Tamara Rojo at San Francisco Ballet

[FionaM]

2 hours ago, fromthebalcony said:

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. 

oh!  So it’s worse than I thought.
 

Tamara  is either a poor people manager, or doesn’t want anyone else getting the limelight.  Possibly both.  
 

Sad to see when she has so many other great skills.  

[Lizbie1]

52 minutes ago, FionaM said:

oh!  So it’s worse than I thought.
 

Tamara  is either a poor people manager, or doesn’t want anyone else getting the limelight.  Possibly both.  
 

Sad to see when she has so many other great skills.  

 

I agree it doesn't look good but we only have one side of this.

[Mary]

Indeed - we really don't know the full inside story here, so perhaps it's best not to rush to judge anyone immediately.

[Emeralds]

5 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

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

I meant that she would had loved to be able to be able to dance more MacMillan roles because SFB doesn't get many MacMillan ballets. She danced Masha in Winter Dreams (I don't know if it was the whole thing or just the Farewell pas de deux) and she said she loved his choreography. SFB doesn't have Manon and their R&J is Tomasson's. She's danced a lot of Balanchine and SFB has a lot of Wheeldon (Within the Golden Hour was created for SFB) - all of which she's danced. They actually have more Wheeldon ballets than RB do now but not many Ashton or MacMillan ones. 

[DD Driver]

 

1 hour ago, Mary said:

Indeed - we really don't know the full inside story here, so perhaps it's best not to rush to judge anyone immediately.

 

Sure, however Yuan Yuan Tan has made her side of the story quite clear by reposting this criticism on her own Instagram Story - that measn it is there for all to see for 24 hours.

 

https://www.instagram.com/tanyuanyuansf/

Original post:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3ejBv6gEMW/?igsh=dmZpanR6cHQyZmk3

[Josette]

9 hours ago, Emeralds said:

She's danced a lot of Balanchine and SFB has a lot of Wheeldon (Within the Golden Hour was created for SFB) - all of which she's danced

I wish I could think of all the Wheeldon ballets she supposedly danced.  YY Tan never danced Within the Golden Hour that I recall and I think I saw all casts, with the three original featured women who created the roles being Katita Waldo, Sarah Van Patten, and Maria Kochetkova.   She danced Wheeldon's Cinderella  only for a year or two, sharing the role with Sarah Van Patten, Maria Kochetkova (who danced the premiere), Vanessa Zahorian, and then, in the past five years, Cinderella has been danced by Dores Andre, Frances Chung, Sasha de Sola, Misa Kuranaga, and Isabella De Vivo.  When Onegin was set, she did not dance the premiere, and, again, I don't recall her dancing Tatiana for more than the first season. YY Tan has not been dancing nearly as much the past few years - including pre-Covid - and has had a  lighter workload in comparison with the workload of the other female principal dancers.  She did perform the very last performance of Romeo and Juliet at the end of last season, but she has not danced Juliet, Odette-Odile, or Aurora for years before that.  She alternated in Winter Dreams years ago with Lorena Feijoo when it was set on the company, performed for only six performances during one season when Vito Mazzeo was in the company, probably in 2013.  I was more surprised that Frances Chung was not cast in The Song of the Earth than that YY was not cast.  

[Emeralds]

22 hours ago, Emeralds said:

so it's certainly due to not being able to do it. 

Apologies for the confusing typo above (device being temperamental yesterday), which should read:  "so it's certainly not due to being unable to do it" . 

[Emeralds]

6 hours ago, Josette said:

I wish I could think of all the Wheeldon ballets she supposedly danced.  YY Tan never danced Within the Golden Hour that I recall and I think I saw all casts, with the three original featured women who created the roles being Katita Waldo, Sarah Van Patten, and Maria Kochetkova.   She danced Wheeldon's Cinderella  only for a year or two, sharing the role with Sarah Van Patten, Maria Kochetkova (who danced the premiere), Vanessa Zahorian, and then, in the past five years, Cinderella has been danced by Dores Andre, Frances Chung, Sasha de Sola, Misa Kuranaga, and Isabella De Vivo.  When Onegin was set, she did not dance the premiere, and, again, I don't recall her dancing Tatiana for more than the first season. YY Tan has not been dancing nearly as much the past few years - including pre-Covid - and has had a  lighter workload in comparison with the workload of the other female principal dancers.  She did perform the very last performance of Romeo and Juliet at the end of last season, but she has not danced Juliet, Odette-Odile, or Aurora for years before that.  She alternated in Winter Dreams years ago with Lorena Feijoo when it was set on the company, performed for only six performances during one season when Vito Mazzeo was in the company, probably in 2013.  I was more surprised that Frances Chung was not cast in The Song of the Earth than that YY was not cast.  

Josette, she has danced his Continuum, This Bitter Earth, After the Rain, Number Nine, and Bound To (those are just the ones I've seen) in London and elsewhere wirh SFB or with other companies. I know she danced his Cinderella at SFB from photos although SFB has never toured it here. I've just realised that there were several more ballets that he made for SFB that I didn't know of, so I should change "all of" to "many of". The choreographers she works with the most are of course Yuri Possokhov and Helgi Tomasson. 

 

You say she hasn't danced the full length ballets like Swan Lake, Onegin, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet etc much recently but she has been in the company for a long time and danced these ballets frequently in the past. With younger principals and soloists eager for their chances to dance the full length lead roles, it may well be that there aren't enough performances to give all the principals 2 or more performances in these ballets, so leaving her out gives newer principals a chance at these plum roles that she has already done. SFB does have a lot of excellent principals at any time who deserve to be cast and there are always rising talents in soloist ranks who deserve a chance as well.

 

It would be nice to see Frances Chung in SOTE, but I would say that given the style and demands of the sole female lead role in SOTE (which I've seen umpteen times), I would say that Yuan Yuan Tan, Saaha de Sola and Misa Kuranaga are most suited to that role, then followed by Wan Ting Zhao, Frances Chung and Wona Park. I think Jennifer Stahl and Nikisha Fogo are more suited to Marguerite. Tan and Kuranaga are suited to both roles. 

 

 

Edited February 21 by Emeralds

[alison]

Of course, as they wind down their careers many dancers stop dancing some of the more technically demanding roles anyway - think Leanne Benjamin, for example.  I think she'd pretty much dropped "tutu" ballets by her late 30s, although she went on with Giselle and the MacMillan leads for much longer.

[Jam Dancer]

Having loved SOTE and watched the Royal Ballet perform it over the years and having followed Nikisha Fogo’s career for a long time, once I heard SFB were doing it, I thought she would be a great fit for the role. She was slated to do 2 performances but had a last minute injury. I can’t see her at all in M&A for the moment….

[LACAD]

I fear this could be a major misstep for Rojo. American companies are very reliant on patronage, donations, and ticket sales.

 

With Yuan Yuan being not just a beloved figure of ballet in SF but also in the US in general, this could leave a very sour taste among many of those essential members of the ballet circle.

 

There’s nothing wrong with changing traditions, but considering Tan spent the majority of her career with the farewell gala being the norm — and even had repertoire in mind, could she not have been allowed just this one favour? Especially considering it would be very likely to sell out.

 

What also feels like a misstep is to promote another ballerina to the title of principal the day after Yuan Yuan retired. 

[BeauxArts]

Tamara Rojo has form for this: Begona Cao left ENB after a long and distinguished career with minimal recognition by Rojo- then the director of ENB - and certainly no formal celebration of her career and commitment to the company. It seemed a very brusque way to end her association with the company. 

Edited February 21 by BeauxArts
Typos

[Emeralds]

7 hours ago, alison said:

Of course, as they wind down their careers many dancers stop dancing some of the more technically demanding roles anyway - think Leanne Benjamin, for example.  I think she'd pretty much dropped "tutu" ballets by her late 30s, although she went on with Giselle and the MacMillan leads for much longer.

I remember Leanne Benjamin herself said she made the choice to drop the tutu balletsp as she didn't like the roles and costumes as much as plotless works or modern characters (including one act ballets like Theme and Variations as well as the full length classics like Nutcracker or Swan Lake). At other times I do wonder how often it's down to the dancer and how often it's down to the artistic director not casting them (especially when they then accept an invitation to dance a full length tutu classic as a guest with another company!).

