2019 REPERTORY SEASON GUIDE

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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

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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. hosted 12 international companies; the 2008 New Works Festival, which His incredible contribution to the past, present, and future of SF Ballet included 10 world premieres by 10 acclaimed choreographers; and the 2018 is profoundly admired throughout the organization. To read a Q & A with Unbound: A Festival of New Works. Tomasson has also connected SF Ballet Glenn McCoy about his experiences at SF Ballet, turn to page 96. to the world, through co-commissions with American Ballet Theatre, The Royal Ballet, and Dutch National Ballet; and major tours to Paris, London, New York City, China, and his native Iceland.

MARTIN WEST PATRICK ARMAND MUSIC DIRECTOR & DIRECTOR, PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR SAN FRANCISCO BALLET SCHOOL

Martin West leads an orchestra that is as musically excellent as it is Born in Marseille, France, Patrick Armand studied with Rudy Bryans, adventurous. Under his direction the SF Ballet Orchestra has greatly his mother Colette Armand, and at the École de Danse de Marseille. expanded its catalog of recordings. Born in Bolton, England, he studied He won the Prix de Lausanne in 1980 and continued his studies at the math at Cambridge. After studying music at the Royal Academy of Music in School of American Ballet. In 1981, he joined the Ballet Théâtre Français London and St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music, he made his debut with de Nancy and was promoted to principal dancer in 1983. The following English National Ballet and was appointed resident conductor. As a guest year he joined the English National Ballet, where he danced for six conductor, he has worked with New York City Ballet, The National Ballet of years before joining Boston Ballet in 1990. A frequent guest teacher Canada, and The Royal Ballet. He was named music director of SF Ballet for schools and companies in Amsterdam, Florence, London, Naples, in 2005. West’s recordings with SF Ballet Orchestra include the complete Tokyo, and Toronto, Armand was appointed teacher and ballet master score of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and an album of suites from Delibes’ of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 2006. In 1998 and 2009, he served Sylvia and Coppélia. He also conducted for the award-winning DVD of as a jury member of the Prix de Lausanne and since 2010 has been the Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid as well as SF Ballet’s televised recording competition’s official male coach and teacher. He was appointed principal of Nutcracker for PBS and the 2015 in-cinema release of Romeo & Juliet of the SF Ballet School Trainee Program in 2010, SF Ballet School for Lincoln Center at the Movies’ Great American Dance. associate director in 2012, and director of SF Ballet School in 2017.

Headshots // © Erik Tomasson and Chris Hardy

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 11 SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ASSOCIATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES | 2018–19

Carl F. Pascarella, Chair of the Board and Executive Committee

John S. Osterweis†, Immediate Past Chair Lisa Daniels Christine E. Sherry David A. Kaplan Margaret G. Gill, Vice Chair Susan P. Diekman Charlotte Mailliard Shultz Mary Jo Kovacevich James H. Herbert, II†, Vice Chair Sonia H. Evers Catherine Slavonia James J. Ludwig† Lucy Jewett, Vice Chair Shelby M. Gans David Hooker Spencer Stephanie Marver James D. Marver, Vice Chair Joseph C. Geagea Fran A. Streets Nancy H. Mohr Diane B. Wilsey, Vice Chair Richard Gibbs, M.D. Judy C. Swanson Marie-Louise Pratt Nancy Kukacka, Treasurer Beth Grossman Richard J. Thalheimer George R. Roberts Jennifer J. McCall, Secretary Matthew T. Hobart Miles Archer Woodlief Kathleen Scutchfield Susan S. Briggs, Assistant Secretary Patrick M. Hogan Timothy C. Wu Robert M. Smelick Thomas E. Horn Zhenya Yoder Susan A. Van Wagner Helgi Tomasson, Artistic Director Hiro Iwanaga Janice Hansen Zakin Dennis Wu & Principal Choreographer Thomas M. Jackson, M.D. Akiko Yamazaki Glenn McCoy*, Executive Director Elaine Kartalis James C. Katzman

Yasunobu Kyogoku TRUSTEES EMERITI Kelsey Lamond Michael C. Abramson ASSOCIATE TRUSTEES Jola Anderson Brenda Leff Thomas W. Allen Ann Kathryn Baer, President,

Kristen A. Avansino Marie O’Gara Lipman Marjorie Burnett San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary President Richard C. Barker† Alison Mauzé Charles Dishman Steve Merlo, , BRAVO President Karen S. Bergman Marissa Mayer Garrettson Dulin, Jr.† Daniel Cassell, , ENCORE! Gary Bridge John T. Palmer Millicent Dunham Stewart McDowell Brady, Chaomei Chen Kara Roell J. Stuart Francis† Patrice Lovato, Hannah Comolli Sally Hambrecht Christine Russell Co-Chairs, Allegro Circle Christine Leong Connors Randee Seiger Ingrid von Mangoldt Hills David C. Cox Robert G. Shaw Pamela J. Joyner†

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS | 2018–19

James D. Marver, President

John S. Osterweis, President Emeritus J. Stuart Francis, Vice President

Thomas E. Horn, Treasurer Richard C. Barker Hilary C. Pierce Kevin Mohr‡, Chief Financial Officer Susan S. Briggs Larissa K. Roesch Elizabeth Lani‡, Assistant Secretary Nancy Kukacka

†Past Chair *Non-Trustee ‡Non-Director

12 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE The location that connects you to the best of San Francisco.

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A not-for-profit community owned and operated by Covia. License No. 380540292 COA# 325 SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ARTISTS OF THE COMPANY 2018–19 SEASON

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL CHOREOGRAPHER Helgi Tomasson

PRINCIPAL DANCERS Dores André Mathilde Froustey Aaron Robison Sarah Van Patten Ulrik Birkkjaer Jaime Garcia Castilla Ana Sophia Scheller Diana Dollar Knowles Principal Dancer Frances Chung Angelo Greco Jennifer Stahl† Joseph Walsh Herbert Family Principal Dancer Tiit Helimets Sofiane Sylve John and Barbara Osterweis Principal Dancer Sasha De Sola Luke Ingham Diane B. Wilsey Principal Dancer Carlo Di Lanno Vitor Luiz Yuan Yuan Tan Wei Wang† Richard C. Barker Principal Dancer

PRINCIPAL CHARACTER DANCERS Ricardo Bustamante† Val Caniparoli† Anita Paciotti†

SOLOISTS Max Cauthorn† Esteban Hernandez Elizabeth Powell† Lonnie Weeks Daniel Deivison-Oliveira† Koto Ishihara† Julia Rowe† Hansuke Yamamoto Isabella DeVivo† Vladislav Kozlov Henry Sidford† WanTing Zhao† Jahna Frantziskonis Steven Morse† Lauren Strongin Benjamin Freemantle† Wona Park†

CORPS DE BALLET Kamryn Baldwin† Lucas Erni† Norika Matsuyama† Skyla Schreter Sean Bennett† Solomon Golding Carmela Mayo† Natasha Sheehan† Ludmila Bizalion† Gabriela Gonzalez Swane Messaoudi† Miranda Silveira† Samantha Bristow† Nicolai Gorodiskii Davide Occhipinti† John-Paul Simoens† Alexandre Cagnat† Anatalia Hordov† Kimberly Marie Olivier† Myles Thatcher† Ethan Chudnow† Ellen Rose Hummel† Sean Orza† Mingxuan Wang† Thamires Chuvas† Blake Johnston† Lauren Parrott† Joseph Warton† Cavan Conley Madison Keesler† Nathaniel Remez† Maggie Weirich† Diego Cruz† Shené Lazarus† Alexander Reneff-Olson† Ami Yuki† Megan Amanda Ehrlich Elizabeth Mateer Emma Rubinowitz†

APPRENTICES Estéban Cuadrado† Jasmine Jimison† Leili Rackow† Max Föllmer† Joshua Jack Price† Jacob Seltzer†

BALLET MASTERS & ASSISTANTS TO THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Ricardo Bustamante† Felipe Diaz†

BALLET MASTERS Betsy Erickson† Anita Paciotti† Katita Waldo†

COMPANY TEACHERS Helgi Tomasson Patrick Armand Ricardo Bustamante† Felipe Diaz†

CHOREOGRAPHER IN RESIDENCE Yuri Possokhov

MUSIC DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR Martin West

†Received training at San Francisco Ballet School

14 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE

PRINCIPAL DANCERS

DORES ANDRÉ Born in Vigo, Spain, Dores André trained with Antonio Almenara and at Estudio de Danza de Maria de Avila. She joined the Company in 2004. André was promoted to soloist in 2012 and to principal dancer in 2015.

“San Francisco Ballet-goers have come to expect fluid, intelligent dancing from Dores André; with her bent for the contemporary, the veteran has made a mark in dozens of new and neoclassical works.” —Pointe magazine

16 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE ANGELO GRECO Born in Nuoro, Italy, Angelo Greco trained at La Scala Ballet School in Milan. He danced with La Scala Ballet before joining SF Ballet as a soloist in 2016. He was promoted to principal dancer in 2017.

“Greco knows how to move, carrying the entire stage with power and domination … his technique tidy, his energy high, and his charisma off the charts.” —HuffPost

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 17 PRINCIPAL DANCERS

FRANCES CHUNG Born in Vancouver, Canada, Frances Chung trained at Goh Ballet Academy before joining SF Ballet in 2001. She was promoted to soloist in 2005 and principal dancer in 2009. She was appointed Herbert Family Principal Dancer in 2018.

“[Chung] has only to float an arm or slide an instep across the stage to evoke a world of feeling.” —San Francisco Chronicle

18 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE YUAN YUAN TAN Yuan Yuan Tan was born in Shanghai, China, and trained at Shanghai Dancing School and Stuttgart’s John Cranko School. She joined SF Ballet as soloist in 1995 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1997. She was appointed Richard C. Barker Principal Dancer in 2012.

“It is no wonder that Tan is known as one of the world’s best prima ballerinas.” —Hong Kong Tatler

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 19 PRINCIPAL DANCERS

MATHILDE FROUSTEY Mathilde Froustey was born in Bordeaux, France, and trained at the Marseille National School of Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet School. She danced with Paris Opera Ballet before joining SF Ballet as a principal dancer in 2013.

“[Froustey] has brought a quicksilver technique, a pliant torso, witty musicality, pinpoint articulation, and sheer elan to everything she has danced … Froustey looks delicate, but hers is the strength of spun steel.” —San Francisco Chronicle

20 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE ULRIK BIRKKJAER Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Ulrik Birkkjaer trained at the Royal Danish Ballet School. He danced with the Royal Danish Ballet before joining San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer in 2017.

“… [Birkkjaer] phrases his dancing beautifully, stretching a movement to give it tension, using the transitions between steps to highlight the relationship between the choreography and the music.” —Marina Harss, dance critic

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 21 PRINCIPAL DANCERS

SOFIANE SYLVE Sofiane Sylve was born in Nice, France, where she studied at the Académie de Danse. She danced with Germany’s Stadttheater, Dutch National Ballet, and New York City Ballet prior to joining SF Ballet as a principal dancer in 2008. She was appointed Diane B. Wilsey Principal Dancer in 2017.

“The veteran SF Ballet principal is famed as much for her directness as for her exquisite technique, astonishing interpretive range, and captivating stage presence.” —Dance Magazine

22 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE CARLO DI LANNO Born in Naples, Italy, Carlo Di Lanno trained at La Scala Ballet School in Milan. He danced with La Scala Ballet and Staatsballett Berlin before joining San Francisco Ballet as a soloist in 2014. He was promoted to principal dancer in 2016.

“This young dancer is everything a Romeo ought to be: technically pure yet natural, tender yet honor-bound to fight, conflicted yet focused on his one true desire.” —DanceTabs review of Romeo & Juliet

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 23 PRINCIPAL DANCERS

TIIT HELIMETS Born in Viljandi, Estonia, Tiit Helimets trained at Tallinn Ballet School. He danced with Estonian National Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet before joining San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer in 2005.

“Helimets fulfills all the qualifications for a genuine danseur noble. He is tall and blessed with textbook proportions, infinitely tapered legs, and an aristocratic bearing.” —Dance Magazine

24 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE JENNIFER STAHL† Born in Dana Point, California, Jennifer Stahl trained at Maria Lazar’s Classical Ballet Academy and SF Ballet School. She was named an SF Ballet apprentice in 2005 and joined the corps de ballet in 2006. She was promoted to soloist in 2013 and principal dancer in 2017.

“It’s exciting to watch Stahl continue to grow, in ability and potential.” —Bachtrack

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 25 PRINCIPAL DANCERS

JAIME GARCIA CASTILLA Jaime Garcia Castilla was born in Madrid, Spain, and studied at the Royal Conservatory of Professional Dance. He was named an SF Ballet apprentice in 2001 and joined the Company the following year. He was promoted to soloist in 2006 and to principal dancer in 2008.

“Castilla goes on flawlessly to dance the solo before the duel with such heartbreaking emotion that I am moved to tears. Every arabesque, every turn is an eloquent word in a final farewell to life.” —DanceTabs review of Onegin

26 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE LUKE INGHAM From Mount Gambier, South Australia, Luke Ingham trained at the Australian Ballet School. He danced with The Australian Ballet and Houston Ballet before joining SF Ballet as a soloist in 2012. He was promoted to principal dancer in 2014.

“[Hummingbird] offers the most arresting view of Australian-born Luke Ingham and his easy compatibility with contemporary abstractions.” —HuffPost

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 27 PRINCIPAL DANCERS

WEI WANG† Born in Anshan, China, Wei Wang trained at Beijing Dance Academy and San Francisco Ballet School. He was named apprentice in 2012, and joined the Company as a corps de ballet member in 2013. He was promoted to soloist in 2016 and to principal dancer in 2018.

“… Wei Wang literally flew as the Bluebird …” —San Francisco Examiner review of The Sleeping Beauty

28 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE ANA SOPHIA SCHELLER Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ana Sophia Scheller trained at the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón and the School of American Ballet. She danced with New York City Ballet before joining SF Ballet as a principal dancer in 2017.

“Ana Sophia Scheller’s debut in the role of Princess Aurora was a resounding success in this grand production … Scheller is, simply put, a beautiful dancer.” —BroadwayWorld review of The Sleeping Beauty

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 29 PRINCIPAL DANCERS

VITOR LUIZ Born in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, Vitor Luiz trained at The Royal Ballet School. He danced with Birmingham Royal Ballet and Ballet do Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro prior to joining SF Ballet as a principal dancer in 2009.

“Vitor Luiz was picture-perfect throughout his virtuosic dancing … his performance never dissolved into sentimentality, but remained buoyant and enticing.” —San Francisco Examiner review of Giselle

30 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE SARAH VAN PATTEN Sarah Van Patten, born in Boston, Massachusetts, danced with Massachusetts Youth Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet before joining SF Ballet as a soloist in 2002. She was promoted to principal dancer in 2007. She was appointed Diana Dollar Knowles Principal Dancer in 2013.

“The feathery etherealness of Ms. Van Patten draws the eye like a magnet.” —The New York Times

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 31 PRINCIPAL DANCERS

SASHA DE SOLA Born in Winter Park, Florida, Sasha De Sola trained at the Kirov Academy of Ballet. She was named an SF Ballet apprentice in 2006 and joined the Company in 2007. She was promoted to soloist in 2012 and principal dancer in 2017.

“Sasha De Sola was radiant in the first movement … showing off her pretty feet in a series of little steps on pointe.” —San Francisco Classical Voice review of Prism

32 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE AARON ROBISON Born in Coventry, England, Aaron Robison trained at the Institut del Teatre in Barcelona and at the Royal Ballet School. He has danced with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Ballet Corella, Houston Ballet, and English National Ballet. Robison joined SF Ballet as a principal in 2016 and returned in 2018.

“… Aaron Robison … portrays the character of Victor Frankenstein poetically, with the exact kind of emotion and naiveté that’s warranted by his actions and experiences.” —The Daily Californian review of Frankenstein

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 33 PRINCIPAL DANCERS

JOSEPH WALSH Born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Joseph Walsh trained at Walnut Hill School of the Arts and Houston Ballet II. He danced with Houston Ballet before joining SF Ballet as a soloist in 2014. He was promoted to principal dancer that same year. He was appointed John and Barbara Osterweis Principal Dancer in 2017.

“The dancer to see is Joseph Walsh, flashing that million- dollar smile, all irrepressible charisma. A wonder of †Received training at San Francisco Ballet School physical freedom and control.” —The Fjord Review Principal dancer photos // © Erik Tomasson

34 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE PRINCIPAL CHARACTER DANCERS

RICARDO BUSTAMANTE† VAL CANIPAROLI† ANITA PACIOTTI† Born in Medellín, Colombia Born in Renton, Washington Born in Oakland, California Joined in 1980 Joined in 1973 Joined in 1968 Named principal character dancer Named principal character dancer Named principal character dancer in 2007 in 2007 in 1987

SOLOISTS

WONA PARK† WANTING ZHAO† Born in Seoul, South Korea Born in Anshan, China Joined in 2017 Joined in 2011 Promoted to soloist in 2018 Promoted to soloist in 2016

†Received training at San Francisco Ballet School Dancer headshots // © Chris Hardy and David Allen Soloist photos // © Erik Tomasson

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 35 SOLOISTS

ELIZABETH POWELL† Born in Boston, Massachusetts ESTEBAN HERNANDEZ Named apprentice in 2011 Born in Guadalajara, Mexico Joined in 2012 Joined in 2013 Promoted to soloist in 2018 Promoted to soloist in 2017

MAX CAUTHORN† Born in San Francisco, California JULIA ROWE† Named apprentice in 2013 Born in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania Joined in 2014 Joined in 2013 Promoted to soloist in 2017 Promoted to soloist in 2016

36 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE JAHNA FRANTZISKONIS DANIEL DEIVISON-OLIVEIRA† Born in Tucson, Arizona Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Joined in 2015 Joined in 2005 Promoted to soloist in 2017 Promoted to soloist in 2011

LONNIE WEEKS LAUREN STRONGIN Born in Los Alamos, New Mexico Born in Los Gatos, California Joined in 2010 Joined as soloist in 2015 Promoted to soloist in 2018

†Received training at San Francisco Ballet School Soloist photos // © Erik Tomasson

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 37 SOLOISTS

HANSUKE YAMAMOTO KOTO ISHIHARA† Born in Chiba, Japan Born in Nagoya, Japan Joined in 2001 Joined in 2010 Promoted to soloist in 2005 Promoted to soloist in 2014

BENJAMIN FREEMANTLE† Born in New Westminster, Canada Named apprentice in 2014 Joined in 2015 Promoted to soloist in 2018

†Received training at San Francisco Ballet School Soloist photos // © Erik Tomasson Headshot photo // © Chris Hardy

38 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE ISABELLA DEVIVO† STEVEN MORSE† Born in Great Neck, New York Born in Harbor City, California Joined in 2013 Joined in 2009 Promoted to soloist in 2017 Promoted to soloist in 2017

HENRY SIDFORD† Born in Marblehead, Massachusetts Named apprentice in 2011 VLADISLAV KOZLOV Joined in 2012 Born in Saratov, Russia Promoted to soloist in 2018 Joined as a soloist in 2018

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 39 CORPS DE BALLET

KAMRYN BALDWIN† CAVAN CONLEY Born in Honolulu, Hawai’i Born in Bozeman, Montana Joined in 2015 Joined in 2018

ALEXANDRE CAGNAT† LUCAS ERNI† Born in Cannes, France Born in Santo Tomé, Argentina Named apprentice in 2016 Joined in 2018 Joined in 2017

SEAN BENNETT† DIEGO CRUZ† Born in San Francisco, California Born in Zaragoza, Spain Named apprentice in 2011 Joined in 2006 Joined in 2012

ETHAN CHUDNOW† SOLOMON GOLDING Born in Napa, California Born in London, United Kingdom Named apprentice in 2017 Joined in 2017 Joined in 2018

LUDMILA BIZALION† MEGAN AMANDA EHRLICH Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Born in Charleston, South Carolina Named apprentice in 2006 Named apprentice in 2011 Joined in 2007 Joined in 2012 Returned in 2016 Returned in 2017

THAMIRES CHUVAS† GABRIELA GONZALEZ Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Born in Mérida, Mexico Named apprentice in 2014 Joined in 2017 Joined in 2015

SAMANTHA BRISTOW† Born in Media, Pennsylvania Named apprentice in 2014 Joined in 2015

40 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE NICOLAI GORODISKII NORIKA MATSUYAMA† Born in Lviv, Ukraine Born in Chiba, Japan Joined in 2018 Joined in 2014

MADISON KEESLER† DAVIDE OCCHIPINTI† Born in Carlsbad, California Born in Rome, Italy Joined in 2009 Named apprentice in 2016 Returned in 2017 Joined in 2017

ANATALIA HORDOV† CARMELA MAYO† Born in Santa Clarita, California Born in Las Vegas, Nevada Named apprentice in 2017 Named apprentice in 2017 Joined in 2018 Joined in 2018

SHENÉ LAZARUS† KIMBERLY MARIE OLIVIER† Born in Durban, South Africa Born in New York, New York Named apprentice in 2016 Named apprentice in 2009 Joined in 2017 Joined in 2010

ELLEN ROSE HUMMEL† SWANE MESSAOUDI† Born in Greenville, South Carolina Born in Aix-en-Provence, France Named apprentice in 2011 Named apprentice in 2017 Joined in 2012 Joined in 2018

ELIZABETH MATEER SEAN ORZA† Born in Boca Raton, Florida Born in San Francisco, California Joined in 2016 Named apprentice in 2007 Joined in 2008

BLAKE JOHNSTON† Born in Charlotte, North Carolina Joined in 2017

†Received training at San Francisco Ballet School Dancer headshots // © Chris Hardy and David Allen

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 41 CORPS DE BALLET

LAUREN PARROTT† JOHN-PAUL SIMOENS† Born in Palm Harbor, Florida Born in Omaha, Nebraska Named apprentice in 2012 Named apprentice in 2014 Joined in 2013 Joined in 2015

SKYLA SCHRETER JOSEPH WARTON† Born in Chappaqua, New York Born in Beaverton, Oregon Joined in 2014 Joined in 2017

NATHANIEL REMEZ† MYLES THATCHER† Born in Washington, DC Born in Atlanta, Georgia Named apprentice in 2016 Named apprentice in 2009 Joined in 2017 Joined in 2010

NATASHA SHEEHAN† MAGGIE WEIRICH† Born in San Francisco, California Born in Portland, Oregon Joined in 2016 Named apprentice in 2014 Joined in 2015

ALEXANDER RENEFF-OLSON† MINGXUAN WANG† Born in San Francisco, California Born in Qingdao, China Named apprentice in 2012 Named apprentice in 2013 Joined in 2013 Joined in 2014

MIRANDA SILVEIRA† AMI YUKI† Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Born in Saitama, Japan Named apprentice in 2013 Named apprentice in 2014 Joined in 2014 Joined in 2015 APPRENTICES ESTÉBAN CUADRADO† JASMINE JIMISON† LEILI RACKOW† MAX FÖLLMER† JOSHUA JACK PRICE† JACOB SELTZER† EMMA RUBINOWITZ† Born in San Francisco, California Named apprentice in 2012 Joined in 2013 †Received training at San Francisco Ballet School Dancer headshots // © Chris Hardy and David Allen

42 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE LIVE EXQUISITELY. IN SAN FRANCISCO

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For more than 40 years, the Grammy Award–winning San Francisco Ballet Orchestra has made the music that propels our movement. With a core group of 49 regular members that expands to 65 players for certain productions, the Orchestra’s repertory extends from classics such as Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Nutcracker to the more abstract and contemporary of ballet and symphonic works. Our musicians are as brilliant as individual artists as the orchestra is as an ensemble. Please visit sfballet.org/orchestra for photos of SF Ballet Orchestra musicians.

