Ballet Shop Favorites

Monday, February 8th, 2010 | All Posts by Valerie Megas | No Comments

In my last post I talked about the work we do at the Ballet Shop in the off-season, preparing for the Nutcracker run and processing merchandise for the Repertory Season. Nutcracker is definitely our busiest time of year, and this year was no exception: we sold over 4,000 nutcrackers and 6,000 ornaments!

Now that the season is underway, the Shop has swapped out the nutcrackers for CDs and DVDs, children’s books and toys, and lots of SF Ballet logo apparel. Apparel bearing SF Ballet’s logo are our best selling items, and the styles we carry are very hip and comfortable. I design most of the clothing and everything is custom made for us in Los Angeles. Some of our most popular styles were inspired by the fashion I saw in the stores and showrooms in Reykjavik, Iceland when I was there on tour with the Company in 2007. Reykjavik is a city full of amazing design in architecture, art and fashion. I found this small city to be a hidden treasure for design ideas.

Reykjavik is not the only city to provide inspiration. SF Ballet just finished a very successful run of Swan Lake, with sets inspired by the San Francisco Opera House, among other locations. I love seeing the “reproductions” of the Opera House’s lamps flanking the dramatic double staircase in Act III, although my favorite design element is the over-sized moon centered above the stage. As gorgeous as this production is, Swan Lake is only the beginning of a great season. This year I’m particularly looking forward to the new works by Christopher Wheeldon and Yuri Possokhov, which look amazing in rehearsal, and the return of William Forsythe’s in the middle, somewhat elevated, with all its sharp, quick energy. The Balanchine Masterworks program will be great too, with something for everyone: the beautifully romantic Serenade, the angular, still-modern Stravinsky Violin Concerto, and Theme and Variations, with its classical tutus and choreography. I love how eclectic SF Ballet’s repertoire is, with classical and neoclassical works complemented by modern, contemporary pieces.

Like the Ballet’s repertoire, the Ballet Shop’s selection is a mix of classical and contemporary. From leather handbags to casual clothing, the Shop has items to suit many tastes and at a price range for every budget. My favorite things in the Shop are the fashion accessories. Every year, I attend an international fashion accessory show in Paris where I see collections from all over Europe. I also make an annual buying trip to New York. Consequently the Shop carries unique items from all over the world.

Below are photos of some of my favorites. These are handmade pieces from France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Israel. The long ruffle scarf in the photo is made in England and little wool neck wrap is from Finland. I try to offer unusual pieces that can’t be found elsewhere, so you won’t end-up like the girl in Jerome Robbins’s The Concert, proudly walking down the street in your new hat/scarf/earrings only to pass someone wearing the same thing!

The Ballet Shop is located in the Opera House on the south mezzanine and is open one hour before all performances, during intermissions, and 30 minutes after weekend matinees. Visit the Ballet Shop the next time you’re at the Ballet, or request a Shop pass at the Ballet box office.

Tags: Ballet Shop

Finding Time for Fun!

Thursday, February 4th, 2010 | All Posts by Ben Stewart, SFB Scene | No Comments

Hello All, Matt and I are really excited about the upcoming programs, especially the new Wheeldon piece, Ghosts, and Company B. Matt and I both learned the “Pennsylvania Polka” role in Company B and we are both in the corps of Ghosts, so we get to dance with each other a lot which is nice. The music is absolutely gorgeous for Ghosts, and the movement is enjoyable and challenging at the same time. I think Christopher has choreographed a smash hit. I hope you’ll agree with me when you see the duet he has choreographed for Damian Smith and Yuan Yuan Tan. The music and the choreography combined are enough to take your breath away.

On the lighter side of things, the other day a lot of the guys in company class decided to show our wilder side by all wearing crazy colored tights made by Myles Thatcher’s mother. The dancewear line is called Saut de Basque. Here’s a picture for your enjoyment. We like to keep a sense of humor even while we’re working hard. It dissipates any stress that might be building up. :)

Tags: Ben Stewart, Company B, Company Class, Ghosts, Matt Stewart, Myles Thatcher

Ballet’s Newest Composer, Kip Winger

Thursday, February 4th, 2010 | All Posts by Kip Winger, Behind the Scenes | 1 Comment

Just got back from a European tour with Winger; we did 16 shows from Spain to Greece and everything in-between. And now I am really looking forward to experiencing the world premiere of Ghosts with San Francisco Ballet!

