Casting Released for SFB's Opening Night Gala

Casting for tomorrow night's Opening Night Gala performance has been posted on SF Ballet's website. Go to www.sfballet.org/performancestickets/casting.asp for the all the glorious details.

This year's program will offer sixteen pieces ranging from contemporary to classic. There will be seven role premiers danced by principals, soloists, and even a newly-joined corps member. Of particular interest to balletomanes is the pairing of new principal Vitor Luiz in Tuning Game with Lorena Feijoo, who was instrumental in bringing Luiz to SFB. Personally, I'm really excited to see Anthony Spaulding's premier in Agon with former NYCB dancer Sofiane Sylve. Both dancers are tall, leggy, and beautiful; perfect material for a Balanchine classic.

More than half of the sixteen dances are choreographed by Helgi Tomasson. Seem like a lot? Well don't forget that the focus of this year's Gala Celebration is Tomasson's silver anniversary as SFB's Artistic Director. Tomasson has led and loved this magnificent organization for 25 years and is as much responsible for its success as the dancers themselves.

If you're interested in attending the gala performance but still haven't bought tickets, call the box office immediately at 415.865.2000. Online, tickets starting at $75 are still available. If you're a Bay Area Balletomane, this is an event you must not miss.

Pictured above: A few of the finest Union Square stores--Saks, Gumps, Goyard included--are exhibiting SFB costumes in celebration of the Gala.

Three Great Ways to Support Bay Area Dance

It's the beginning of a new year, and now is the time for Bay Area balletomanes to financially contribute to a cause they believe in. Ballet in America is historically underfunded, even in a culturally rich city like San Francisco. Compound that disappointing fact by our nation's current economic crisis, and it becomes clear why local dance institutions need our help. Here are three easy and rewarding ways we balletomanes can do our part:

The San Francisco Ballet

Season ticket holders and donors of all levels enjoy a range of special benefits in exchange for their monetary contribution. Cocktail parties and champagne promenades, discounts at the Opera House boutique and cafes, and even the chance to watch a company class are among the incentives to support SFB. Encore! membership ($60 a year) entails discounted ticket rates and entrance to fabulous member-only events. Click here for more information about how you can support America's oldest ballet company.

ODC Dance

ODC Dance Commons is one of the finest places to study and appreciate dance in the Bay Area. Its instructors are top-notch, the studios are modern, spacious, and warm, and its (free!) Healthy Dancer's Clinic is invaluable to local dancers of all kinds and levels. As ODC continues to grow in its aim to bring the joy of dance to all, it needs the community's support to reach its goals. Now is a great time to donate ODC's "Build Dance" campaign: Thanks to the Kresge Foundation and a very generous individual, make a donation before February 28, 2010 and your gift will be tripled. Some fun give-aways are available when you donate $25 or more. Click here to contribute.

Consider Your Neighborhood Ballet School

Every dancer and balletomane has to start somewhere. For many of us, our first exposure to dance was at a neighborhood school. Among the large, well-known studios in the Bay Area are plenty of smaller schools that are doing very good work. Perhaps you've passed one in your own neighborhood during daily commute, or while walking the dog? If you've been meaning to register yourself or your child for dance classes, there's no better time than now: Small schools are suffering the most in this economy, and are in desperate need of our business. Further, January is the time when Spring semesters begin, so this is an ideal time to enroll.

San Francisco Ballet's 2010 Repertory Season Kicks Off

With only a week to go before San Francisco Ballet's 2010 Opening Night Gala, we Bay Area balletomanes have a lot to be thrilled about. This year's repertory season will include three full-length ballets, an all-Balanchine program, and four mixed bills showcasing established works and plenty of premiers. With its exceptionally diverse programs and its world class dancers, San Francisco Ballet continues to exemplify American ballet at its very best.

Two years after commemorating its 75th anniversary season, the Company has another good cause to celebrate: Next week's Silver Celebration will honor Helgi Tomasson's 25 highly successful years of artistic directorship. Mr. Tomasson was present at last night's Encore! Season Kick-Off event at the Museum of Performance and Design, which also featured the opening of Captured: Erik Tomasson Photographs San Francisco Ballet. Along with principal dancers Katita Waldo and Pascal Molat, Tomasson talked with a moderator about what he's most looking forward to this season:

For Tomasson, the Company's premier production of John Neumeier's Little Mermaid will be a high point of 2010. He called this "PG-13" interpretation of the Hans Christian Anderson tale "visually stunning," a "psychological drama" that focuses on the popular love story's deeper, darker roots. Tomasson told the audience he fell in love with this ballet from the moment he first saw it performed, and has wanted to bring it to San Francisco Ballet ever since.

Audience favorite Pascal Molat was eager to talk about his title role in the SFB premier of Petrouchka. This emotionally profound character, created by Nijinsky in 1911, is uniquely difficult to perform. To successfully dance Petrouchka, according to Molat, one must use his "whole body to express drama". "Inside this puppet is a human soul," said Molat as he smiled warmly. It is clear that Molat has invested is own heart and soul into this ballet.

Katita Waldo, whose brilliant career with the Company has spanned more than 20 years, still has plenty of new works to look forward to as renowned choreographers continually choose to set pieces on SFB. This year she's performing in the world premier of Underskin, choreographed by Renato Zanella to a complicated (but still listenable) Schoenberg score. "Underskin is emotionally intense," said Waldo, when asked which ballet she's most excited about this season. Waldo described the piece as being about the female experience, about being a woman - a "voyage through mysterious and deep emotions," according to program notes.

Casting and program details of next Wednesday's Opening Night Gala have yet to be released, but we SFB fans already know what to expect: Every year, veteran favorites and emerging new stars put on the show of the year at War Memorial Opera House. Even if one doesn't snag a ticket to the Silver Celebration and the post-performance party at City Hall, gala performance tickets can be purchased at a reasonable price (starting at $25). Click here
for more details.