MUSIC DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR Martin West

VIOLIN I CONTRABASS TROMBONE Cordula Merks, Concertmaster Steve D’Amico, Principal Jeffrey Budin, Principal Heeguen Song, Associate Concertmaster Shinji Eshima, Associate Principal Gabe Cruz** Beni Shinohara, Assistant Concertmaster Jonathan Lancelle, Assistant Principal Heidi Wilcox Mark Drury Robin Hansen BASS TROMBONE Brian Lee Scott Thornton, Principal Mariya Borozina FLUTE Wenyi Shih** Barbara Chaffe, Principal Julie McKenzie, 2nd & Piccolo TUBA Peter Wahrhaftig, Principal VIOLIN II Ani Bukujian, Principal OBOE Craig Reiss, Associate Principal Laura Griffiths, Principal TIMPANI Jeanelle Meyer, Assistant Principal Marilyn Coyne, 2nd & English Horn James Gott, Principal Marianne Wagner Clifton Foster* Rebecca Jackson** CLARINET PERCUSSION Karen Shinozaki** Natalie Parker, Principal David Rosenthal, Principal Andrew Sandwick, 2nd & Bass Clarinet* Steve Sanchez, 2nd & Bass Clarinet** VIOLA HARP Yi Zhou, Principal Annabelle Taubl, Principal Anna Kruger, Associate Principal BASSOON Joy Fellows, Assistant Principal Rufus Olivier, Principal Caroline Lee Patrick Johnson-Whitty, ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL MANAGER Paul Ehrlich 2nd & Contrabassoon & MUSIC ADMINISTRATOR Tracy Davis

CELLO HORN Eric Sung, Principal Kevin Rivard, Principal MUSIC LIBRARIAN Jonah Kim, Associate Principal Keith Green Matthew Naughtin Victor Fierro, Assistant Principal Brian McCarty, Associate Principal Thalia Moore William Klingelhoffer Nora Pirquet* Ruth Lane** TRUMPET/CORNET Adam Luftman, Principal Joseph Brown

**Seasonal Substitute *Leave of Absence

44 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE

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EncoreSFBallet Guide 01-03-19 Tomasson2 ND2017.indd 1 10/29/18 12:20 PM 2018–19 SEASON NEWS

SUBSCRIBER NEWS

SF BALLET’S 2019 OPENING NIGHT GALA CELEBRATES SUBSCRIPTION TICKET FAQ THE PASSION OF BALLET How do I get help with ticket questions? Join us for the 2019 Opening Night Gala, This is Passion, on Wednesday, January 23. If you have questions about your tickets, call Ticket This festive evening, which the San Francisco Chronicle calls “the most stylish Services at 415 865 2000, Mon–Fri, 10 am–4 pm, night of the year,” includes cocktails, a lavish dinner, a one-night-only performance or email [email protected]. On performance days we at the Opera House, and the Bay Area’s best After Party at City Hall. keep the phone lines open until the performance begins. For more: sfballet.org/gala

SF Ballet Box Office in the Opera House is open only on SENSORIUM RETURNS performance dates and opens four hours prior to each It’s back—on Tuesday, February 26! Sensorium is an evening of dance, art, and performance. music—a total sensory experience, specially designed to introduce young adult

audiences to ballet. The evening begins with interactive pop-ups in the Opera I can’t attend a performance on my subscription. House. A program of two short ballets are then followed by a dance party What should I do? (aka selfie central).Tickets start at $29. For more: sfballet.org/sensorium Call Ticket Services at 415 865 2000 at least 24 hours before your scheduled performance to exchange your SF BALLET AUXILIARY FASHION SHOW FEATURES JASON WU tickets. All exchanges are subject to availability, and some SF Ballet Auxiliary and Sam Malouf Authentic Luxury will present an exclusive restrictions apply. Exchanges from mixed-bill programs Fashion Show from acclaimed designer Jason Wu on Wednesday, March 20 at the to story ballet programs are subject to price differentials, Bently Reserve. The event will begin with a reception, followed by the runway show, and we can’t refund the difference in cost if your exchange and a post-show reception and trunk show. For more: sfballet.org/fashionshow results in a ticket of lesser value.

o Principal Series Subscribers: No fee for advance SF BALLET SCHOOL SPRING FESTIVAL exchanges into any regular Repertory Season See the next generation of professional dancers at SF Ballet School’s spring performance. presentation of student work. Formerly called Student Showcase, the SF Ballet School o Choreograph Your Own and Story Ballet Trio Spring Festival will include three nights of performances, a dinner on opening night, Subscribers: $10 per advance exchange and new interactive activities. Performances will be held May 22–24 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater. Following the May 22 performance, SF Ballet Auxiliary o Same-Day Exchanges: There’s a $10 day-of- hosts the SF Ballet School Spring Festival Dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel performance exchange fee in addition to the above San Francisco. For more: sfballet.org/schoolfestival fees and price differentials. Please exchange tickets

before two hours prior to the performance. After SHARE YOUR SUBSCRIBER BENEFITS that time, Ticket Services only accepts ticket donations. You already know the best way to enjoy ballet is to subscribe. Now you can let a If you can’t attend a performance or exchange your friend sample a taste of some of the benefits of being a subscriber—15 percent off tickets, please consider donating your tickets for resale. single tickets to any mixed repertory program (Programs 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) as well as The ticket value is tax-deductible to the extent permitted 15 percent off purchases at The Shop at SF Ballet. For more: sfballet.org/taste by law. To donate your tickets, please contact Ticket Service as soon as possible before the performance SHOP ONLINE FOR SF BALLET MERCHANDISE and we’ll send you a receipt for tax purposes. The Shop at SF Ballet, located on the mezzanine level of the Opera House and open for all performances, is also online at sfballet.org/visit/shop. SF Ballet subscribers I can’t find my ticket! What now? and donors receive a 15 percent discount on all merchandise both in The Shop We can easily replace lost or forgotten tickets. Please (present your subscriber ID card or performance ticket) and online (log in to your call 415 865 2000 in advance to have your tickets ready SF Ballet account before shopping). for pick up at Will Call. Or login to sfballet.org, select the Tickets & Performances tab, find your performance, and CHILDREN AT THE BALLET check the box next to each ticket you would like to reprint. Excited to introduce the next generation to ballet? We recommend that children attending Repertory Season performances be at least 8 years of age. Please note: Can I buy more tickets at the low subscriber price? The Little Mermaid deals with mature themes and is not recommended for children under 12. Children of any age attending a performance must have a ticket; lap-sitting Yes! We offer discounted subscriber prices to you is not allowed. And no infants, please. when you buy additional tickets. Principal Package

Subscribers to a 5- and 3-performance series may order GLOBAL GOURMET OFFERS NEW OPERA HOUSE DINING OPTIONS additional tickets at the standard subscriber price, and As the new exclusive in-house food and beverage service provider for the 8-performance series subscribers receive an additional SF War Memorial Opera House, Global Gourmet will offer pre-show and intermission 10 percent off. Choreograph Your Own (CYO) and Story food and beverage services at four locations within the Opera House lobby areas. Ballet Trio subscribers can purchase additional tickets at Call 415 861 8150 or visit opentable.com for reservations. You may also pre-reserve the standard CYO prices. Please note that this is subject intermission food and drink by speaking to a bartender before the show. to availability and excludes special events.

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 47 PRE-PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS AT THE OPERA HOUSE

MEET THE ARTIST INTERVIEWS (AND PODCASTS) 1–1:30 PM BEFORE SUNDAY MATINEES; 7–7:30 PM BEFORE FRIDAY EVENING PERFORMANCES; 1 HOUR PRIOR TO CURTAIN ON OPENING NIGHTS; AND AFTER SELECT SATURDAY MATINEES FREE and open to all ticket holders for selected performances For an inside look at the performance you’re about to see, come a bit early. Perfect for newcomers, balletomanes, and everyone in between, Meet the Artist Interviews (MTAs) feature a conversation with an artist who worked on the performance. Curious about what our artists have to say? An archive of previous MTAs is available on all podcast players, including Apple Podcasts, and at sfballet.blog.

POINTES OF VIEW LECTURES WEDNESDAYS, 6–6:45 PM FREE and open to the public PROGRAM 01 Don Quixote January 30 Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson chats with Dance Educator Mary Wood about upcoming performances, the new dancers of SF Ballet, and restaging classic ballets like Don Quixote.

PROGRAM 02 Kaleidoscope February 13 SF Ballet dancers discuss the art of partnering and how male dancers build the necessary strength and stamina.

PROGRAM 03 In Space and Time February 20 Études is a ballet about ballet class, so join students of SF Ballet School to learn about the steps you’ll see performed.

PROGRAM 04 The Sleeping Beauty March 13 SF Ballet principal dancers discuss The Sleeping Beauty’s three pivotal dance challenges: the Rose Adagio, the wedding pas de deux, and the Bluebird pas de deux.

PROGRAM 05 Lyric Voices March 27 Join SF Ballet’s 2019 Visiting Scholar Clare Croft, PhD as she asks the question: How might ballet help us imagine “American” as an identity that can be reimagined and inhabited by many?

PROGRAM 06 Space Between April 3 SF Ballet’s Production Director Christopher Dennis and Company Manager Juliette LeBlanc discuss Arthur Pita’s spectacular Björk Ballet and how they’ll bring it and 11 other ballets on tour to London.

PROGRAM 07 The Little Mermaid April 24 Company dancers discuss how they prepare to perform the dramatic roles in John Neumeier’s ballets.

PROGRAM 08 Shostakovich Trilogy May 8 Carrie Gaiser Casey, PhD presents an in-depth analysis of Alexei Ratmansky’s Chamber Symphony, the centerpiece of his stunning Shostakovich Trilogy.

Left to right: San Francisco Ballet in Ratmansky’s Shostakovich Trilogy; Lonnie Weeks and Steven Morse in McIntyre’s Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem // © Erik Tomasson 48 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE DONOR EVENTS

Did you know that ticket sales and school tuition cover only 50 percent of our expenses each year? That makes our donors equal partners in our success. We invite donors to take a look behind the scenes at dress rehearsals, learn more about the art form at lectures, and celebrate at cast parties and other special events with artists of SF Ballet. Join us, won’t you? Just visit sfballet.org/donate or call Laurel Skehen, Senior Manager, Membership and Operations at 415 865 6628 to make your gift and receive exclusive benefits designed to enhance your SF Ballet experience. We’ve designed a wonderful variety of events for our supporters during our 2019 Repertory Season. Listed below are events for members of the Artistic Directors Council, Chairman’s Council, Christensen Society, Jocelyn Vollmar Legacy Circle, and Friends of SF Ballet. Christensen Society members and above will receive invitations to events that correspond with their performance dates. These events are marked with an asterisk (*). To receive an invitation for events on dates which you do not currently have tickets, please consider exchanging or purchasing tickets for those dates. For more information, please visit our website at sfballet.org/donor-events, or contact Ari Lipsky, Senior Manager, Individual Giving, at [email protected] or 415 865 6635.

FEBRUARY MARCH (continued) APRIL (continued) Legacy Studio Rehearsal (VLC) Open Dress Rehearsal and Reception, Open Dress Rehearsal, Wednesday, February 6 at 5:30 pm The Sleeping Beauty (PAT+) The Little Mermaid (SUP+) Chris Hellman Center for Dance Saturday, March 9 at 1 pm Friday, April 19 at 1 pm War Memorial Opera House War Memorial Opera House Pre-Curtain Dinner*, Kaleidoscope (CHO+)

Tuesday, February 12 at 5 pm Worklight Rehearsal & Reception (ASO+) The Green Room, Veterans Building Tuesday, March 26 at 6:15 pm MAY War Memorial Opera House CS Studio Rehearsal (DAN+) CS Cast Party*, Kaleidoscope (ASO+) Wednesday, May 1 at 5:30 pm Tuesday, February 12 at 10 pm Cast Party*, Lyric Voices (CHM+) Chris Hellman Center for Dance The Green Room, Veterans Building Wednesday, March 27 at 10 pm Hayes Street Grill Open Dress Rehearsal, Legacy Luncheon & Student Matinee (VLC) Shostakovich Trilogy (CON+) Thursday, February 14 at 12 pm Pre-Curtain Dinner*, Tuesday, May 7 at 1 pm War Memorial Opera House Space Between (CHO+) War Memorial Opera House Friday, March 29 at 5:30 pm Pre-Curtain Dinner*, In Space & Time (CHO+) Pre-Curtain Dinner*, Thursday, February 14 at 5 pm The Green Room, Veterans Building Shostakovich Trilogy (CHO+) The Green Room, Veterans Building CS Cast Party*, Space Between (ASO+) Tuesday, May 7 at 5 pm Friday, March 29 at 10:30 pm CS Studio Rehearsal (DAN+) Location TBD Thursday, February 28 at 5:30 pm The Green Room, Veterans Building CS Cast Party*, Chris Hellman Center for Dance Shostakovich Trilogy (ASO+) APRIL Tuesday, May 7 at 10 pm Company Class Observation MARCH Location TBA Legacy Studio Rehearsal (VLC) and Reception (SUP+) Saturday, March 2 at 3:30 pm Saturday, April 6 at 10 am CS Warehouse Event (ASO+) Chris Hellman Center for Dance War Memorial Opera House Details to follow

Trainee Performance (DAN+/VLC) Orchestra Rehearsal (PAT+/VLC) Ballet History Lecture (CON+) Monday, March 4 at 6 pm Wednesday, April 17 at 11:30 am Details to follow Chris Hellman Center for Dance Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall

MEMBERSHIP LEVEL KEY ADC | ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL ($100,000+) FRIENDS OF SF BALLET CHM | CHAIRMAN’S COUNCIL ($15,000–$99,999) PAT | PATRON ($1,000–$2,499)

SUP | SUPPORTER ($500–$999) CHRISTENSEN SOCIETY CON | CONTRIBUTOR ($200–$499) CHO | CHOREOGRAPHER’S COUNCIL ($7,500–$14,999) DAN | DANCER’S COUNCIL ($5,000–$7,499) VLC | JOCELYN VOLLMAR LEGACY CIRCLE ASO | ASSOCIATE’S COUNCIL ($2,500–$4,999)

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 49 EXPLORE BALLET

Looking to deepen your knowledge of SF Ballet and the art form in general? From classes to lectures to social events, we have a wide variety of opportunities to explore the method behind the magic you see onstage as well as to meet the artists who are creating ballet today. For more: sfballet.org/events

BALLET BASICS BALLET TALK January 13, 2–5 pm January 26, 5–6:30 pm: Don Quixote Curious about life behind the curtain at San Francisco Ballet? February 23, 5–6:30 pm: The Sleeping Beauty This three-hour seminar will give you a deeper understanding of March 19, 6–7:30 pm: Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem ballet, from its classical roots to current practice. Take a ballet class, and Bound To hear from an artist, and learn about the history of classical ballet. May 11, 5–6:30 pm: Creating New Work with Marc Brew Cost: $50/$45 (subscribers & donors) These lively events include a 60-minute talk and Q & A, BALLET BOOK CLUB as well as a wine-and-cheese reception with the speaker. February 2, 5–6:30 pm: Don Quixote Cost: $35/$30 (subscribers & donors) February 16, 5–6:30 pm: Snowblind / Ethan Frome OPERA HOUSE TOUR March 16, 5–6:30 pm: The Sleeping Beauty March 11, 6:30–8:30 pm Go behind the scenes with Dennis Hudson, former SF Ballet master April 20, 5–6:30 pm: The Little Mermaid electrician. You’ll learn about the quirky secrets and unique technical Ever wondered about the literature behind the ballets? Or wanted an and structural elements of this 1932 Beaux-Arts theater. Cost: $75 excuse to delve a little deeper into everyone’s favorite story ballets?

We’ll do exactly that: read the story, compare it to the ballet, and, of course, have a glass of wine. Cost: $20/$15 (subscribers & donors)/ $60 (package)

MASTER CLASSES February 3, 10 am–noon: Sofiane Sylve on Études (ages 15–19) February 3, 1–3 pm: Tina LeBlanc and Jeff Lyons on The Sleeping Beauty (ages 10–14) Master Classes provide an in-depth look at one particular ballet or choreographer. Designed for intermediate and advanced-level dancers, Master Classes also welcome up to 75 observers, and offer an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the rigor and craft of ballet. Advance registration required for participants and observers. Cost: $50 (participants)/ $25 (observers). For more: sfballet.org/masterclasses

BALLET CHAT February 17, 4:30–6 pm: Kaleidoscope February 24, 4:30–6 pm: In Space and Time March 31, 4:30–6 pm: Lyric Voices April 7, 4:30–6 pm: Space Between May 12, 4:30–6 pm: Shostakovich Trilogy You’ve just seen an inspiring performance. Now what? Rather than heading home, channel that insight and creative energy. Have a glass of wine, mingle with fellow ballet fans, and participate in an informal moderated conversation. Cost: $10

EXPLORING BALLETS February 10, 2–5 pm: Exploring Études March 24, 3–5 pm: Exploring Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes Take a closer look at two iconic ballets from the 2019 Season: Études and Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes. In these intensive one-day courses, you’ll learn more about these ballets and hear from the artists who perform them. Come discover why these works have become classics— and audience favorites. Cost: $50/$45 (subscribers & donors) Sasha De Sola and Carlo Di Lanno rehearsing Lander’s Études // © Erik Tomasson Bound To © by Christopher Wheeldon

50 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE Work with a Top Producer & the Animal Lover’s Realtor®

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52 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE DON QUIXOTE JAN 25—FEB 03

PROGRAM NOTES by Cheryl A. Ossola

For anyone who has read Miguel de Cervantes’ classic novel Don Quixote or seen the musical Man of La Mancha, the name “Don Quixote” conjures an addled, would-be knight and his roly-poly counterpart, Sancho Panza, who pursue adventure in the name of chivalry. But in the ballet world’s Don Quixote, it’s a love story that takes center stage—starring Kitri, an innkeeper’s daughter, and Basilio, the town barber—with the “knight of the woeful countenance” and his reluctant squire playing supporting roles.

Don Quixote is filled with physical humor and fiery dancing, topped off with a wedding—a virtuosic celebration often performed as a stand-alone ballet titled Kitri’s Wedding. But the full ballet offers much more than a fabulous finish. It’s a romantic comedy done ballet style—dressed up in tutus, tiered dresses, and bolero jackets and peopled with passionate young lovers, rowdy townspeople, dashing toreadors, the foolish Gamache, and even Cupid and her Driads (in a romantic dream sequence in which Don Quixote sees Kitri as his idealized true love, Dulcinea). There’s even a horse or two. To Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson, one of Don Quixote’s most appealing aspects is “the joy it gives you—you could say it’s a little bit of a farce. It’s nothing dramatic or psychological. It’s upbeat; it’s fun.”

Cervantes’ Don Quixote had been captivating readers for well over a century when the first ballet version was presented. That was in Vienna in 1740, choreographed by Franz Hilverding. Version after version followed: Jean-George Noverre’s in 1768, Charles-Louis Didelot’s in 1828, Paul Taglioni’s in 1850. Of the 20th-century versions, George Balanchine’s is probably the best known, partially for the perceived parallel between Don Quixote’s love for his Dulcinea and the choreographer’s for his muse, Suzanne Farrell. But the most influential version is the one by the great French choreographer Marius Petipa. He staged Don Quixote in Moscow in 1869, making changes and adding more music for a St. Petersburg production in 1871. Alexander Gorsky restaged Petipa’s version in Moscow in 1900 and again in St. Petersburg two years later, and it is this Petipa/ Gorsky version that has endured.

Don Quixote first took the stage at San Francisco Ballet in 2003, choreographed by Tomasson and Yuri Possokhov, then a principal dancer and now choreographer in residence. Possokhov grew up with Don Quixote as a student at the Bolshoi Ballet, dancing various roles, and though he and Tomasson based their Don Quixote on the Petipa/ Gorsky version, they included much of what Possokhov remembered. To help tell the story, they made some choreographic changes; for example, giving the lovers, Kitri and Basilio, an intimate pas de deux in the second act. And rather than ending with the grand pas de deux and Don Quixote’s exit as some versions do, Tomasson added music (also by Ludwig Minkus, who wrote the ballet’s score) that extends the wedding festivities.

