Old vs. New

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 | All Posts by Charlene Cohen | 1 Comment

When I was a little girl one of my favorite movies was “The Red Shoes.” I actually wore out the tape from watching it so many times. My favorite line was when Artistic Director Boris Lermontov–with his hair slicked back, smoking a cigarette and wearing a gorgeously tailored suit–asks the budding ballerina Victoria Page, “Why do you dance?” and she responds, “Why do you want to live?” Taken off-guard, he stammers, “Well I don’t know exactly why, but I must.”  She then replies, “That’s my answer too.” Of course, Miss Page is then tragically torn between her love for ballet and her love of a man, and unable to choose, she throws herself off a balcony to her death. This story may seem melodramatic, but it captivated me as a young girl.

This past week, as I sat in the theater watching the dress rehearsals for Fokine’s Petrouchka, I was once again reminded of the glory of the old theater. The ornate costumes, hand-painted sets and scrims, dramatic makeup and the odd, eccentric story of the production caused a stirring of nostalgia. This was created at a time when the ballet was full of drama, when Picasso and Matisse painted the sets. It’s fun to see the Opera House stage so transformed. There are supers crowding the stage and during the street scene there are 102 people onstage. The production is full of all kinds of colorful characters: gypsies, coachmen, street dancers, nursemaids and of course, the dolls: Petrouchka, the Ballerina, and the Moor.

Clara Blanco in the role of the Ballerina in Petrouchka

Nowadays, the focus of many new works is the dancing. Balanchine stripped away the sets and costumes, revolutionizing the dance world with his plotless ballets. On this same program, we are dancing in the middle, somewhat elevated by William Forsythe who has been heavily influenced by Balanchine. He took the Balanchine ideal even further by removing the wings of the stage and the theatrical lighting. The dancers only wear leotards and tights, and are dancing in highly stylized, rhythmic patterns. The focus is on the bodies, the movement, and the technical feats of the dancers. There is no story to tell or emotions to convey, only dancing.

Though, I love dancing these new, technically challenging works by great choreographers, I must admit that I have a romantic feeling about the old works, and the idea of what ballet used to be (the glamorous makeup and the highly dramatic stories). Even the patrons would show-up dressed to impress: women in their gloves and stoles, fans with opera glasses in hand; men smoking hand-rolled cigarettes and slicked hair–all for an evening at the ballet.

Anyhow, I invite you all to come to the wonderfully diverse Program 4. It is such a fun journey to see where we came from and where we are going. And, if you feel like it, why not pull out your evening gowns and tuxedos? What a glamorous life we live at the ballet!

Tags: in the middle, Michel Fokine, Petrouchka, Program 4, somewhat elevated, William Forsythe

Update from the studio…

Monday, November 16th, 2009 | All Posts by Charlene Cohen, SFB Scene | No Comments

I am soaking up the last day of our three-day weekend; it was a much needed vacation after a packed rehearsal schedule last week.  We pulled Nutcracker out of the closet and dusted it off; though, I must admit there were hardly any cobwebs on that ballet.  We remembered Snow, Flowers, and Mirlitons in record time.  Now, our duty is to pass our knowledge to the new dancers, and work on the ballet technically.

In addition to Nutcracker, we have begun refreshing Yuri Possokhov’s Diving Into The Lilacs.  The fun thing about bringing back Yuri’s ballet is that while we are remembering the steps, he is in the studio tweaking them. There is a satisfaction in constantly working on the ballets with him, finding solutions, or finding a better understanding of the motivation behind his steps.  He always demonstrates what he wants clearly, but I must admit some of his movements can be hard to transfer to our bodies.  It’s obvious why he was a celebrated principal here.

Charlene Cohen, Dores Andre, and Clara Blanco in Possokhov's Diving into the Lilacs, last year (© Erik Tomasson)

We also have a new face around the studios: choreographer Renato Zanella.  He comes into the studio with a clear vision.  He explained the storyline or thought behind his new work, and he already had a clear design for the set, lighting, and costumes.  The movement is truly a language in his piece; every step seems to be saying something, or telling a story.  It’s a ballet I look forward to seeing on the stage!

