Pic of the Week

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 | All Posts by Open Studio 455, Pic of the Week, SFB Scene | 2 Comments

San Francisco Ballet in Possokhov's Diving into the Lilacs which opens as part of mixed bill Program 4 next Tuesday. (© Erik Tomasson)

Tags: Diving into the Lilacs

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

SFB Scene

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 | All Posts by Open Studio 455, SFB Scene | No Comments

• This week in the studios, Company members continue rehearsing works for the 2010 Repertory Season. Patrick Corbin is staging Paul Taylor’s Company B which is set to the big-band era songs of The Andrews Sisters, and Renato Zanella is currently creating his 2010 world premiere. Additional works being rehearsed include Tomasson’s “Haffner” Symphony, Possokhov’s Diving into the Lilacs, and Wheeldon’s Rush.
• Two principal dancers are celebrating new arrivals to their families. On September 23, Kristin Long and Music Director and Principal Conductor Martin West welcomed their daughter, Hannah Elizabeth Long West. She measured nearly 22 inches and weighed 7 pounds and 10 ounces. On October 28, Pascal Molat and his wife Genevieve welcomed their son, Matisse Molat, who weighed 8 pounds and 3 ounces and measured 20 inches long. Check out the adorable pic of Matisse from the proud father’s recent blog post.
• If you can’t wait until December for your favorite Nutcracker characters, you’ll have two chances next week to see them out in San Francisco. On November 19, students from San Francisco Ballet School will don snowflake costumes from the Company’s production of Nutcracker, and participate in the “Snowflakes on Market” lighting ceremony at 6pm. On November 20, several Nutcracker characters will be on hand for the Embarcadero Center Tree Lighting Ceremony from 7–8pm. Both events are free and open to the public.
• Yesterday, San Francisco Ballet School announced its participation in Assemblée Internationale, hosted by Canada’s National Ballet School as part of their fiftieth anniversary festivities. The week-long event features students from twelve internationally renowned schools, and San Francisco Ballet School is distinguished as the only school from the U.S. participating. Assemblée Internationale activities will include an international choreographic festival, with an emphasis on student choreography. Each participating school will perform existing pieces selected from their repertory, and students will also work with their peers from other schools to learn original works choreographed by fellow students. The week will culminate in performances of both the existing repertory and newly-created dances. Performances run from November 18–21 at the Betty Oliphant Theatre, at 404 Jarvis Street in Toronto. For more information or to purchase tickets, call at 416.964.5148.

Dana Genshaft and James Sofranko rehearse Possokhov's Diving into the Lilacs. (© Erik Tomasson)

Tags: "Haffner" Symphony, Company B, Diving into the Lilacs, Kristin Long, Nutcracker, Pascal Molat, San Francisco Ballet School, SFB Scene

Two Programs Down, Six to go!

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 | All Posts by James Sofranko, Behind the Scenes | No Comments

Happy New Year, can you believe its 2009? I’m sorry for my lag in blog entries, but I’m new to this, blogging takes time and dedication I’m realizing…and most of my energy in those departments is already taken with my full time occupation and love-dance! But here and there I get a break so hopefully between naps and meals I can squeeze in some more entries.

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

Tags: Diving into the Lilacs, in the middle somewhat elevated, James Sofranko, Swan Lake, William Forsythe, Yuri Possokhov