sf_herminator Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 Nutcracker is back!! Opening night is Friday 12/10 and casting is up!!! https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/casting/ NUTCRACKER CASTING Composer: Peter Ilyich TchaikovskyChoreographer: Helgi TomassonScenic Design: Michael YearganCostume Design: Martin PakledinazLighting Design: James F. IngallsProjection 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. Link to comment
Terez Posted December 9, 2021 Share Posted December 9, 2021 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! Link to comment
sf_herminator Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 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. Link to comment
sf_herminator Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 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 Link to comment
sf_herminator Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 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 Link to comment
Terez Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 What a thrill to be back in the War Memorial Opera House! A big treat to be able to attend both Friday night and Saturday matinee. Nikisha Fogo as Sugar Plum Fairy on Friday night was amazing. And YY and Henry Sidford were right on top of things as well. The grand pdd with Frances and Joe went very nicely, but actually I found Sat matinee's performance of that, with Sasha De Sola and Aaron Robison to be a notch higher in the "wow" factor (which is saying something for a matinee). They were just on fire. Robison has never danced so much like Karapetyan, in my mind, and I mean that in all good ways. Am still missing Karapetyan's presence in the company. You could just tell the little girls (and older ones) were crazy about Sasha. In my Bachtrack review, I mentioned enjoying Norika Matsuyama in Spanish Dance and "why hasn't she been promoted to soloist?" In an exchange of emails with Kate McKinney at SFB, the next day, she informed me that "you got your wish," and a comment on my Bachtrack review from "SFBB" confirms she was promoted to soloist as of Dec 1st. https://bachtrack.com/review-nutcracker-tomasson-san-francisco-ballet-december-2021 I realize this might not qualify as "official" news, so if this paragraph is deleted, I'll know and understand why. But I did get the word straight from the PR department at the SFB. And I'm thrilled! Link to comment
sf_herminator Posted December 16, 2021 Author Share Posted December 16, 2021 Full Casting is posted for tonight's performance Thursday 12/16, but only principal casting for the rest of the performances through Thursday 12/23. They also have casting for the previous performances to date (12/10 - 12/15, full casting). Below is tonight's full cast. https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/casting/ Casting subject to change Thursday 12/16, 7 PM ACT I Uncle Drosselmeyer: Tiit Helimets Clara: Abby Cannon Fritz: Kai Hannigan Housekeeper and Maid: Maggie Weirich, Isabella DeVivo Dr. & Mrs. Stahlbaum: Ricardo Bustamante, Ludmila Bizalion Grandparents: Alexander Reneff-Olson, Anita Paciotti Party Guests: Juliana Bellissimo, Megan Amanda Ehrlich, Blake Johnston, Swane Messaoudi, Davide Occhipinti, Jacob Seltzer, Mingxuan Wang, Adrian Zeisel, with Students of San Francisco Ballet School Dancing Dolls: Lleyton Ho, Elizabeth Powell, Lucas Erni The Nutcracker Prince: Angelo Greco King of the Mice: John-Paul Simoens Queen & King of the Snow: Thamires Chuvas and Estéban Cuadrado Snowflakes: Alexis Aiudi, Sofia Albers, Olivia Brothers, Jacey Gailliard, Gabriela Gonzalez, Blake Johnston, SunMin Lee, Carmela Mayo, Nicole Moyer, Pemberley Ann Olson, Lauren Parrott, Basia Rhoden, Natasha Sheehan, Jamie Adele Stephens, Angela Watson, Victoria Wright ACT II The Sugar Plum Fairy: Jennifer Stahl Spanish: Megan Amanda Ehrlich, Elizabeth Mateer, Rubén Cítores, Nathaniel Remez, Mingxuan Wang Arabian: Kamryn Baldwin with Joshua Jack Price, Jacob Seltzer Chinese: Luca Ferrò with Students of San Francisco Ballet School French: SunMin Lee, Swane Messaoudi, Jamie Adele Stephens Russian: Cavan Conley with John-Paul Simoens, Joseph Warton Madame Du Cirque: Louis Schilling with her Buffoons: Students of San Francisco Ballet School with Diego Cruz Waltzing Flowers: Alexis Aiudi, Juliana Bellissimo, Olivia Brothers, Tess Browning, Carlota Cruz, Jihyun Choi, Gabriela Gonzalez, Carmela Mayo, Nicole Moyer, Pemberley Ann Olson, Lauren Parrott, Leili Rackow, Basia Rhoden, Natasha Sheehan, Angela Watson, Maggie Weirich Grand Pas de Deux: Misa Kuranaga and Angelo Greco Link to comment