[Roberta]

Allowing a dancer to choose a ballet for one night only (unless something short and simple with few dancers) does sound incredibly time consuming and expensive.  Rehearsals? Musicians? Getting scenery and costumes out of storage and everything else that goes into a production? 

 

I can also see in these cash strapped times, reliant on donors, allowing a dancer to carry on as a company member and being paid at top level while not dancing a great deal was possibly not tenable.   

 

How very awkward.  Damned if you do, damned if you don't. 

 

 

[LACAD]

1 hour ago, Roberta said:

Allowing a dancer to choose a ballet for one night only (unless something short and simple with few dancers) does sound incredibly time consuming and expensive.  Rehearsals? Musicians? Getting scenery and costumes out of storage and everything else that goes into a production? 

 

I can also see in these cash strapped times, reliant on donors, allowing a dancer to carry on as a company member and being paid at top level while not dancing a great deal was possibly not tenable.   

 

How very awkward.  Damned if you do, damned if you don't. 

 

 

I believe these farewell gala performances are typically composed of pas de deux and short ballets, which the company perform every year anyway at the opening of the season. So it wouldn’t have been too challenging to schedule a tagged on pas de deux with the recent double bill.

 

I say all of this as an admirer of Rojo’s artistic vision. However it doesn’t hurt to allow one dancer, especially one who has served and been an ambassador for the company for as long as Yuan Yuan Tan has, to have her farewell in the manner that the company has celebrated for decades now. 

[Sim]

Rojo was invited back to the RB after she had left in order to have a proper farewell performance (M&A with Sergei Polunin). Maybe she could extend the same courtesy to YY Tan.  

[Sophoife]

Helgi Tomasson was AD for 37 years. Not even Yuan Yuan Tan danced there for that long!

 

The US-style gala final performance for a retiring dancer is just that - a US tradition. Some dancers don't want to do it that way.

 

On another note, the promotion of another dancer to principal status the day following YYT's retirement is awkward, but some ADs have form for that.

 

When Yosvani Ramos left AusBallet, David McAllister (who had introduced a new "tradition" of on-stage promotions) promoted Ty King-Wall the day before YR's final show. When Olivia Bell retired (final show Paquita as part of a double bill), Guo Chengwu was promoted after dancing James in La Sylphide at the same performance, making people unsure of whether the company party was to celebrate Bell or Guo! On two occasions McAllister promoted three dancers to principal at the same performance, somewhat diluting the effect.

[Sabine0308]

If Rojo doesn't want to continue with gala performances for retiring dancers in the future, as it is custom in a company, in another country...ummm...OK she's the boss. BUT to deny it a dancer who was an icon for this company for such a long time, a beloved dancer for countless audiences, this is a shame. Since she was herself a dancer and was granted a farewell performance,  she should know how this hurts, and so it's a double shame. Maybe she doesn't care and it says then a lot about her lack of respect.

Edited February 22 by Sabine0308

[Josette]

On 21/02/2024 at 10:43, Jam Dancer said:

Having loved SOTE and watched the Royal Ballet perform it over the years and having followed Nikisha Fogo’s career for a long time, once I heard SFB were doing it, I thought she would be a great fit for the role. She was slated to do 2 performances but had a last minute injury. I can’t see her at all in M&A for the moment….

Nikisha Fogo also did not dance the two performances of Mere Mortals that she was slated to dance, which was smart, as she had her first Swan Lake last Friday, which I saw.    I love them separately, but Nikisha Fogo and Aaron Robison have a stunning partnership, as I had witnessed in their full-throttle, superb Romeo and Juliet last season.    I could not believe what was unfolding before me: deeply felt, passionate commitment that went beyond characterization, and glorious dancing.  I am returning to see their third Swan Lake next Saturday.  I have been attending  SFB since 2009, seeing 16-24 performance each season, and am so grateful to have seen their performance. 

