Season Guide
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2019 REPERTORY SEASON GUIDE The epitome of elegance. Experts can make complicated steps look effortless — and that’s what we can do for you. Throughout the Bay Area and Northern California — from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe, Carmel to Wine Country — THE STEPS ARE our agents are second to none. EFFORTLESS THE EXPERIENCE IS ALAIN PINEL APR.COM Over 30 Real Estate Offices Serving The San Francisco Bay Area 866.468.0111 The epitome of elegance. Experts can make complicated steps look effortless — and that’s what we can do for you. Throughout the Bay Area and Northern California — from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe, Carmel to Wine Country — THE STEPS ARE our agents are second to none. EFFORTLESS THE EXPERIENCE IS ALAIN PINEL APR.COM Over 30 Real Estate Offices Serving The San Francisco Bay Area 866.468.0111 ©2018 California©2018 Closet Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Franchises independently owned and operated. 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Visit us online or in our showroom today to arrange for a complimentary in-home design consultation. 800.274.6754 californiaclosets.com CA177_SFBallet_Brooks2_9.7x12.7_1118.inddSFB season guide fp template.indd 1 1 11/29/1811/29/18 2:18 9:53 PM AM SAN FRANCISCO BALLET 2019 REPERTORY SEASON GUIDE 47 Season & Donor News 76 SF Ballet Staff Ticket FAQ 79 Season Sponsors Upcoming Events 83 Great Benefactors 52 PROGRAM 01 Don Quixote 84 Artistic Director’s Council 55 PROGRAM 02 Kaleidoscope 87 Institutional Support Divertimento No. 15 Appassionata 90 SF Ballet Endowment Foundation 09 Anima Animus 93 Thank You to Our Volunteers 58 PROGRAM 03 In Space and Time 96 A Conversation with Glenn McCoy 09 Welcome to the Season The Fifth Season 11 SF Ballet Leadership Snowblind 12 Board of Trustees Études Endowment Foundation Board 61 PROGRAM 04 The Sleeping Beauty 14 Artists of the Company 64 PROGRAM 05 Lyric Voices 44 SF Ballet Orchestra Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem Bound To Yuri Possokhov World Premiere San Francisco Ballet | Vol. 96, No. 2 Season Guide 67 PROGRAM 06 Space Between 2019 Repertory Season Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes Editor: Caitlin Sims Liam Scarlett World Premiere Program Notes: Cheryl A. Ossola Björk Ballet Graphic Designers: Monica Cheng, Francis Zhou Photographer: Erik Tomasson 70 PROGRAM 07 The Little Mermaid Photo Editing: JC Szostak 73 PROGRAM 08 Shostakovich Trilogy Don Quixote and The Little Mermaid studio imagery Symphony #9 Creative Director: Jennifer Bakken 47 Stylist: Jenna Drobnick Chamber Symphony Manager of Wardrobe, Makeup: Kate Share Piano Concerto #1 Hair and Makeup Stylist: Sarah Coy Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists of Local 706: Susan Stone, Gerd Mairandes, Sharon Peng, Kristen Kirchen, Toby Mayer Wardrobe: Wesley Crain Dancer and SFB Leadership Portraits Photo Shoot Coordinator: Kyra Jablonsky Photo Shoot Creative Director: Jennifer Bakken Photo Shoot Stylist: France Pierson Photo Shoot Assistant: Mike Norman Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists of Local 706: Richard Battle, Melanie Birch, Raymond Burns, Sarah Coy, Elisa Mack, Toby Mayer, Christina Martin, Thomas Richards-Keyes Cover: Mathilde Froustey and Angelo Greco // © Erik Tomasson This page (clockwise): Helgi Tomasson // © Erik Tomasson; 2018 Gala // © Nikki Richter; Yuan Yuan Tan // © Erik Tomasson Bound To © by Christopher Wheeldon All editorial material © San Francisco Ballet, 2019 Chris Hellman Center for Dance 455 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 415 861 5600 | sfballet.org 70 Advertising Representatives Marilyn Kallins, Terri Reed, Amelia Heppner, Mike Hathaway [email protected] BARBARA FRACCHIA Fine Art Oil Paintings of Ballet and Opera The Ballet Season has Begun, 16 x 12, oil painting [email protected] • 510-525-7057 • www.barbarafracchia.com WELCOME TO THE SEASON Welcome to San Francisco Ballet’s 86th Repertory Season. I’m thrilled to introduce you to our season, which will feature two world premieres, three story ballets, the return of five new works from our innovative Unbound festival, and much more. The three story ballets in our 2019 Season are each quite distinctive, ranging from the ebullience of Don Quixote to the elegance of The Sleeping Beauty to the drama of The Little Mermaid. You’ll see the depth of talent here at SF Ballet in these very unique interpretations of classic stories. We start in January with Don Quixote, a delightful ballet full of humor, heart, and bravura dancing. The Sleeping Beauty is a romantic fairy tale, classical technique and crystalline perfection. Our third story ballet, John Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid, based on the fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen, is a little bit dark—a nuanced exploration of the psychological impact of wanting to be someone other than who you are. Performing these ballets is challenging and will give our dancers wonderful opportunities to grow as artists. We also have five programs of “triple bills,” performances