Tamara Rojo at San Francisco Ballet

[Josette]

2 hours ago, FionaE said:

Separately is Tamara Rojo planning a return to the stage in Marguerite & Armand?   She is older than Fonteyn was  when it was created.  So perhaps not.  

No, according to Tamara Robo in her interview with Christiane  Amampour on CNN this week.   (You should be able to find it easily online.) This afternoon I saw an absolutely splendid performance of Romeo and Juliet in San Francisco with extraordinary acting and dancing by Misa Kuranaga as Juliet and Joseph Walsh as Romeo and outstanding dancers in all ‘secondary” roles.  From this afternoon’s performance I would say that the company is going in the right direction with high standards.  

[Jan McNulty]

7 hours ago, fromthebalcony said:

https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/dance/sf-ballet-danielle-stgermain-resigns-17910944

sadly the San Francisco Chronicle is geo-blocked in the UK due to GDPR regulations.

[Ian Macmillan]

5 hours ago, Josette said:

No, according to Tamara Robo in her interview with Christiane  Amampour on CNN this week.   (You should be able to find it easily online.)

You need look no further than the top of Friday's Links!!

[Emeralds]

On 20/04/2023 at 20:42, Ginny said:

Interesting mix, and I think it's exciting!  I hope it will be a success.  I, for one, am thrilled to see the Marguerite & Armand and Song of the Earth.  English style in SF - yay! 

 

I wonder how long they will wait to decide on what Encore A will be?  Interesting to take the "wait & see" approach, perhaps? 

 

What does anyone know of Broken Wings (the Frida Kahlo piece)?  I am unfamiliar.  

There are a few clips (of around 1 minute) from English National Ballet, who premiered it, on YouTube and Facebook. The dancer who portrays the husband Diego wears some padding to resemble him (and also because he would dance and partner Frida very differently otherwise). There are excellent dances and tableaux that evoke Kahlo’s distinctive paintings as well as her joys, fears and other emotions. Just to say it has quite a grown up view of her life and art (the front cloth, which I expect Rojo will have at SFB) is quite, umm, grown up art! It’s not in poor taste at all, but probably not the kind of ballet to take a bunch of little girls learning ballet or a strict or conservative elderly relation 😉. Rojo, who had the title role of the ballet created on her (Irek Mukhamedov danced Diego at the premiere), is fond of the piece and it has been performed very well by other ENB casts too. I hope it will still be programmed at ENB in the future by Aaron S Watkin and other directors.

Edited April 23, 2023 by Emeralds

[miliosr]

Principal dancer Mathilde Froustey announced on Instagram today that she is leaving the San Francisco Ballet to join the ballet troupe in Bordeaux as an etoile.

 

She's from Bordeaux originally so this is a return for her. The troupe doesn't perform a lot but this may work for her given that she has a young son.

 

 

[miliosr]

San Francisco Ballet has announced its roster for the 2023-24 season:

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ANNOUNCES COMPANY ROSTER FOR 2023–24 SEASON - San Francisco Ballet (sfballet.org)

 

Not much in the way of changes beyond what was previously announced. Probably the most interesting news is at the Character Artists level.

[miliosr]

San Francisco Ballet has announced on its Instagram account that principal Luke Ingham will be leaving the company:

 

"Bittersweet News Alert: Principal Dancer Luke Ingham will be moving to Portland to be with his wife, choreographer and Artistic Director Danielle Rowe and celebrate the growth of their two children together. Luke is a beloved Company member who has brought much joy both on and off the stage over the past 12 years. Join us in celebrating this wonderful dancer!"

 

No indication of how soon he will be departing (effective immediately?) but his departure reduces the roster of principal males from 7 to 6. 

[Sophoife]

Luke was a soloist with AusBallet before he left for Houston and then SFB. It's no great surprise, as he's heading for 40, it's entirely possible he was "not wanted on voyage" under a new AD (happened to at least one principal at AusBallet after the change from McAllister to Hallberg) and also Dani's job.

 

He danced with Morphoses in 2010, at the end of which year he and Dani (then a principal) left Australia. She went to NDT, he to Houston.