Well, I would say more, but I am off to enjoy these last few hours of my Sunday before we’re back to work in the studios on Monday morning!

Tags: Charlene Cohen, Diving into the Lilacs, Nutcracker, Renato Zanella, Yuri Possokhov

Hope for the Lost in Shanghai

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 | All Posts by Charlene Cohen, Perpetual Motion: SFB on Tour | No Comments

Tonight is opening night for San Francisco Ballet’s performance in Shanghai. Though it has been rainy and gloomy here for the past two days, we’re anxious to get onstage and perform- it’s been far too long. We rehearsed last night, and we were still a bit off from jetlag and being away from home; wearing costumes felt foreign and being onstage with lights was dizzying. But we slowly acclimated and Helgi was understanding; he told us we were doing a good job and due to time and circumstance we needed to pull together as a company and work to make ourselves feel comfortable onstage. It was an inspiring speech!

Elana Altman, Mariellen Olson, Danielle Santos, and Erin McNulty... how many guidebooks does it take to get around Shanghai? Three, apparently!

As our workload was light for the first two days after our arrival, we’ve been off exploring the sights, shopping, and discovering new culinary delights. The dim sum has been my favorite thus far, though the breakfast spread our hotel provides is in close second. It’s become standard to exchange stories with one another about our finds for the day. Most of the Company, especially the men, have visited the tailor to have custom suits made. We’re all working on our bargaining skills and bragging to each other about who got the best deal and their method of choice. So, we’re all healthy, happy, and relishing the opportunity to experience Shanghai firsthand.

Danielle tries to pick out (and find) our next haggling destination.

Keep your fingers crossed and wish us “Merde” as we offer up our own cultural experience to Shanghai tonight!

Tags: China Tour, Danielle Santos, Elana Altman, Erin McNulty, Mariellen Olson

Right Back at It!

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 | All Posts by Charlene Cohen, SFB Scene | 1 Comment

After two weeks back to work at SFB, summer vacation already seems a distant memory. We got right down to business; the past two weeks were dedicated to setting Petrouchka and Ghosts, the Christopher Wheeldon premiere for this season. The two ballets are on completely different sides of the spectrum of ballet, and remind me why I joined this company: the diverse repertoire.

My first opportunity to work with Chris was as a student at the School of American Ballet. He choreographed a ballet called Scénes de Ballet using students from all levels in the school, from beginning to advanced. The set was reminiscent of an old Russian ballet classroom with a ballet barre running diagonally down the stage. The dancers are divided into “real dancers” and their reflections on the other side of the barre, where the mirror would be in a typical ballet studio. The ballet was a great success and so exciting to be a part of; Chris was a choreographer to watch for in the future.

Now, with one week left to finish Ghosts, it will be sad to see him go. He doesn’t sit in a chair and direct, he’s right along with us, dancing every step, and doing it better in jeans and socks. He works fast and before you know it, three hours of rehearsal have flown by. His sense of humor makes the rehearsal a very non-threatening atmosphere; we’re all joined together in the same cause, sharing a laugh along the way. It’s interesting to be witness to the creation of a ballet. Steps work and sometimes they don’t. He’ll rework them, continually honing them until they are satisfactory. Tableaus are created and he’ll add dancers to create a different effect. Great steps become themes of the piece and are repeated throughout, setting the tone of the work. In creating a ballet, a choreographer begins with a blank canvas, and over time layers it with different textures and colors, until it becomes a finished piece.

These opportunities are truly once in a lifetime experiences, and cherished by dancers and choreographers alike. We are evolving our art-form, one ballet at a time.

Charlene Cohen in rehearsal (© Erik Tomasson)

Tags: SFB Scene