By Luke Willis member of the corps de ballet of San Francisco Ballet. March 2, 2012
Scroll down for photo gallery!
There has been a lot of buzz about the “Guardians of the Inferno” characters from Francesca di Rimini, and our costumes and makeup. Everyone seems to want to know what we are wearing ‐ or what we aren’t wearing.
Well, I’m here to lay all the speculation to rest!
Our very first rehearsal for the ballet was over the summer. Yuri started by pulling up an image on his cellphone of the sculpture of The Three Shades perched at the top of Rodin’s Gates of Hell. As we began to work on the dance, we started to get very excited about the potential for these costumes.
It wasn’t until the fall, several months after we had started the ballet, that I had my first costume fitting. I met with Yuri and Sandra Woodall in the fitting room and they had me try on a solid green, full body unitard. I was quick to express my disappointment – I had hoped for much less clothing. Sandra then showed me the fabric that the final unitard would be made from, which was a sheer flesh colored fabric. Supposedly, what I was trying on was a mock-up made with scrap material they were using in order to figure out the best cut.
We spent about half an hour discussing the cut of the unitard and then the fun started. Sandra pulled out a piece of chalk and asked me to flex my stomach muscles. Shortly after that I had three people surrounding me, all with chalk in hand and each tracing a different muscle group of my body onto the unitard. After an hour in this first fitting it had been decided that the green scrap fabric would become the actual fabric. Yuri and Sandra both loved the color and I was stoked to have my muscles exaggerated in such a way. I reported back to the other Shades (Jeremy Rucker and Quinn Wharton) telling them that we would all be getting our muscles traced onto a green unitard.
I had my next fitting in December between shows of Nutcracker. I remember Yuri in full costume and make-up for Drosselmeyer pinning pieces of mesh fabric to me! The first draft of the muscles had been screened onto the unitard. All that needed to be done was some fine tuning of the painted musculature ‐ some darkening here and lightening there. At the end of this fitting they decided to have a black mesh hood of the same material with strands of hair wildly pulled through.
At this point none of the other Shades had had a costume fitting. I thought this was very odd considering how time consuming the chalking and painting of muscles had seemed.
I had another fitting a few weeks later, during which we decided to get rid of the mesh hood. Finally, Richard Battle from our makeup department joined in the conversation to discuss hair and make-up. He and his colleague created a spray gel mixed with a greenish white make up to create the final look for the hair that would give a windswept, sculpture-like look. The make-up was to be a green base to match the unitard with extreme sculpturing of the facial features to match the rest of the body.
The costume was nearly finished and at last the other Shades were getting called into costume fittings. However when they arrived, their costumes had already been painted. I was surprised and flattered to find out my body had become the template for all three Shades’ musculature.
In the end, the final costume and make-up could be done in as little as 15 minutes, leaving five minutes of the intermission for us to warm-up before the curtain.
The classics are wonderful and challenging in their own way, but being involved in a creative process from scratch is truly the bread and butter for an artist. I was so thrilled to be a part of this process with Yuri and all the other dancers and artists that collaborated together to tell this story.
The San Francisco Ballet School congratulates Robert (Max) Cauthorn who has been awarded a Dizzy Feet Foundation scholarship for the 2011-12 academic year. Robert is one of only seven students to receive a DFF scholarship this year. Dizzy Feet awards scholarships on an annual basis to especially talented students studying dance at accredited or nationally regarded dance schools, studios or institutions in the United States. This year’s scholarship recipients will also be featured in the March issue of Dance Spirit Magazine. For more details about Dizzy Feet, visit the DFF home page (www.dizzyfeetfoundation.org).
Famous for his dramatic choreography, technically sharp dancing and great partnering skills, Ukranian-born Yuri Possokhov is currently the Choreographer in Residence for SF Ballet.
After training at the Moscow Ballet School, Yuri danced for 10 years with the world-famous Bolshoi Ballet and Royal Danish Ballet before moving to the U.S. He joined SF Ballet as a principal dancer in 1994.
During his years as an electrifying dancer with SF Ballet, he expertly partnered many of the principal dancers, including his longtime dance partner, former SF Ballet dancer Joanna Berman. As a choreographer, his pieces represent a broad range – some are pure dance and portray his more classical influences, while others are wrought with emotion and intensely dramatic themes. Recently, he’s taken an interest in using projections as a major component of his scenic elements.
Most recently, Yuri created an all-new production of Don Quixotefor The Joffrey Ballet in Chicago.