[Emeralds]

Saw Luke Ingham dancing  with SFB on their last tour to London. A brilliant and charismatic principal dancer and excellent partner. Australian Ballet School seems to have so many talented alumni! Rather sad to see him retiring as he's a tall and elegant partner for their tall ballerinas like Yuan Yuan Tan, and an experienced dancer with artistry and depth of interpretation. All the  very best to Luke and his family! 

[Ginny]

On 20/04/2023 at 13:09, Josette said:

When I saw the "British Icons" program to be performed in early February with Marguerite and Armand and The Song of the Earth, it made my day!  Surely Yuan Yuan Tan will be Marguerite and it is being programmed for her.   My mother took me to see Marguerite and Armand with Fonteyn and Nureyev when I was a child, and, yes, it made an everlasting impression on me. I remember vividly certain portions of that wonderful experience. 

 

Broken Wings was premiered with Rojo as the lead with ENB in 2016.  Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that the full-length ballet, Frida, premiered by the Dutch National Ballet in 2020, evolved from Broken Wings. Interestingly,  Frida will be performed at the Los Angeles Music Center on June 14-16, 2023, by the Dutch National Ballet.  There are three performances, and I am attending all three.  Annabelle Lopez Ochoa is the choreographer. Maia Makhateli danced Frida at the premiere and I am hoping that she will be dancing it in Los Angeles, as I have been watching her online since pre-Covid and am happy to finally see her on stage.  We were told at a donor brunch in fall of 2022 that Olga Smirnova would also be dancing it in L.A. 

 

• Mere Mortals - an evening length work by choreographer Aszure Barton with music by Floating Points
• Helgi Tomasson's Swan Lake - performed in February-March, and encored in April-May to close the season.  Apparently there will be a guest performer, as yet not announced. 
• Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream - costumes and set designs by  Christian Lacroix, as created for the Paris Opera Ballet
• British Icons:  Ashton's Marguerite and Armand; MacMillan's The Song of the Earth
• Dos Mujeres - Arielle Smith's Carmen, plus Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Broken Wings
• next@90 Curtain Call:  Yuri Possokhov's Violin Concerto (Stravinsky), Nicolas Blanc's Gateway to the Sign, and Danielle Rowe's Madcap   (these were premiered at the outset of this 2023 season)
• An Encore program, to be announced
• And of course, before all of the above, Tomasson's The Nutcracker from December 13-30, 2023

More details:  23–24 SEASON - San Francisco Ballet (sfballet.org)

 

Well, you were quite right!  SF Ballet announces Yuan Yuan Tan’s retirement and her final performance will be as Marguerite on (appropriately) Valentine's Day. 
 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/san-francisco/article/Principal-Dancer-Yuan-Yuan-Tan-to-Give-Final-Performance-with-San-Francisco-Ballet-in-MARGUERITE-AND-ARMAND-20240112

 

[Josette]

I assume that the $60 million anonymous donation (and its apparent earmarking for mostly new works) to San Francisco Ballet is reported elsewhere as well as the promotion of lovely Jasmine Jimison to principal.  I’m in London currently but it appears that both events were announced on February 15, 2024. 

[Sim]

There is an article about the donation in today's Links.

[Blossom]

4 minutes ago, Josette said:

I assume that the $60 million anonymous donation (and its apparent earmarking for mostly new works) to San Francisco Ballet is reported elsewhere as well as the promotion of lovely Jasmine Jimison to principal.  I’m in London currently but it appears that both events were announced on February 15, 2024. 

@Sim has a NY Times article on this in Links today. 
Amazing to have such a cash injection - confidence in Rojo’s abilities.  Programming certainly looks fresh and exciting and she’s bringing British heritage works to a new audience. 
Interesting to read in SF Chronicle that $50m for new works and $10m to fund the day to day company operations.

 

[TSR101]

56 minutes ago, Blossom said:

@Sim has a NY Times article on this in Links today. 
Amazing to have such a cash injection - confidence in Rojo’s abilities.  Programming certainly looks fresh and exciting and she’s bringing British heritage works to a new audience. 
Interesting to read in SF Chronicle that $50m for new works and $10m to fund the day to day company operations.

 

This seems like a huge amount - I imagine many ADs would be very jealous - but how does this compare to what say the RB have spent on new productions of things like Frankenstein, Cinderella, Like Water for Chocolate and the rubbish that McGregor continues to produce for us! 