Mathilde Froustey // © Erik Tomasson

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 53 Tomasson looks at Petipa’s libretto as a ballet version of commedia PERFORMANCE DATES dell’arte, a type of dramatic improvisation popular throughout Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. It relied on stock character types to Friday 01/25 8:00 pm enact variations on recurring themes, such as a father who tries to marry Saturday 01/26 2:00 pm off his daughter to a moneyed, older gent. She’s in love with someone Saturday 01/26 8:00 pm else, of course. Translating that plot to Don Quixote, we find Kitri, who’s Sunday 01/27 2:00 pm in love with Basilio, rejecting the older and ridiculous Gamache, her father’s choice for her. And Sancho Panza, Don Quixote’s squire, is essentially a Tuesday 01/29 7:30 pm Zanni—a stock servant character. Commedia dell’arte always involved Wednesday 01/30 7:30 pm healthy doses of deception, chase scenes, and physical humor, and Thursday 01/31 7:30 pm Tomasson says he finds “a lot of similarities. The chasing, Harlequin Friday 02/01 8:00 pm taking Columbine away—it’s the same thing here. They just happen to be in Don Quixote’s story.” Saturday 02/02 2:00 pm Saturday 02/02 8:00 pm In planning to stage Don Quixote again in 2012, Tomasson decided it was Sunday 02/03 2:00 pm time to give the Company its own production. (Previously the sets and costumes were rented from Royal Danish Ballet.) His priority in terms of DON QUIXOTE production design was to allow things to flow, especially in the second act’s transitions from scene to scene. “The second act is in three sections,” Composer: Ludwig Minkus says Tomasson, “and I like it to keep going as much as possible, at the Choreographer: Alexander Gorsky, after Marius Petipa same pace and rhythm” as the rest of the ballet, without bringing in the curtain and playing transitional music. The result is smooth transitions Staging and Additional Choreography: Helgi Tomasson between scenes. and Yuri Possokhov Scenic and Costume Design: Martin Pakledinaz Although the choreography remains unchanged in the new production, Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls the ballet was updated with a completely new look: 19th-century Spain was brought to life with scenery and costumes by Martin Pakledinaz, Associate Scenic Designer: Arnulfo Maldonado a Tony Award–winning designer whose credits include Tomasson’s Associate Costume Designer: Heather Lockard Nutcracker. Pakledinaz, who died in 2012, said that the most important Author of Don Quixote: Miguel de Cervantes resources for Don Quixote were “the visuals of Spain, both the cities and the countryside, not only of La Mancha but Andalusia. [The story] technically takes place in the larger cities of Sevilla, Barcelona, but we World Premiere (Original Petipa production): decided to create our own village.” He was always influenced by fine December 26, 1869—Imperial Ballet, Bolshoi Theatre; artists, he said; for Don Quixote, he turned to some 17th-century Moscow, Russia sources (including Francisco de Zurbaran and Jusepe de Ribera). World Premiere (Gorsky production): December 6, 1900— Imperial Ballet, Bolshoi Theatre; Moscow, Russia Working with Tomasson was “very intense in a friendly way,” Pakledinaz World Premiere (Tomasson/Possokhov staging): March 14, 2003— said. Together they brainstormed how best to tell the story, clarifying San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; characters and relationships through entrances and exits, costuming, San Francisco, California and even the palette. Tomasson wanted to stick to the traditional, and Pakledinaz responded with what he described as “a dusty study where we discover Don Quixote; a bright, Spanish, earth-toned plaza; and a The 2012 production of Helgi Tomasson and Yuri Possokhov’s plain, barren terrain with a spooky tree and a windmill.” In his creative Don Quixote was made possible by New Productions Fund Lead Sponsors process, the sets came before the costumes. “You have to find out Mrs. Jeannik Méquet Littlefield, and Mr. and Mrs. John S. Osterweis; Major what your world is before you know who the people are that inhabit it.” Sponsors Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation, and Larry and Joyce Stupski; Along with doing research, Pakledinaz said he “constantly referenced and Sponsors Richard C. Barker, Christine H. Russell Fund of the Columbia the previous production, sometimes purely for the choreography and Foundation, Suzy Kellems Dominik, Stephanie Barlage Ejabat, Gaia Fund, sometimes to see if I felt that the scenic changes or the costume changes The William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Cecilia and Jim Herbert, needed to be the same or could be readdressed.” In redeveloping a classic, and Diane B. Wilsey. he said, it’s important to “drop what you’ve seen and try to make it your original production.”

PRODUCTION CREDITS Music: Don Quixote by Ludwig Minkus. Additional music: Act I, Overture: Galop from La Source Act I by L. Delibes, with introduction by Patrick Flynn. No. 17; “Basilio’s Variation” is “Ole de la Curra” by A. S. Arista, orchestrated by Patrick Flynn. Act II, No. 21a, additional material in “Gypsy Dance” by Patrick Flynn; No. 23, “Kitri & Basilio” is “Three Spanish Women” by V.P. Soloviev-Sedoi; No. 30, Queen of the Dryads Variation: “Souvenir du Bal” by A. Simon; No. 31, “Cupid’s Variation” from Paquita by L. Minkus; No. 32, “Kitri’s Variation” by R. Drigo. Act III, No. 48, “Fandango” by Eduard Napravnik; No. 51, Finale: Galop from La Source Act I by L. Delibes, with introduction by Patrick Flynn. Assistant Costume Designer: Shawn McCulloch; Assistant Interns to Martin Pakledinaz: Hannah Kittel, Guilia Cauti, Laura Ortiz. Costumes constructed by: Carelli Costumes Inc. New York, New York; Krostyne Studio Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Parsons-Meares Ltd., New York, New York; Tricorne Inc. New York, New York; Driad tutus by Yoshi Terashima London, England; Masks, Millinery and Head Dressing by Carelli Costumes Inc. New York, New York; Karen Eifert New York, New York; Rodney Gordon New York, New York; Arnold S. Levine, Inc. Theatrical Millinery and Crafts New York, New York; Lynne Mackey Studio New York, New York; Don Quixote Armor by Costume Armour New York, New York; Painting and distressing by Jeff Fender Studio Inc. Brooklyn, New York; Fabric Dyeing by Eric Winterling Inc. New York, New York; Kimtex Fabric Services New York, New York; Lisa Sacaris Houston, Texas; Jewelry by Franklin Labovitz Washington, D.C.; Boots by Hiatt Dance Boots Salt Lake City, Utah; Pluma Portland, Oregon; Scenic construction and painting by San Francisco Ballet Carpentry and Scenic Departments at the San Francisco Opera Scenic Studios.

54 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE 02

KALEIDOSCOPE FEB 12—FEB 23

Frances Chung in Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15 // DIVERTIMENTO NO.15 Choreography by George Balanchine © The Balanchine Trust // © Erik Tomasson PROGRAM NOTES by Cheryl A. Ossola

Choreographers have long known that the music of Wolfgang Amadeus In the second-movement theme and variations, one dancer after another Mozart is great for dancing. George Balanchine, whose musical taste was tosses off a solo variation, each with a distinctive personality. Not until the quite eclectic, said he considered Mozart’s Divertimento No. 15 the best fourth movement, the adagio, does the pace slow, only to build again to a example of that musical form ever written. It’s unusual for a choreographer lively finale. to set more than one ballet to a piece of music, but that’s what happened when Balanchine decided to revive his 1952 Caracole, which he had set to Though the choreography’s intricate patterns and the violin line’s delicacy Mozart’s Divertimento No. 15. Instead of restaging that ballet, he created a give the ballet a filigreed quality, there’s strength and verve in the dancing. new one that derived some of its movement from the earlier piece. Since its The men do series of pirouettes and slice through solos with small jumps; premiere in 1956, Divertimento No. 15 has been a much-loved, crystalline the women sparkle in arabesques and embellish their lifts with languid example of the neoclassical Balanchine repertory. San Francisco Ballet beats. “It looks much simpler than it is,” Borne says. “The music is like Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson calls it crystal, and the dance is the same.” “a jewel.” Part of Divertimento’s appeal is its intimacy, and that quality is best The divertimento is a light musical form that dates back to the late 1600s appreciated from a relatively close vantage point. But like many Balanchine but reached its zenith in the 18th century. Typically composed for small ballets, it gives audiences in the theater’s upper tiers the added pleasure chamber groups, divertimenti were intended to accompany social functions, of admiring the choreographer’s brilliant use of space and the geometric such as parties and banquets, often held outdoors. Originally Divertimento precision of his movement patterns and groupings. According to No. 15 was staged with a white-trellis set, which made it seem “like a Tomasson, that kind of spatial awareness is one of the hallmarks of private garden party,” says George Balanchine Trust répétiteur Elyse Borne, good choreography. a former ballet master with SF Ballet who has staged it multiple times for SF Ballet. For Borne, Divertimento has particular meaning: She danced it the night that Balanchine died, and it was the last work she danced before she The women’s classical tutus and the men’s princely tunics lend retired from the stage. “It’s such a gift to dance. Everyone gets a moment Divertimento No. 15 an air of formality. The pace is nevertheless robust, to shine, even the corps, in little solos and demi-solos,” she says. For that not refined, with an unmatched number of men (three) and women (five) reason, it’s important to her that the dancers enjoy it. “It’s a treasure, not making for constant pairings and re-pairings, groupings and regroupings. just for the audience but for the dancers. It’s like a spiritual experience.”

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 55 APPASSIONATA SF BALLET PREMIERE PROGRAM NOTES by Caitlin Sims

Elegant precision becomes passionate abandon over the course of It’s this same expressiveness he asks all of the dancers to cultivate. one tempestuous evening in Benjamin Millepied’s Appassionata. Set to “It’s important that you feel free,” he explains. “You’re dancing somebody’s Beethoven’s Piano Sonata #23 (also known as the Appassionata), the choreography, so that’s structure that’s not yours. But within it, you have to ballet follows the music’s structure, with two dramatic movements for three be yourself. It should be different with every single dancer. couples and an intimate duet. The ballet starts with formality and decorum; as the hour gets late the costumes become less structured, pointe shoes “We want to see you,” he says emphatically. “It’s all about expression. are swapped for ballet slippers, and the women’s hair comes down. “It does Don’t forget that. That’s why we dance.” get a little more wild as it goes on,” says Janie Taylor who, with Sebastien Marcovici, staged the work for San Francisco Ballet.

This aesthetic journey of disciplined perfection to creative spontaneity ANIMA ANIMUS happens also to echo the progression of Millepied’s career. After more PROGRAM NOTES than a decade as a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, Millepied by Cheryl A. Ossola shifted into choreography, working for ballet companies worldwide as well as on the film Black Swan. When he choreographed Appassionata in 2016, David Dawson’s Anima Animus, created for the 2018 Unbound festival, he was the director of Paris Opera Ballet—one of the most prestigious jobs is, as he puts it, “physically emotional virtuosity combined to make in the field. The day before the ballet’s premiere, Millepied announced something human.” It is indeed physical, emotional, virtuosic, and human— his resignation, frustrated by the slow pace of change at the venerable but there’s something transcendent about this combination. It’s most institution. With his wife, actor Natalie Portman, Millepied returned to tangible in the section Dawson calls “Angels,” when the dancers seem to Los Angeles, where he currently directs LA Dance Project, a contemporary move beyond their mortal selves into a state of throat-clenching beauty. dance company he founded in 2012, and collaborates on film and “Don’t do what you know,” he tells his dancers in rehearsal, “do something digital projects. beyond. Unbound.”

Appassionata is less a reflection of that turbulent time than a response Anima Animus offers a rich mix of contrasts, most meaningful among them to one of Beethoven’s most beloved piano sonatas, says Taylor, who Carl Jung’s concept of animus (the male aspect of the female psyche) and danced with Millepied at New York City Ballet and now works for LA Dance anima (the female aspect of the male psyche). Another contrast can be Project: “Benjamin is definitely a music-driven choreographer,” she notes. found in the music by Italian composer Ezio Bosso. “It felt to me like music Beethoven’s Appassionata, complex and mysterious, notoriously difficult that looks to the past and the future at the same time, much how I like to to play, has been massively popular since it was published in 1807. He make dance,” Dawson says. wrote the music during his “middle” period when, aware of his impending deafness, he had a surge of creativity, bursting away from conventional classicism (sound familiar?) into new realms of imagination so profound they helped to usher in the Romantic Era of music.

Appassionata tested the limit of the five-octave pianoforte of Beethoven’s time with storms of notes that crash up and down the keyboard like a hurricane. Millepied’s choreography, fast and expansive with ever-shifting groups of dancers, matches Beethoven’s fervor. But there are also moments of stillness in the ballet. A recurring musical motif is both familiar and ominous—the Da-Da-Da-DUM later made famous in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. As a dancer pauses, this “knocking” motif brings another onstage, then repeats, hanging in the air between them like a question.

In rehearsal Millepied urges the dancers to be more spontaneous— and to focus on phrasing the movement to illuminate the subtleties of the music. “It needs to make more of a statement,” he says. “Just do one thing at a time. You’re in your pirouette and you’re running late—so what? I’d rather you be late. Then you have to accelerate, and then you’re alive.”

And, of course, it’s about relationships. “Benjamin likes there to be a human aspect in his pieces,” explains Taylor. “He wants dancers to interact with each other onstage in a very human way.” Nowhere is this more evident than in the second movement. Millepied watches closely as Principal Dancers Dores André and Ulrik Birkkjaer work through the ballet’s tender and playful central duet. It’s beautifully balanced between serenity and ecstasy, intimacy and playfulness. As they finish, he smiles. “Honestly, it didn’t look like anyone else who has done it,” he says. “And at certain moments I almost didn’t recognize my pas de deux! But I loved it. I don’t want to change anything. It’s beautiful.”

Sofiane Sylve in Dawson’s Anima Animus // © Erik Tomasson 56 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE In making this ballet, Dawson found himself responding to the polarized But don’t think for a minute that Anima Animus is odd or ugly. Dawson present-day world. He understands the world’s opposites—light and dark, compares traditional ballet to Rembrandt or Leonardo da Vinci, “and individual and group—“but between those opposites, there’s so much room of course I’m not that. I don’t want to be that; I want to be [graffiti artist] where people can have choice without judgment,” he says. Historically, Banksy. I want to take history and show somebody my view on it.” some ballet steps are for women or men only; Dawson shifts this by giving “the opposing energy as a starting point”—in other words, giving animus To get there, he starts with an internal process—which leads us back to choreography to a dancer who seems more anima, and vice versa. this idea of physically emotional virtuosity. In choreographing, “I feel my way through the movement,” he says. “Because for me, physicality is driven In the “Angels” part of the second movement, “we go to archetype,” by emotion. If someone’s angry or sad, it becomes physical—it’s expressed Dawson says. “In Jung’s philosophy, the female is the nurturer, the mother, through the body.” the angel, the pure. And the man is the warrior, the strong, the hero.” Even in these archetypes, the theme of contrasts shows. When the female In Bosso’s music, Dawson hears both hope and doom. “You are here dancers float high above the stage, “that’s when they show their form as to tell us something,” he tells the dancers. “You’re saying to the public, angels,” Dawson says. “That’s when they touch the sky and they show ‘Be careful. It’s not going to end well if you keep going this way.’” Though who they really are.” Dawson sends his dancers skyward, but he wants his message acknowledges doom, it keeps reverting to hope. “I believe them grounded too. In rehearsals, Dawson constantly asks the dancers in the universe,” he says. “We’re energy and carbon and atomic; creation to let their classicism go, asking for movement that is “deeper, squashed, is happening all the time. That’s why I love what we do, because we’re crunched. I want it odd.” embodying what life is all about.”

PERFORMANCE DATES APPASSIONATA SF BALLET PREMIERE

Tuesday 02/12 7:30 pm Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven Wednesday 02/13 7:30 pm Choreographer: Benjamin Millepied Friday 02/15 8:00 pm Staged by: Janie Taylor and Sebastien Marcovici Sunday 02/17 2:00 pm Scenic Design: Camille Dugas Thursday 02/21 7:30 pm Costume Design: Alessandro Sartori Saturday 02/23 2:00 pm Lighting Design: Jim French Saturday 02/23 8:00 pm World Premiere: February 5, 2016—Paris Opera Ballet (originally titled DIVERTIMENTO NO. 15 La Nuit S’Achève), Palais Garnier; Paris, France San Francisco Ballet Premiere: February 12, 2019— Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California Choreographer: George Balanchine

Staging: Elyse Borne ANIMA ANIMUS

Additional Coaching by: Helgi Tomasson Composer: Ezio Bosso Costume Design: after Karinska Choreographer: David Dawson Lighting Design: Mark Stanley Scenic Design: John Otto

Costume Design: Yumiko Takeshima World Premiere: May 31, 1956—New York City Ballet, Mozart Festival, American Shakespeare Theatre; Stratford, Connecticut Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls San Francisco Ballet Premiere: October 5, 1979— Assistant to the Choreographer: Rebecca Gladstone Pasadena Civic Auditorium; Pasadena, California World Premiere: April 21, 2018—San Francisco Ballet, © The George Balanchine Trust War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California

The 2018 world premiere of Anima Animus was made possible by Unbound Festival Presenting Sponsor Diane B. Wilsey and Grand Benefactor Sponsor Yurie and Carl Pascarella.

PRODUCTION CREDITS Divertimento No. 15 – Music: Divertimento No. 15 in B-flat major, K. 287. This performance of Divertimento No. 15, a Balanchine© Ballet, is presented by arrangement with the George Balanchine Trust and has been produced in accordance with the Balanchine Style© and Balanchine Technique© service standards established and provided by the Trust. Costumes courtesy of Pacific Northwest Ballet. Appassionata – Music: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 (“Appassionata”). Anima Animus – Music: Violin Concerto #1 “Esoconcerto” by Ezio Bosso. Costumes constructed by S-Curve Apparel & Design, San Francisco, California. Scenic construction and painting by San Francisco Ballet Carpentry and Scenic Departments.

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 57 03 IN SPACE & TIME FEB 14—FEB 24

THE FIFTH SEASON PROGRAM NOTES by Cheryl A. Ossola

Give a choreographer music he has never heard and often inspiration follows. That’s what happened in 2005 when Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson discovered the music of Karl Jenkins. He heard Jenkins’ Palladio and immediately wanted more. And when he listened to Jenkins’ String Quartet No. 2, he knew he had found the score for the new ballet he would make for the 2006 Repertory Season, The Fifth Season. “I felt it was contemporary to today, and it’s romantic,” Tomasson says. “Even though it’s in the minimalist genre, there’s a swell of melodic feeling underneath.”

Jenkins, one of the United Kingdom’s most popular and versatile composers, has composed for the advertising industry and a feature film, along with for orchestras and festivals. His music isn’t often used in ballet— another reason it appealed to Tomasson.

The Fifth Season takes its title from the first movement of Jenkins’ five- part String Quartet No. 2; the phrase intrigued Tomasson, who thought it suggested something beyond the ordinary. “It’s not the fifth season as in the four seasons. It said something else to me, opened up other ideas,” he says. With movements that are musically diverse—from baroque- inspired to a percussive tango to an aggressive waltz, and beyond— String Quartet No. 2 gave Tomasson varied terrain in which to explore his ideas. Because he wanted the ballet to have six movements, he added the largo from Palladio for the adagio pas de deux, expanding the ballet’s range even more.

The evocative title also made Tomasson realize that the ballet needed to have a strong sense of place. “I wanted some sort of scenic element— something that would say this is a place. The designs that Sandra [Woodall, the set and costume designer] showed me created a sense of space, its own place.”

In his choreography, Tomasson makes the most of the music’s contrasting tones, maintaining a coolness and sophistication that doesn’t obscure the music’s inherent drama. The pulse of violins lightens the strong movements of the corps de ballet; the waltz is angular, then undulating, then suspended; the dancers alternately attack and melt into the tango’s sharp rhythms. And the pas de deux has “lovely, soft, lyrical qualities,” said Ashley Wheater (then a ballet master and Tomasson’s assistant and now artistic director of the Joffrey Ballet) during the ballet’s creation. “Each section of the ballet is very different, and at first I thought they were extreme in their ideas. But you can really see how they link together.” Jenkins is often classified as a minimalist, yet Wheater described the music for The Fifth Season as having “a lot of soul.” And, he added, “Helgi picked up on that.”