Here in San Francisco, Yuri will introduce another world premiere, Francesca da Rimini, on Program 3 tonight. His critically-acclaimed work, RAkU, will appear as part of Program 7.
By Ben Stewart member of the corps de ballet of San Francisco Ballet February 12, 2012
Hi all! It’s been a while since I last checked in and a lot has happened. My first book in the children’s book series “Holly Dolly and Friends” has been copyrighted! My book, titled PINK!, which I wrote, designed, and illustrated, is available for viewing and downloading at www.hollydollyandfriends.shutterfly.com. Click on the “books” tab for my book.
The book is designed for girls ages 3-7 but adults and kids alike will be amused by the adventure Holly and Nellie, two adorable white Maltese puppies, go on. This is only the first of many books, so stay tuned for many more!
Besides writing children’s books, I’ve been busy working with Mark Morris on his world Premiere, Beaux, which has some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever danced to, as well as beautiful costumes and scenery. I’ve enjoyed the creative process with Mark Morris more than I can say. He makes coming to work exciting and engaging and I always look forward to his rehearsals. I hope you all come see the world premiere of Beaux on Valentine’s day, this coming Tuesday.
I’m also excited about the Carnival of the Animals. The choreography is absolutely genius, captivating and the music is wonderful. It is one of my favorite pieces. Don’t miss it!
What to Wear When You’re in “Hell”
member of the corps de ballet of San Francisco Ballet.
March 2, 2012
Scroll down for photo gallery!
There has been a lot of buzz about the “Guardians of the Inferno” characters from Francesca di Rimini, and our costumes and makeup. Everyone seems to want to know what we are wearing ‐ or what we aren’t wearing.
Well, I’m here to lay all the speculation to rest!
Our very first rehearsal for the ballet was over the summer. Yuri started by pulling up an image on his cellphone of the sculpture of The Three Shades perched at the top of Rodin’s Gates of Hell. As we began to work on the dance, we started to get very excited about the potential for these costumes.
It wasn’t until the fall, several months after we had started the ballet, that I had my first costume fitting. I met with Yuri and Sandra Woodall in the fitting room and they had me try on a solid green, full body unitard. I was quick to express my disappointment – I had hoped for much less clothing. Sandra then showed me the fabric that the final unitard would be made from, which was a sheer flesh colored fabric. Supposedly, what I was trying on was a mock-up made with scrap material they were using in order to figure out the best cut.
We spent about half an hour discussing the cut of the unitard and then the fun started. Sandra pulled out a piece of chalk and asked me to flex my stomach muscles. Shortly after that I had three people surrounding me, all with chalk in hand and each tracing a different muscle group of my body onto the unitard. After an hour in this first fitting it had been decided that the green scrap fabric would become the actual fabric. Yuri and Sandra both loved the color and I was stoked to have my muscles exaggerated in such a way. I reported back to the other Shades (Jeremy Rucker and Quinn Wharton) telling them that we would all be getting our muscles traced onto a green unitard.
I had my next fitting in December between shows of Nutcracker. I remember Yuri in full costume and make-up for Drosselmeyer pinning pieces of mesh fabric to me! The first draft of the muscles had been screened onto the unitard. All that needed to be done was some fine tuning of the painted musculature ‐ some darkening here and lightening there. At the end of this fitting they decided to have a black mesh hood of the same material with strands of hair wildly pulled through.
At this point none of the other Shades had had a costume fitting. I thought this was very odd considering how time consuming the chalking and painting of muscles had seemed.
I had another fitting a few weeks later, during which we decided to get rid of the mesh hood. Finally, Richard Battle from our makeup department joined in the conversation to discuss hair and make-up. He and his colleague created a spray gel mixed with a greenish white make up to create the final look for the hair that would give a windswept, sculpture-like look. The make-up was to be a green base to match the unitard with extreme sculpturing of the facial features to match the rest of the body.
The costume was nearly finished and at last the other Shades were getting called into costume fittings. However when they arrived, their costumes had already been painted. I was surprised and flattered to find out my body had become the template for all three Shades’ musculature.
In the end, the final costume and make-up could be done in as little as 15 minutes, leaving five minutes of the intermission for us to warm-up before the curtain.
The classics are wonderful and challenging in their own way, but being involved in a creative process from scratch is truly the bread and butter for an artist. I was so thrilled to be a part of this process with Yuri and all the other dancers and artists that collaborated together to tell this story.