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2023 Rep Season To Include 9 New Works

sf_herminator

By sf_herminator
in San Francisco Ballet

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sf_herminator

sf_herminator

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Posted (edited)

In the Pointes of View Lecture which preceded the Wednesday 4/13 performance of Program 5, Mary Wood asked Helgi Tomasson a question regarding the 2023 Season and new works.  Helgi replied that the season will include 9 new works.  Here is a link to the clip from YouTube, which hopefully will go right to the point when the question is asked at 45:23 - 

As the season announcement will be coming soon (probably during the Swan Lake run), I thought it would be fun to speculate on who the choreographers will be.  Here is a list based on who has previously choreographed here in recent years for SFB and some wishes for new choreographers (NOTE:  I did not include Wheeldon & Rhoden since they both created works this year.  However, I would not be unhappy if they were invited to be a part of this festival.):

  • Mark Morris (he was scheduled to create a new work in 2021, Sandpaper Ballet performance from 2020 season presented virtually)
  • Danielle Rowe (scheduled for 2021, created Wooden Dimes for the virtual season)
  • Myles Thatcher (scheduled for 2021, created Colorforms for the virtual season)
  • Justin Peck (created 2 new works, SFB also performed Rodeo-Four Dance Episodes)
  • David Dawson (created Anima Animus for Unbound)
  • Edwaard Liang (created Symphonic Dances and The Infinite Ocean)
  • Alexei Ratmansky (wishing for a new work created exclusively for SFB)
  • William Forsythe (same as above)
  • Lauren Lovette (another hopeful wish)
  • Benjamin Millepied
  • Crystal Pite (an additional wish, not sure if she has created a piece for an American ballet company)
  • Trey McIntyre (has created 2 rep works and 1 gala piece)
  • a local representative such as Alonzo King or Margaret Jenkins
Edited by sf_herminator
added Crystal Pite
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sf_herminator

sf_herminator

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Posted
2 hours ago, JMcN said:

Will the season be set by Mr Tomasson or will Tamara Rojo have some input?  If she does, Akram Khan may be a contender.

Mr. Tomasson has planned the 2023 Rep Season, as Tamara will be joining in the latter part of 2022:  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/11/arts/dance/tamara-rojo-artistic-director-san-francisco-ballet.html.

Also, Mr. Tomasson will oversee the scheduling of the 9 new works at the request of the board:  https://nobhillgazette.com/last-dance/

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California

California

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I thought I saw an announcement that the 2023 season would be announced today. Not finding much on the web site. If anybody found a link, please post.

I did try going to "calendar" in far upper-right corner. Lists the 9-choreographer festival in January-February, Giselle in February-March, mixed bill in March, Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella in April, nothing for May-June.

UPDATE: links now available: https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/2023-season/

Edited by California
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California

California

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Posted (edited)

Here's the 2023 schedule. Nothing in May-June. Does anybody know the explanation? Nothing by Peck or Ratmansky.

https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/2023-season/

Program A: Jan 20-Feb 11

Program B: Jan 21-Feb 8

ProgramC:  Jan 25-Feb 7

Giselle: Feb 24-March 5

Program 5: March 14-19 (Tomasson, Thatcher, Forsythe)

Cinderella: March 31-April 8 (Wheeldon)

Romeo & Juliet: April 21-30 (Tomasson)

Edited by California
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Phrenchphry11

Phrenchphry11

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I don't know much about quite a lot of the choreographers in this new festival, I'm curious about them though. Scheirer, Blanc, Breiner, Oishi, Roberts. Particularly glad Danielle Rowe is on the list though.  

Agree with others that my brow raised when I saw no Balanchine whatsoever in the season.  However, I am delighted to see Thatcher's Colorforms in the programming - that was my absolute highlight of the digital season.  

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pherank

pherank

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1 hour ago, California said:

No Balanchine, Peck, Ratmansky, Robbins...they have gems from all in their repertoire. Disappointing.

It's all about the new works festival, which honestly is EXHAUSTING for artists and staff to do. So I can see why they are avoiding mixed rep programs beyond that. It's interesting though that the festival comes first - perhaps last time they found that the dancers would have been better off tackling the new rep when they were fresh.

Did Rojo even program any Balanchine at ENB? I wonder if Tomasson was making the season more palatable for Rojo with these choices.

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pherank

pherank

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4 minutes ago, Phrenchphry11 said:

However, I am delighted to see Thatcher's Colorforms in the programming - that was my absolute highlight of the digital season.  

Agreed, a big success on film but I wonder how well it will transfer to the stage. And no Ulrik Birkkjaer to anchor things. A tall, strong partner will be needed. Too bad Freemantle has left as I could see him learning that part.

