.  This is one of the things I miss with COVID-19.  All proceeds from the shop go back to San Francisco Ballet.  But now, the shop is online!!  Here is the link:  https://shop.sfballet.org/.  There was also an announcement on FB:  

I hope that you will consider visiting the shop online.

22 hours ago, pherank said:

Apparently, the War Memorial Opera House is going to get its seating update after all:

"This is the third and final phase of the seat upgrade project, which began in the summer of 2013, when the Box seats were first replaced. The Balcony and Balcony Circle seats were subsequently upgraded in 2015. This final phase of the project has been fast-tracked to take advantage of the COVID-19 venue closure. This phase will begin in September and end in January 2021, and will include all remaining seats in the Orchestra, Grand Tier, and Dress Circle seating sections of the War Memorial Opera House."

Here's the FAQ page:

https://www.sfballet.org/seatupgradeproject/

And here's the new seating chart - the sight lines for the Orchestra seating seem to change a bit:

https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/season-tickets/repertory-seating-chart/

This is great news!!  Fingers crossed we will be attending ballet (and opera) performances sometime in 2021!!