Vitor Luiz in Tomasson’s The Fifth Season // © Erik Tomasson

58 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE SNOWBLIND PROGRAM NOTES by Cheryl A. Ossola

In Snowblind, British choreographer Cathy Marston zeros in on the Ambiguity is exactly what she wants—and achieves—in the ballet’s heart of Edith Wharton’s 1911 novella Ethan Frome, illuminating the ending, a trio that illustrates the characters’ struggles but also their repression, love, desperation, and dependence that underly the love interdependence. “There’s warmth; there’s passion” in the way the story triangle of Wharton’s tale. Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer ends, Marston says. The book seems like “a horror story; it must be living Helgi Tomasson notes that Marston, a storyteller at her core, approaches hell for the next 30 years, those two women and Ethan in a room together it “from the drama, as you would with an actor, and that is the driving force with no way out. And that is one reading. What I’m trying to do is look under to make this work come to life.” that surface—how do you live with someone? Well, you have to forgive a little bit, and you have to take their weight, and you have to trust.” Marston draws us into the lives of Wharton’s three central characters— Ethan, a farmer trapped by poverty, loneliness, and a dried-up marriage; Tying story and movement together is the music, a compilation of pieces his somewhat older wife, Zeena, a hypochondriac; and Zeena’s helper, by Amy Beach and Arthur Foote, arranged and augmented by composer beautiful young Mattie. The snow that dominates the setting, embodied Philip Feeney. For the ballet’s ending, Marston chose Arvo Pärt’s by 11 dancers, becomes a metaphor for Ethan and Mattie’s passion and Lamentate—delicate, haunting, and forgiving. Ethan, Zeena, and Mattie, torment. The two are blinded by love (or infatuation) and a winter whiteout moving together, inseparable and acquiescing, literally taking one and bound together when they sacrifice themselves, in an attempted another’s weight, are “a tangle that traps and supports at the same time,” suicide, to the brutal environment. Marston says. “That’s what I’m trying to get at, and to make something that is bittersweet, beautiful, and human.” In developing her ballets, Marston begins with emotions. She uses prompts in creating movement for specific characters and situations: among them “torn” and “hope” for Ethan, “numb” and “bitter” for Zeena, “dreamy” and “hyperventilate” for Mattie, “caress” and “stinging” for ÉTUDES the snow. At times she sends the dancers off with her assistant Jenny PROGRAM NOTES Tattersall to explore how these words feel in the body. This found by Caitlin Sims movement, rooted in emotion, “brings a few non-balletic steps in, which I think helps pepper [the choreography],” Marston says. “It’s like putting Études, French for “studies,” takes dancers’ prosaic daily ritual—ballet flecks of black on a watercolor.” class—and elevates and transforms it for the stage. Designed to gradually warm up muscles and get the body aligned for the day, most ballet classes Abstraction is key for Marston, in both choreography and design. “I’m not follow a standard order of exercises that start small and gradually get working with the classical vocabulary, so all these details of movement bigger and more complex. These same movements, even the smallest do get rather drowned by a big dress [in a period piece],” she says. “We pliés and tendus, are the building blocks from which classical ballets are start at the point where a story is based, and I challenge the designers to constructed. Études illuminates these classroom exercises, then illustrates reconsider how we can suggest something without spelling it out. I love how these simple steps become art. ambiguity in the right moment; it can be quite beautiful.” Études was choreographed in 1948 by Harald Lander, a Danish-born dancer and artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet. The initial inspiration came from composer Knudåge Riisager. On an autumn afternoon in Copenhagen, as he watched a swirl of fall leaves, Riisager heard someone practicing a Carl Czerny piano exercise. He decided to orchestrate the music for a ballet, brought the score to Lander, and the concept for Études was born.

Études was a departure for the Royal Danish Ballet, which at the time of the premiere, performed mostly narrative works. By 1948 George Balanchine had introduced American audiences to abstract ballet, but it wasn’t yet as common in Denmark. As artistic director, Lander revitalized the Royal Danish Ballet. He both created new work and restored its heritage—the work of August Bournonville, its longtime director during the mid-1800s. Bournonville established the company’s characteristic style of seemingly effortless jumps, quick footwork, and simple rounded arms. Although Études is a more abstract work, Bournonville’s style infuses parts of Lander’s ballet like a soft perfume.

Lander continued to update Études after the premiere, revising it for performances in Denmark in 1951, and again in 1952 for Paris Opera Ballet, when he was directing that company. He added increasingly challenging steps as well as expanded roles for three lead dancers. Lander revised the ballet a final time for a Danish television recording in 1969. Dancing in the corps de ballet for that recording was Johnny Eliasen, who came to SF Ballet to stage the work last fall.

San Francisco Ballet in Marston’s Snowblind // © Erik Tomasson

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 59 The curtain rises on dancers doing traditional exercises at the barre, “It’s important they know the steps and the musicality and hopefully the with a twist. Only the legs of the dancers are illuminated, the rest of right arms,” he says. “But each company should have its own identity.” the stage is black. The effect is a kaleidoscopic vision of two dozen disembodied limbs moving crisply through ballet steps. The “black Études culminates with one of the most thrilling displays of turns and barre” exercises may be simple, but the exacting coordination required jumps in ballet. And the female lead has an opportunity to show yet to synchronize them is anything but. “It’s a beautiful nightmare,” says another facet of her dancing. “She should be able to portray three different Eliasen. “It has to be so precise. There’s only one way [to learn it]— kinds of ballerina,” says Eliasen. “The first one sparkles like a beautiful just repeat and repeat.” diamond. The next one is a sylph. And then there’s the cheeky one.”

The ballet progresses to more and more expansive steps as the To perform Études requires a deep bench; in addition to three leading roles, dancers leave the barre. It then shifts gears with an homage to the sylphs there’s a 36-member corps de ballet that’s essential to the ballet’s success. (mythological air spirits) of 19th-century Romantic ballet. The Bournonville “It’s like a watch,” says Eliasen. “There are three hands. But the hands only ballet La Sylphide is central to the Royal Danish Ballet’s heritage, and this work if what’s behind them works.” Lander packed an enormous amount section of Études draws from the same well. “How we use our arm, how of dancing into the 40 minutes of Études, much of it for the corps de ballet. we use our hands—it can be difficult for companies that haven’t done And part of what has made the ballet such an enduring audience favorite Bournonville [ballets],” says Eliasen. While he tries to help dancers become is the irresistible thrill of seeing so many dancers moving at full velocity fluent in the Danish style (particularly by taking time to teach that same completely in sync. “It’s brilliantly constructed,” says Eliasen. “The buildup daily ritual of company class), Eliasen also appreciates a regional accent. of music at the end is so exciting. People everywhere love it.”

PERFORMANCE DATES SNOWBLIND

Thursday 02/14 7:30 pm Composers: Amy Beach, Philip Feeney, Arthur Foote, and Arvo Pärt Saturday 02/16 2:00 pm Music arranged by: Philip Feeney Saturday 02/16 8:00 pm Choreographer: Cathy Marston Tuesday 02/19 7:30 pm Scenic and Costume Design: Patrick Kinmonth

Wednesday 02/20 7:30 pm Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls Friday 02/22 8:00 pm Assistant to the Choreographer: Jenny Tattersall Sunday 02/24 2:00 pm Adaptation of Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome by Cathy Marston and THE FIFTH SEASON Patrick Kinmonth

Composer: Karl Jenkins World Premiere: April 21, 2018—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson Opera House; San Francisco, California

Scenic and Costume Design: Sandra Woodall The 2018 world premiere of Snowblind was made possible by Unbound Lighting Design: Michael Mazzola Festival Presenting Sponsor Diane B. Wilsey and Grand Benefactor Sponsor Mr. and Mrs. John S. Osterweis. World Premiere: March 28, 2006—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California ÉTUDES

Composer: Knudåge Riisager, after Carl Czerny The 2006 world premiere of The Fifth Season was made possible by The Herbert Family and the Phyllis C. Wattis Fund of the San Francisco Choreographer: Harald Lander Ballet Endowment Foundation. Staged by: Johnny Eliasen

Artistic Advisor: Lise Lander Lighting Design: Craig J. Miller

World Premiere: January 15, 1948—Royal Danish Ballet, Royal Theater; Copenhagen, Denmark San Francisco Ballet Premiere: February 3, 1998—War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California

PRODUCTION CREDITS The Fifth Season – Music: String Quartet No. 2 and “Largo” from Palladio, used by arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright holder. Costumes constructed by Birgit Pfeffer, Groveland, California. Handpainting by Connie Strayer, Los Altos, California. Scenic construction and painting by San Francisco Ballet Carpentry and Scenic Departments at the San Francisco Opera Studios. Snowblind – Music: “Dreaming” from Four Sketches Op. 15 by Amy Beach; Violin Sonata in A minor, Op. 34. II. Scherzo by Amy Beach; Young Birches, Op. 128, No. 2 by Amy Beach; 2 Piano Pieces, Op. 62, No. 2 Exaltation by Arthur Foote; Lamentate: Stridendo, Fragile e conciliante by Arvo Pärt, used by arrangement with European American Music Distributors Company, U.S. and Canadian agent for Universal Edition Vienna, publisher and copyright owner; original compositions by Philip Feeney. Costumes constructed by Parkinson Gill Ltd. London, United Kingdom. Scenic construction and painting by San Francisco Ballet Carpentry and Scenic Departments. Études – Music: Knudåge Riisager’s Études after themes of Carl Czerny, used by arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright owner. Costumes courtesy of Boston Ballet.

60 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE 04

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY MAR 09—MAR 17

Ana Sophia Scheller // © Erik Tomasson

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 61 PROGRAM NOTES by Cheryl A. Ossola

Recipe for a sublime evening: start with one beloved, time-traveling fairy tale. Add a gilded kingdom from long ago, characters clothed with richness and imagination, and classical ballet. Place these ingredients in a stunning Beaux Arts opera house and prepare them with love. The result: San Francisco Ballet’s luminous production of The Sleeping Beauty.

The Sleeping Beauty was born in 1890 at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre. Choreographed by the grand master of Russian ballet, Marius Petipa, and set to music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, The Sleeping Beauty brought to life one of Charles Perrault’s fairy tales, “La Belle au Bois Dormant” (“The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood”), from his book Stories or Tales from Times Past, With Morals: Tales of Mother Goose. Perrault created a new genre of writing: the fairy tale. Based on age-old folk stories, his tales made social commentaries, targeting the aristocracy and controversies of the day. And his stories lived on, as children’s books and as the basis for movies, operas, plays, musicals—and of course ballets.

With its demanding classical roles—for Aurora and Prince Desiré, a flock of fairies, a gathering of woodland nymphs, and the Enchanted Princess and her Bluebird—plus massive sets and spectacular costumes, The Sleeping Beauty is fare for only the top tier of ballet companies. At San Francisco Ballet, Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson decided his dancers were ready to take on the challenge in 1990. Working with scenic and costume designer Jens-Jacob Worsaae, Tomasson created a brand-new production of this beloved classic, setting it in Russia in the 1600s and 1700s, before and after the reign of Peter the Great. This imaginative design concept shows the passing of a kingdom’s 100 years of slumber via dramatic changes in costuming. The Prologue and Act 1 are Sasha De Sola in Tomasson’s The Sleeping Beauty // © Erik Tomasson in the old Russian style, while the rest of the ballet reveals the Western influences that Peter the Great brought to the Russian court—fashions Dancing the role of Aurora ranks high on the wish list of many ballerinas. from Italy and France, including powdered wigs. The production was Besides demonstrating pure classical technique, rock-solid composure, recently revamped with costumes and an Act 3 set designed by Worsaae and physical strength, those who dance Aurora must transform from girl for The Royal Danish Ballet. Although similar to his designs for SF Ballet, to woman, from childish delight to mature love. For Principal Dancer these costumes are richer, and the staircase in the wedding scene is Sasha De Sola, who dances Aurora, it’s a dream role. “It always has noticeably grander. It’s a subtle facelift, but one that enhances the splendor been,” says De Sola, adding that she used to watch a video of one Aurora of the original designs. incessantly, Larissa Lezhnina at the Mariinsky Ballet. De Sola was around 8 when she first saw The Sleeping Beauty, “and I fell in love with it right As jaw-dropping as the scenic elements are, the real glory of The Sleeping then. The first act always captured me the most; it’s so beautiful, and the Beauty is in the dancing. Simple and clean, with graceful use of the head music draws you in.” and neck and softness in the arms, it’s the epitome of classical technique and style—and difficult to return to when the dancers have spent months It’s the mesh of character and physicality that appeals most to De Sola, learning mostly contemporary ballets. “It’s classical technique at its purest “the strength and fragility of Aurora, which is different from the strength and most beautiful,” says Tomasson. “There’s so much in it that is a huge of Kitri [in Don Quixote] and the fragility of Giselle,” she says. “I find challenge to not only Aurora and the Prince, but so many other roles—all Aurora has both, and that’s really hard to master.” Finding that balance the fairies, Bluebird, the Jewels. Dancers need to keep up their classical is part of how she plans to make this role her own. “I always think of strength and vocabulary. It’s fun to be involved in new creations, but if when [legendary former ballerina Natalia] Makarova was here setting you don’t come back to your base, you’re going to lose it. That’s why it’s La Bayadère—that’s also very, very classical. She kept referring to how so important to do those ballets.” Dancers can freeze up when they’re when she watches us do contemporary [works], there’s freedom, there’s overly concerned about being correct, he says. The technique is exacting, breath—she says it’s exactly the same thing [in classical ballets]. I’m trying but “you still have to dance it. Like the fairies’ variations—they’re all to remember that. And you can find your own individuality in that, by choreographically beautiful, brilliant, and they have to be approached musical phrasing or the juxtaposition of the brilliance of the legs and feet differently. They’re giving gifts to the child.” with the softness and the nuance of the upper body. I think it’s much harder in a classical setting to find that freedom, but it’s just as important.” The style derives from the etiquette and social conventions of the 17th- and 18th-century French court of King Louis XIV, the basis for Petipa’s aesthetic Another Aurora, Principal Dancer Ana Sophia Scheller, comes to the for The Sleeping Beauty. “There is a certain style in the arms, the position role with a different perspective. She first danced Aurora in 2013, as a of the head, upper torso, and shoulders,” Tomasson says. “It has to do with principal dancer with New York City Ballet. She calls The Sleeping Beauty aristocracy—it was very proper, very elegant, very courteous. The men “very regal, very classic. It’s a hard ballet, especially for the woman.” One don’t just bow from the head; it’s through the gesture of the hand, and the example, she says, is the stamina required to dance the “Rose Adagio” body follows.” The low curve of the arms and open carriage of the upper and the solo that follows it. But onstage, deep into a character, “you’re in chest come from French court fashions. The style was intended “to show a different world,” she says. “Yes, you’re in pain and you’re tired, but at the off the beauty in that period,” says Tomasson, “with those beautiful gowns end you feel so fulfilled.” and the women’s bare shoulders and gorgeous necklaces.”

62 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE In Act 1, Aurora is young, excited, nervous—and discovering her power. The fairies, like Aurora, dance with purity and precision. And in 1890 they Later, in the “Vision” scene, when she reveals herself to the Prince and reflected the zeitgeist—the reason Violante (today’s Courage) points her makes him fall in love with her, she’s a different person. “You have to be fingers is that in Russia at the time, electricity was brand-new. But not very soft, more romantic,” says Scheller. “It’s beautiful music, and for me every dancer in The Sleeping Beauty has technique to worry about—the the second act is one of the prettiest, especially the pas de deux.” One of Fairy of Darkness, traditionally called Carabosse, doesn’t do a single the reasons she loves ballet is the music—that’s what helps her discover classical ballet step. True to her nature, the Fairy of Darkness storms about her character and forget how hard the dancing is. the stage, furious that the King and Queen didn’t invite her to Aurora’s christening. This evil fairy is an en travesti role (meaning “in disguise”), When Tchaikovsky wrote the music for The Sleeping Beauty, says Music a longstanding theatrical tradition of casting men as grotesque or powerful Director and Principal Conductor Martin West, “he was a master at women. (At SF Ballet, both men and women have performed the role.) the height of his powers. It’s brilliant music.” It’s more refined than the The Fairy of Darkness is powerful, but she’s no match for the Lilac Fairy, composer’s other two ballets, Nutcracker and Swan Lake, West says. who not only weakens the curse but also sends its perpetrator packing “You have a sense of storytelling within the orchestra.” For example, the after the “Vision” scene, leaving Prince Desiré free to find his love. Prologue has undertones of the Fairy of Darkness theme; later Tchaikovsky does a variation on it, “which allows him to transfer into another passage, Most of the time, though, the dancing in The Sleeping Beauty reigns which he’ll bring back in the Lilac Fairy theme. It’s very clever,” says West. supreme. In early rehearsals, Tomasson coaches the principal couples, “Some people will say, and it’s a little bit true, that there’s not as much finessing the partnering and troubleshooting a difficult balance or the heart in The Sleeping Beauty as there is in Swan Lake.” He thinks it’s obstacle of an in-his-face tutu. Find the softness, he tells Scheller and because the third act isn’t dramatically necessary; Aurora could wake up, her Desiré, Principal Dancer Angelo Greco; make it “grand, beautiful.” dance with her prince, and finito. But what’s a “happily ever after” story Emphasizing dynamics, he builds contrast by slowing big movements without a wedding and some spectacle? Two of the audience favorites in and speeding up fast ones. In fact, dancing The Sleeping Beauty is all The Sleeping Beauty come in that celebratory third act, the delightful about dynamics, from total stillness to lightning-quick beats and bourrées. Puss in Boots and White Cat duet and the virtuosic Bluebird pas de deux. And about respect for the music, says Ballet Master and Assistant to the Let’s allow Tchaikovsky have the last word on the music—he considered Artistic Director Ricardo Bustamante. “Choreographers today always try The Sleeping Beauty one of his greatest compositions. to outdo the music. No.”

If music ushers Aurora down the path of her transformation, so do the Tchaikovsky’s score is a critical component of rehearsals, played by a fairies. Five of them—the fairies of Tenderness, Generosity, Serenity, pianist. At one point, Martin West cues the pianist to slow down, explaining Playfulness, and Courage—attend her christening, dancing their gifts to that here the music should be heavy, “more of a feeling than a tempo,” her. (Interestingly, the Fairies in the original ballet had less lofty names: he says. The word “tempo” is too simplistic; what’s needed is a deeply Candide, Fleur de Farine, Breadcrumbs, Song-birds, and Violante. But the felt symbiosis between movement and emotion. A perfect example is the Lilac Fairy, most important of all, has always been the Lilac Fairy, with one delicate but lively build of the violins for Aurora’s first entrance. And when exception—a 1921 Diaghilev production that called her Mountain Ash.) it’s De Sola’s turn to come onstage, you’ll know what she’s thinking— The Lilac Fairy’s name comes from the Russian belief that placing a that she’s making what is “probably the best entrance in any ballet, ever.” newborn baby under a lilac tree would bring the child fortune and wisdom, and she quickly proves how much her name suits her. Her gift to the Princess, in response to an evil fairy’s curse, is her own goodness, tempering the intended curse of death to a century of sleep.

PERFORMANCE DATES THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

Saturday 03/09 8:00 pm Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Sunday 03/10 2:00 pm Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson, after Marius Petipa Tuesday 03/12 7:30 pm Scenic and Costume Design: Jens-Jacob Worsaae Wednesday 03/13 7:30 pm Lighting Design: Craig Miller Thursday 03/14 7:30 pm Additional Coaching on this Production: Lola de Avila and Larisa Lezhnina Friday 03/15 8:00 pm Saturday 03/16 2:00 pm World Premiere: January 15, 1890—Mariinsky Theatre; St Petersburg, Russia Saturday 03/16 8:00 pm Sunday 03/17 2:00 pm San Francisco Ballet Premiere (Centennial Production): March 13, 1990—War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California

The 1990 Centennial Production of The Sleeping Beauty was made possible by Lucy and Fritz Jewett, and Mr. Kenneth Rainin, with additional support from Mrs. Alfred S. Wilsey,and The Harkness Foundation for Dance. The acquisition of new costumes for the 2018 revival of this production was made possible in part by Ms. Laura Clifford.

PRODUCTION CREDITS Costumes constructed by Royal Danish Ballet, Copenhagen, Denmark. Scenic construction and painting by San Francisco Ballet Carpentry and Scenic Departments at the San Francisco Opera Scenic Studios, and by Royal Danish Ballet.

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 63 05

LYRIC VOICES MAR 27—APR 07

YOUR FLESH SHALL BE A GREAT POEM PROGRAM NOTES by Cheryl A. Ossola

Trey McIntyre came to San Francisco Ballet knowing he would make a piece about his grandfather. What he didn’t know was how that idea would play out choreographically—but he always trusts his subconscious during the creative process. And when he finished his ballet, Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem, he saw that it was about loss and remembrance, pain and happiness—a mind-meld of sorts between grandson and grandfather in a family from the American Great Plains.

The idea for this ballet started percolating when McIntyre’s father died a few years ago. Among the family photos was a 1920s portrait of his grandfather in a football uniform of high-waisted trousers and heavy boots. McIntyre was intrigued. “My grandfather was a giant like me. I’m six-foot- six and he was six-three, but that was probably six-six for the 1920s,” he says, laughing. “Even though I never knew him, I always envisioned some life perspective that he and I might have shared.”

That’s the idea he brought with him to SF Ballet. Then came the solar eclipse, coinciding with the first day of rehearsals, which McIntyre thought was auspicious. “How I pictured it,” he says, “was the sun and the moon lining up, creating this portal through time—that I had this chance to be with my grandfather, to get to know him.” The portal idea led to the ballet’s structure of two solos, danced by the same man, bookending the “eclipse” section, which could be read as vignettes from the grandfather’s life. The solo man is the grandfather, but so are all the men, conceivably.

Two aspects of his grandfather’s life give the ballet its emotional tone—death and dementia. “There is a picture I paint because he was an undertaker,” McIntyre says. Images of death permeate the ballet, in lingering leave-takings, loving touches tinged by sadness. The ballet’s ending, though, comes from a specific memory. McIntyre’s grandfather had dementia late in life, “and I remember one story of him walking around the neighborhood in his underwear,” the choreographer says. What he Benjamin Freemantle in McIntyre’s Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem // © Erik Tomasson

64 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE liked about the story was “thinking about life as reincarnation—going YURI POSSOKHOV WORLD PREMIERE through life [from childhood], and in our old age returning to a childlike PROGRAM NOTES state,” he says. “Dementia underlines that even more because you lose by Caitlin Sims the experience that you had. And so I wanted, especially in the final solo, to have it be my grandfather wandering around in his underwear and The myth of Narcissus, who falls deeply in love with his own reflection, experiencing life in reverse.” is the basis of Yuri Possokhov’s new ballet for the 2019 Season. In Greek mythology, Narcissus is a hunter known for his otherworldly beauty. After The ballet’s themes are both supported and belied by the music, songs by rejecting the nymph Echo and angering the Greek gods, Narcissus comes Chris Garneau from his album El Radio. Some of the rhythms are bouncy, upon a forest spring. Captivated by his own reflection, he wastes away, the melodies catchy; others lament, “We left too soon,” or “It drags me pining for an unattainable love. It’s a story has inspired artists and writers, down.” With these songs as a soundtrack, McIntyre fills the ballet with philosophers and psychologists for more than 2,000 years. “It’s a beautiful buoyancy, playfulness, charm—yet somehow instills an undertone of loss. myth,” says Possokhov. “And I think, inside, all men have a side “You learn happiness because you have it in contrast to the sorrow that of Narcissus. Actually, I think everyone has some of this—especially you’ve had,” he says. “I like having those elements all in play at once.” ballet dancers.”

