A dancer himself, Mark Morris performed with major dance companies in his early career, then went on to form his own company in 1980; a decade later he worked alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov to create the White Oak Dance Project.

Mark’s passion for music is evident in his dances as well as the curriculum he sets for The School at Mark Morris Morris Dance Center.

Here at SFB, the dancers are always thrilled to work with Mr. Morris, as Helgi Tomasson recently noted: “…I think he very much likes working with our dancers and we love having him here. He’s not predictable, his works tend to be very different from one another and you don’t know what he’s going to do next time, which I very much like…”

For a full bio with a highlight of his awards and accolades that span decades, click here. While you’re there, be sure to take a few minutes and learn more about the Mark Morris Dance Group.

Mark Morris and Pascal Molat in rehearsal for Joyride. (Photo ©Erik Tomasson)

Well, the larger than life statue of David has disappeared from the cupola, the “frescos” are gone from the Rotunda dome, feet have recovered from dancing all night long and Program 1 of SF Ballet’s 79th season, John Cranko’s Onegin, just finished its run.  The Opening Night Gala is an increasingly fuzzy, beautiful, happy memory.  As “they” say, Bella Notte went off without a hitch – even with the rain.  The valet team was prepared to shield gorgeous gowns, a trio of musicians enveloped guests in the music of the Renaissance as they entered the stunning “Palazzo” at City Hall, to sip prosecco and nibble on prosciutto.  After savoring a scrumptious meal we braved the rain as we made our way to the Opera House for the Gala Performance which was as much a treat for the eyes as dinner was for the palate.  Following the spectacular performance guests AND SF Ballet Company dancers hit the dance floors in the North Light Court (with the band Notorious) and South Light Court (DJ Solomon and guest DJ Dancer Sebastian Vinet), relaxed in the “Pucci Lounge” and continued enjoying Italian treats and specialty cocktails at La Dolce Vita Post Party.  Great appreciation to Lee Gregory and McCall’s for the delicious dinner, Riccardo Benevides/ Ideas for the exquisite décor, and Kier LaCrosse/ Allegra Entertainment for great music.

Hard to believe that the event was three weeks ago; it feels like several months have passed between that sparkling evening and today. As event chair, I am not nearly recovered and still have much work to do.  Numbers are adjusting as we continue to receive invoices and donations continue to be tallied.  I have had the pleasure (and slightly overwhelming task) of writing thank you notes to a wide array of participants–from my committee to our vendors to our sponsors–it is an honor to convey my deep appreciation to every one of them.

The fact that our committee are all volunteers makes the job of chair infinitely trickier.  You are essentially relying on peoples’ love for the Ballet and their integrity that they will accomplish their important roles, that make up necessary parts of the big picture.  When assembling my team I looked for many qualities in my partners, but one trait stands out as the most important for me: dependability.  All the creativity, intelligence and insight in the world doesn’t do the team any good if dependability is lacking.  I can say with absolute joy that every member of my team could be counted on – for tasks large and small – they did it all.

Bravo, Bravo, Bravo!!  These individuals are incredible and I am grateful to each of them.  We grew in friendship during this shared project and it is bittersweet for me that we have come to the end of our journey as a team.

Many thanks to all who supported the Opening Night, enjoy the 2012 Season!

I personally have had a long relationship with Santo that goes back to 22 years! He’s famous for layers and using lots of different fabrics to create layering on bodices and on tutus – he’s used this method for the Onegin costumes, too. He’s got multiple layers of net on the skirt, with beautiful embroidered lace and metallic thread. He uses organza underneath. The silhouette of the dress is very flattering! Santo kept the palette similar to the original design, but wanted the look to be more authentic; he wanted them to be more historically accurate.

With rented productions such as this one, one of our biggest challenges within the Wardrobe Department involves the varying sizes of the companies. Alterations are often necessary. (Luckily, the fabric in the designs are very forgiving.) The other challenge is that there are 4 sets of principal couples here, and Tatiana has 5 costume changes, alone!

We’ve also made our own nightgown for Tatiana out of extra scraps from National Ballet of Canada; it will live with the production moving forward.

Fittings started in October – we try to start them at least a few months in advance. I try to get ALL fittings done in the fall, with the exception of the occasional cast change in the season. There is a team of 3 people in the Wardrobe Department working on Onegin – we spent about 16 hours on fittings and 80 hours on alterations, which is typical for a rented production of this size.

