San Francisco Ballet 2008-2009 Season

RaHir · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 10:36 am

Not sure where this should go, but this thread might just be the spot!

She's moved on, but ballet is in Bramer's blood
Mary Ellen Hunt, Special to The Chronicle
Saturday, May 16, 2009

Quote:

Hidden talent has always graced San Francisco Ballet's corps de ballet, and in her nine years with the company, former dancer Dalene Bramer gave many a luminous and memorable performance. A Santa Rosa native who started dancing when she was 3, Bramer arrived at the San Francisco Ballet School at the age of 8 and, in 1996, was named an apprentice before joining the corps in 1997.

Bramer attracted notice for her warmth and grace in roles in "The Pennsylvania Polka" in Paul Taylor's "Company B" and as the White Cat in "Sleeping Beauty." She could dance a contemporary lead in Hans van Manen's "Grosse Fuge" and give Balanchine a brilliant glow as a soloist in "Diamonds." Now finishing her degree at the University of San Francisco's School of Law, Bramer has turned her ballet-honed professionalism and prodigious intelligence to a new career, but she stays connected to the institution where she grew up by serving on the San Francisco Ballet board's School Committee.

More...

RaHir · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 10:43 am

Also, SF Ballet has announced new dancers for the upcoming season. They include:

New Company Members/Level
Vitor Luiz, Principal Dancer
Rebecca Rhodes, Corps de Ballet

New Apprentices
Kimberly Braylock, San Francisco Ballet School
Madison Keesler, Hamburg Ballet
Kristina Lind, San Francisco Ballet School
Steven Morse, San Francisco Ballet School
Myles Thatcher, San Francisco Ballet School
Sylvie Volosov, San Francisco Ballet School

LMCtech · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 3:33 pm

Congrats to them all, some of which I remember as gawky 13 yr olds.

RaHir · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 4:11 pm

This looks like a really strong group of apprentices. In fact, I remember seeing Madison Keesler as the unitard girl in "Yondering" during last year's SF Ballet gala. She made quite an impression on me, and I'm excited to see more of her in the coming year.

RaHir · **Posted:** Fri May 22, 2009 10:47 am

San Francisco Ballet School
Rachel Howard, Chronicle Dance Correspondent
Friday, May 22, 2009

Quote:

George Balanchine's "Allegro Brillante" can make even veteran ballerinas quake in their pointe shoes. Everyone must move fast and cleanly - especially the principal woman, whose task is to channel the intricate clarity of Tchaikovsky's unfinished Third Piano Concerto with seeming ease in her relentlessly demanding solos. Wednesday at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts' Novellus Theater, the San Francisco Ballet School's advanced students took this decidedly ambitious fare and made it sparkle. This was an exceptional showing at a graduation ritual that - given the teenagers' high stakes and high sacrifices - is never an ordinary recital.

Sylvie Volosov, already named a San Francisco Ballet apprentice for next season, was strong and stylish in the lead, lowering her leg extensions with a wonderfully musical delay and a slight Balanchine-style tilt of the hip, never blurring her positions. Her partner, Myles Thatcher, also a newly named company apprentice, has a big jump and a natural exuberance that brings to mind a young former San Francisco Ballet star, Gonzalo Garcia. The eight-member ensemble was sharp and well rehearsed. But more exciting than this rendition of "Allegro Brillante" was the apparent growth through all levels of the school.

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bcx · **Joined:** Mon Apr 19, 2004 11:01 pm **Posts:** 167

Check out the latest SFB roster to see who will and will not be dancing with the company in the coming season:

http://www.sfballet.org/about/company/dancers.asp

In addition to the retiring Tina LeBlanc, I count 11 missing dancers (2 principals, Ivan Popov and Rachel Viselli; 1 soloist, Mateo Klemmayer, and 8 corps de ballet dancers, including Isaac Hernandez and Courtney Clarkson, both of whom I will greatly miss. Isaac's departure is especially surprising). I don't see any promotions for the coming season (I'm assuming this is all about budget problems, not the incredibly talented SFB dancers below principal rank). Also missing, recently announced hires, Vitor Luiz, principal, and Rebecca Rhodes, corps.

I'm told this roster may be somewhat fluid, but it's still breathtaking.

bcx · **Joined:** Mon Apr 19, 2004 11:01 pm **Posts:** 167

Speaking of budget cuts, it looks like SFB may also lose one of its most appreciative critics, Rachel Howard, the San Francisco Chronicle's "dance correspondent." From her blog:

"Dance fans may have noticed that I haven’t been writing much for the Chronicle recently. I hope I’m not telling tales out of school when I explain that the paper cancelled all of my June, July, and August review assignments, due to a reduced freelance budget. . . ."

More at:

http://rachelhoward.com/

RaHir · **Posted:** Sun Jul 05, 2009 2:15 pm

bcx wrote:

Check out the latest SFB roster to see who will and will not be dancing with the company in the coming season:

http://www.sfballet.org/about/company/dancers.asp

In addition to the retiring Tina LeBlanc, I count 11 missing dancers (2 principals, Ivan Popov and Rachel Viselli; 1 soloist, Mateo Klemmayer, and 8 corps de ballet dancers, including Isaac Hernandez and Courtney Clarkson, both of whom I will greatly miss. Isaac's departure is especially surprising). I don't see any promotions for the coming season (I'm assuming this is all about budget problems, not the incredibly talented SFB dancers below principal rank). Also missing, recently announced hires, Vitor Luiz, principal, and Rebecca Rhodes, corps.

