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Tamara Rojo at San Francisco Ballet

miliosr
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miliosr

miliosr

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Since the thread which discussed Tamara Rojo's new position as Artistic Director of the San Francisco Ballet (SFB) is now closed, I thought I would start a new thread on the subject.

 

Two principal dancers - Sarah Van Patten and Ulrik Birkkjaer - have already announced they are leaving. Two more principal dancers - Julian Mackay and Benjamin Freemantle - have announced on Instagram this week that they are leaving, So, even with Isaac Hernandez joining as a principal dancer, SFB will be down three principals by the end of this season. Rojo will certainly have an impact on the roster sooner rather than later.

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capybara

capybara

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Madison Kessler has posted two stories on Instagram: the first a screen shot from balletalert about her leaving (containing speculation as to the reasons why) and the second a screenshot of Benjamin Freemantle’s post about his plans to move to New York, with a message added implying she would be on the same future path (dancing/Broadway/filming).

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bangorballetboy

bangorballetboy

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2 hours ago, capybara said:

Madison Kessler has posted two stories on Instagram: the first a screen shot from balletalert about her leaving (containing speculation as to the reasons why) and the second a screenshot of Benjamin Freemantle’s post about his plans to move to New York, with a message added implying she would be on the same future path (dancing/Broadway/filming).


Thanks. I’ve seen both of those stories and in neither does Keesler say she’s leaving SFB. There may be teases and there may be inferences to draw but we cannot say for certain (and I haven’t read anything from her anywhere as confirmation) that she is leaving.

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FionaM

FionaM

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Principal Julian Mackay is leaving. His IG story today says: 

 

julianmackay. 

THANK YOU TO THE WONDERFUL

AUDIENCE TONIGHT. IT WAS A GREAT FEELING PERFORMING FOR ALL OF YOU. UNFORTUNATELY FOR THE LAST TIME..THIS WAS NOT MY CHOICE BUT EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.I WILL TELL MY STORY SOON. A BIG THANK YOU TO HELGI TOMASSON FOR ALL OF HIS GUIDANCE DURING MY TIME HERE.

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Irmgard

Irmgard

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I posted on here last night but my post appears to have been removed for no reason and with no explanation.  I posted that I had contacted Madison Keesler, with whom I had the pleasure of working in 2017, (and I am posting on here with her permission), and she confirmed that she is leaving San Francisco Ballet and heading for New York .  She will keep dancing but will also be spreading her wings to hopefully do some acting.

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Sim

Sim

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3 hours ago, Irmgard said:

I posted on here last night but my post appears to have been removed for no reason and with no explanation.  I posted that I had contacted Madison Keesler, with whom I had the pleasure of working in 2017, (and I am posting on here with her permission), and she confirmed that she is leaving San Francisco Ballet and heading for New York .  She will keep dancing but will also be spreading her wings to hopefully do some acting.

We don't hide posts 'for no reason'.  In the hidden post you didn't say that you had Ms Keesler's permission to post on a public forum, so we hid it.  Apologies but this was done late on a holiday weekend so we hadn't got to the point of telling you yet.  

 

Your second post indicates that you have the green light to put Ms Keesler's information onto a public forum, so that is fine. 

 

We have often explained to members that we have to be very careful with what information about someone's personal or professional life is posted here.  Unless it is clearly in the public domain, or unless the person involved has given permission for the info to be disseminated here or elsewhere, we can't allow what appears to be speculation, even if it is true but not yet 'out there'.  We don't like having to do this, but we know from previous experience and legal threats that it is better to err on the side of caution.

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Guest oncnp

Guest oncnp

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1 hour ago, miliosr said:

Julian Mackay has posted more about his departure on his Instagram feed. (Sorry - couldn't get the actual Instagram post to imbed properly.)

 

 

The comments make interesting reading as well. 

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FLOSS

FLOSS

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When Rojo took over at ENB after what at the time seemed to be a strangely truncated selection and appointment process she had the benefit of a great deal of support from dance critics and others for whom she could do no wrong as a dancer and who I think as a result felt very positive about her directorship. I think that  her directorship has largely lived up to those early expectations although her management style seems to have prompted at least one outstanding dancer to find mote congenial working conditions elsewhere.The professional dance community has always been a somewhat small and very interconnected one in which its members tend to be able to find out  what is going on in other companies with relative ease through their personal connections with former colleagues and one time fellow students.

 

As far as Rojo's time at ENB is concerned I don't know whether there was a greater turnover of personnel  during her directorship than under her immediate predecessors although I did get the impression perhaps somewhat erroneously that there was a greater degree of instability in the upper ranks of the company than there had been under Eagling. Whether or not the departures from SFB have any connection with Rojo's imminent arrival is difficult to know. The news of departures from the company at this time does not look good and is made all the worse  by the additional detail which at least one dancer has chosen to give to the effect that they had not been offered a contract for the coming season by someone who has never seen them dance. Being appointed to succeed a director who has run a company successfully for several decades is difficult enough at the best of times as the new director needs to demonstrate  to those who appointed them that they are a worthy successor. The last thing they need is adverse publicity and media coverage.The news of these departures is the sort of thing that a new director must dread because it looks so bad.  Rojo has a tough act to follow and a lot to prove and at San Francisco she will be working without the supportive group of dance critics and dance goers she had in London. It seems to me that the news of these departures and the fact that she is bringing dancers with her will make her task as director  more difficult since it could easily be interpreted as a lack of concern for the company's own traditions. Perceived lack of respect for a company's traditions, repertory and performance style is something which has been the downfall of more than one director in recent years. It will be interesting to see how things work out for Rojo at her new company.

