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!

On the road with Winger

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.

In the studio in New York.

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!

The cues for calling a full-length ballet like Swan Lake aren’t necessarily complicated, but they do require a lot of concentration to match-up the stage projections with a live orchestra, dancers, and the stage hands moving scenery. Machines don’t take into account the adjustments that are sometimes necessary in live theater!  My job is really to follow the musical score and give cues (with the help of the assistant stage manager), to the electricians, carpenters, prop crew, projectionists, and the folks manning the spot lights. I think it helps in this job to really know music, even if you can’t read it, in order to anticipate the cues.

Here I am backstage while the Company was on tour in China, Fall 2009.

During the shows, I stand down stage right, which to the audience, is to their left, down behind the curtain. From there, I have video screens of the lighting computer, the conductor, a low-light camera of the stage (so I can see in the dark), and a full stage view. That way I can see what’s happening from several angles and follow the conductor throughout the performance. I communicate via a headset, but for rail and deck cues, I also use cue lights. By flipping a switch, a large number of crew can quickly (and silently) know what action to take.

I work as part of a team—there many people backstage making sure that each and every show goes smoothly; everyone’s job is integral to the success of what the audiences see on stage. You’ll probably never see me (I’m truly behind-the-scenes), but if you come to the Opera House, you’ll hear me: I’m the voice at the start of the performance, asking you to please put away your cellular device!

It helps to like the people you work with! Here I am with Tiffani Snow, assistant stage manager, on the Great Wall in China.

By the time we arrived at the hotel in Shanghai and got everyone settled into their rooms, it was close to 10pm local time on Friday evening (7am Friday morning in SF). By then, I think the dancers were super-excited to have some food and a good night’s sleep!

Our first full day in Shanghai was Saturday. The weather was sunny and warm and after a wonderful breakfast, the dancers piled into buses and headed to Company Class. It was a very special Company Class, as it was hosted by the Shanghai Dance School—the same school that our principal dancer and Shanghai-native Yuan Yuan Tan studied at when she was a young ballerina. As it was Saturday, the school was filled with many young dancers training in studios on several floors. When it was time for our SF Ballet class to begin, our studio was packed with young dancers from the Shanghai Dance School, all eager to watch and to learn from our company.

While the dancers were taking class, I spent several hours double-checking our daily logistical plan and going over final preparations for the big activity that night. At 5:15pm Saturday evening, the Company gathered in front of the hotel and boarded buses bound for the United States Consulate in Shanghai.

Here I am with dancer Daniel Deivison-Oliveira and Andrew D. Lebkuecher, the vice consul general at the US Consulate in Shanghai (© Erik Tomasson)

U.S. Consul General Beatrice Camp hosted a reception in honor of San Francisco Ballet on the Consulate lawn. The beautiful weather that we enjoyed in the morning stayed with us for the Consulate reception and, under a large tent on the Consulate lawn, dozens of representatives of Shanghai’s cultural community gathered together with our dancers and staff to celebrate SFB’s arrival in the People’s Republic of China, and the beginning of our tour. In his address to the Consul General and invited guests, Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson said “The arts have always served as an important vehicle for cultural exchange. They provide a unique perspective on the thoughts, values, and aspirations of a society. San Francisco Ballet hopes that our tour will help foster better understanding among the People’s Republic of China, the United States of America, and the many countries represented by the dancers of San Francisco Ballet.”

Me with Jessie Qian of Star Group Entertainment Co., Ltd. (© Erik Tomasson)

Our first 24 hours in Shanghai could not have been better!

I hope you’ll stay tuned for the next report from the Tour.

Ciao, Robert

Yes, I’ve been practicing saying “hello,” “good-bye,” “thank you,” and “where’s the WC?” in Mandarin and getting ready to travel along with San Francisco Ballet to Shanghai and Beijing.