I'm told this roster may be somewhat fluid, but it's still breathtaking.

I believe the roster is still being updated online. Normally the company sends out an official update in July after the dancers have returned from lay-off.

bcx · **Joined:** Mon Apr 19, 2004 11:01 pm **Posts:** 167

RaHir wrote:

I believe the roster is still being updated online. Normally the company sends out an official update in July after the dancers have returned from lay-off.

SFB dancers return to work tomorrow from their summer break. Let's hope there will be some positive tweaking to the roster once they get back, including a couple of promotions. I think I now understand why SFB hired the largest class of apprentices in memory for the coming season. This has to be a tough time for our much-loved company. Hang in there, guys.

RaHir · **Posted:** Mon Jul 06, 2009 4:11 pm

The official company roster for the upcoming season has been released. The website should be updated shortly.

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
ARTISTS OF THE COMPANY
2010 REPERTORY SEASON

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Helgi Tomasson

PRINCIPAL DANCERS
Nicolas Blanc
Joan Boada
Taras Domitro
Lorena Feijoo
Jaime Garcia Castilla
Tiit Helimets
Davit Karapetyan
Maria Kochetkova
Kristin Long
Vitor Luiz
Ruben Martin
Pascal Molat
Gennadi Nedvigin
Damian Smith
Sofiane Sylve
Yuan Yuan Tan
Sarah Van Patten
Pierre-François Vilanoba
Katita Waldo
Vanessa Zahorian

PRINCIPAL CHARACTER DANCERS
Ricardo Bustamante
Val Caniparoli
Jorge Esquivel
Anita Paciotti

SOLOISTS
Elana Altman
Frances Chung
Dana Genshaft
Julianne Kepley
Pauli Magierek
Elizabeth Miner
Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun
Garen Price Scribner
James Sofranko
Anthony Spaulding
Hansuke Yamamoto

CORPS DE BALLET
Gaetano Amico III
Dores Andre
David Arce
Brett J. Bauer
Clara Blanco
Ludmila Campos
Charlene Cohen
Diego Cruz
Sasha De Sola
Daniel Deivison-Oliveira
Courtney Elizabeth
Martyn Garside
Nicole Grand
Isaac Hernández
Margaret Karl
Kristina Lind
Alexandra McCullagh
Erin McNulty
Alexandra Meyer-Lorey
Christopher Mondoux
Steven Morse
Ashley Muangmaithong
Mariellen Olson
Aaron Orza
Rebecca Rhodes
Shannon Marie Roberts
Lily Rogers
Miriam Rowan
Jeremy Rucker
Danielle Santos
Jennifer Stahl
Benjamin Stewart
Matthew Stewart
Quinn Wharton
Luke Willis

APPRENTICES
Kimberly Braylock
Madison Keesler
Myles Thatcher
Sylvie Volosov

crandc · **Joined:** Tue Aug 28, 2001 11:01 pm **Posts:** 255

This looks like no promotions? Except apprentice to corps? If this is final it's the first time I remember that there were no promotions. And I can think of a couple of deserving candidates.

RaHir · **Posted:** Wed Jul 15, 2009 5:24 pm

SF Ballet released this bit of news today.

Quote:

Principal Dancer Nicolas Blanc has asked to be released from his contract with SF Ballet for the 2010 Repertory Season. Said Blanc, who will return to Europe this summer, “It’s time for me to move to a new chapter in my life and to pass on what I’ve learned and experienced in my career as an artist. My six years with SF Ballet have been instrumental in my growth, not only as a dancer, but as a person; I’ve learned so much and am very grateful for this time with the Company and to the loyal audience that has followed me in San Francisco.”

Over the past six years, I've really enjoyed watching Blanc's feet caress the Opera House stage. His dancing always had a lightness to it, and he'll be missed.

RaHir · **Posted:** Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:50 pm

More hiring news.

Quote:

2 ballet masters Tomasson's new top assistants
Rachel Howard, Chronicle Dance Correspondent
Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Leading the country's third-largest ballet company requires serious backup. Now instead of one right-hand man, San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson has two.

"We're still figuring out how to be a double act," says former Royal Ballet star Bruce Sansom, laughing with a nod toward Ricardo Bustamante, whose performing career spanned S.F. Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, between rehearsals at the Ballet Association Building. "It's early days."

Jointly, Sansom and Bustamante, both 46, have just stepped into the "ballet master and assistant to the artistic director" position vacated when Ashley Wheater became artistic director of the Joffrey Ballet in 2007. They're working on divvying up their duties, which include assisting with casting, leading rehearsals, teaching company class, and representing Tomasson, a cool and commanding Iceland native, to administrative staff and visiting choreographers.

More...

RaHir · **Posted:** Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:51 pm

With the layoffs/departures, I'm sort of surprised that the company hired (or semi-promoted) TWO people to fulfill Ashley Wheater's vacated position. I am glad, though, to see Sansom back in SF.

LMCtech · **Posted:** Thu Jul 30, 2009 10:18 am

Bruce is SO great. I am also glad to see him back at SFB.


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