[capybara]

On 22/02/2024 at 00:41, Sim said:

Rojo was invited back to the RB after she had left in order to have a proper farewell performance (M&A with Sergei Polunin). Maybe she could extend the same courtesy to YY Tan.  

She did not formally recognise the retirement of Daria Klimentova and was reportedly not keen on  anything else special being done at the RAH. However fans and dancers took matters into their own hands to memorable effect. Likewise with Elena Glujidze a few months later at the Coli.

 

Both of these very substantial floral tributes were funded by grateful supporters and recordings are somewhere on YouTube. I hope that YY Tan was similarly showered with flowers from her audience.

[Sim]

2 minutes ago, capybara said:

She did not formally recognise the retirement of Daria Klimentova and was reportedly not keen on  anything else special being done at the RAH. However fans and dancers took matters into their own hands to memorable effect. Likewise with Elena Glujidze a few months later at the Coli.

 

Both of these very substantial floral tributes were funded by grateful supporters and recordings are somewhere on YouTube. I hope that YY Tan was similarly showered with flowers from her audience.

Yes, I remember.  I was at Daria's farewell performance at the RAH and we gave her the send-off she deserved.  Coming from the fans and audience, it meant the world to her.

[DVDfan]

It does seem to me that if an AD comes into a company from a different ballet culture, they need to tread carefully and be respectful of local customs. If there is a good reason to change something, like no money in the kitty to pay for a gala, well, they may have to.  But not otherwise, and I think it would be a good idea to be up-front about it.

[Balletfanp]

43 minutes ago, capybara said:

She did not formally recognise the retirement of Daria Klimentova and was reportedly not keen on  anything else special being done at the RAH. However fans and dancers took matters into their own hands to memorable effect. Likewise with Elena Glujidze a few months later at the Coli.

 

Both of these very substantial floral tributes were funded by grateful supporters and recordings are somewhere on YouTube. I hope that YY Tan was similarly showered with flowers from her audience.

I was there too. It seems incredible that a ballerina of Daria’s stature, loved by fans, was to be shuffled off without anything. But thanks to the supporters who bought and organised the flowers it was a truly memorable occasion that I will always remember.

 

AD’s who are inclined to take this attitude need to remember that it is also depriving fans of a chance to say thank you and goodbye to dancers who have given them a great deal of pleasure over many years. There is a feeling of being cheated in those circumstances.

 

At least the RB does it properly when a Principal retires!

[Scheherezade]

I have a lot of respect for what Tamara Rojo has achieved but honouring much loved retirees does seem a matter of common courtesy. 

[TSR101]

It is all odd, given that she did (possibly introduced) on stage promotions at the ENB so she knows the importance of giving speeches and honouring your dancers in public in that way. It's such a shame because I think she did such a fantastic job with making the ENB's repertoire often more interesting than what RB was putting out for me. 

 

Whilst I do not follow SFB I have also started to hear rumoured discontent about her relationships with the Hernandez's and how that impacts the company. Obviously this is an easy rumour to throw around, and something that existed at the ENB, but it cannot help her current situation in getting her audience and company on board (even if there is little truth in it).  

[miliosr]

I received an e-mail notice from San Francisco Ballet on Monday:

 

Swan Lake Returns April 30–May 5

Due to popular demand, Swan Lake returns with world-renowned guest stars who will partner with SF Ballet principal dancers in the iconic roles of Odette-Odile and Prince Siegfried. Experience ballet's greatest love story with a whole new perspective. Casting will be announced closer to performance dates.

 

The "world-renowned guest stars" will be Natalia Osipova (Royal Ballet), Daniel Camargo (American Ballet Theatre) and Jacopo Tissi (Dutch National Ballet).

[Sophoife]

Well, I'd agree all three are world-renowned, at least to ballet fans. I first saw Daniel Camargo dance in 2012 and wow!

[FionaM]

Daniel Camargo has had an interesting career, first at Stuttgart, then Dutch National and now ABT.

 

He is Franz in the Coppelia movie opposite Michael de Prince.  He guests all over the world, and is only 32.  
 