I imagine given the limited production values of ENB's Raymonda it will offer a vastly different scale of opportunity for Tamara. 

[Ginny]

Thrilled about this!! Have already put in my request for updated versions of  La Bayadere and/or Le Corsaire.  These ballets are not performed in the US anymore.  Revised versions that keep all the amazing classical choreography & eliminate some of the problematic storyline elements would be a huge win in my book.  Otherwise, these ballets are going to die out. Rojo was a gorgeous Nikiya herself (have only seen the RB’s DVD with Acosta as Solor).  I am hoping she will want to pass that legacy on. 🤞🏻

[Josette]

SFB has done three McGregor works, which the dancers enjoyed performing.  I like McGregors’ works and consider them the opposite of rubbish. SFB consistently commissions new works. Frankenstein was a coproduction with The Royal Ballet and performed two seasons and was liked by SF audiences, apparently more than London audiences.  

[Josette]

I hope Rojo does not focus on scheduling ballets that she has danced.  When the 2023-2024 programming was announced, there were photographs of her in several roles. On the SFB website and Facebook, her husband and her brother-in-law, both principals and deservedly so, are a bit too frequently featured in comparison with other male dancers. 

[Ginny]

1 minute ago, Josette said:

SFB successfully danced the Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadere, Makarova’s version, for two seasons about seven years ago.  

Yes, I missed it then, and now am hoping $60M can bring us the entire thing!! 

[Candleque]

1 hour ago, Blossom said:

Amazing to have such a cash injection - confidence in Rojo’s abilities.  Programming certainly looks fresh and exciting and she’s bringing British heritage works to a new audience. 

Agree this is amazing news. Well done Tamara and unknown (probably tech mogul) SF balletomane. If I was a development director for a ballet company, I would be using this as a prompt for motivating my own circle of donors 🤣

What is also great about this for the ballet world in general is that the donation is mainstream news. The $60 million makes a juicy headline and means ballet is showing up in general news feeds. 

[Sim]

2 hours ago, Josette said:

On the SFB website and Facebook, her husband and her brother-in-law, both principals and deservedly so, are a bit too frequently featured in comparison with other male dancers. 

That was apparently one of the gripes at ENB, too...not the brother-in-law, just the partner/husband.

[FionaM]

I think it’s very clever of Tamara and this sponsor to be public about this large donation.   Even if it is only a proportion of what SF Ballet need each year.

 

It can only encourage more for them, and elsewhere.  

[Mary]

But isn't this thread about Rojo and SF ballet?

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

9 minutes ago, Mary said:

But isn't this thread about Rojo and SF ballet?

 

 

 

Yes it is Mary so I've moved all the Bayadere and sensitivities posts into a new thread.

[Mary]

I wonder what new works Ms Rojo will commission? She certainly looks radiant and happy in the photo in the SF chronicle!

 

I can't say I much fancy the piece inspired by AI that seems to have inspired the donation, but it is indeed canny to tap into the huge wealth of the tech business.

 

 

 

[Roberta]

So the posts regarding problems at the SF Ballet with cultural diversity and sensitivities which Tamara Rojo has inherited have all been hived off to another thread?  

[miliosr]

On 16/02/2024 at 09:35, Blossom said:

Interesting to read in SF Chronicle that $50m for new works and $10m to fund the day to day company operations.

The $10 million for day-to-day operations pleases me as much as (or perhaps more than) the $50 million for new works. In  a country like the United States, where generous state subsidies for the arts are not available, it can be a real slog to raise funds for something as "unsexy" as operations. I give credit to the donor for recognizing the importance of operations funding.

[Josette]

13 hours ago, Mary said:

I wonder what new works Ms Rojo will commission? She certainly looks radiant and happy in the photo in the SF chronicle!

 

I can't say I much fancy the piece inspired by AI that seems to have inspired the donation, but it is indeed canny to tap into the huge wealth of the tech business.

