zxDaveM Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Terrific stuff in my view. A couple of sample pics, more to follow: Divertimento No 15 © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Yuan Yuan Tan and Vito Mazzeo, in Symphonic Dances © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Frances Chung and Daniel Deivison-Oliveira in Christopher Wheeldon's Number Nine © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more in the gallery of 36 pictures at.... DanceTabs on Flickr Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Edit: Link corrected to point to gallery of 36 pictures. BM 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toursenlair Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 stunning photos, especially Yuan Yuan and Vito. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnross Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 A very enjoyable programme one, Looking forward to the other programmes. Here are some other pictures from Programme 1. Hansuke Yamamoto and Koto Ishihara in Divertimento No. 15 Symphonic Dances Number Nine More pictures of Programme 1 on www.johnrossballetgallery.co.uk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Thanks, Dave & John, for these superb photos - wonderful reminders of a great evening on Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Thanks, Dave & John, for these superb photos - wonderful reminders of a great evening on Friday. Pray tell us more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman S Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Stunning pictures. Really looking forward to seeing same programme on TUes...but not seen any reviews...? Am I simply reading the wrong papers(probably) or has San Fran not been widely reviewed yet ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Norman: Look in today's Links section and you will find an Arts Desk Opening Night review by Ismene Brown .... and I've just spotted one new-loaded on the Guardian site that John will list tomorrow. By opening on a Friday night, a delay in reviews till tomorrow was almost inevitable as overnight dance reviews in print seem very largely to have become a thing of the past, and I'm sure that the Arts/Dance sections of the Sunday papers are put to bed by Thursday or thereabouts. (The FT may delay till Mr Crisp has seen all 3 programmes, and he has been spotted at both thus far. Others may do likewise, of course.) DaveM or John Ross: Are there pics from later casts likely? If not, it may be worth altering the title here to include all 3 programmes on this visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnross Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 As requested here are pictures from Programme 2. Helgi Tomasson's Trio, Christopher Wheeldon's Ghosts and Ashley Page's Guide to Strange Places. The two last pieces were a bit dark. Gennadi Nedvigin in Trio Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith in Ghosts Sarah Van Patten and Carlos Quedenit in Ashley Page's Guide to Strange Places More pictures in www.johnrossballetgallery.co.uk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 The picture of Tan and Smith in "Ghosts" is simply marvelous. Tracing along the outside edge of the figures of the two dancers - look at all the triangles of black (negative) space. These are repeated and complimented by the black triangle between the dancers the bottom point of which begins at the top of his front bent knee. And there is another small black triangle of space just at the elbow of his lower arm. The line of her head flows into the line of her back leg and is comlimented by the tilt of his head - and repeated in the lines of his arms. Her lower arm is exactly aligned with his back leg. The topmost finger of her lifted arm is lined up exactly with the heel of his back foot. Both dancers are "seeing" the same object (whatever that may be). Love it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I saw Programme B this afternoon along with a surprisingly cool Sadler's Wells audience. The first piece, Tomasson's Trio, was the most classical in style and had a flavour of Balanchine about it. I wasn't over keen on the first couple but the other two were very good. Wheeldon's Ghosts was very atmospheric and had a lovely duet in the middle which was beautifully danced by Tan and Smith. Page's piece, Guide to Strange Places, started very well and was exciting in parts but there was quite a lot of body contortion and the type of dancing which looks as if it is improvised which I thought a bit derivative. I found the costumes worn by the dancers in all three pieces attractive. I could even accept the white, frilly see-through shirts worn by the men in Ghosts because they contributed to the ethereal feel of the piece. It was a very good programme of very new work (the oldest piece was only two years old) and the company danced it with a lot of panache. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 DaveM or John Ross: Are there pics from later casts likely? If not, it may be worth altering the title here to include all 3 programmes on this visit. Yes Ian, it seems sensible to discuss all three programmes within this topic so I've renamed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted September 16, 2012 Author Share Posted September 16, 2012 Programme B - more photos! :-) Maria Kochetkova, grandly! (in Helgi Tomasson's 'Trio') © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith, in Christopher Wheeldon's 'Ghosts' © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Sarah van Patten and Carlos Quenedit in Ashley Page's 'Guide to Strange Places © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more... Set on Flickr - San Francisco Ballet's Programme B Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 San Francisco Ballet dancers' tour blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I certainly enjoyed Saturday evening's Programme B, a triple bill that demonstrated SFB's strength in depth from Principal to Corps. The impressions that have stuck are these. Helgi Tomasson's Trio: Elegance with an American sharpness that responded to the Tchaikovsky score in the outer movements. A narrative was imposed on the slow middle movement, whereby a third character who had passed across the stage in shadow, clearly observing the central