pherank Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 Photos posted by Joe Walsh (with Frances Chung and Nikisha Fogo): https://www.instagram.com/p/CXVarGMrAFL/ More from Nikisha: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXjiu7nv403/ Link to comment
Helene Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 Those are great -- thank you for posting then, @pherank! Link to comment
pherank Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 (edited) A big surprise - Mathilde Froustey returned to the stage December 24th to dance the Nutcracker Grand Pas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CX7HCoYBwnm/ And here's a fun time-lapse video of backstage preparations for The Nutcracker: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXwSE3WBF6y/ Edited December 26, 2021 by pherank Link to comment
Terez Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 Loved these both, pherank! Link to comment
PeggyTulle Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 I have a friend who saw SFB's Nut yesterday and said that the cast was masked for the entire performance. Link to comment
Terez Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 I was there too! It surprised me, but actually, I was half-expecting to learn the run had been cut short and the production closed, so I was very, very happy to see this compromise. It was a lovely performance. Got to see Nikisha Fogo and Julian MacKay perform the Grand Pas de Deux. Thrilling! It was like spying a new, big gift under the Christmas tree when you were sure you'd opened all the gifts. I really, really enjoyed it. Also really enjoyed seeing Dores André perform SPF. It feels like so long since I've seen her dance, particularly in something so dainty and classical. It was gorgeous and nuanced and really showed off her strength and skill as a dancer. (So easy for this role to come across as a little... vanilla.) So very glad to have seen this performance. Now I'm staying out of San Francisco until the omicron variant subsides! I'm glad the company's repertory season doesn't start until February this year. Most of the principal roles/dancers (except Clara) were unmasked as they danced, but in the finale, they masked up. Link to comment
PeggyTulle Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 2 hours ago, Terez said: I was there too! It surprised me, but actually, I was half-expecting to learn the run had been cut short and the production closed, so I was very, very happy to see this compromise. It was a lovely performance. Got to see Nikisha Fogo and Julian MacKay perform the Grand Pas de Deux. Thrilling! It was like spying a new, big gift under the Christmas tree when you were sure you'd opened all the gifts. I really, really enjoyed it. Also really enjoyed seeing Dores André perform SPF. It feels like so long since I've seen her dance, particularly in something so dainty and classical. It was gorgeous and nuanced and really showed off her strength and skill as a dancer. (So easy for this role to come across as a little... vanilla.) So very glad to have seen this performance. Now I'm staying out of San Francisco until the omicron variant subsides! I'm glad the company's repertory season doesn't start until February this year. Most of the principal roles/dancers (except Clara) were unmasked as they danced, but in the finale, they masked up. My friend said that the party scene was masked. She also remembered Arabian being masked, too. Link to comment
ECat Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 Kudos to SF Ballet for finding a way to keep from cancelling shows. I imagine the dancers were delighted to be able to continue their performance. Link to comment
Helene Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 The west coast hasn't been hit as hard with omicron yet; it's imoving east to west. Link to comment
pherank Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 (edited) For additional Nutcracker-related fun: go to Tiit Helimet's Instagram page and look for his pas de deux with his now 11 year old daughter Chloe (it's about 5 minutes long). She already has a very soft and elegant movement style - and she's obviously pretty fearless to take this on. I just hope she isn't too disappointed when she starts partnering classes with the boys more her age. 😉 Edited January 2, 2022 by pherank Link to comment
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