comprised of three shorter ballets. We’ll have two world © Erik Tomasson premieres: one by Liam Scarlett, who choreographed our recent Frankenstein; and another by our talented choreographer in residence Yuri Possokhov, whose Swimmer and Magrittomania have been audience favorites. You’ll also see the SF Ballet premiere of Benjamin Millepied’s Appassionata, a beautiful work for three couples set to the Beethoven score of the same name. And I’m delighted to bring back Harald Lander’s classic Études, which is as exciting to watch as it is thrilling to dance. The Company hasn’t performed it since 1989. You’ll also have another chance to see Justin Peck’s fantastic new take on Aaron Copland’s music in Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes, and my own The Fifth Season, set to the music of Karl Jenkins. When we’re not performing at the Opera House, we take our wonderful repertory on tour. Last fall, we had enormous success performing Divertimento No. 15 and Scotch Symphony in New York City as part of a multi-company Balanchine festival, and half of last season’s Unbound festival ballets at The Kennedy Center. We’re touring to London’s Sadler’s Wells theater later this spring with an extensive program including Alexei Ratmansky’s brilliant Shostakovich Trilogy, Unbound ballets, and Liam Scarlett’s Hummingbird. You’ll have the opportunity to see five of these Unbound ballets this season, as well as Divertimento No. 15 and Shostakovich Trilogy, all right here in San Francisco. It’s because of the enduring support of our subscribers and donors that we are able to showcase such ambitious programming, encompassing both the beloved classics and exciting new works. Thank you for being a part of the San Francisco Ballet family. I look forward to seeing you at the Opera House this season. Helgi Tomasson Artistic Director & Principal Choreographer 2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 9 Compass proudly welcomes Team Hatvany and Pacific Union Real Estate. From Pacific Heights Victorians, to new construction in Noe Valley, to Presidio Heights’ most iconic estates, Nina Hatvany has represented San Francisco’s finest real estate for nearly 30 years. Nina, Natalie, Vanessa and Paul have formed a top-producing family team. Now in partnership with Compass, Team Hatvany is redefining the real estate experience. Nina Hatvany Luxury Property Specialist 415.345.3022 [email protected] DRE 01152226 Natalie Hatvany Kitchen Broker Associate 415.652.4628 [email protected] DRE 01484878 Paul Hatvany Kitchen Broker Associate 415.652.7285 [email protected] DRE 01928433 Vanessa Hatvany Kitchen Sales Associate 415.407.5668 [email protected] DRE 02016667 SFB season guide fp template.indd 1 11/16/18 1:35 PM SAN FRANCISCO BALLET LEADERSHIP HELGI TOMASSON GLENN MCCOY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PRINCIPAL CHOREOGRAPHER Helgi Tomasson, one of the supreme classical dancers of his generation, SF Ballet pays tribute to Glenn McCoy this season, which is his 31st and has led San Francisco Ballet for 34 years and is the longest-serving sole final season with San Francisco Ballet before retirement. After working artistic director of a major ballet company. Born in Iceland, he danced for San Francisco Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, McCoy joined with Harkness Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, and New York City Ballet, where San Francisco Ballet in 1987. He served as company manager and he distinguished himself as a dancer of technical purity, musicality, and general manager before being appointed executive director in April intelligence. Tomasson assumed leadership of SF Ballet in 1985. Under 2002. McCoy has overseen the production of more than 60 new his direction, SF Ballet has developed into a Company widely recognized repertory and full-length ballets and more than 45 domestic and as one of the finest in the world. Tomasson has balanced devotion to the international tours, including engagements in Paris, London, New York, classics with an emphasis on new work, cultivating frequent collaborations Beijing, and Washington, DC. He supervised SF Ballet’s operations for and commissions with renowned choreographers such as William Forsythe, the critically acclaimed international dance festival, UNited We Dance, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, and Mark Morris, among many in 1995 and SF Ballet’s 75th Anniversary Season in 2008. He has others. He has choreographed more than 50 works for the Company, overseen tapings of Lar Lubovitch’s Othello, Helgi Tomasson’s Nutcracker, including full-length productions of Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and John Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid, which have been broadcast Romeo & Juliet (taped for Lincoln Center at the Movies’ Great American on PBS by Thirteen/WNET New York’s performing arts series Great Dance), Giselle, and Nutcracker (taped for PBS’s Great Performances). Performances, as well as Tomasson’s Romeo & Juliet, which premiered He conceptualized the 1995 UNited We Dance festival, in which SF Ballet in Lincoln Center at the Movies’ Great American Dance series in 2015.