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.
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