Since the orchestras we will be performing with in China have their own music librarians, I’m tagging along strictly as a tourist and am not part of the official entourage. I enjoy traveling with the company on tour—it’s an opportunity to explore new places with people who are good friends and often know great areas to explore. I pay my own way, of course, but being with the group has many advantages.

I shipped the orchestra materials (two sets of everything—we’re using three orchestras) to Shanghai about a month ago. The musicians in China will have already started practicing the music before our conductors, Gary Sheldon and Charles Barker, arrive to lead the first orchestra rehearsals on September 17. It’s our first tour in China, and the staff members are learning quickly how things are done in the Middle Kingdom. We’ll be in Beijing during the big celebrations for the 60thanniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, so it should be an exciting time. My son Colin collects Olympic pins, and I’ve been instructed to keep my eyes open for any left over from the Beijing Olympics.

Getting ready for Swan Lake! (© Erik Tomasson)

Ballet companies tour for many reasons—establishing and maintaining an international artistic profile and prestige, showcasing the dancers to audiences and critics in major dance centers, attracting worldwide media coverage. We’re taking just over 100 dancers, musicians, staff, and crew to China, and the tour logistics—visas, inoculations, air travel, hotel accommodations, transportation of sets and costumes, renting local performance venues, hiring local orchestras, publicity and promotion, official clearances, etc., etc.—are dauntingly complex. The excitement of performing in new places for new audiences more than makes up for the hard work that goes into putting a tour together. Also, I know that our principal dancer Yuan Yuan Tan (who comes from Shanghai) is extremely popular in China, so I expect her to receive an enthusiastic reception.

I’m looking forward to a wonderful adventure in one of the most historically fascinating and culturally vibrant countries in the world. I don’t know if I’ll be able to send any updates during the tour, but I’ll be sure to have plenty of pictures to post when we return.

So, for now,

Zài jiàn!

It’s been a bit of a relief to know that the repertory for China is, in the main, repertory that will be performed in the coming season. With so many ballets already needing to be prepared, having a chance to get some of them set, rehearsed and performed ahead of the 2010 season makes perfect sense. It means that the dancers can keep their focus on the ballets we’ll be performing in China, with the knowledge that they’ll then be performing them back here in the season.

A typical day in the office. (© Erik Tomasson)

Each year Helgi aims to get the company performing in the fall, during the rehearsal period; this allows the dancers to work towards real performances ahead of Nutcracker so they have a goal midway through the rehearsal period to work towards, making sure that they’re in shape and refined for the stage.

As I’ve indicated above, the way the company works means that the dancers have to learn an enormous amount of repertory in the fall and, if there were no thrill of performances to work for, the rehearsal period could seem longer than it actually is. The extra dimension, frisson, and challenge of performing offers the edge that dancers need and relish. Nothing really feels the same as performing to an audience.

A fall tour also offers Helgi–and all of his ballet staff–a chance to see the dancers in action ahead of Nutcracker and the full season…it’ll provide an opportunity to see who’s making good progress and who might be ready to be offered greater challenges later in the season.

It’s also important for the company to be seen beyond the Bay Area, nationally and internationally. SFB has built a great international standing and touring helps the company maintains its visibility around the world. So, the tour to China, as a new country to visit for SFB, fulfills the need for international visibility and, as we’ll be performing during the celebrations for both of these important anniversaries, there’ll be even greater kudos for the company.

It’s going to be a fascinating trip, and hopefully I’ll get a chance to blog about it after we’re all back in October. Until then…

It’s always an adventure presenting an outdoor dance event at Stern Grove because (as Mark Twain noted) it can be very cold in San Francisco in the summer. Our dancers are contractually protected from having to perform in conditions which might make them vulnerable to injuries, including extremes in temperature. Luckily, we’ve never had to cancel an entire performance at the Grove due to cold temperatures. The Ballet brings along big space heaters to position around the stage, and our production crew keeps an eye out to see that the dancers are as comfortable as possible.