Most people don’t know that writing music for ballet has been a life-long passion of mine, but not just to write a rock/pop piece for dance, to write a legitimate classical piece of music.

When I was 16, a girlfriend of mine pressured me to take a ballet class!  She hated it, but I was instantly hooked, especially by the music from the Ballet Russe era.

Over the years I studied music as much as possible.  My schedule as a rock musician, which doesn’t leave much time for anything, led me to an auto-didactic approach out of necessity, but I managed to stay with it, fueled by the passion and inspiration of someday seeing world-class ballet dancers performing to my music.

Years later I met Zippora Karz who at the time was a soloist with NYC Ballet. It was incredible for me to go backstage and meet the dancers and see performances. In the rock world you don’t meet too many people who know the name Helgi Tomasson or Peter Martins. It was fantastic to have that experience.

After studying a few years with a new composition teacher, Michael Kurek, and being heavily impacted by the works of various composers, for example Honegger, Ravel, Adams, and Vaughan Williams, I began writing.

The 1st movement grew out of the first five measures of the cadenza.  When I was finished, I sent it to Zippora and asked her to contact Christopher Wheeldon. In my mind, this piece was always for Chris. Not only from seeing his amazing work, but I had an instinct about it.

I emailed an mp3 to him and held my breath.  Now,  everyone in the creative world knows that there are many ups and downs. One hundred no’s to one yes.  For me this was one of those magical times when the universe is watching over you. A few weeks went by and I woke up to an email from Chris Wheeldon… subject : “I love it !” Wow!! I have to admit I let out a major rock and roll YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

He then said, “Now, can you make it 20 minutes?” So I set out to write two more movements; all in all the piece took about a year and a half to finish, given my schedule.

When I was finished, I scheduled a recording session in New York to record the piece. My orchestral contractor pulled together an amazing group of NY players and we got a great performance of the piece recorded.  After editing and mixing, I mailed the CD to Chris and held my breath again. The next email from Chris said (drum roll…)

“I love Ghosts and hope to (with your permission) use it for San Francisco Ballet next year”.

After several months the phone rang, it was Chris telling me he will be in San Francisco to set the ballet in a month or so, oh and by the way, is there anyway you can make the piece four minutes longer!?  I was panicked for a few minutes and then the amazing flow of inspiration came over me and I wrote what is now the second movement in two weeks.

In June 2009 I was on the West Coast and came to see one day of the rehearsals for Ghosts. It was incredible to see it come to life! As expected, the dancing was world-class, and the choreography, awesome! As luck would have it, I happened to stop in on the day Chris was working on the new movement.

Next stop San Francisco! My job is easy now, I get to sit back and enjoy the show!

Tags: Christopher Wheeldon, Ghosts, Kip Winger

SFB Scene

Thursday, February 4th, 2010 | All Posts by Open Studio 455, SFB Scene | No Comments

• Mixed bill Program 2 and the Balanchine Masterworks program open next Tuesday and Thursday. Click here to read program notes for Program 2 and the Balanchine Masterworks programs. Also, check out these preview videos of Paul Taylor’s Company B and George Balanchine’s Serenade, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, and Theme and Variations.
• Christopher Wheeldon’s creative team has arrived to finalize the world premiere of Ghosts which opens next Tuesday. Mark Zappone (costumes), Laura Jellinek (set), Mary Louise Geiger (lighting), and Kip Winger (score) are in the Opera house with Christopher for the work light rehearsals going on this week.
• Check out this great article on Kip Winger, composer of the score for Ghosts, that appeared in today’s San Francisco Chronicle. Former bassist for Alice Cooper and founder of metal band Winger, Kip has studied classical music composition for the last 17 years. Read more here and stay tuned for a blog update from Kip!
• The San Francisco Ballet School Trainees will perform at Stanford University today at 1:30pm. The international roster of pre-professional young dancers will present excerpts from the classical and contemporary repertoire. Click here for more information.
• Have you visited our website lately? Check out a new video featuring highlights from Program 2 and the Balanchine Masterworks program currently featured on our homepage!

Tags: Christopher Wheeldon, Dores Andre, Ghosts, Kip Winger, Trainees