couple, eventually joined them to create a pas de trois and, at the end, extracted the girl whilst shielding her eyes in a death metaphor. For me, clear overtones of MacMillan's Song of the Earth. (The backcloth had an image divided into well-defined squares - did anyone else see in it the blurred stone interior of a Gothic cathedral?) Christopher Wheeldon's Ghosts: Not Ibsen-inspired on the lines of Cathy Marston's 2005 work of the same name, its spectral background and frequent vigorous movement for a large group had me wondering about the witches and beldames in Alloway kirkyard when Tam o' Shanter passed it on his notorious ride home. This contrasted well with a central pas de deux featuring the exquisite Yuan Yuan Tan, partnered by Damian Smith. Ashley Page's Guide to Strange Places: A backcloth of a long straight highway gave way to another of I know not what, presumably signifying that we had reached a strange place wherein the action was generally pretty frantic, driven by John Adams' eponymous score. SFB is a classy company and I'd happily see any of these pieces again in a mixed bill. And to conclude, it was good to see the company's MD, Martin West, on stage at the end, looking as if he has thrived since leaving ENB and, more immediately for me, the Cambridge Philharmonic, some 7 years ago. He and the local orchestra had an excellent evening. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Arrowsmith Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Precious few observations here - is everybody still on holiday??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 I was wondering the same. Programme C starts tonight: I'm looking forward to seeing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 (edited) Talking of Programme C - here a few samples... Beaux, by Mark Morris (to Bohuslav Martinu) © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Frances Chung, Carlos Quenedit in Classical Symphony by Yuri Possokhov (to Prokofiev) © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Yuan Yuan Tan in RAkU by Yuri Possokhov (to Shinji Eshima) © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Sarah van Patten, Pierre-Francois Vilanoba in Within the Golden Hour by Christopher Wheeldon (to Ezio Bozza) © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more... Set on Flickr - San Francisco Ballet's Programme C Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Edited September 19, 2012 by zxDaveM 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 I've now seen all three programmes, ten ballets in all. RakU was the only obviously narrative one. It's hard to pick out a favourite. Last night (Programme C) the audience responded most enthusiastically to Possokhov's Classical Symphony which I thought was terrific. On Tuesday evening (Programme A) I think that it was Liang's Symphonic Dances which the audience most appreciated. SFB certainly has some marvellous dancers. Maria Kochetova, Sofiane Sylvie and Yuan Yuan Tan were all fabulous in their different ways. For me the programmes showed how good a choreographer Christopher Wheedon is compared to many other British choreographers. He doesn't stuff his ballets full of steps and his pdds are attractive rather than ugly. With so much choreography you wish that there were fewer steps and more time for the dance to flow and breathe. Having seen SFB, I have been wondering what makes this company dance with such class and vigour. Is it the modern choreography which is mostly created on the company? Is it the many opportunities which such choreography gives to the dancers, from principal level right down to the corps, which keeps everyone enthusiastic? Do they just have very good dancers? The RB is regarded as a world class company, which has the pick of the best dancers from all over the world, and yet when I go and see the company I often come away feeling slightly disappointed. Invariably, the performances are of a high standard and yet I often feel that something is lacking. I cannot put my finger on what it is. Perhaps I'm the only person who feels like this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim b Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 No Aileen - snap - but we may be in a minority of two!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 "his pdds are attractive rather than ugly" Amen I am really tired of ugly angst ridden "let's see how many ways she stretches" pas de deux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnross Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 (edited) Here are pictures from Programme C from another view. Mark Morris's Beaux Hansuke Yamamoto and Maria Kochetkova in Yuri Possokhov's Clasical Symphony Yuan Yuan Tan in Yury Possokhov's RAkU Christopher Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour More pictures on www.johnrossballetgallery.co.uk Edited September 20, 2012 by johnross 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamk Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 I've now seen all three programmes, ten ballets in all. RakU was the only obviously narrative one. It's hard to pick out a favourite. Last night (Programme C) the audience responded most enthusiastically to Possokhov's Classical Symphony which I thought was terrific. On Tuesday evening (Programme A) I think that it was Liang's Symphonic Dances which the audience most appreciated. SFB certainly has some marvellous dancers. Maria Kochetova, Sofiane Sylvie and Yuan Yuan Tan were all fabulous in their different ways. For me the programmes showed how good a choreographer Christopher Wheedon is compared to many other British choreographers. He doesn't stuff his ballets full of steps and his pdds are attractive rather than ugly. With so much choreography you wish that there were fewer steps and more time for the dance to flow and breathe. Having seen SFB, I have been wondering what makes this company dance with such class and vigour. Is it the modern choreography which is mostly created on the company? Is it the many opportunities which such choreography gives to the dancers, from principal level right down to the corps, which keeps everyone enthusiastic? Do they just have very good dancers? The RB is regarded as a world class company, which has the pick of the best dancers from all over the world, and yet when I go and see the company