But the excitement of performing for an enthusiastic audience 14,000 strong (as a comparison the War Memorial Opera House holds about 3,200) in such a beautiful setting is worth all the challenges to be met in giving an outdoor concert. The orchestra plays on a temporary “pit” that’s set up with sheets of plywood flooring on the ground in front of the stage. This puts us in intimate contact with the front rows of the audience, who are only separated from the musicians by a rope, and always leads to enjoyable conversations.

Here are some photos I took during our 2007 performance at the Grove. First, you can see the musicians arriving for the pre-concert rehearsal. This is the only rehearsal the orchestra will have for the show. A few intrepid audience members are already there at 10am to reserve their seats.

The orchestra gathers

Audience early birds are gathering too

Production crew members are helping the musicians get set up. Note the grey ‘carbon-fiber’ cello on the left in the photo below. Musicians are loathe to bring their best “axes” to an outdoor performance where the sun and damp can both do serious damage to expensive and delicate instruments.

Getting set up

Playing outdoors has other perils—like uninvited insect visitors in the pit.

Cliff Foster, Patty Van Winkle, and a BIG BUG (not pictured)

Our intrepid bass players. Note the microphone. The orchestra is amplified to compensate for the acoustics of the outdoor venue and give the audience as close to a “concert hall” sound as possible.

The bass section

You can tell from violinist Dale Chao’s expression that it’s still pretty cold at 10am. Note the propane space heater on stage in the background.

Brrrrrr!

Left to Right: Production Manager Lefty Lefcourt, Assistant. Stage Manager Tiffani Snow, and Stage Manager Jane Green.

The dancers begin to warm up

Hats and gloves are standard dress for the musicians when they play outdoors. Note the scarf wrapped around a violin to protect it from the fog and sun.

Hats, gloves and scarf

The Grove concert is a nice opportunity for the orchestra musicians to see each other during the ballet “off season” and catch up on the news.

Robin Hansen and Patty Van Winkle have a laugh

Tom Rose, the Ballet Orchestra Personnel Manager, makes sure all the musicians have signed the “Green Sheets” so their participation will be recorded with the Musician’s Union. Note the metal and plastic clips attached to the folders on the music stands. These are long, transparent “wind clips” that we use outdoors to keep gusts of wind from blowing the music pages around.

Tom Rose checks the “Green Sheets”

The orchestra rehearsal begins, and everyone gets a chance to warm up their fingers with some Strauss.

Music Director Martin West leads the rehearsal

After the rehearsal the orchestra takes a break and heads over to the food vendors for some high-cholesterol nourishment. At concert time the sun still hasn’t come out, but temperatures have warmed up and the orchestra and dancers present Paul Taylor’s “Spring Rounds” for an enthusiastic audience.

The performance begins!

Film crew at their stations in the Opera House media suite during a test filming of Swan Lake.

Normally up to 10 robotic cameras are controlled by operators in the media suite, a control room found in the upper reaches of the Opera House.  In order to modify the system for dance, the robotic cameras had to be repositioned to replicate the viewing angle of a audience member in the orchestra level.  Also, to ensure every jeté was recorded, the cameras were mounted on tripods and controlled manually.

Just a few hours before the opening night, I sat in the back of the media suite and watched Director Frank Zamacona oversee the taping of the final dress rehearsal. The room was dark save for the dozens of monitors showing various live camera feeds and technical readouts. The Tchaikovsky score filled the room, accompanied regularly by Frank’s directions to the camera operators in the house.  I wanted to watch all the activity in the suite but I found my eyes constantly drawn to the monitors and the extraordinarily crisp HD video of our dancers performing live a few floors down.

The experiment went remarkably well and the lessons, as well as the video footage, will be invaluable as SF Ballet continues to explore new ways to share our art form. Keep an eye out for HD excerpts of the Swan Lake test in the near future.

Director Frank Zamacona gives direction to the camera operators as media consultant Judy Flannery looks on during the final minutes of Swan Lake. Click for a close up.