Overall, I’m excited to see the production on Opening Night! The color palettes combined with the sets will be amazing. Santo has always been known for his comfortable, pleasing palettes. He really has that talent.

Xiao Nan Yu and Jiří Jelinek in Onegin; Photo by Aleksandar Antonijevic, courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada

It’s no mean feat, but until Monday Jan. 30 we’re offering an exclusive ticket discount to our Twitter fans who rise to our ‘Tweet the Plot’ challenge.

Your mission: read our Onegin synopsis, and then tweet @sfballet with your description of the story in 140 characters or less. (Rhymes, wit and heart are all encouraged.) If we like it, we’ll send you a code for a 30% ticket discount on selected Onegin performances*.

What’s more, our very favorite tweet will also earn its author a special prize: a free ‘SF Ballet Sampler’ Mini-Package offering tickets for three exciting performances in our 2012 Season!

Remember, you must be following us on Twitter (@sfballet) to enter, and all tweets must:

• Be addressed to @sfballet (or we won’t see them)
• Contain the hashtag #Onegin to be entered
• Recognizably relate to the plot of Onegin

A glittering assemblage of San Francisco personalities speculated about the Opening Night performance and comparing notes on holiday travel and New Year’s resolutions.  As you may know (but I didn’t until a couple of years ago!), SF Ballet is rare among arts organizations because its Opening Night Gala Performance is ONLY performed that night and the following week, the Company opens its first program of the season, John Cranko’s Onegin.

We are also excited about the Post Performance Party where guests will dance the night away with the lively and exquisite dancers from SF Ballet, to live Music by Notorious and special guest DJ – SF Ballet Dancer Sebastian Vinet!

It is hard to believe that the Gala is only tomorrow – we are still working furiously behind the scenes to make sure every detail is attended to for this special evening.  It has been an honor and a pleasure to be the “CEO” of this little venture.  The Auxiliary and SF Ballet have been outstanding – I am lucky to work with such wonderful people.  The event is already a huge success and the Auxiliary is thrilled to be contributing so significantly to this beloved and important cultural institution.

See you at the Palazzo!

If you could write a letter to your first love, what would it say?

Please note: This feature is now closed to submissions.

San Francisco Ballet’s Onegin (Jan. 27-Feb. 3, 2012) is the story of a young woman who pours out her heart in a letter to her first love—with powerful consequences. We’ve all had a first love, so now SF Ballet wants to hear from you!

Tell us: if you wrote a letter to your ‘first love’ now, what would you write? It could be your childhood sweetheart, or the ‘one that got away.’ It might be a beloved family pet, a movie star—or even a personal passion, like ballet itself. Funny or sad, light-hearted or heartfelt; send us your letters via the anonymous comment form below, and we’ll feature them in a special “Letter to My First Love” Tumblr gallery as they come in (closing date Feb 3, 2012 at 5pm PST). We’ll also print our favorite letter in our Backstage subscribers magazine.

A few guidelines:

• Length: your letter could be just a few words, or much longer, but we want to read them all  so please keep your submissions to 250 words maximum.
• Names: all submissions can be submitted anonymously via the comment form below—you don’t need to complete the ‘name’, ‘email’ or ‘website’ fields (and even if you do this info won’t accompany your letter on our Tumblr gallery). You might decide you want to include your name within your letter – it’s up to you! – but whatever you choose, remember not to include anyone else’s real name(s), or we won’t be able to feature your letter.
• Content: bear in mind that our social media audience includes many younger fans, and we won’t be able to feature any letters containing profanity or offensive language. By submitting your letter you’re giving SF Ballet the right to edit content for reasons of length or style!

Need some inspiration? Read Tatiana’s letter to Onegin, as written by Pushkin…

McCall’s graciously catered the festive and fun evening and offered tasty treats that played off of our “Bella Notte” theme. The rooms were filled with joyful and excited SF Ballet supporters chatting about the upcoming season and enjoying the food, ambiance, and delicious William Hill Estate Wines and La Marca Prosecco!

On the scene at both the Launch and Patron parties was the ever-charming and fabulous SF Ballet Soloist Garen Scribner. Click here to hear more from Garen about what Gala means to the artists of the Company!