McIntyre, imagining looking back at life after death, says “it would be pure Professional dancers spend much of the workday in studios lined with empathy for every moment.” That’s how he imagines his grandfather would mirrors, and an ongoing pursuit of perfection often leads to a complex see this ballet. “You realize that life is just this big, amazing experience and relationship with their own reflection. “We all stare at ourselves in the that the pain was just as valuable as the joy.” mirror every day for a good portion of our lives,” explains Principal Dancer Joseph Walsh, who dances as Narcissus in Possokhov’s ballet. “You know it can be bad for you, but you keep doing it. Video adds another level to it, BOUND TO and social media. You just constantly see yourself.” PROGRAM NOTES Possokhov himself had a long and successful career as a dancer at by Cheryl A. Ossola San Francisco Ballet, during which he also launched a career in choreography that has taken him around the world. Upon his retirement The curtain rises on Christopher Wheeldon’s ballet, Bound To, to reveal from the stage in 2006, he was named SF Ballet’s Choreographer in dancers mesmerized by their cellphones. For viewers the moment of Residence. Possokhov has created more than a dozen ballets for the recognition is instantaneous—we are bound to technology. In this ballet, Company, including Magrittomania, The Rite of Spring, Firebird, and Wheeldon comments on what happens to us when we’re tucked behind Swimmer. He has been fascinated by the myth of Narcissus for some our screens. “It’s a false sense of safety because you’re not actually with time, first exploring the idea in a short ballet he workshopped for someone; the screen is like a shield,” he says. When we let the world rush The Royal Danish Ballet in 2012. “There it was small, like a sketch,” by unnoticed, “we’re not seeing the beauty in life.” On the flip side, he’s he says. “We make it bigger, with more people and new music here.” addressing what we can achieve when we’re together—when we see, acknowledge, and interact without any screens to shield us. Possokhov’s ballet opens with dancers seated in scattered patterns across the stage, centered behind Narcissus. “I’m multiplying the The phones come and go in Bound To, giving the ballet something of a reflections,” he explains. “It’s like a hall of mirrors.” Even when the narrative at times; the rest of the time, they’re metaphorical. At first, the dancers start to move, one side of the stage is the mirror image of phones dominate. Later, right before a pas de deux made on Principal the other, until a solo for Narcissus shifts the perspective. Dancers Yuan Yuan Tan and Carlo Di Lanno, a dancer snatches Tan’s phone from her hand. In the pas de deux, the dancers reconnect, hardly separating, as if they need to touch each other in as many ways as possible. “It’s the idea of literal human connection, the need for the warmth of skin and not just the icy-cold blue of a screen,” Wheeldon says.

Much of the movement in Bound To features resistance, groundedness, or manipulation of the body, all of which represent both the theme and a visual aesthetic. The women do not wear pointe shoes. “The pointe shoe is something very special and quite inhuman, in a way,” says Wheeldon. “That’s one of the things that’s so appealing and beautiful about ballet— they’re like gods up there. And I didn’t want this to be about gods; I wanted it to be about people.”

As a choreographer, Wheeldon says he’s in “a constant state of evolution.” His work on Broadway and with contemporary companies is part of that evolution, as is day-to-day life. “I’m very much a person who tries to live in the moment, so what I’m reading or listening to often ends up partly informing what I’m doing,” he says. “I saw the movie Detroit the other night, which was so hard to watch, but such a reflection, especially now, of the times we live in and the times we come from and how little we’ve learned.” Enter the temptations and pressures of social media, inundating us with reminders of what Wheeldon calls this “very weird world we live in now.” Choreographing is, for him, a way to put his mind and energy into something productive. “One of the joys of being immersed in making a San Francisco Ballet in Bound To© by Christopher Wheeldon // © Erik Tomasson new work,” he says, “is that you really are immersed in it.” Bound To © by Christopher Wheeldon

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 65 Woven into the dance is an onstage countertenor singer, who connects The contrast between the old and the new in the music is meant to with the character of Narcissus, providing yet another reflection. The music reflect the duality of Narcissus. “My idea was to use a harpsichord as is a newly commissioned score by Daria Novo, a young Russian composer. Narcissus’ main instrument in two different ways—acoustic sound from a Her score centers around several Handel arias originally written for castrati. real harpsichord and processed sound from a keyboard,” explains Novo. Today these roles are sung by a countertenor, the highest male singing “Something real and organic becomes artificial and heartless. Narcissus voice, known for having a beautiful and sometimes otherworldly sound. sees himself in a river and falls in love so deeply that he dies. I tried to use this contrast in music as well.” Novo fuses classical music with modern sounds to create the ballet’s score. “I took original Handel music and integrated it with electronics and Walsh says there’s a freedom in being onstage, away from the studio my own music,” she explains, “so that it sounds interesting—and still like mirrors. “When you look toward the audience, where you’re used to classical music.” seeing a reflection, instead it’s just a void. And then you don’t have to deal with yourself looking back and passing judgement.”

PERFORMANCE DATES BOUND TO

Wednesday 03/27 7:30 pm Composer: Keaton Henson Thursday 03/28 7:30 pm Choreographer: Christopher Wheeldon Saturday 03/30 2:00 pm Scenic and Costume Design: Jean-Marc Puissant Saturday 03/30 8:00 pm Projection Design: Jean-Marc Puissant and Alexander V. Nichols Tuesday 04/02 7:30 pm Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls Friday 04/05 8:00 pm Sunday 04/07 2:00 pm Bound To © by Christopher Wheeldon

World Premiere: April 20, 2018—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial YOUR FLESH SHALL BE A GREAT POEM Opera House; San Francisco, California Composer: Chris Garneau Choreographer: Trey McIntyre The 2018 world premiere of Bound To© was made possible by Unbound Festival Presenting Sponsor Diane B. Wilsey and Grand Benefactor Sponsor Costume Design: Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung Kelsey and David Lamond. Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls

YURI POSSOKHOV WORLD PREMIERE World Premiere: April 24, 2018—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Composer: George Frideric Handel Opera House; San Francisco, California Arranged by: Daria Novo The 2018 world premiere of Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem was made Additional original music by: Daria Novo possible by Unbound Festival Presenting Sponsor Diane B. Wilsey. Choreographer: Yuri Possokhov

Scenic Design: Ben Pierce Costume Design: Christopher Read Lighting Design: Jim French

World Premiere: March 27, 2019—War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California

The 2019 world premiere by Yuri Possokhov is made possible by Lead Sponsors Athena and Timothy Blackburn, and Yurie and Carl Pascarella.

PRODUCTION CREDITS Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem – Music: “The Leaving Song”, “Dirty Night Clowns”, “Raw and Awake”, “Fireflies”, “No More Pirates”, “Les Lucioles en Re Mineur”, “Hands on the Radio” and “Black Hawk Waltz”—all written and performed by Chris Garneau, and published by Sony/ATV Songs (BMI) Courtesy of Bank Robber Music o/b/o Absolutely Kosher. Costumes constructed by Colin Davis Jones Studios, New York, New York. Video Design by Photon Creative Video Agency, San Francisco, California Bound To – Music: “Elevator Song (Kid Kanevil Remix)” (Faber Music), and “Elevator Song (Ulrich Schnauss Remix)” (Faber Music)—all written and performed by Keaton Henson; by arrangement with Faber Music Ltd, London. “Arpeggio,” “Healah Dancing,” “Nearly Curtains,” “Urgent,” and “Field.”—all music by Keaton Henson and orchestration by Matthew Naughtin; performed by arrangement with Faber Music Ltd, London. “Epilogue”—written and performed by Keaton Henson; orchestration by Matthew Naughtin; performed by arrangement with Kobalt Music Publishing. Costumes constructed by Parkinson Gill Ltd. London, United Kingdom. Scenic construction and painting by San Francisco Ballet Carpentry and Scenic Departments. Yuri Possokhov World Premiere – Music: G. F. Handel: Recitative “Inumano fratel” from Tolomeo, re d’Egitto: Aria “Lascia ch’io pianga” from Rinaldo; Overture from Rinaldo; Aria “Cara sposa, amante cara” from Rinaldo; Aria “Empio, dirò, tu sei” from Giulio Cesare in Egitto; Aria “Stille Amare” from Tolomeo, re d’Egitto; Concerto grosso No. 6 in G minor, Movement IV. Allegro.

66 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE 06

SPACE BETWEEN MAR 29—APR 09

San Francisco Ballet in Peck’s Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes // © Erik Tomasson RODEO: FOUR DANCE EPISODES PROGRAM NOTES by Cheryl A. Ossola

Justin Peck’s Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes, named for the suite by of the other men. There’s no romance in it, he says; the idea is “to show Aaron Copland, is a bounding, whooping balletic interlude of male bonding, another side, some vulnerability, in five guys, which is maybe not seen and then some. Like many of Peck’s ballets, it celebrates community— enough—it’s very striking.” but delivers it in the form of a rambunctious cohort of 15 men, with one strong female sidekick. The West is the backdrop in this sleek, modern Because the quintet is the heart of Rodeo, you might think there’s no ballet; musicality and male camaraderie are the stars. need for a pas de deux, the traditional centerpiece in a ballet. Peck would disagree. Though his ballets offer innovative movement and ideas, they are Copland’s score premiered in 1942 as the music for Agnes de Mille’s ballet deeply based in classical dance. “He admires that world so much, and he Rodeo, made for Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Three years later, Copland doesn’t want to reinvent the wheel,” says Hall. “This is a ballet; you have adapted the ballet to a suite form. Frequent fare in concert halls, the suite to have a pas de deux.” As always in Peck’s work, this wrangling between is iconic now. In creating this ballet for New York City Ballet in 2015, Peck, man and woman is multilayered. When the duet begins, the mood is resident choreographer at that company, was undaunted by the music’s flirtatious and playful. Suddenly the dynamic shifts: after a tender embrace, popularity and ballet history. “I wanted to strip away all of the narrative the woman steps away and the man brings her up short, their hands and scenic elements of the original piece and do an interpretation that clasped. “Something’s at stake then; it’s like a chess match,” says Hall. focused on the relation between the movement and the music,” he says. “And finally, when you break that tension, you go into a moment of almost His interpretation explores all the brashness and subtleties of Copland’s total bliss.” irresistibly toe-tapping score. And, in the words of Craig Hall, a ballet master at NYC Ballet, and Peck’s assistant, it has heart. Peck’s choreography is big and athletic much of the time, and in Rodeo the dancers zip across the stage with the speed of wild horses. But Peck The ballet begins with the men sprinting in canon to the exhilarating also knows how to entrap audiences with subtlety and poignancy. And opening phrases of “Buckaroo Holiday,” and it ends on an exuberant high always, his movement seems to well up from within, “like you are pouring note with “Hoedown.” In between are a quintet, to the adagio “Corral your heart out,” says Hall. Nocturne,” and a mostly lighthearted pas de deux, danced to “Saturday Night Waltz.” Peck says the second movement is the heart and soul of the Rodeo is the third Peck ballet in the Company’s repertory, and the first one ballet. The five men move through this lyrical section with a striking sense that was made elsewhere. Hall is happy to see “such a big, robust ballet” of unity. “Justin likes to say that the five men are tumbleweeds and they’re come to San Francisco. “The West Coast needs to see this,” he says. constantly rotating and re-forming and trying to figure out where their Justin is excited that it’s coming here. He loves this company—he loves standings are,” Hall says. “But they can’t act alone; they need the support the ballet dancers, he loves the size, he loves the power.”

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 67 LIAM SCARLETT WORLD PREMIERE PROGRAM NOTES by Caitlin Sims

Liam Scarlett’s premiere for San Francisco Ballet’s 2019 Season has a something else, then you don’t need to adhere to the same rules. You twist similar dark beauty as his 2016 Frankenstein, an epic retelling of Mary them a bit, so it’s clear we’re somewhere else.” Shelley’s macabre novel. And similarly, this new ballet draws inspiration from another artist’s work: in this case Rachmaninoff’s brooding and Exactly where that is will also be up for interpretation. “Everyone has hypnotic symphonic poem, The Isle of the Dead, itself based upon a wondered, “What’s the next thing after this life?’” says Scarlett. “Thinking painting of the same name. Scarlett uses the music and its history as about it raised a lot of questions for me, and I put those questions in the a jumping off point for a more abstract work exploring the deep-rooted piece.” He smiles enigmatically. “But I haven’t necessarily answered them.” questions about what lies beyond this life. If Scarlett’s Frankenstein was a choreographic novel, his new ballet is more a short story—in which Scarlett likes audiences to create their own interpretations of his work. symbolism, movement motifs, and ambiguity both color the work and “I don’t like to say, ‘This is what this is about, and this is what I want you to give viewers room to make diverse, individual interpretations. think.’ What’s onstage is relics. I think that’s the best word. It’s relics of everything I think or suppose might be, completely distilled into something Rachmaninoff’s The Isle of the Dead was itself inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s that’s hopefully ambiguously beautiful.” 1880 painting of the same name. In Böcklin’s work, a solitary boat bearing an oarsman, a shrouded figure, and a coffin traverses whisper-still water toward an island of rocky cliffs and rectangular portals encircling a grove of tall cypresses. A commission from a German widow, who asked Böcklin BJÖRK BALLET to repaint an unfinished painting of an island and add the figures in a PROGRAM NOTES boat, The Isle of the Dead was such an immediate success that he painted by Cheryl A. Ossola several additional versions. Böcklin’s illumination of a mysterious island that seems not entirely of this world resonated powerfully and, with the If you’ve never seen a ballet rave—and who has?—get ready. Arthur Pita advent of mass-produced lithography, reproductions were pervasive by delivers that and more with his second piece for the Company, Björk Ballet, the early 20th century. Russian novelist and poet Vladimir Nabokov wrote an imaginative spectacle that will make you want to jump up and dance. that The Isle of the Dead could be found “in every Berlin home” in his novel Despair. Freud had one in his office, Lenin had one above his bed, Pita never forgot the moment he first heard Björk’s music. During his and (decades after Böcklin’s death) Hitler paid a high sum for one of training at London Contemporary Dance School, a friend introduced the originals. him to Björk’s album Debut, “which I loved so much,” he says. In thinking about his music for his new work for SF Ballet’s 2018 Unbound festival, “I’m always first drawn to the music,” says Scarlett, who has a deep he wondered what he could do to make the dancers feel unbound. appreciation for Rachmaninoff’s works. The music opens quietly with a “And I thought, ‘The music is going to drive them,’ and immediately Björk slow build, all low strings and apprehension. There’s a 5/8 time signature, made sense,” he says. And, he reasoned, Artistic Director and Principal an uneven tempo that contributes to a feeling of restlessness and Choreographer Helgi Tomasson is Icelandic. “I knew [Björk’s music] foreboding. “Like waves lapping,” says Scarlett, “or breathing in and out, would mean something to him,” says Pita. or a heartbeat. There’s a definite and then a faltering step. By putting that second beat on different accents, time shifts and is not as we know it.” He pauses, thoughtfully. “If you’re making a journey to somewhere that’s not in this life, then who’s to say what time is?”

The tempo colors Scarlett’s choreography as well, as it’s not a common time signature for ballet. “Finding steps to go into five counts switches on a different way of thinking,” says Scarlett. “But once you get that rhythm, it sets [the choreographic process] up from the beginning.”

Scarlett draws upon the music’s repetitiveness in creating movement that grows and builds, then unexpectedly echoes itself. As a central couple emerges, surging forward and sweeping back in great arcs, their movements are reflected by groups that form and dissipate as easily as waves, giving the ephemeral “a sense of weight, and passing through one another,” says Scarlett.

In rehearsal, Scarlett moves through the room, encouraging dancers to think about how to shape and extend movement phrases. “When you move bigger and slower, you see everything,” he explains. “When you make sure that you enable every fiber of your body, it’s much more visceral and beautiful. It’s a matter of accentuating everything that you do just a tiny bit more.”

There’s a softness to Scarlett’s movement that heightens the ballet’s otherworldly feel. “It’s like water and how you move underwater,” he explains. “When gravity is diminished and time is warped into

Wei Wang in Pita’s Björk Ballet // © Erik Tomasson

68 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE In this ballet’s episodic form, Björk’s music provides a framework for “about falling off things and running and catching and being held. fragmented stories, dances that are more thematic than descriptive. A lone Tempestuous, deep-rooted, immense love,” he says. fisherman provides a ghost of a narrative and, because Björk’s music often references nature, a link to the natural world. Though the set is minimal The fisherman, the pas de deux couples, the pixie-like creature who flits and abstract, tall grasses create a focal point throughout the ballet. At through the action—everyone in this ballet is Björk. In trying to capture first they “appear magically,” Pita says; then the dancers rearrange them, her essence, Pita goes to extremes with his movement, giving the dancers emphasizing humans’ relationship to the Earth. flicks, squats, and lunges along with concave shapes, flung arms, and references to nature. There are cantilevered duets with an underwater Pita sees the fisherman as “the simple human being.” He wears two quality and a classically based octet, set to “Frosti,” that Pita says “should masks, one happy, one sad—an idea that came to Pita because of a duality look like a ballerina music box on acid.” And then there’s “Hyperballad,” he sees in Björk. “She’s this very playful, naughty fairy, dancing nymph, Pita’s ballet rave, with a long jumping sequence to a pumping, driving otherworldly creature, full of light and love,” he says. “And then you’ve got rhythm. “It’s a metaphor—jumping for joy, jumping for love,” he says. this very deep, mournful, sorrowful, almost tragedy in some of her songs. So it’s like the theater masks.” Ultimately, Björk Ballet is about birth, life, sex, and death, he says. When Björk sings, “it comes from such a human place,” Pita says. For him, “All Is Woven around the fisherman’s tale are snippets of love stories. In Full of Love” says everything. “It’s such a beautiful lyric—‘You’ll be given “Bachelorette,” Björk sings that “she’s ‘a path of cinders’ for the person to love,’ and ‘You’ll be taken care of,’” he says. “What a beautiful message! step on,” Pita says. At the other extreme, “All Is Full of Love” is dangerous, We have to remember that we do have love in the world.”

PERFORMANCE DATES LIAM SCARLETT WORLD PREMIERE

Friday 03/29 8:00 pm Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff Sunday 03/31 2:00 pm Choreographer: Liam Scarlett Wednesday 04/03 7:30 pm Costume Design: Sandra Woodall Thursday 04/04 7:30 pm Lighting Design: David Finn Saturday 04/06 2:00 pm Saturday 04/06 8:00 pm World Premiere: March 29, 2019—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California Tuesday 04/09 7:30 pm The 2019 world premiere by Liam Scarlett is made possible by Lead Sponsors Ms. Laura Clifford, Beth and Brian Grossman,Mary Jo and Dick Kovacevich, RODEO: FOUR DANCE EPISODES and Christine Russell and Mark Schlesinger. Composer: Aaron Copland Choreographer: Justin Peck BJÖRK BALLET Staged by: Craig Hall Composers: Björk Gudmundsdottir, Alejandro Ghersi, and Sjón Costume Design: Reid Bartelme, Harriet Jung, and Justin Peck Choreographer: Arthur Pita Lighting Design: Brandon Stirling Baker Costume Design: Marco Morante Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls World Premiere: February 4, 2015—New York City Ballet, David H. Koch Visual Décor: Arthur Pita Theater; New York, New York Sound Design: Martin West San Francisco Ballet Premiere: January 18, 2018—San Francisco Ballet 85th Anniversary Gala, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California World Premiere: April 26, 2018—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California

The 2018 world premiere of Björk Ballet was made possible by Unbound Festival Presenting Sponsor Diane B. Wilsey and Grand Benefactor Sponsor Kathleen Scutchfield.

PRODUCTION CREDITS Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes – Music: Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo by Aaron Copland, used by arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright owner. Costumes constructed by Christopher Read, Toronto, Canada. Liam Scarlett World Premiere – Music: The Isle of the Dead, Op. 29. Björk Ballet – Björk Ballet is a ballet set to a selection of existing songs and composed pieces by Björk from her album collection. Music: “Overture”, “All Is Full of Love”, “You’ve Been Flirting Again” “Bachelorette”, “Vokuro”, “Frosti”, “The Gate”, “Hyperballad”, and “Anchor Song”—all written exclusively by Björk Gudmundsdottir (Kobalt Music Publishing), “Bachelorette” which is co-written with Sjón (Universal Music Publishing) and “The Gate” which is co-written with Alejandro Ghersi (Sony/ATV Music Publishing). Performed by Björk. Courtesy of One Little Indian. Costumes constructed by Marco Morante, Los Angeles, California. Scenic construction and painting by San Francisco Ballet Carpentry and Scenic Departments.