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Drew

Drew

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I was intrigued to read about this line up though I guess that  if I lived in San Francisco no Balanchine and no Ratmansky might be a bit disappointing--less so if I felt confident they were returning, as I think I would.  Also: since Possokhov is listed in the festival line-up, I'm wondering, if some observers will raise questions about Possokhov's continued working at/with the Bolshoi at the present time.

But I'm mostly writing to say that I have very much liked Claudia Schreier's work for Atlanta Ballet. Her ballet, First Impulse was on the program at the last ballet performance I attended live. That was its premier season--and a nourishing memory since then for my starved ballet soul. In the meanwhile Atlanta hired her as resident choreographer and then....Covid upended the next season. However, during the Pandemic she did still create Pleiades Dances for them and the company performed it as part of an outdoor engagement in March 2021 (dancers were masked though you can hardly tell on the video the company posted on Vimeo). 

When I watched it, I thought Pleiades Dances a bit less distinctive than First Impulse, probably because I was watching it on video, but perhaps also because it seemed to me a little less neo-classical and thus more like other new choreography than First impulse. I still found it very engaging. And of course most of Pleiades Dances had to be created via Zoom. (In Atlanta Pleiades Dances has been done this year as part of a regular repertory program in the theater but I did not attend those performances.) I plan to watch it again.

I'll add that I have found Schreier's choices of music both wonderful and unexpected -- I could wish Justin Peck had similar taste. From what I read on her website, she has been choreographing for a while, but it is still relatively early in her career; at this point I am eager to see (or read about) whatever she does. 

Below are two links--very brief video of First Impulse (whose diagonals I take as an allusion to Balanchine's Symphony in Three Movements) and below that, Pleiades Dances in its entirety as that was posted as part of the Pandemic conditions of its premier. Of course, you can also find other snippets of her work on youtube:

 

 

Edited by Drew
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Buddy

Buddy

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Drew said:

Below are two links--very brief video of First Impulse (whose diagonals I take as an allusion to Balanchine's Symphony in Three Movements) and below that, Pleiades Dances in its entirety as that was posted as part of the Pandemic conditions of its premier.

I like these both very much, Drew. They're inventive and very entertaining. I look forward to watching them again. Thank you.

Edited by Buddy
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pherank

pherank

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Posted
2 hours ago, Drew said:

I was intrigued to read about this line up though I guess that  if I lived in San Francisco no Balanchine and no Ratmansky might be a bit disappointing--less so if I felt confident they were returning, as I think I would.  Also: since Possokhov is listed in the festival line-up, I'm wondering, if some observers will raise questions about Possokhov's continued working at/with the Bolshoi at the present time.

I've never heard Yuri Possokhov utter a single political statement. Only the always controversial ballet Nureyev has been removed from the Bolshoi repertoire, that I have heard of. The other Possokhov ballets in their rep have generally Russian themes that are not as likely to be removed as long as Yuri utters nary a word of complaint.

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volcanohunter

volcanohunter

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Posted (edited)

The issue is that Possokhov is producing a new ballet for the Bolshoi right now, to replace works that Ratmansky and McGregor have withdrawn, and that in itself can be construed as a political statement. Ratmansky left Moscow the day large-scale bombing of Ukraine began. Even Plácido Domingo, who had found a very willing audience in Russia and had written obsequious letters to Putin, canceled all his Russian dates at that point. Many artists, mostly foreign, but some Russians, too, left the country. Instead Possokhov has gone in.

https://2011.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/postscript2022-6/

Edited by volcanohunter
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pherank

pherank

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Posted
3 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:

The issue is that Possokhov is producing a new ballet for the Bolshoi right now, to replace works that Ratmansky and McGregor have withdrawn, and that in itself can be construed as a political statement.

https://2011.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/postscript2022-6/

Anything can be. And in San Francisco there's bound to be someone to complain, but I don't think it's been noticed yet - too much else going on.

And there's still no official statement about Possokhov's status with SFB going forward under Rojo.

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Quiggin

Quiggin

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Yes, I do think Possokhov working in Russia right now is pretty shocking – considering that pretty much everyone one else in the arts in the west is not crossing that strike line. Wonder what Ratmansky thinks of that.

The 2023 schedule is odd for a transitional year, with indeed no Balanchine, Ratmansky or Robbins, the traditional SFB back list of choreographers. As pherank suggests, a section of Shostakovich Trilogy might have been timely –  even as a last minute substitution on one of the spring 2022 evenings.

New Works does takes much of the space, but I wonder if Rojo will make changes in some of the later programs, such as #5, to put her own stamp on the season.

Edited by Quiggin
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