» All Posts by Pascal Molat

Preparing for the OC!

Pascal Molat — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:48:22 +0000

The company is gearing up to perform at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County from September 27-October 2. I believe touring for an artist is very important because it gives you the chance to express yourself in front of different audiences and, for a company like ours which is known internationally, we get to demonstrate the quality of our dancing and let the world know who we are.

I’m personally very happy that we’re bringing Romeo & Juliet to Orange County because I love performing Mercutio, a character that is very close to my own personality. It’s always a great pleasure to portray him. On this tour, I also get to show a very dark side on stage, as the monk in Yuri Possokhov’s RAkU.

Going on tour always offers a nice way to break-up the routine and it helps integrate the new company members and lets those of us who have been around for awhile, get to know them better. On my one free day in Orange County, I think I’ll just relax and enjoy the time by myself, which has become very rare. As the tour gets closer, especially one or two weeks beforehand, you begin to feel everyone really focus and get more intense. This is probably because the last time many of us performed was in May at the end of the season (some of company performed at Stern Grove in August).

I think it’s good for dancers to be on the road because we have a nomadic side and we’re used to constant travel. We like to say that a good dancer doesn’t belong to just one country, they belong to all of them.

Pascal Molat in Possokhov's RAkU (© Erik Tomasson)

Welcome, Matisse!

Pascal Molat — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:59:54 +0000

Matisse at four days old

It is with tremendous joy that my wife, Genevieve, and I introduce our son Matisse to the Ballet family.

Matisse Molat was born on the 28th of October, 2009, weighing 8.3 pounds and measuring 20 inches. Everything went very smoothly- happiness and love are all around!

Five More to Go!

Pascal Molat — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:50:18 +0000

The season is not yet over but I feel like I’ve already been doing a marathon. Out of 17 ballets on the season, I’ve performed 12, so five more to go! Knowing that I had this many ballets to dance over the season, made me take a different approach this year; I’ve been trying to pace myself and be more relaxed. Between the fall tour, Nutcracker and the start of the season, a lot of work has been done already.

Right now, I’m working on “Rubies”, Within the Golden Hour, and Russian Seasons, all three of which I’ve never danced before. I’m very excited to dance “Rubies” because it’s a very dynamic and playful pas de deux, with a lot of elegance. I’m also looking forward to Russian Seasons, a ballet by Alexei Ratmansky, who I had the pleasure of working with on Le Carnaval des Animaux in 2004.

Right now, I am planning my own rehearsals with my partners, so I can be very prepared for these upcoming ballets. For me, the end of the season will be fireworks with Double Evil—a ballet that is very physically challenging but such a pleasure to dance because it feels very close to my own, natural style. It will be like finishing a marathon with a sprint. As soon as the ballet season is over, I will jump into working with A.C.T. on The Tosca Project for a week, before flying to France for vacation.

Guest Performance in Kazakhstan

Pascal Molat — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:40:34 +0000

This past July, San Francisco Ballet dancers including Dana Genshaft, Maria Kochetkova, and I traveled to Kazakhstan where we were invited to guest-perform at an annual arts festival devoted to the 10th anniversary of Astana, capital of Kazakhstan. Located in the center of the Eurasian landmass in what is known as Central Asia, Kazakhstan is bordered on the east by China, on the south by Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, on the west by the Caspian Sea, and on the north by Russia. Kazakhstan is the second largest state in terms of territory to emerge from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

First, the beautiful venue Pyramid of Peace. This was my first time dancing in a pyramid! Here I am with Dana Genshaft.

Here is a view from the stage.

This is Baiterek or the Tree of Life. The tower has come to symbolize the ambitions of the country—much like the Eiffel Tower in France.

Here’s an interesting street sign: Put on your sunglasses? We were never able to figure out what that meant!

here's the palace

And finally, a traditional tourist picture with some police men. They were more friendly than they look!