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 69 07 THE LITTLE MERMAID APR 19—APR 28

Yuan Yuan Tan // © Erik Tomasson

70 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE PROGRAM NOTES by Cheryl A. Ossola

In The Little Mermaid, Hamburg Ballet Director and Chief Choreographer about the Mermaid’s story, Neumeier saw the potential for imaginative John Neumeier blends dance, dramatic storytelling, and spectacle richness. Its magical premise, fanciful characters, and worlds gone askew into a stunning interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fable. With make it a perfect vehicle for the kind of dance-theater he does so well. choreography, sets, and costumes all by Neumeier, this ballet—as much theater as it is dance—reveals the depths of the choreographer’s But Neumeier’s first concern with any ballet is whether its story translates imagination. And it demands the heights of artistry from the dancers, well into dance. “There are certain beautiful stories that are so dependent who must venture into deeply emotional terrain in order to convey the on words that even the essential conflict, the internal story, is not really ballet’s full message. possible to present in a nonverbal form of theater,” he says. So first he envisions what is possible to portray onstage. “I always think the job of a Neumeier elevates a fantasy into a sophisticated portrayal of psychological choreographer is not to put steps together; it is to create worlds,” he says. transformation and the resilience of the spirit, human or otherwise. Neumeier created The Little Mermaid for the Royal Danish Ballet in 2005 But with this ballet he faced a huge obstacle: finding a way for the dancers to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Andersen’s birth. Of all the famous who portray the Mermaid and her sisters to move as though they have writer’s stories, the choreographer chose this one because of its “very tailfins, not legs. “How do you do that in a ballet?” he asks. “Because I particular concept of love,” he says. “Love that is so strong that it can knew I wanted to do this story, I agreed to do it before I knew the answer overcome boundaries, that it can transport her to new worlds, although it to that.” Then, while on tour in Japan with his company, he saw a Noh play, may seem to be self-destructive—because the Mermaid re-creates herself and in it was his answer. “There is a medieval kind of Japanese trousers, at the cost of extreme personal pain. But the story teaches us, at the same which are very, very long, and watching this man moving I thought, time, that no matter how strong our love may be, it doesn’t obligate the ‘That’s it—he has no legs!’ ” For his Mermaid, Neumeier designed wide- object of our love to love us in return.” legged silk pants that add fluidity to her movements, pooling onto the floor when she stands and fanning out like fins when she is held aloft to “swim.” “Visually stunning” is how San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson described The Little Mermaid Helping Neumeier define the distinctions between land, ship, and sea is when he first saw it in Hamburg. “It was a very dramatic piece, very Russian composer Lera Auerbach. Like the abstract waves of light that emotional,” he says. Always looking for opportunities for his dancers, divide the stage visually, showing us whether we’re above the water’s Tomasson says he felt this ballet would be “wonderful to bring to San surface or below it, the music too sets the scene, evoking both atmosphere Francisco. The role of the Mermaid is fantastic! It’s very difficult, what she and emotional tone. Auerbach, a prolific, award-winning musician (and a has to do.” Tomasson and Neumeier have a long history—as a member poet to boot), earned two degrees at The Juilliard School and completed of the Harkness Ballet, Tomasson danced in Stages and Reflections, one a piano soloist program at the University of Music and Theater in Hanover, of Neumeier’s earliest ballets. “We’re talking about 40 years ago,” says Germany. Her works, performed worldwide, include ballets, operas, Tomasson. But the experience left a clear memory of what it’s like to symphonies, concertos, string quartets, and other chamber works. work with Neumeier. “He’s very demanding— he reminds me of [Jerome] Robbins in that way—every little detail has to be to his liking,” Tomasson In her score for The Little Mermaid, sweet and haunting melodies for says. “I feel that he’s a major artist, and maybe now the time is right for us violin flow into brusque passages of atonality and dissonance, making to see his work more in this country.” audible the strangeness and discomfort of being out of one’s element. Complex and changeable, with few normal harmonic progressions, in Neumeier, a Milwaukee-born American who has spent nearly his entire early rehearsals the score challenged the dancers, who can’t fully invest career in Europe, trained in Copenhagen and London and began his themselves in their roles until they have integrated movement and music dancing and choreographic careers at Stuttgart Ballet. After only six into an unquestionable whole. years there, in 1969 he became director of the Frankfurt Ballet, where he caused a stir with his reinventions of classics such as Nutcracker and Beyond its setting, Mermaid offers more riches. Written between the Romeo and Juliet. Four years later he began his tenure as director and lines of this fable about personal sacrifice was a far more touching story— chief choreographer of the Hamburg Ballet, and in 1978 he founded a Andersen’s own torment. According to Neumeier, many scholars believe school that now supplies more than 70 percent of the company’s dancers. that this story is probably Andersen’s most autobiographical work. He has created close to 140 ballets for his own company and as a guest The writer had a history of falling in love with women he could not have, choreographer for American Ballet Theatre, The National Ballet of Canada, and a few men as well. This tale of unrequited love could well be his own; and throughout Europe. His extensive list of honors includes dance and shortly before he wrote it he had suffered greatly at the marriage of Edvard arts awards from the United States, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, Collin, a love interest who did not return his affections. “So in a sense,” Denmark, and several publications. Neumeier says, “Andersen’s disappointment [about Collin] is the jumping- off point for The Little Mermaid.” Given Neumeier’s tendency to couch ballet tradition in a stylized dramatic format, it’s not surprising to learn that he holds a degree in Neumeier has played on that fact, expanding the ballet’s story to include English literature and theater studies (from Marquette University in Andersen as the Poet (who is, like the Mermaid, in love with the Prince). Milwaukee). He cites Japan’s Noh theater, a roughly 700-year-old form Neumeier didn’t intend to depict Collin specifically; instead, he says of musical drama with a fixed repertory and masked performers, as a “the historical facts inspire and help to create a new Prince—through favorite. Cultural influences permeate his ballets as well; for example, movement—in the necessary present tense of dance. You can do a lot the Mermaid’s hairstyle, makeup, and costume derive from African, of research for a ballet, but even if your subject is a historical person, Balinese, and Japanese traditional styles. In considering making a ballet you cannot use intellectual findings as a recipe book for creation.”

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 71 But as integral to the story as the Poet and the Prince are, it’s the Those edges become visible in the searing pain she endures as she Mermaid who is at the heart of this ballet. And Principal Dancer Yuan Yuan walks on the feet she wanted so much, the bizarre behavior of the ship’s Tan seems born to the role. She found a strong personal connection with passengers, the nightmarish atmosphere to the Prince’s wedding, and the Mermaid, she says, in the character’s pursuit of “unconditional love. the horror of being bound by ceilings and walls instead of free to roam an People dream about it. And [the Mermaid] tries to pursue it, and fails, endless oceanic paradise. Toward the end of the ballet Neumeier reveals, but still believes in it. I think all of us do things we want to do, and if we in his set and in the Mermaid’s actions, the trap she has laid for herself. try and fail, it’s okay; we keep going.” And yet the Mermaid’s terrible sacrifice leads not to tragedy but to Tan says she didn’t expect to experience any monumental transformations redemption, and that’s what makes this story compelling. “There is a sense as a dancer at this point in her career. But dancing the Mermaid “brought of transcendence in the last dance [the Mermaid and the Poet] do together,” my dance skill up to another level,” she says. “I have to say this role says Neumeier. “I think that the story is, in its essence, so beautiful. I don’t changed my career. I didn’t think I could have grown anymore; I thought, know of another story in literature with such a vision of love.” ‘I’m pretty comfortable with where I am.’ And now I express myself more and I have less worries about what I’m doing. I think I’ve come to a stage And that’s the secret to The Little Mermaid’s power. Yes, it offers up [where] I just feel happy to dance—not as an obligation, not as a job, but as stunningly original dancing and high theatricality. But audiences and a joy. The mind and soul—it’s all there. Life goes on, things change, and you dancers connect to it because of its story. Tan says she was shocked at grow and you learn. So it’s a combination of the whole. I’m much happier.” the impact the ballet had on her. “After the premiere, the bow, I couldn’t stop crying. And I had to get John onstage, and he was crying, and he Dancing the Mermaid requires an emotional investment on a level not gave me a hug and we cried onstage. I would never have thought this often found in ballet. The character’s psychological journey is not only would happen, but it was good.” Her face lights up in a huge smile. searing, it’s an endurance test for the dancer, who remains onstage for “Because my heart was out there.” long stretches of time. With no chance to stand in the wings and prepare for the next emotionally devastating scene, it requires a mental presence that’s immediate and committed. “John told me, ‘Don’t act,’” Tan says. “He doesn’t want the girls all doing the same stuff, because everybody’s different. Because he’s the creator, he gives you the steps and the music to express yourself.” Within the choreographer’s parameters, the dancers brought their own feelings and experiences to the role. “One time he said to me, ‘I can see you’re working on it, and I can see a lot of improvement. And now [I want] more. I will tell you if it’s too much.’” In conveying what he wanted, Tan says, Neumeier didn’t need words. “I could see through his eyes what he wanted. And he saw my expressions in my body and knew what I was trying to say. So it’s communication without speaking.”

As the Mermaid makes her way through physically and emotionally disturbing terrain, we see the world through her eyes. And so everything underwater is beautiful and serene. “She is in her element [there]— gorgeously, beautifully, and belonging,” says Neumeier. “She knows this world, and yet she has a desire to go beyond that.” But what she discovers when she leaves her watery home “is that our dreams, our answered prayers are not always what we wanted—not always as we imagined them,” says the choreographer. “The earth world, which she so desires, can have San Francisco Ballet in Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid // © Erik Tomasson some very sharp edges.”

PERFORMANCE DATES THE LITTLE MERMAID A ballet by John Neumeier after Hans Christian Andersen Friday 04/19 8:00 pm

Saturday 04/20 2:00 pm Composer: Lera Auerbach Saturday 04/20 8:00 pm Choreographer, Scenic, Costume and Lighting Design: John Neumeier Tuesday 04/23 7:30 pm Lighting Realized by: Ralf Merkel Wednesday 04/24 7:30 pm

Thursday 04/25 7:30 pm World Premiere: April 15, 2005—The Royal Danish Ballet; Saturday 04/27 2:00 pm Copenhagen, Denmark Saturday 04/27 8:00 pm Hamburg Version: July 1, 2007—Hamburg Ballet; Hamburg, Germany Sunday 04/28 2:00 pm United States Premiere: March 20, 2010—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California

The 2010 SF Ballet premiere of The Little Mermaid was made possible in part by Lead Sponsor E. L. Wiegand Foundation.

PRODUCTION CREDITS Music by Lera Auerbach, used by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc., publisher and copyright owner. Hamburg Ballet Lighting Director, Ralf Merkel. Scenery and Costumes courtesy of Hamburg Ballet. 08 SHOSTAKOVICH TRILOGY MAY 07—MAY 12

Often not particularly melodic, with rapid-fire shifts in tone and tempo, Dmitri Shostakovich’s music seems more suited for concert halls and film scores than for the ballet stage. But in the hands of choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, this music is danceable indeed. Shostakovich Trilogy, a co-production of San Francisco Ballet and American Ballet Theatre (ABT), consists of three discrete ballets conceived to be performed together. Like George Balanchine’s Jewels, the three ballets complement one another, producing their full impact when seen together. Yet each multifaceted dance sparkles on its own.

SF Ballet Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson’s first reaction to Ratmansky’s concept was admiration “for going with the same composer for the whole evening,” he says. “Shostakovich is not nearly as familiar to most audiences as other composers. And to use a little bit of his life story—I was very taken by that. If anybody could do it, it would be Alexei.” Certainly no other choreographer has shown as much dedication to Shostakovich as Ratmansky, who has set at least 11 ballets to the composer’s music.

Miranda Silveira and Wei Wang in Ratmansky’s Shostakovich Trilogy // © Erik Tomasson

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 73 To appreciate any music, it’s best to grasp the context of the times in There is always, Raffa says, the “guidance of your own integrity, your value which the composer worked. That’s particularly true of Shostakovich. system. Of hope, where there’s perhaps no hope; light where there’s Coming of age in Stalinist Russia, he, like all artists, was under scrutiny. only darkness.” He gained celebrity at an early age, and political expectations followed in the form of requests for compositions that exalted the Soviet state. Often he rebelled, and several times he was denounced by the state; he walked a tightrope between survival and artistic CHAMBER SYMPHONY choice. “Stalin was interested in music that celebrated everything that PROGRAM NOTES was great about Russia, and Shostakovich was at odds with that,” says by Cheryl A. Ossola Music Director and Principal Conductor Martin West. “He was trying to create music for all time, not just for Russia.” Chamber Symphony is as close to a narrative ballet as the trilogy gets. The lead man is Shostakovich and the three principal women are his Ratmansky, though, had Russia in mind when he created Shostakovich loves—the girl he was infatuated with but never made time for, the wife Trilogy, according to ABT Ballet Master Nancy Raffa. “This is an (and mother of his children) whose death undid him, and the young wife homage to Shostakovich, because of Alexei’s enormous admiration who shared his later years. The ballet takes the form of a retrospective— for his talent and for what he symbolizes for Russian people,” she again with the constancy of fear, this time referencing the persecution says. “But it’s also an homage to [Ratmansky’s] heritage. He grew of the Jews. (Note the Jewish theme in the music, and the fragments of up listening to and loving Shostakovich, so this was like a gift [to the folk dancing.) Loss weighs heavily in this ballet—of loved ones and what composer]. And a gift to Russia.” Shostakovich risked to be the artist he wanted to be.

Permeating these ballets are the most fundamental human emotions: In making this ballet, Ratmansky was responding to the well-documented love and euphoria, grief and despair, and deeply, pervasively, fear— fact that Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony, an orchestration of his of being watched or followed, or (we assume) disappeared, as so often Quartet No. 8, was intensely personal to the composer. He quotes his happened to those in political disfavor during Shostakovich’s lifetime. own music here more than anywhere else, and each movement bears an The color red is prominent; backdrops offer hints of Stalin-era Russia. insistent theme—his signature, “DSCH (D.Sch.),” letters in his name (written Yet all three ballets are markedly different. in German) that can be played as musical notes. The piece, which includes part of an old Russian prison song, was Shostakovich’s personal protest (the dedication reads, “In Memory of Victims of Fascism and War”), he said. SYMPHONY #9 Various sources claim that he said this music could serve as his epitaph. PROGRAM NOTES The way Principal Dancer Mathilde Froustey sees it, “we are what by Cheryl A. Ossola Shostakovich wanted to create. There is a kind of double sense—we are the instruments of Alexei and Shostakovich. There is the choreography, In creating Symphony #9, Raffa says, Ratmansky considered “the time and there is the music. There is the context of the creation of this music.” the piece was written and the emotions behind what was happening in There’s a moment in this ballet when the Shostakovich character raises Shostakovich’s life.” The first principal couple represents Shostakovich a finger in a moment of recognition. Raffa says it’s as if he’s thinking, and his wife, supporting each other in a time of great danger; the other “Everything I’ve lived through had a purpose, a meaning. I can pass couple represents “the regime, the communist party, the whole Stalin peacefully now because I’ve left something.” In the final tableau, she says, mentality,” Raffa says. “He wanted them to be almost a caricature, Ratmansky builds an image that pulls the viewers’ eyes up, to a single expressing the sarcasm in parts of the score. But everything is abstract. woman held high, as if to say “what he left is monumental. The scene is He kept saying, ‘There’s no story, but there’s a lot of meaning.’ ” like a monument to Shostakovich’s thoughts and ideas, his humanness.”

West calls Shostakovich’s ninth symphony “so much fun—it goes by like the wind.” Fun and flashy it is, but it was also was one of the composer’s acts of rebellion. West explains: “When the war was PIANO CONCERTO #1 finished, it was agreed that he would write a Beethoven’s Ninth type PROGRAM NOTES of thing, to celebrate the beating of the Nazis. He started writing it and by Cheryl A. Ossola scrapped it.” What he wrote instead—this funny, acerbic symphony— was interpreted as thumbing his nose at Stalin. “He was in big trouble,” Piano Concerto #1 is the most abstract ballet in the trilogy; Ratmansky is West says. “They were expecting something triumphal and this is just a “using the dancers as instruments, creating the music with their movement,” bit of fun. [In places] it’s like he’s mocking Stalin. I don’t know if he was, Nancy Raffa says. Yet there’s visible emotion. “Shostakovich is extremely but that’s the feeling you get.” emotional,” Raffa says. “You can’t work with his music and not have that quality in your choreography.” In Ratmansky’s hands, tension underlies the fun, giving the ballet an edge of fear. The subtext is clear: no one is safe. Raffa tells one couple, The music, Concerto No. 1 for Piano, Trumpet, and Strings, is mercurial, “You’re running away from something. The arm is like a window—look whipping from one mood to another. West describes the piece as “a very through it.” Yet the ballet is buoyed by hope, manifested by a solo good example of classic proportions where Shostakovich was able to principal man Ratmansky calls the Angel. “He’s symbolic of something take off on tangents that only a great comedy genius could do. Especially beyond our tangible, physical world,” Raffa says. “He’s a guide. Despite the last movement—it goes nuts. Suddenly he slams on a chord out of the turmoil that somebody could live [through], there’s always a way nowhere, or he’ll make it sound like he’s going to trill into a little Mozart through it. That dancer is symbolic of this.” She tells the Angel dancer cadenza [embellishment] and then doesn’t.” That frantic quality in the to “come out like you’re attacking all the evil. That means you can’t last movement may have roots in Shostakovich’s youth, when he played touch the ground. Come out like fire.” piano accompaniment for silent movies. “He was able to make stuff up,”

74 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE West says. “That’s almost how this concerto is—it’s a ridiculous play on attention to details. He said, ‘It’s like fine cuisine. You have to put in all everything.” Yet it has “all styles of music, very deep and serious,” he says, these ingredients, and they are all measured in grams. You have to use “and the slow movements are beautiful.” all that.’

Principal Dancer Vitor Luiz says he loves the contrast in the music, “The image Alexei wanted is a prisoner in a country,” continues Luiz, especially during a solo he dances. “The music shifts to this very energetic “the artists who couldn’t get out. Nancy said, ‘Imagine that you cannot go movement—it’s like showing off—and then it goes back to quiet. It’s back to Brazil, and your whole family is there—your daughter, everyone— theatrical. The image Nancy gave us was of looking out a window to see and you can’t ever talk to them again.’ And so in this moment that’s what your future, but you don’t see any future there. That already gives you the you think. You’re trying to find a solution or a way out, and you can’t. idea why you do that solo—because you have nowhere to go,” he says. Every movement has a meaning. Maybe that’s why you feel good “If you do this solo right, it will touch people’s souls.” afterward—because you feel like you accomplished something technically but also artistically.” What’s remarkable about dancing Ratmansky’s ballets, Luiz says, is that “they make you feel good.” Ratmansky shared “his knowledge and his deep

PERFORMANCE DATES SYMPHONY #9 Tuesday 05/07 7:30 pm World Premiere: October 18, 2012—American Ballet Theatre, Wednesday 05/08 7:30 pm New York City Center; New York, New York Thursday 05/09 7:30 pm San Francisco Ballet Premiere: April 2, 2014—War Memorial Friday 05/10 8:00 pm Opera House; San Francisco, California Saturday 05/11 2:00 pm Saturday 05/11 8:00 pm CHAMBER SYMPHONY Sunday 05/12 2:00 pm World Premiere: May 31, 2013—American Ballet Theatre, Metropolitan Opera House; New York, New York

SHOSTAKOVICH TRILOGY San Francisco Ballet Premiere: April 2, 2014—War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, California Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich

Choreographer: Alexei Ratmansky PIANO CONCERTO #1 Scenic Designer: George Tsypin World Premiere: May 31, 2013—American Ballet Theatre, Costume Designer: Keso Dekker Metropolitan Opera House; New York, New York Lighting Designer: Jennifer Tipton San Francisco Ballet Premiere: April 2, 2014—War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California Shostakovich Trilogy was co-commissioned by San Francisco Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. The 2014 SF Ballet premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Shostakovich Trilogy was made possible by New Productions Fund Lead Sponsors Mrs. Jeannik Méquet Littlefield, and Mr. and Mrs. John S. Osterweis; Major Sponsors Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation, and Larry and Joyce Stupski; and Sponsors Richard C. Barker, Christine H. Russell Fund of the Columbia Foundation, Suzy Kellems Dominik, Stephanie Barlage Ejabat, Gaia Fund, The William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Cecilia and Jim Herbert, and Diane B. Wilsey.

PRODUCTION CREDITS Scenic construction by R.A. Reed-USA, Inc., Portland, Oregon, and Scenic Art Studios, Newburgh, New York. Costumes constructed by Artur & Tailors Ltd., New York, New York, and Euro Co. Costumes, Inc., New York, New York. Costume dyeing and digital printing by Dyenamix Inc., and Raylene Marasco, New York, New York. Symphony #9 – Music: Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 70 by Dmitri Shostakovich, used by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc., publisher and sole copyright owner. Photo image © Estate of George Platt Lynes. Chamber Symphony – Music: Shostakovich/Barshai: Chamber Symphony (after String Quartet No. 8), Op. 110a used by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc., publisher and sole copyright owner. Design based on a painting by Pavel Filonov. Piano Concerto #1 – Music: Concerto No. 1 for Piano, Trumpet, and String Orchestra, Op. 35 by Dmitri Shostakovich, used by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc., publisher and sole copyright owner.