After the Gala performance we look forward to the Post Performance Party, La Dolce Vita! We like to think that it’s the best party in San Francisco. This event is unique among our wonderful cultural institutions because the Company dancers join the party and let loose with all of us after the performance. Rubbing elbows with our spectacular dancers on the dance floor is, for many people, a favorite aspect of this entire evening!

This year, we have something even more special planned…Corps de Ballet Dancer Sebastian Vinet (“DJ Conchita”) will be featured as a guest DJ.  We are all excited to check him out! The Post Performance Party is a great way to experience the glamour and excitement of the evening–come join us!

 As I noted in my remarks at the party, while we are still working hard (managing budgets, selling tickets, planning a million logistics), the Launch Party marks a turning point in the process.  It’s really the first time that we take a moment to gather SF Ballet supporters and those who have worked so hard on behalf of the Ballet to celebrate our progress and to thank all involved.  Brooks Brothers created a fun and festive evening, with holiday music played by a jazz band, delicious food, and a really cool Holiday Spritzer cocktail with Grey Goose vodka and a “holly like” garnish of mint and cranberries that looked as good as it tasted!  Brooks Brothers also provided a generous discount to SF Ballet supporters and a percentage of proceeds from the evening was donated to the Ballet.  Highlights of the evening included chatting with Robert Oren from the BB line extension Black Fleece, and the fabulous SF Ballet dancers, including Garen Scribner and Maria Kochetkova, who joined the fun.

From 12.30pm until 1.00pm on Friday Dec 16 2011, we’ll be placing a foot-high Nutcracker doll (pictured) somewhere outside the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco – and he’ll be holding four tickets to the evening performance of Nutcracker on Dec 20. The first person to find the Nutcracker will be the lucky winner of these exclusive tickets.

If you find the Nutcracker but you’re not the first, don’t despair – we’ll also be offering extra-special runner-up prizes until 1.00pm (up to 50 available)!

The War Memorial Opera House, where SF Ballet has performed Nutcracker
since 1944, is situated on 301 Van Ness Avenue (map ). Stay tuned to our Facebook and Twitter channels for further info and even a hint or two. Good luck!

(Full terms and conditions are available at sfballet.org/promorules.)

60 minute massage/acupuncture combo with Andrew Castellanos at Stillpoint Wellness Center on Union Street. $115, www.stillpointsf.com

Stillpoint Wellness

Sansha ballet slippers are not only great for ballet class, but they make excellent bohemian chic house slippers. Available at SF Dancewear. $23 www.sfdancewear.com

Sansha ballet slipper

Schedule a 75 minute private lesson in Gyrotonic at SF Gyrotonic to increase strength and flexibilty, enhance coordination or just feel good. $85 www.sfgyrotonic.com

Gyrotonic

Get them some fun and functional legwarmers from American Apparel.  These are a favorite here at SFB and they come in so many colors. $18 www.americanapparel.net

American Apparel legwarmers

Give them inspiration with a gift certifcate to the San Francisco Ballet so they can choose a program that fits their fancy. www.sfballet.org/tickets/giftcertificates

A photo of me taken from backstage, as Spanish in Nutcracker (© Erik Tomasson)

Smart Wool socks are a great stocking stuffer, they last forever! I wear them for barre, traipse around the theater in them and they always keep my feet toasty. Around $20. Get them at www.REI.com, www.sportsbasement.com.

Smart Wool socks

Ballerina cards for dancers and balletomanes from my greeting card company, Modern Rubbish.  Set of 6 cards, $15. http://www.modernrubbish.com/shop/

Modern Rubbish card

Modern Rubbish card

Before Black Swan, there was The Red Shoes. One of my favorite dance movies that I  watch over and over
again, it’s a classic. $26 www.amazon.com

The Red Shoes - a classic!

“Once a Dancer,” a touching autobiography from Balanchine ballerina, Allegra Kent. I curled up and read it in a day; I laughed, I cried and had her autograph it. A must-read for any dancer! $16 www.amazon.com.

Once a Dancer: An Autobiography

Give them the gift of dance. There are great studios around the city offering open classes for adults to give ballet, modern, contemporary, and hip hop a try. Try Alonzo King LINES Dance Center www.linesballet.org, or City Ballet School www.cityballetschool.org or ODC dance school at www.odcdance.org.