hello from a guitarist (fairly new balletomane)

[openchakra]

Hello!

My names Kris Zaragoza, I'm from San Francisco.

over the past five years, I've slowly become a serious ballet enthusiast, attending many of San Francisco Ballet's performances during the season, I've also seen quite a few other companies as well. (That pairs well with my proclivity for traveling.)

My favorite full length ballet is Giselle. (I'd say the best Giselle I've seen yet was Mathilde Froustey's 2nd performance here in SF)

My favorite short ballet? I cant pick just one! (Kylian's Bella Figura, McGregor's Chroma & Borderlands, Serenade, Suite en blanc,)

The greatest ballet performance I've seen live? Aurelie Dupont dancing Bejarts Bolero in NYC. ( That was unforgettable for me!)

I'd have to say my favorite choreographer is Wayne McGregor. I love his style, and I'm a big fan of his Random Dance company as well.

My latest ballet obsession is Yuri Possokhov's new ballet 'Swimmer' he did for SF Ballet. I've seen it three times already, and I'm definitely seeing the last performance on Tuesday. It's truly a magnificent work!

Favorite dancers? Maria Kochetkova, David Hallberg, YuanYuan Tan, Daniil Simkin, Sara Mearns, Chase Finlay, Mathilde Froustey.

I dunno, I could go on and on with that question too. haha

In my spare time, when im not seeing a ballet, I'm either recording trippy psychedelic music with my guitar, or brewing my own beer,( which is my default favorite libation)

-love this forum btw tho…I've spent the last hour or so just reading entries from the past…very interesting!

[Helene]

Hello Kris, and welcome to Ballet Alert!

I used to travel to the Bay Area regularly for work and got to see San Francisco Ballet often. I miss seeing them and look forward to reading about what you see.

[sandik]

We don't get much McGregor on the west coast, as I'm sure you know. What is it about his work that resonates with you?

[KarenAG]

Greetings, Kris,

Welcome to a great forum and thanks for the great first post. Just a few responses as I must get ready for work soon. Regrettably, I've not yet seen SFB, being an East Coaster (actually I live in upstate NY) but I hope to someday. I've heard many great things about Kochetkova and Tan and I hope to see them someday, especially Kochetkova, who also dances with ABT, as you may know. I adore Sara Mearns and will see her dance in Concerto Barocco next week. Barocco is one of my very favorite short ballets. Have you seen it? It's marvelous, a masterpiece by my favorite choreographer, George Balanchine. I really love Bolero, too. Have you seen the old video of Soviet ballerina Maya Plisetskaya's dancing it? It's quite amazing and I really can't think of it without thinking of Maya's mesmerizing performance. You will find MANY Giselle-lovers here (heck, probably EVERYONE).

Regards,

Karen