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 75 SAN FRANCISCO BALLET STAFF

HELGI TOMASSON MUSIC MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR MARTIN WEST, Music Director JULIE BEGLEY, Chief Marketing Officer & PRINCIPAL CHOREOGRAPHER & Principal Conductor You You Xia, Director of Communications GLENN MCCOY Mungunchimeg Buriad, Natal'ya Feygina, Mary Goto, Associate Director, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Nina Pinzarrone, Company Pianists Analytics & Relationship Marketing Tracy Davis, Orchestra Personnel Manager Valerie Megas, Senior Manager, & Music Administrator Retail Operations Matthew Naughtin, Music Librarian Monica Cheng, Senior Manager, ARTISTIC Graphic Design Ricardo Bustamante, Felipe Diaz, Caitlin Sims, Senior Manager, Ballet Masters & Assistants Content & Editorial to the Artistic Director ADMINISTRATION Matthew Donnelly, Video Production Manager Betsy Erickson, Anita Paciotti, Katita Waldo, DARIN CONLEY-BUCHSIEB, Jane Ann Chien, Web & Digital Ballet Masters Human Resources Director Platforms Manager Yuri Possokhov, Choreographer in Residence Jennifer French Kovacevich, Jillian Vasquez, Marketing Amelia Bear, Artistic Administrator Interim Board Relations Manager & Promotions Manager Logistics Manager Human Resources Generalist Alan Takata-Villareal, Kayla Harris, Abby Masters, Marketing Operations Manager Assistant to the Assistant to Mateo Santos Perry, Katharine Chambers, Kate McKinney, PR & Communications Artistic Staff Senior Executive Staff Manager

Nannette Mickle, Group Sales Representative

Lea Lamprecht, Social Media Producer Emily Munoz, Relationship Marketing OPERATIONS DEVELOPMENT Coordinator DEBRA BERNARD, General Manager DANIELLE ST.GERMAIN-GORDON, Chief Development Officer Rachel Bauer, Media Asset Administrator Juliette LeBlanc, Company Manager Deputy Director Francis Zhou, Graphic Designer Amy Hand, Operations Manager Elizabeth Lani, of Development/Planned Giving

Operations & Membership TICKET SERVICES PRODUCTION Laurel Skehen, Senior Manager, Membership & Operations BETSY LINDSEY, Director of Ticket CHRISTOPHER DENNIS, Production Director & Patron Services Technical Manager Ashley Rits, Development Operations Manager Daniel Thomas, Jennifer Peterian, Senior Manager, Juanita Lam, Development Coordinator Kate Share, Manager of Wardrobe, Wig, Ticket & Patron Services Make-up & Costume Construction Jim Sohm, Research Manager Mark Holleman, Sales & Service Manager Lighting Supervisor Jim French, Elena Ratto, Patron Services Specialist Production Stage Manager Institutional Giving Jane Green, Megan Quintal, Ticket Services Kathryn Orr, Stage Manager Elizabeth Luu, Associate Director Database Specialist of Development, Institutional Giving Nixon Bracisco, Master Carpenter Arielle Hazan, Jericho Lindsey, Corporate Giving Manager Kelly Corter Kelly, Master Electrician Colette Whitney, Patricia Pearson, Michelle Schafer, Institutional Giving Kenneth M. Ryan, Master of Properties Megan Anderson, Cherryl Usi, Ticket Services Associates Associate Kevin Kirby, Audio Engineer Stella Ji, Institutional Giving Intern John O'Donnell, Flyman Patti Fitzpatrick, Head of Women’s Wardrobe Special Events FINANCE Paige Howie, Head of Men's Wardrobe Ingrid Roman, Associate Director KEVIN MOHR, Chief Financial Officer Richard Battle, Head of Hair & Make-up of Development, Events Kristin Klingvall, Controller Thomas Richards-Keyes, Assistant Head Emma Lundberg, Special Events Coordinator of Hair & Make-up Valerie Ruban, Accounting Supervisor Meg Sullivan, Special Events Coordinator Evangelina Maravilla, Payroll Manager Matthew Czarnecki, Senior Accountant Individual Giving Jonathan Creecy, Leanna Wright, Sarah Warner, Associate Director Staff Accountants of Development, Individual Giving Brent Radeke, Major Gifts Officer Ari Lipsky, Senior Manager, Individual Giving Tilly Chiles, Individual Giving Officer Haley O’Neil, Individual Giving Coordinator

76 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE FACILITIES Jordan Hammond-Tilton Naima McQueen, Residence Manager NATHAN BRITO, Facilities Manager Tina LeBlanc Matt McCourt, Kayla Murkison, Scott Christenson, Facilities Supervisor Jeffrey Lyons Resident Assistants Adrian Rodriguez, Facilities Coordinator Ilona McHugh Leslie Donohue, Chris Fitzsimons, School Physical Therapists Todd Martin, Stanley Wong, Pascal Molat, Ballet & Trainee Facilities Assistants Program Assistant Neil Miller, Weekend Facilities Assistant Anne-Sophie Rodriguez Dance in Schools & Communities Teaching Artists Tamara de la Cruz, Nicole Drysdale, Henry Berg, Conditioning Yana Vincent, Receptionists Brian Fisher, Dexandro Montalvo, Alisa Clayton Contemporary Dance Sammay Dizon Dana Genshaft, Ballet, Contemporary Cynthia Pepper Repertoire & Conditioning Phoenicia Pettyjohn INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Jamie Narushchen, Daniel Sullivan, Jessica Recinos MURRAY BOGNOVITZ, Director of Music Joti Singh Information Technology Jennie Scholick, PhD., Dance History Genoa Sperske Stacy Desimini, IT Operations Cecelia Beam, Adult Ballet & Dance for Maura Whelehan & Project Manager Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease Karen Irvin, Application Administrator Lisa Giannone, & Help Desk Coordinator Conditioning Class Consultant Dance in Schools & Communities Josh Marshall, Web Administrator Sofiane Sylve, Principal Guest Faculty Accompanists Jiapeng Jiang, IT Specialist Julio Bocca, Monique Loudieres, David Frazier 2018–19 Guest Faculty Omar Ledezma FRONT OF HOUSE Zeke Nealy JAMYE DIVILA, House Manager Wade Peterson Marialice Dockus, Head Usher School Pianists Bongo Sidibe Rodney Anderson, Danica Burt, Jamie Narushchen, School Pianist Supervisor,

Frank Chow, Laurent De La Cruz, Lee R. Crews Endowed Pianist

Martin Dias, Jonathan S. Drogin, Ella Belilovskaya, Julia Ganina, Chip Heath, Elaine Kawasaki, Ritsuko Micky Kubo, Daniel Sullivan, Eileen Keremitsis, Ryszard Koprowski, COMPANY PHYSICIANS Katelyn Tan, Sky Tan, Galina Umanskaya, Bill Laschuk, Sharon Lee, Richard Gibbs, M.D. & Rowan Paul, M.D., Linli Wang, Billy Wolfe, School Pianists Marilyn Leong, Lenore Long, Supervising Physicians Doug Luyendyk, Leontyne Mbele-Mbong, Michael Leslie, PT, Sam Mesinger, Dale Nedelco, Wayne Noel, Director, Dancer Wellness Center Beth Norris, Jan Padover, Julie Peck, Education & Training Administration Kristin Wingfield, M.D., Robbie Remple, Bill Repp, Rilla Reynolds, ANDREA YANNONE, Director of Education Primary Care Sports Medicine Robyn Sandberg, Kelly Ann Smith, & Training Frederic Bost, M.D., On-site Orthopedist Melissa Stern, Theresa Sun, Associate Director Jennie Scholick, PhD., Peter Callander, M.D., Keith Donatto, M.D., Claire Tremblay, Richard Wagner, of Audience Engagement Jon Dickinson, M.D., Orthopedic Advisors Steve Weiss, Elaine Yee, Ushers Christina Gray Rutter, Associate Director to the Company

of School Administration Karl Schmetz, Consulting Physical Therapist Associate Director Jasmine Yep Huynh, Active Care, Lisa Giannone, of Youth and Community Programs EDUCATION & TRAINING Director, Off-site Physical Therapy Tai Vogel, School Registrar and & Conditioning Classes San Francisco Ballet School Summer Session Coordinator Leonard Stein, D.C., Chiropractic Care HELGI TOMASSON, Artistic Director School Programs Coordinator Karen Johnson, Henry Berg, Rehabilitation Class Instructor PATRICK ARMAND, Director Aurelia Moulin, School Logistics Coordinator Gabrielle Shuman, Wellness Program Manager Amanda Alef, Education Coordinator School Faculty Administrative Assistant, Patrick Armand Miles Petty, Education & Training Kristi DeCaminada Pamela Clark, Education Assistant Jaime Diaz, Ballet & Boys Strengthening Cecelia Beam, Audience Engagement Karen Gabay Coordinator

The artists employed by San Francisco Ballet are members of the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO, the Union of professional dancers, singers, and staging personnel in the United States. The San Francisco Ballet Association is a member of Dance/USA; American Arts Alliance; the Greater San Francisco Chamber of Commerce; and the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau. Legal Services provided by Adler & Colvin; Fallon Bixby Cheng & Lee; Fettmann Ginsburg, PC; Blue Skies Immigration Services; Epstein Becker & Green, PC; Littler Mendelson, PC; Miller Law Group; and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Audit services provided by Grant Thornton LLP. Insurance brokerage services provided by DeWitt Stern Group.

The Centers for Sports and Dance Medicine at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital are the official health care providers for San Francisco Ballet School. Special thanks to Dr. Susan Lewis, Dr. Jane Denton, Dr. Rémy Aridizzone, Christine Corpus, and the Physical Therapy Department for generously providing their services.

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 77 ART / MOVEMENT / DESIGN

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Don Quixote The Sleeping Beauty PROGRAM SPONSOR LEAD SPONSOR LEAD SPONSORS The Bernard Osher Foundation Margaret and Will Hearst Mr. James D. Marver

MAJOR SPONSOR Judy C. Swanson Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes Anonymous SF Ballet Auxiliary SPONSOR MAJOR SPONSORS BRAVO

Innovation Global Capital Mr. and Mrs. James C. Katzman Liam Scarlett World Premiere PROGRAM O2 Richard Thalheimer Family LEAD SPONSORS Divertimento No. 15 SPONSOR Ms. Laura Clifford MAJOR SPONSOR Joseph and Marianne Geagea Beth and Brian Grossman Catherine and Mark Slavonia Mary Jo and Dick Kovacevich SPONSOR Christine Russell and Mark Schlesinger

ENCORE! PROGRAM O5 Björk Ballet Appassionata Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem MAJOR SPONSORS LEAD SPONSOR MAJOR SPONSOR Hannah and Kevin Comolli Kelsey and David Lamond Brenda and Alexander Leff Kathleen Scutchfield MAJOR SPONSOR SPONSOR Kathleen Grant, M.D. and O.J. and Gary Shansby Thomas Jackson, M.D. Mrs. Joyce L. Stupski Bound To PROGRAM O7 The Little Mermaid LEAD SPONSORS Anima Animus Sonia H. Evers MAJOR SPONSORS SPONSOR Alison and Michael Mauzé In Memory of Carole Demsky Kacie and Michael Renc Denise Littlefield Sobel Marie and Barry Lipman

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PROGRAM O3 Yuri Possokhov World Premiere The Fifth Season LEAD SPONSORS SPONSOR PROGRAM O8 Athena and Timothy Blackburn H. B. and Lucille Horn Foundation Shostakovich Trilogy Yurie and Carl Pascarella LEAD SPONSORS Snowblind Mr. Richard C. Barker

LEAD SPONSOR Teri and Andy Goodman Randee Seiger Mr. and Mrs. John S. Osterweis

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SATURDAY NIGHT Études SUBSCRIPTION SERIES SPONSOR Lucy and Fritz Jewett Saturday Night Series John G. Capo and Orlando Diaz-Azcuy

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2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 79 SAN FRANCISCO BALLET SEASON SPONSORS CONTINUED

THIS IS PASSION GENERAL 2019 Opening Night Gala

PRESENTING SPONSOR

Osterweis Capital Management San Francisco Ballet gratefully acknowledges San Francisco Grants for the Arts, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts for their support. PERFORMANCE SPONSOR Laura Clifford, in memory of Erna Clifford Official Gym of San Francisco Ballet Media Sponsor BENEFACTOR DINNER SPONSOR KPMG

PATRON DINNER SPONSOR JPMorgan Chase & Co.

GRAND BENEFACTOR RECEPTION SPONSOR Shreve & Co. EDUCATION & TRAINING

SPARKLING STROLL SPONSOR Brooks Brothers

APÉRITIF SPONSOR Lillet

Lead Sponsors of San Francisco Ballet’s Education Programs

Additional support is provided by Gap Foundation, U.S. Bank Foundation, and the Zellerbach Family Foundation. SENSORIUM The Dance in Schools and Communities program is supported by The Charles Henry Leach, II Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. SPONSOR ballerina.io The Student Matinee Series is supported by the Gaia Fund of the San Francisco Ballet Endowment Foundation.

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80 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE

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Our most loyal donors are dedicated to supporting exquisite art and understand that a contribution to San Francisco Ballet is an investment in the cultural life of the Bay Area. Our growth and evolution as a company and school is due in large part to the steadfast and generous support of patrons in the Bay Area and beyond. In 2005, we created the honor of Great Benefactor to recognize donors whose cumulative giving to SF Ballet is $1 million or more. We are pleased to welcome Ann and Robert S. Fisher and Joyce Stupski as our newest Great Benefactors.

$10,000,000 AND ABOVE $1,000,000–$2,499,999 Grants for the Arts American Airlines Mary Jo and Dick Kovacevich The Hellman Family Estate of Helen Anderton Kelsey and David Lamond William and Flora Hewlett Foundation AT&T The Charles Henry Leach, II Foundation, Lucy and Fritz Jewett Bank of America Foundation Jennifer Jordan McCall, Foundation Trustee Bingham McCutchen LLP Catherine Lego Athena and Timothy Blackburn Paul Lego $5,000,000–$9,999,999 BRAVO Marie and Barry Lipman Estate of Dora Donner Ide Fang and Gary Bridge The Marver Family The James Irvine Foundation Jennifer Caldwell and John H. N. Fisher Stephanie and James Marver Mrs. Jeannik Méquet Littlefield The State of California Alison and Michael Mauzé National Endowment for the Arts Estate of Lewis and Emily Callaghan Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Bernard Osher Foundation Mrs. Daniel H. Case III Nicola Miner and Robert Mailer Anderson John Osterweis and Barbara Ravizza Chevron Corporation Pacific Gas and Electric Company Diane B. Wilsey Estate of Barbara A. Daily The Thomas J. and Gerd Perkins Foundation Deloitte Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Susan and John Diekman Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock $2,500,000–$4,999,999 Suzy Kellems Dominik Bob Ross Richard C. Barker Rudolph W. Driscoll Gordon Russell California Arts Council Kate and Bill Duhamel San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary First Republic Bank Sonia H. Evers The San Francisco Foundation Ford Foundation Ann and Robert S. Fisher Randee Seiger Diana Stark and J. Stuart Francis Estate of Georg L. Frierson O.J. and Gary Shansby Gaia Fund Stephen and Margaret Gill Family Foundation Shubert Foundation, Inc. Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund The Smelick Family Estate of Richard B. Gump Colleen and Robert D. Haas Denise Littlefield Sobel Mimi Haas Walter & Elise Haas Fund Estate of Natalie H. Stotz Estate of Katharine Hanrahan Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey P. Hays Joyce Stupski Hellman Foundation William Randolph Hearst Foundation Richard J. Thalheimer The Herbert Family The Edward E. Hills Fund Ms. Susan A. Van Wagner Donald F. Houghton James C. Hormel and Michael P. Nguyen Visa Inc. G. William Jewell The William G. Irwin Charity Foundation Wallis Foundation Koret Foundation George F. Jewett Foundation The E. L. Wiegand Foundation Yurie and Carl Pascarella George F. Jewett, Jr. 1965 Trust Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Kenneth Rainin Estate of Mildred Johnson The Zellerbach Family Mr. George R. Roberts JPMorgan Chase & Co. Kathleen Scutchfield Maurice Kanbar The Swanson Foundation Dr. and Mrs. Jerome Ormond Kirschbaum Phyllis C. Wattis Diana Dollar Knowles Wells Fargo Estate of Diana Dollar Knowles

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 83 ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL

San Francisco Ballet gratefully acknowledges the members of the Artistic Director’s Council. Their generous annual support of $100,000 or more has been instrumental to the success of SF Ballet, SF Ballet School, and SF Ballet’s education programs. Council members receive customized benefits including special access to performances, exclusive events, and rehearsals. For more information, please contact Sarah Warner, Associate Director of Development, Individual Giving at [email protected] or 415 865 6634.

GRAND BENEFACTORS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL $250,000 and above $100,000–$249,999 Brenda and Alexander Leff The Hellman Family Mr. Richard C. Barker Mr. James D. Marver Diane B. Wilsey Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Alison and Michael Mauzé Fang and Gary Bridge Mr. and Mrs. John S. Osterweis Ms. Laura Clifford Yurie and Carl Pascarella Sonia H. Evers Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Teri and Andy Goodman Joan E. Roebuck Beth and Brian Grossman Christine Russell and Mark Schlesinger Margaret and Will Hearst Randee Seiger Lucy Jewett Denise Littlefield Sobel Mary Jo and Dick Kovacevich Judy C. Swanson Kelsey and David Lamond

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INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

Forward-thinking organizations understand the need to create a vibrant civic life in the places they do business. Giving from private, family, and community foundations helps us commission new works; design and build sets and costumes; take the Company on tour; and engage our communities. Leading corporations—local, national, and international—enhance their reputations by supporting SF Ballet performances, touring, special events, and our community engagement programs. And when they do, they are able to promote their brand to an audience of opinion makers, entertain clients at performances, and receive other special benefits as part of a customized benefits package. To learn more about Foundation giving, contact Elizabeth Luu, Associate Director of Development, Institutional Giving, at [email protected] or 415 865 6616. To learn more about Corporate giving, contact Colette Whitney, Corporate Giving Manager, at [email protected] or 415 865 6651.

FOUNDATION & GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

GRAND BENEFACTORS PRESENTER’S COUNCIL CHOREOGRAPHER’S COUNCIL $250,000 and above $50,000–$99,999 $10,000–$14,999 Gaia Fund Flora Family Foundation The Guzik Foundation San Francisco Grants for the Arts Stephen and Margaret Gill Family Foundation Walter & Elise Haas Fund The Diana Dollar Knowles Foundation John Brockway Huntington Foundation ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL National Endowment for the Arts Taube Philanthropies $100,000–$249,999 The Shubert Foundation, Inc. Zellerbach Family Foundation Bently Foundation, in honor of Glenn McCoy’s 30 years of leadership at San Francisco Ballet SPONSOR’S COUNCIL Hellman Foundation $25,000–$49,999 The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Mimi and Peter Haas Fund George F. Jewett Foundation Heising-Simons Foundation Koret Foundation H. B. and Lucille Horn Foundation The Bernard Osher Foundation Jerome Robbins Foundation Bob Ross Foundation The Charles Henry Leach, II Fund E. L. Wiegand Foundation

CORPORATE SUPPORT

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL SPONSOR’S COUNCIL CHOREOGRAPHER’S COUNCIL $100,000–$249,999 $25,000–$49,999 $10,000–$14,999 Osterweis Capital Management Tiffany & Co. B|O| S (Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough, LLC) Visa Brooks Brothers PRODUCER’S COUNCIL Dodge & Cox $75,000–$99,999 CHAIRMAN’S COUNCIL First Republic Bank Bank of America $15,000–$24,999 Gap Foundation WSO2 Inc. Almaden Lillet Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Mechanics Bank Wealth Management PRESENTER’S COUNCIL Freed of London Willis Towers Watson $50,000–$74,999 Shreve & Co. Chevron UBS DANCER’S COUNCIL Innovation Global Capital U.S. Bank Foundation $5,000–$9,999 JPMorgan Chase & Co. Athleta Kaiser Permanente Denning and Company KPMG Ted Baker Pacific Gas and Electric Company ASSOCIATE’S COUNCIL $2,500–$4,999 GI Partners SpotHero

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 87 INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT CONTINUED

IN-KIND SUPPORT

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL CHAIRMAN’S COUNCIL DANCER’S COUNCIL $100,000–$249,999 $15,000–$24,999 $5,000–$9,999 Bay Area Rapid Transit Allegra Entertainment & Events Etude Wines J Riccardo Benavides Ernest Vineyards FITNESS SF Piedmont Piano ASSOCIATE’S COUNCIL $2,500–$4,999 PRESENTER’S COUNCIL CHOREOGRAPHER’S COUNCIL Diptyque $50,000–$99,999 $10,000–$14,999 Lillet Immersive Productions Almaden McCalls Catering & Events Miette SmashMallow Ordaz Family Wines Sbragia Family Vineyards SPONSOR’S COUNCIL $25,000–$49,999 Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards Nob Hill Gazette Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

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88 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION

The San Francisco Ballet Endowment Foundation is a separate nonprofit public benefit corporation that holds and manages endowment funds. It is now the third largest source of revenue for SF Ballet after ticket sales and contributions and supports creating new ballets, touring, scholarships and financial aid for SF Ballet School students, and community education and outreach programs. Donors who make gifts of $25,000 or more to the endowment have a fund created in their name that can provide general support or support designated for specific uses at SF Ballet, SF Ballet School, and SF Ballet’s education programs. We’re honored to list the following named funds that have been created as of November 30, 2018. Those highlighted with an asterisk (*) were fully or primarily funded through bequests and other planned gifts. For more information, please contact Elizabeth Lani, Deputy Director of Development, at [email protected] or 415 865 6623.

