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

Welcome, Matisse!

Friday, November 6th, 2009 | All Posts by Pascal Molat | 3 Comments

Matisse at four days old

It is with tremendous joy that my wife, Genevieve, and I introduce our son Matisse to the Ballet family.

Matisse Molat was born on the 28th of October, 2009, weighing 8.3 pounds and measuring 20 inches. Everything went very smoothly- happiness and love are all around!

Tags: Pascal Molat

Pic of the Week

Friday, April 24th, 2009 | Pic of the Week | No Comments

Pascal Molat and Vanessa Zahorian in Elo's Double Evil which opens Tuesday, April 28, 2009 (© Erik Tomasson)

Tags: Double Evil, Pascal Molat, Program 8, Vanessa Zahorian

Five More to Go!

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 | All Posts by Pascal Molat, SFB Scene | No Comments

The season is not yet over but I feel like I’ve already been doing a marathon. Out of 17 ballets on the season, I’ve performed 12, so five more to go! Knowing that I had this many ballets to dance over the season, made me take a different approach this year; I’ve been trying to pace myself and be more relaxed. Between the fall tour, Nutcracker and the start of the season, a lot of work has been done already.

Right now, I’m working on “Rubies”, Within the Golden Hour, and Russian Seasons, all three of which I’ve never danced before. I’m very excited to dance “Rubies” because it’s a very dynamic and playful pas de deux, with a lot of elegance. I’m also looking forward to Russian Seasons, a ballet by Alexei Ratmansky, who I had the pleasure of working with on Le Carnaval des Animaux in 2004.

Right now, I am planning my own rehearsals with my partners, so I can be very prepared for these upcoming ballets. For me, the end of the season will be fireworks with Double Evil—a ballet that is very physically challenging but such a pleasure to dance because it feels very close to my own, natural style. It will be like finishing a marathon with a sprint. As soon as the ballet season is over, I will jump into working with A.C.T. on The Tosca Project for a week, before flying to France for vacation.

Tags: Double Evil, Le Carnaval des Animaux, Nutcracker, Pascal Molat, Ratmansky, Rubies, Russian Seasons, Tosca, Within the Golden Hour