He has partnered Osipova in Giselle at Teatro Colon, Semionova in Giselle at the Kremlin Palace Theatre, Alina Cojocaru in Switzerland, Tereshkina at Mariinsky, Fumi Kaneko in DQ at ROH, Amandine Albison and Semionova again in Swan Lake at Rome Opera, as well as other companies, plus galas all over the place.

 

So yes he is world-renowned.  (And to mind a more multi-faceted dancer than Jacopo Tissi )

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6pyuF8gtVY/?igsh=ZW84Mnh2ZGNmNGZ1

[miliosr]

San Francisco Ballet announced its 2024/25 season today:

 

12/6-12/29 - Nutcracker (Helgi Tomasson)

1/24-2/1 - Manon (Kenneth MacMillan)

2/13-2/19 - Cool Brittania: Chroma (Wayne McGregor)/Within the Golden Hour (Christopher Wheeldon)/Dust (Akram Khan)

3/1-3/8 - Raymonda (Tamara Rojo, after Marius Petipa)

3/20-3/26 - Frankenstein (Liam Scarlett)

4/5-4/19 - Van Manen-Dutch Grandmaster: Solo/5 Tango's/Grosse Fugue/Variations for Two Couples (all Hans van Manen)

4/8-4/18 - Broken Love: Broken Wings (Annabelle Lopez Ochoa)/Marguerite & Armand (Frederick Ashton)

4/26-5/4 - Frankenstein Encore (Liam Scarlett)

 

Thoughts: If you were hoping for Tamara Rojo to maintain continuity with Helgi Tomasson's directorship (in so far as the George Balanchine/New York City Ballet diaspora repertory was concerned), this season will be a disappointment for you. But there's a lot to admire: the Hans van Manen and Broken Love programs are very tempting. 

[Ginny]

I personally am thrilled with all of the English ballet Rojo is bringing to SFB, and I don’t miss the Balanchine (I’ve never been a fan. Eek - there, I said it out loud! 😆). I am especially over the moon about the chance to see MacMillan’s Manon, having never seen it live before. And also Raymonda - I have always wanted to see this as a full length ballet. I know Rojo’s reworking at ENB has gotten mixed reviews, but I will happily give it go.
 

My only gripe with this new season - there is no light-hearted, family-friendly story ballet, other than Nutcracker.  I would have liked to have seen Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, or even a Don Q or Cinderella repeat from last season. This 2024-25 season announcement, along with SF Ballet exceptionally high ticket prices at WMOH, pretty much solidify my opinion that SFB doesn’t have much interest in marketing to families/children. (Maybe they never really have!). It’s too bad, because an afternoon basking in the beauty of the WMOH and the beauty & talent of the SFB dancers on stage is something to behold. It certainly was a formative memory for my daughter the first time we took her when she was maybe 8 or 9.
 

Re: Rojo’s Raymonda - if you have seen it, would you consider it suitable & enjoyable for older children and/or teens?  

[Irmgard]

6 hours ago, Ginny said:

 

Re: Rojo’s Raymonda - if you have seen it, would you consider it suitable & enjoyable for older children and/or teens?  

Yes, provided you are not expecting the traditional story.  Rojo's storyline is very flawed but the piece is full of dancing, especially bravura dancing for the men, and there is just enough left of the choreography attributed to Petipa to keep the interest.  Sets are nondescript but costumes are colourful, if not always helpful for the choreography in Act 3.  Of course, the music is gorgeous!  

[nycitybird]

Angelo Greco has announced on Instagram that he's going to Houston Ballet.

[FionaM]

@Ginny  Rojo’s Raymonda is definitely a family friendly ballet.  All ages.  The storyline is easy to follow and there is more to it than the traditional classical tutu version. 
 

Lots and lots of lovely dancing, beautiful sets and colourful costumes, and of course the wonderful music re-arranged to fit the new story.

 

My only gripe with the production is that the ballerinas costumes are so long that their choreo is harder to see.  Most of it is the historic choreography and those solos are tough!  
 

I think anyone who is not expecting the traditional version or doesn’t know it, will enjoy this ballet.   It’s akin to Coppélia or other light hearted ballets.