Michael C. Abramson Fund Barbara A. Daily Scholarship Fund* Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund Lois and David Anderson Fund Barbara A. Daily Fund* Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. New Works Fund Mr. and Mrs. Walter M. Baird Fund* Timothy Dattels and Kristine Johnson Fund Mimi Haas Fund Rosemary and Edward D. Baker III Sue and John Diekman Fund Mimi Haas New Works Fund Foundation Fund Earl Diskin Fund* Mimi & Peter Haas Fund Richard C. Barker Fund Suzy Kellems Dominik New Works Fund Mimi & Peter Haas New Works Fund William Bason Fund* Suzy Kellems Dominik School and Walter & Elise Haas Fund Ernest A. Bates New Works Fund Education Fund Walter & Elise Haas Education Fund Nancy and Joachim Bechtle Fund Phyllis and Bill Draper Fund Walter & Elise Haas New Works Fund Philip P. Berelson Scholarship Fund* Rudolph W. Driscoll Fund Kathryn A. Hall and Thomas C. Knutsen Fund The Bertelsen Family Fund Kate and Bill Duhamel Fund Sally and William Hambrecht Fund Davidson Bidwell-Waite and Edwin A. Waite Joseph B. Durra Fund Sally and William Hambrecht New Works Fund Touring Fund Jacqueline and Christian P. Erdman Fund Philip and Alicia Hammarskjold Fund Wendy and W. Richard Bingham Fund Sarah C. Evans Fund* Edith Hammerslough Fund* Blum Family Foundation Fund Sonia H. Evers Fund Katharine Hanrahan Fund* Christopher Boatwright Memorial Endowed Sonia H. Evers New Works Fund The Lloyd Harper Patron Fund Scholarship Fund Sonia H. Evers School Fund Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey P. Hays Fund Deborah and Richard A. Bocci Fund Concepción S. and Irwin Federman Fund The William Randolph Hearst Foundation Ron and Susan Briggs Fund Mr. and Mrs. Elliott Felson Fund Building Fund Eva Benson Buck Charitable Trusts Fund The Fifth Age of Man Foundation The William Randolph Hearst Foundation Edith Bundy Fund* Scholarship Fund Scholarship Fund Burnett Family New Works Fund Jason M. Fish and Courtney Benoist Fund Libby and Craig Heimark Fund S. E. Bush, Jr. School Fund* Ann and Robert Fisher Fund Eric Hellman Scholarship Fund Peter Byram Fund* Doris and Donald Fisher Fund The Hellman Family Fund* Jennifer Caldwell and John H. N. Fisher Fund Elizabeth and Robert Fisher Fund The Hellman Family New Works Fund Lewis and Emily Callaghan Fund* Kirby Ward Fitzpatrick Fund* The Hellman Family Touring Fund Dr. and Mrs. John N. Callander Dancer Frannie and Mort Fleishhacker Touring Fund Chris and Warren Hellman Endowed Wellness Fund Thomas W. Flynn Music Fund Scholarship Fund Christina E. Carroll Fund Ford Foundation New Works Fund Rosalie G. Hellman Fund Margaret Carver Fund Diana Stark and J. Stuart Francis Fund Rosalie G. Hellman Memorial Scholarship Fund Dan and Stacey Case Fund Diana Stark and J. Stuart Francis Mrs. Louis E. Hendricks Fund* Dan and Stacey Case New Works Fund New Works Fund Cecilia and James Herbert Fund Dr. and Mrs. George Cassady Gaia Fund Cecilia and James Herbert New Works Fund Student Scholarship Fund Frances and Theodore Geballe Fund The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Harold and Ruby Christensen Tricia and Richard Gibbs Philanthropic Fund New Works Fund Scholarship Fund Stephen and Margaret Gill New Works Fund Richard S. Hirsch Fund* Robert Clegg New Works Fund Stephen and Margaret Gill Family Foundation Hank J. Holland Fund Angelina and Christopher Cohan Fund Touring Fund Brian and Rene Hollins Fund Columbia Foundation Music Fund Teri and Andy Goodman Touring Fund Mr. James C. Hormel and Columbia Foundation New Works Fund Margaret Stuart Graupner Fund* Mr. Michael P. Nguyen Fund Ruth A. Copley Endowed Scholarship Fund* Eugene H. and Stephanie Gray Fund* Thomas E. Horn Fund David and Vicki Cox Fund James Gries Fund Donald F. Houghton Fund* Mary B. Cranston New Works Fund Richard B. Gump Fund* Donald F. Houghton Touring Fund* Lee R. Crews School Fund* Rita A. Gustafson Scholarship Fund* Donald F. Houghton Innovation Fund*

90 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE Donald F. Houghton New Works Fund* Glenn McCoy Touring Fund Gail and Robert M. Smelick New Works Fund William S. Howe, Jr. Fund* Alexander Mehran Fund Cherida Collins Smith Fund Dr. Samuel C. Hughes Fund* Julia O. Merriman Fund* K. Hart Smith Fund* Hurlbut-Johnson Charitable Trusts Introduction Byron R. Meyer Choreographers Fund Michael Smuin Memorial Fund to Ballet Scholarship Fund* Vinie and J. Sanford Miller Touring Fund Mr. Scott C. Sollers Fund Dora Donner Ide Fund* Natalie Lauterstein Miller Memorial Fund Donald G. Speakman Fund* Joan J. Jacobs Fund* James E. Milligan Fund Jeanette Sperry Fund* The James Family Endowed Scholarship Fund Tamra and Kurt Mobley Fund David Stanton and Shanna McBurney Fund George B. James New Works Fund C. Kenneth and Maureen M. More Fund* Natalie H. Stotz Fund* Dorothy and Bradford Jeffries Milton J. Mosk and Thomas Foutch Fund Maureen and Craig Sullivan Family Fund Scholarship Fund Berit and Robert A. Muh New Works Fund The Swanson Foundation Fund G. William Jewell Dance in Schools Elizabeth H. and Bradford G. Murphey Fund* Joyce Taylor Education Fund Endowed Scholarship Fund* National Endowment for the Arts Gretchen and L. Jay Tenenbaum Fund G. William Jewell Fund* New Works Fund TeRoller Fund for New Productions* G. William Jewell Touring Fund* Phyllis W. Nelson Fund Richard J. Thalheimer Fund Lucy and Fritz Jewett Fund Phyllis W. Nelson Scholarship Fund* Richard J. Thalheimer New Works Fund Lucy and Fritz Jewett New Works Fund Phyllis W. Nelson Touring Fund* Olivia Thebus Fund* Chris and Cheryl Johns Fund Melvin Novikoff Trust Fund* Carmen S. Thornton Fund* Grace Eleanor Johnson Fund* The Bernard Osher Foundation Touring Fund Helgi Tomasson Innovation Fund Mildred Maureen Johnson Fund* Osher New Work Fund Helgi Tomasson School Fund for New Work Ruby Rae Pinochi-Johnson Fund* John Osterweis and Barbara Ravizza Fund Charlotte and Harry A. Turner DISC Pamela J. Joyner and Alfred J. Giuffrida John Osterweis Fund Family Fund Dancer Wellness Fund Barbara Ravizza and John Osterweis John and Anna Logan Upton Fund Pamela J. Joyner and Alfred J. Giuffrida New Works Fund Marion Ury Fund* Touring Fund Shirley Black Palmer Scholarship Fund Susan A. Van Wagner Fund Katzman Family Fund Yurie and Carl Pascarella Fund Mrs. S. W. Veitch Fund Heinrich J. Killian Fund* Greta R. Pofcher Fund Helen Von Ammon New Works Fund Dr. and Mrs. Jerome Ormond Kirschbaum Marie-Louise and David L. Pratt Fund Trainee Fellowship Fund Harry J. Wagner Fund* Melinda and Paul Pressler Fund The Diana Dollar Knowles Fund* The Lonna Wais Endowment Fund Virginia and Walter Price Fund Mr. and Mrs. Gorham B. Knowles Fund* Gene Walker Fund* Jessica M. Putney Fund* Mary Jo and Dick Kovacevich Family Elizabeth F. Wallace Fund* Foundation Fund Janet L. Pynch Fund* The Walske Foundation Fund KPMG Fund Kenneth Rainin Fund Mr. and Mrs. Paul L. Wattis III Fund The Charles Henry Leach, II Fund for Kenneth Rainin New Works Fund* Phyllis C. Wattis Fund* DISC Scholarships George R. Roberts Fund Karen and David Wegmann New Works Fund The Charles Henry Leach, II Fund for Mr. and Mrs. Claude N. Rosenberg, Jr. Fund Keith White Scholarship Fund School Scholarships Bob Ross New Works Fund Diane B. Wilsey Tutu Fund Richard LeBlond Fund* Bob Ross Scholarship Fund Diane B. Wilsey Fund Catherine P. Lego New Works Fund Bob Ross Foundation Touring Fund Timothy C. Wu Fund Paul G. Lego New Works Fund Kate and George W. Rowe Fund Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Mark and Debra Leslie Education and Kate and George W. Rowe New Works Fund New Works Fund Outreach Fund W. David Rozkuszka Fund* Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Touring Fund Susan B. Levine and James W. Lauer Fund Leontine Sassell Fund* Kam Har Yung Fund The Debra Leylegian Adagio Fund Marjorie K. Sawyer Fund* Janice and Jonathan Zakin Fund Irv H. Lichtenwald and Stephen R. Ripple Franca Schilt Fund* CiCi and Stephen Zellerbach Fund New Works Fund Delores M. Schweizer Fund* William Zoller Fund* The Marie O’Gara Lipman Endowment for Kathleen Scutchfield Fund Anonymous (10) Dance Education in the Public Schools Randee and Joseph Seiger Education and George W. Lord Fund* Outreach Fund Carol Lovell Fund, in memory of The Seiger Family Foundation Fund Kenneth Hynes* O.J. and J. Gary Shansby Fund James J. Ludwig Fund Anne and Michelle Shonk Touring Fund Daniel E. Malkin Fund* Dr. Lawrence Loy Shrader and The Marver Family Fund Hisako B. Shrader Fund* The Marver Family New Works Fund The Honorable and Mrs. George P. Shultz Fund Alison and Michael Mauzé Fund The Smelick Family New Works Fund Russell J. Mays Fund* Gail and Robert M. Smelick Fund

2019 SEASON GUIDE | SFBALLET.ORG | 91 See it from our point of view! Located on the 46th Floor of Hilton San Francisco Union Square

Open 4:30 PM Daily www.CityscapeSF.com

SFB season guide fp template.indd 1 11/16/18 1:49 PM THANK YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEERS

The San Francisco Ballet “family” extends beyond the stage to include a large community of dedicated and generous volunteers who are personally involved in the Company’s success. The tireless efforts of these volunteers contribute greatly to SF Ballet’s accomplishments.

AUXILIARY Vibrant, energetic, and passionately committed to the success of each ballet season, SF Ballet Auxiliary members comprise an exclusive group of women who leverage their talents in fundraising events that raise more than $2 million for SF Ballet each year.

LEADERSHIP Ms. Ann Kathryn Baer, President Mrs. Ally Sievers, Recording Secretary Ms. Beverley Siri Borelli, Treasurer Mrs. Michelle Gilman Jasen, Vice President Miss Carla Wytmar, Corresponding Secretary Mrs. Robert W. Wood, Events Treasurer

ACTIVE MEMBERS Ms. Donna Bachle Ms. Brenda Leff Ms. Rosemary B. Baker Miss Elizabeth Leep Ms. Deborah Taylor Barrera Ms. Betsy A. Linder Ms. Katherine Banks Ms. Debra A. Leylegian Mrs. Kevin W. Bartlett Mrs. Carol Louie Mrs. Patrick V. Barber Mrs. Barry R. Lipman Ms. Louisa Basarrate Mrs. Rhonda Mahendroo Mrs. Kent T. Baum Ms. Sheila M. Lippman Ms. Carol Benz Mrs. Heather Cassady Martin Mrs. Peter Berliner Mrs. John C. Lund Mrs. Steven Bergman Mrs. Emily Millman Mrs. John W. Bitoff Mrs. Robert W. Maier Ms. Catherine Bergstrom Dr. Shokooh Miry Mrs. Athena Blackburn Ms. Susan A. Malecki Mrs. William S. Brandenburg Mrs. Elizabeth Robinson Mitchell Mrs. Richard A. Bocci Ms. Sandra Mandel Mrs. Rada Brooks Ms. Monika Moscoso-Riddle Ms. Giselle Bosc Mrs. Michael L. Mauzé Mrs. G. Steven Burrill Mrs. Sarah Newmarker Ms. Caroline Krawiec Brownstone Mrs. Mark A. Medearis Mrs. David John Byers Mrs. Michael O’Sullivan Mrs. Charles E. Clemens Ms. Laura V. Miller Mrs. Alston Calabrese Ms. Hemalee K. Patel Miss Robin Collins Ms. Vickie Nelson Mrs. Kathleen Coffino Mrs. Jack Preston Ms. Christine Leong Connors Mrs. Robert L. Newman Ms. Katie Colendich Ms. Virginia Leung Price Mrs. Daniel P. Cronan Mrs. Peggy L. Newton Ms. Rebecca Cooper Ms. Kacie Renc Ms. Gail De Martini Mrs. Edward Plant Mrs. Courtney Dallaire Mrs. Patricia D. Roberts Ms. Christine DeSanze Mrs. Nick Podell Mrs. Patricia I. Dassios Ms. René Rodman Mrs. Theodore S. Dobos Dame Tanya Marietta Powell Ms. Melissa del Sol Ms. Tiffany Loren Rowe Mrs. David Dossetter Mrs. Todd G. Regenold Mrs. John E. Fetzer Ms. Dylan Rumley Mrs. Happy Dumas Ms. Katherine Robertson Ms. Jane Gazzola Ms. Meg Ruxton Dr. DiAnn Ellis Ms. Lorrae Rominger Ms. Diane Goetz Mrs. James D. Seltsam, Jr. Mrs. Douglas J. Engmann Mrs. Jay Ryder Mrs. Vincent Golde Ms. Grace Nicolson Sorg Mrs. Christian P. Erdman Ms. Isabel M. Sam-Vargas Ms. Shelley Gordon Mrs. Christy Swartz Ms. Patricia Ferrin Ms. Ellen Sandler Mrs. Colin Greenspon Ms. Holli P. Thier Ms. Dixie D. Furlong Mrs. Elaine Wong Shen Mrs. David Grove Mrs. Andrea Valo-Espina Mrs. Alison Moor Gemperle Ms. Merrill Randol Ms. Lori Harmon Mrs. Patrick Walravens Ms. Nonie H. Greene Ms. V’Anne Singleton Mrs. Joseph Harris, Jr. Ms. Amy Wender-Hoch Mrs. John P. Grotts Ms. Karen L. Skidmore Mrs. Ronald R. Heckmann Mrs. Freddi Wilkinson Ms. Catherine D. Hargrave Mrs. Susan Solinsky Mrs. Christopher Hemphill Mrs. Eric Wold Mrs. Michael R. Haswell Mrs. Mathew Spolin Ms. Kathryn A. Huber Mrs. Ronald Zaragoza Mrs. Terrence M. Hazlewood Mrs. Judy Swanson Ms. Corey Hyde Ms. Terry Hynes Helm Ms. Jody K. Thelander Mrs. Jonathan Kaufman Mrs. Helgi Tomasson, Honorary Member Ms. Mindy Henderson Mrs. Charles V. Thornton Mrs. Rebecca Kaykas-Wolff Ms. Kelli Hill Ms. Elizabeth W. Vobach Mrs. Trecia Knapp SUSTAINING MEMBERS Ms. Marie Louise Hurabiell Mrs. Gregg von Thaden Mrs. Maureen Knoll Jola Anderson Mrs. Michael F. Jackson Ms. Barbara Waldman Mrs. Carolyn Koenig Mrs. Judy Anderson Ms. Daru H. Kawalkowski Mrs. Wallace Wertsch Ms. Claire Stewart Kostic Mrs. James P. Anthony Ms. Lisa A. Keith Mrs. Aimee West Ms. Rochelle Lacey Mrs. Thomas G. Austin Mrs. Robert D. Kroll Ms. Patricia Wyrod

ALLEGRO CIRCLE Allegro Circle is one of our newest organizations—a small and mighty group of donors who also volunteer their networks and their professional expertise to SF Ballet. Learn more at sfballet.org/allegrocircle.

LEADERSHIP Patrice Lovato and Stewart McDowell Brady Rosalyn Chen Isaac Hall Co-Chairs Paula Elmore Susan Marsch Gregg Mattner

2019 SEASON GUIDE | 415 865 2000 | 93 THANK YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEERS CONTINUED

ENCORE If you’re a young professional who loves dance and a great party, join our 300 plus ENCORE! members at a wide variety of social, educational, and networking events. Learn more at sfballet.org/encore.

LEADERSHIP Daniel Cassell, President Christopher Correa, Immediate Past President Gary Williams Elizabeth Sgarrella, Vice President Jacqueline Barrett Maggie Winterfeldt Clark Jamie Lee Taylor, Secretary and Gala Chair Jeannie Gill Angela Zhang Susan Lin, Treasurer Alana Naber

BRAVO Each year BRAVO members contribute a collective total of more than 14,000 hours of volunteer assistance to SF Ballet. In the process they get a personal close encounter with the inner workings of the world of SF Ballet. Learn more at sfballet.org/bravo.

LEADERSHIP Steve Merlo, President Paulette Cauthorn Julie Hawkins Kathryn Roberts, Vice President Martha Debs Giovanna Jackson Patricia Knight, Secretary Joan Green Pirkko Lucchesi

We are pleased to recognize BRAVO members who contributed 40 hours or more during the 2017–18 Season.

250+ HOURS Corine Assouline* Kathryn Roberts Maria Lawrence Linda Drake Paulette Cauthorn Pauline Roothman Cyndy Lee* Inna Edwards Martha Debs Herm Sinoy Lucy Lo Janet Gamble Julie Hawkins Lacy Steffens Margaret McCormack Wilcox Piers Greenhill Giovanna Jackson* Karen Wiel* Keiko Moore* Cindy James Patricia Knight Michael Williams Gale Niess Susan Kalian Suzanne Knott* Steve Wong Deborrah Ortego Kiyoshi Kimura Pirkko Lucchesi May Yasui Johanna Payne Kenneth Kitch Dosia Matthews Sue Plasai Betsy Lim Steve Merlo 55–99 HOURS Sara Pope John Maher Twyla Powers Marilyn Breen Mercedes Rodriguez Linda Miyagawa* Jenny Au-Yeung Blaine Shirk Sara Osaba 100–249 HOURS Jenya Bordas Eileen Soden Elizabeth Price Margaret Anderson Jon Borset Stephanie Somersille Susan Sakai-McClure Carolyn Balsley Monique Bouskos Tracy Stoehr Anne Snowball* Philip Fukuda* Julie Brown-Modenos* Elena Sukhovnina Erika Stuart Joan Green Klara Cheung Sherrie Szalay* Joshua Theaker James Gries* Hao Do Susan Warble Steve Trenam Susanne Johnson Doris Duncan Daphne Wray Audrey Tse Treanor Kathy Judd Vicente Garcia Eve Zhang Sylvia Walker* Elmira Lagundi* Keiko Golden Stephen Wiel* Sabrina Leong Roger Green 40– 54 HOURS Stas Yurkevich John Mazurski Lydie Hammack Edie Bazjanac Roberta McMullan Carolyn Hutchinson Justin Chew Patricia Nelson Robin Kinoshita Jeanette Chudnow Deric Patrick Carrie Kost Pamela Clark Sherri Relerford Christine Lasher Donna Diseroad

*denotes 25 or more years of BRAVO membership

94 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE Your future is created by what you do today.

Make it great.

•

Roxana Melgarejo Realtor®

415.410.8468 | [email protected] | DRE# 01389721

SF Ballet Guide_Roxana Melgarejo_full page-press.indd 1 11/2/18 4:25 PM A CONVERSATION WITH GLENN MCCOY

Executive Director Glenn McCoy will retire at the end of the 2019 Season, after spending 31 years leading SF Ballet. He’s steadfastly led the Company through highs and lows, negotiating both the thrilling successes and the inevitable setbacks. Along the way, he’s overseen the production of more than 130 new ballets, more than 50 tours, major festivals, and broadcast recordings. “I am truly grateful for his work at San Francisco Ballet,” says Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson.

What drew you to SF Ballet? When I moved in ’86 to join the opera here, Helgi had been here for a year. I had followed his career as a dancer at New York City Ballet, and I thought this could be a golden age for this company. I really wanted to be a part of that.

What was the working environment like when you started? People really liked working here, but resources were limited. I was company manager and also doing all the H.R. functions. It was a little scrappy back then, but I’m glad I had that experience.

How have things changed? Artistically, Helgi has continued to develop the Company and our audiences. Thirty years ago, we didn’t have the same kind of educated ballet audience we have now. And I think he’s responsible for that.

What have been the greatest challenges? In the mid-90s, we were displaced from the Opera House [during seismic renovation] for two seasons and one Nutcracker, and that was really hard. © Erik Tomasson The second most difficult time was the great recession.

What have been the greatest thrills? San Francisco Ballet’s 75th anniversary was an exciting time for me. It was my first really big project as executive director, it was complex and multi-faceted and the Board of Trustees was very engaged.

Anything you’d have like to have done differently? Right after Julia Adam choreographed Night, one of the Trustees asked if she felt tempted to go back and change anything. She said, “I have to trust that the artist I was when I created it was enough.” I’ve tried to apply that same wisdom to my work. I try to learn from mistakes and move forward. I think that’s important in a leader, both for yourself and for the people who work for you.

Who has inspired you at SF Ballet? I was very inspired by [former dancers] Gisella Christensen and Jocelyn Vollmar. Maybe it’s because I’m Southern and get nostalgic, I liked that link to the Christensen era, the early days. And I loved hearing their stories. And I had a lot of mentors: Joyce Moffatt, Arthur Jacobus, and Chris Hellman.

How has being part of this organization impacted you as a person? I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have lived as full a life. I am really aware, and always have been, of how fortunate I am to have done something I love doing for as long as I’ve done it.

Any stories from tours you’d like to share? Nooo. What happens on tour, stays on tour!

Most memorable performance? There have been a lot of them. I remember the first performance of Helgi’s first production of Swan Lake. Even now when I hear the music, in my head I still see Wendy Van Dyck and Joanna Berman in the peasant pas de trois in the first act. And I remember the first performance of William Forsythe’s Artifact Suite. I looked over at Helgi, and he said, “Yeah, I know.”

I still get giddy around this time of the year when it’s all about to start all over again. I know how much joy the Company gives people, and I still feel really, really proud to be a part of that.

For more about Glenn McCoy, see page 11.

96 | SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | 2019 SEASON GUIDE YOUR LEGACY, OUR FUTURE

Jocelyn Vollmar dedicated her life to dance and to San Francisco Ballet. A San Francisco native, she received her training at SF Ballet School and was a distinguished principal dancer with the Company. Her extraordinary career included important milestones for the organization: she performed in the American premieres of the now- universally loved ballets Swan Lake and Nutcracker, in which she was our first Snow Queen.

In 1948, she was invited by George Balanchine to dance with New York City Ballet in its inaugural year and then performed internationally before returning to complete her performing career here at SF Ballet. After leaving the stage, Jocelyn was a teacher at the SF Ballet School from 1985 to 2005, training generations of dancers. Her contributions have been many in shaping the institution, including her devotion to the art form at the highest standards of excellence.

The Jocelyn Vollmar Legacy Circle is comprised of thoughtful individuals who have made a commitment to our work by including SF Ballet in their will or other estate plans. For information about bequests and other legacy gifts, contact Deputy Director of Development Elizabeth Lani at 415 865 6623 or [email protected].

Jocelyn Vollmar in Marius Petipa’s Don Quixote, circa 1948–1950s SFB season guide fp template.indd 1 12/4/18 1:35 PM