Taking a break

Opening night was a blast; I danced with a confidence and commitment that made every breath and movement come alive for me. I was dancing with the knowledge that I wouldn’t have just one opportunity to dance this ballet and make something of it. In fact, I would have at least five other performances – not just to get it right, but to give it a chance to grow and ripen into a delicious experience to remember for the rest of my life. Upon reflection I realize there may be a million and one techniques for creating spontaneity in something that has been rehearsed for several months, however, it all boils down to “being present.”

Our culture and society has taught us to rely on habit in order to survive the day and accomplish all the mundane tasks expected of us. But habits are deceptive because we never experience the same moment twice, ever. So, no activity is ever the same as the last time it was executed. Habit can lead to a poor execution of the task at hand.

In performance there is this contradiction, a paradox even, of relying on muscle memory and habit to execute the steps, but needing to bring awareness to the uniqueness of the moment. That is the idea behind presence. I faced this challenge over the past two weeks and I would say that for the most part, I succeeded in at least making the experience new for myself each time, while maintaining consistency of execution, for my partner at least. I wish I could dance Ibsen’s House a hundred more times in the present–with a hundred more paradoxes of same and different.

James Sofranko rehearses Yuri Possokhov's Diving into the Lilacs with Dana Genshaft. (© Erik Tomasson)

We just finished two weeks of alternating Programs 1 and 2…a nice intro. to the performing season; two new ballets for me, first the world premiere of Yuri Possokhov’s Diving Into the Lilacs, and also William Forsythe’s in the middle, somewhat elevated. They were both very different and challenging. Anytime you are doing a world premiere, the expectations are very high and the pressure is on everyone- the choreographer, the costume designer, the dancers, etc. There’s always potential for someone’s fuse to blow. So it’s an exciting time at least; there’s a bit of risk involved, nobody really knows how the audience will react, if the lighting cues will be just right, if the dress will stay where its supposed to, if we will hit our triple pirouette or not, etc… Of course, everyone involved here at San Francisco Ballet is of the highest quality and professionalism, so those risks are definitely minimized, and no one lost their cool (too much). I hope you liked Yuri’s piece, I can’t really comment on it because I haven’t seen it from the front. The set looks amazing from stage though, and I’ve heard its striking from the house too. Yuri seemed pleased and most people I’ve talked to enjoyed it very much.

In the middle, as we abbreviate the title, was a blast to dance. I’m sad that its over—I danced it three times and I have my fingers crossed that we will do it again next year. The atmosphere on stage is so casual, like we’re just tossing off some phrases in the studio for each other, that it actually relaxed me and made me less nervous. There’s a lot of eye contact, and a friendly sort of competition among the cast that gets everyone’s energy up. I danced with Sarah Van Patten, who is great to work with; we actually first danced together years ago at Chautauqua, a summer dance program in upstate New York, in Balanchine’s Tarantella. We’ve come a long way from Tarantella to in the middle. The partnering is unlike most ballet partnering, with the guy posing behind the woman holding her up and making sure she’s on balance. Here it’s more of a physical push and pull of each other’s weight, and the woman definitely takes on a more active role in the partnership. Forsythe’s choreography is also very extreme: you make use of the length of your arms and twist in your upper body just as much as you use your legs. That makes dancing the piece about twice as tiring, but I don’t think anybody minds—it’s fun to work hard, it’s fun to push your body to new limits: to see how far can I actually reach my arms and fingers to the sky, how wide can I make my back, how much can I stretch out this phrase without being off the music? These are all questions that Laura Graham, our coach, sent by Mr. Forsythe, asked us to explore. There was a lot of individual exploration in this piece, we were even asked to improvise certain sections. I had to improv some phrases by watching Katita dance and imitating her movements with just my knees. Not your typical day at the office…;) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did dancing it, and I hope we can continue to do different and exciting things like In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated here at SFB.

I’ll be back, probably to talk about Swan Lake next. Pssst….you don’t want to miss it (the show that is). -J