 

 

 

There’s no evidence or facts stated in any announcement I’ve read that “Mere Mortals,” which premiered less than one month ago, was the catalyst for the anonymous donation or that the anonymous donor is in the “tech business.”  That is speculation about an anonymous donation. There’s a lot of wealth in California that is not affiliated with the tech business. The press release does state that the anonymous donation was in the works for two months (my paraphrase). Rojo has been very much in the public eye and even went to Los Angeles with six of her dancers for an invitational presentation, interview, and reception in early 2023, which I attended, and she gave a charming and lively interview about her background and her vision for the company.  

[Mary]

Thanks Josette. I know nothing about it at all, my ignorance is total. I was just quoting the SF Chronicle article, so it's interesting to get a more accurate view!

It is just very good that Tamara Rojo is attracting funding and making a success of things.

[Jam Dancer]

On 18/02/2024 at 16:06, Mary said:

I wonder what new works Ms Rojo will commission? She certainly looks radiant and happy in the photo in the SF chronicle!

 

I can't say I much fancy the piece inspired by AI that seems to have inspired the donation, but it is indeed canny to tap into the huge wealth of the tech business.

 

 

 

Mere Mortals was indeed a huge success and sold out many shows… I think she is on to something …the theatre is huge (3k seats) and continuing to grow a company of 78 dancers with a school in the US where the arts gets little to no public funding will require programming a variety of works…

[FionaM]

All is not going entirely Tamara’s way in San Francisco.  She has made at least one big mistake as far as audiences are concerned.  
 

I read that audiences are upset with the lack of the usual farewell performance for the retirement of principal Yuan Tuan Tan.  Until now the tradition has been to have a whole show dedicated to the retiring principal with their choice of rep.   She is so popular I’ve no doubt the show would have been sold out.  
 

This post and the comments are interesting:   https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3ejBv6gEMW/?igsh=dmZpanR6cHQyZmk3 

 

I wonder if this discontent is widespread. 

[Emeralds]

2 hours ago, FionaM said:

All is not going entirely Tamara’s way in San Francisco.  She has made at least one big mistake as far as audiences are concerned.  
 

I read that audiences are upset with the lack of the usual farewell performance for the retirement of principal Yuan Tuan Tan.  Until now the tradition has been to have a whole show dedicated to the retiring principal with their choice of rep.   She is so popular I’ve no doubt the show would have been sold out.  
 

This post and the comments are interesting:   https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3ejBv6gEMW/?igsh=dmZpanR6cHQyZmk3 

 

I wonder if this discontent is widespread. 

I too was very puzzled that Tan (affectionately known as YY by many SFB fans and regulars) hasn't had a full length ballet or been offered to star in both Songs of the Earth and Marguerite and Armand- and if she declined it should have been stated that Tan only wanted to be in one ballet.

 

The possibility that Tan would have declined to be in SOTE would have been highly unlikely given that a) it would be a new role and Tan doesn't have many MacMillan roles in her extensive repertoire, b) she would be fantastic in the choreography and the ballet, c) although it isn't meant to be "themed", the fact that the German lyrics of Song of the Earth are derived from and the music inspired by beautiful poetry from Tan's heritage would have been a fitting link (and a great bit of marketing for the company!) to her starting out as an outstanding graduate of the Shanghai Ballet School and student at the John Cranko School in Germany. Tan still has the technique, stunning lines (perfect for both the MacMillan and the Ashton) and stamina to dance a four act or three act ballet so it's certainly due to not being able to do it. Plus I guarantee that putting her in both ballets would have guaranteed sold out houses for those performances.

 

From what this supporter has posted, I'd say the disappointment or discontent is certainly widespread. I know new artistic directors like to remake a company in thei own image, but it's unfortunate and unusual that Rojo wasn't able to read the room this time and has made a decision that was financially unsound. She could have given YY one or two SOTE performances with no detriment to the other female leads in the SOTE casts. 

Edited February 20 by Emeralds

[Lizbie1]

38 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

The possibility that Tan would have declined to be in SOTE would have been highly unlikely given that a) it would be a new role and Tan doesn't have many MacMillan roles in her extensive repertoire

 

I don't see how this makes it unlikely that she had declined SOTE, quite the contrary.

[fromthebalcony]

YY shared the instagram post on her own Instagram story. The comments in the Instagram post indicated that YY wanted to retire next year and make it a full 30 years with the company but was denied that opportunity.