I often come away feeling slightly disappointed. Invariably, the performances are of a high standard and yet I often feel that something is lacking. I cannot put my finger on what it is. Perhaps I'm the only person who feels like this. No Aileen - snap - but we may be in a minority of two!!! Count me in .... a minority of three. Haven't seen Prog A yet but really impressed with the Company in Progs B & C - LOVED the two Wheeldon (Ghosts & Within The Golden Hour). Absolutely agree with your comment about "class & vigour" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 I see Hansuke Yamamoto attended the Royal Ballet School: that could be why his name seemed familiar to me. Here's the link http://www.sfballet.org/company/dancers/principals to the company's dancers, in case anyone feels the need for further details on any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane S Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Please can someone tell me who is the man on the left in this Dave Morgan photo? http://www.flickr.co...57631577147581/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Jane, if this is the opening night cast for Programme C then I think that the man is either Carlos Quenedit of Jaime Garcia Castilla. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebird Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Jane, if this is the opening night cast for Programme C then I think that the man is either Carlos Quenedit of Jaime Garcia Castilla. I wasn't at the opening night but, assuming the cast sheet was correct, the photo of Castilla in the programme indicates that he is probably the dancer in the photo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane S Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Thank you - the photo was of the first-night cast but he also danced last night - from the cast sheet it was Castilla but to me he doesn't look anything like the photo in the programme! But anyway I thought he was very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim b Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I saw Wednesday afternoon's rehearsal (sans cast list) and last night's peformance (from 2nd circle) and didn't think the casts were exactly the same in every ballet ... but I've been wrong before!!! Presume the photos were all from the photo call which was of the rehearsal so if anyone can enlighten me as to differences in the pix from my cast list of last night without too much difficulty, I would be most grateful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 tim, the casts do vary from one performance to another according to the casting on SFB's website. The cast on Wednesday evening was as per the website apart from one change in the men, I recollect. The principal roles in Classical Symphony (which Jane was enquiring about) were danced by Kochetkova/Yamamoto, Chung/Quenedit and Andre/Castilla. I feel really fortunate to have been able to see three overseas ballet companies in London this year. I saw the Mariinsky at the ROH last year and would love to see the Bolshoi in London some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Firstly it was very exciting to see 7 new ballets in 2 nights, grateful that SFB didn't play safe but brought such contrasting works, I wasn't thrilled by all of them but certainly was by Raku and Within the Golden Hour in programme C, the dramatic artistry of Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith, then one of Christopher Wheeldon's gems, I would love to see the RB acquire this one! I was really looking forward to Ghosts last night but strangely it didn't quite work, I think because I couldn't see through the bad lighting from higher up, shame because obviously there was some beautiful dancing, the highlight was Guide to Strange Places, crazy music but it was exciting! Lots of fantastic dancing throughout, special favourites were Gennadi Nedvigin, Joan Boada, Damian Smith, Vitor Luiz, and the wonderful Yuan Yuan Tan, Maria Kochetkova, Sarah Van Patten and Sofiane Sylve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stirrups36 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 We had a great time at SF Ballet last night - programme B ( courtsey of some last minute tickets - thankyou SO much). First thought was how young they all seemed. But then also, how fresh the dancing was. Personally, I like a ballet that has some form of easy to follow narrative, that involves me, so I enjoyed the middle movement of Trio the most. My wife preferred the incredible Guide to Strange Places - indeed an incredible score, a genre of music I need to get used to. Almost as enjoyable was watching the orchestra as well as the dancers (if you can imagine doing so as there was so much activity going on actually on-stage). The patterns drawn onstage were perplexing sometimes for me in their complexity. Ghosts left me a little disengaged. I think having seen the hypnotic, mesmerising Mariinski 'Shades' and the Royal 'Wilis' means I need to adjust my expectations of spectral representations. Maybe I am just a little too literal at this stage in our continuing ballet educaiton. but it was a super evening - I have yet to be disappointed by an evening at the ballet (your time will come, I am sure some of you will be thinking), and SF Ballet were fantastic. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieW Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 :-) I'm there seeing programme A tomorrow. I know little about the dancers but have heard great things about the company so am really looking forward to something out of my usual comfort zone of RB and BRB! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Well, I'll probably post more about this when I have some time to think about it, but I must say that one of my highlights of the last week has been seeing what Maria Kochetkova has matured into over the last half-decade or so. I noticed her very early on in her career - I remember asking friends if they knew who the very petite dancer in the corps of Giselle was, but nobody seemed to know (and I didn't even manage to identify her until she'd joined ENB, where I watched her with great interest) - so it's been great to catch up with her again, so to speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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