Open Studio 455: San Francisco Ballet Blog

Katita Waldo

From Sandpaper to Sweeney Todd

Friday, March 27th, 2009 | All Posts by Katita Waldo, SFB Scene | No Comments

I’ve had a long break which has given my body a chance to rest; I wasn’t in Swan Lake and danced Sandpaper Ballet in Program 5, which was a blast. Now I’m very refreshed and eager to be working; we have started rehearsing Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Within the Golden Hour, and West Side Story Suite, all of which I’m in. I also have the added duty of being a ballet master (along with Anita Paciotti) for Within the Golden Hour and for the corps de ballet in Stravinsky Violin Concerto.

Principal Dancer Katita Waldo takes notes during a rehearsal. © Erik Tomasson

Bart Cook from the Balanchine Trust arrives today and hopefully, will be pleased with the work I’ve managed to do. I’m very proud of the dancers; they’ve gotten it together very quickly in a short amount of time. I was very nervous to go into West Side Story Suite rehearsals since I haven’t done any singing since we performed it last year. I guess the itch was scratched. However, about a week ago, I started singing to the Dixie Chicks and Sweeney Todd in the car, just to get ready. I was lazy and didn’t do any of my vocal exercises, yet the first couple of rehearsals have shown my voice improved over last year. I have no idea why that is but I’m very glad!

Tags: Balanchine, Katita Waldo, Sandpaper Ballet, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, West Side Story Suite