 

 

 

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Lizbie1

Lizbie1

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I'm reminded that the ENB controversy was discussed at her SFB interview, and of this quote from a New York Times piece when her appointment was announced:

 

'Rojo said she would bring a “system of checks and balances” developed at English National — involving the wider artistic team in casting and dancer evaluations — to San Francisco Ballet. She added, “I like transparency in leadership. I think it’s important for dancers to understand how decisions are made”...

 

'..."Tamara was not afraid to admit mistakes and find solutions,” Evers said.'

 

Rojo will be acutely aware of how the news of dancer departures will appear - I wouldn't rush to judgement.

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Guest oncnp

Guest oncnp

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20 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

'She added, “I like transparency in leadership. I think it’s important for dancers to understand how decisions are made”...

 

 

and yes,  there are two sides to every story and we don't know hers,  but it would appear that she fired Julian Mackay without the courtesy of speaking to him which puts the lie to that statement. 

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Fonty

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29 minutes ago, FLOSS said:

 Perceived lack of respect for a company's traditions, repertory and performance style is something which has been the downfall of more than one director in recent years. It will be interesting to see how things work out for Rojo at her new company.

 

 

 

My perception is that tradition seems to be taking second place to the new and the "innovative" with regard to new directors  these days, but of course I only see the ones that are available to me in this country.  Acosta is so new to the position with BRB it is too early to pass judgement.  However, I got the impression from an interview he gave that being custodian of the more traditional works performed by the company was not his first priority.  

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Lizbie1

Lizbie1

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32 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

and yes,  there are two sides to every story and we don't know hers,  but it would appear that she fired Julian Mackay without the courtesy of speaking to him which puts the lie to that statement. 

 

I agree that at first glance this doesn't look good. However: she is not his current boss so it might not have been her news to break; and it seems possible, even probable (given that she is not particularly familiar with him) that any decision was informed by the "wider artistic team" - I headed over to Ballet Alert to see what the discussion looked like, and at least one poster seemed unconvinced that Julian Mackay had settled in well there.

 

While I admire a lot of what Rojo has done at ENB, the stories from a few years ago demonstrated that there were management problems. I disliked the dismissive line she took in the press then and the frothy talk about her relationship with Hernandez, whose behaviour some dancers were clearly unhappy with. However, that NYT piece - finally! - gave reassuring specifics about how these problems were addressed, and she herself is certainly bright enough to have learned that lesson. (Whether she actually has will presumably come out in the wash.)

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Guest oncnp

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28 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

I agree that at first glance this doesn't look good. However: she is not his current boss so it might not have been her news to break; and it seems possible, even probable (given that she is not particularly familiar with him) that any decision was informed by the "wider artistic team" - I headed over to Ballet Alert to see what the discussion looked like, and at least one poster seemed unconvinced that Julian Mackay had settled in well there.

 

I see your point. But regardless of who informed the decision, at the end of the day (and the beginning and the middle) the decision was hers, as MacKay's IG makes clear and he does not understand why he was fired. If she believes what she says, a courtesy call wouldn't have gone amiss. 

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FionaM

FionaM

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5 hours ago, FLOSS said:

It seems to me that the news of these departures and the fact that she is bringing dancers with her 

 


Could you clarify this?  I was under the impression that it is only Isaac Hernandez who is coming ‘with’ her.  Are there others?


As Isaac is Tamara’s life-partner and father of their child, that was always to be expected.  In addition he is a very good principal dancer that most companies would hire without the need to audition.  (I understand he did go through the motions of being auditioned for SFB in order for full transparency.  Even though they knew him from his previous tenure there.) 

 

In regards to the departures, asides from Julian MacKay, all are retiring or leaving for new, different opportunities … including Madison Keesler and Benjamin Fremantle.  Though it’s clear that Madison’s decision is prompted by this change of directors!

 

My personal opinion is that there are many dancers at all levels in ENB (never mind elsewhere) who are better than Julian Mackay.  Technically and dramatically.  He has done really well to get a principal role at SFB.  Perhaps he is now too expensive?  Or that it is the self-promotion, big star ego, that has not gone down well with SFB board and new director.  He has his own production company, self-run galas, and his own merchandise range.  This is not something other company dancers have.   Plus the usual modelling and gala invitations that other dancers do get.
 

Further, I doubt the new AD would be able to make a decision to not renew his contract, solely on her own.  
 

Personally I can see that his dancing style might not fit with a vision of classically pure technique.  I think that is what Tamara strives for in her company performances.  His is too wild, too individual and not pure enough.  Watch for the over rotated arms in pirouettes, and the forward bend before jumps, plus the unplaced arms in jumps.  These are classically incorrect.  

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miliosr

miliosr

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11 hours ago, FLOSS said:

It seems to me that the news of these departures and the fact that she is bringing dancers with her will make her task as director more difficult since it could easily be interpreted as a lack of concern for the company's own traditions. Perceived lack of respect for a company's traditions, repertory and performance style is something which has been the downfall of more than one director in recent years.

With the passage of 37 years, it's easy to forget that Helgi Tomasson's directorship began in 1985 with a nearly complete break from the roster, repertory and performance style established by the preceding directorship (Lew Christensen and Michael Smuin). With the exception of a handful of dancers and the Balanchine repertory, Tomasson discarded most of the rest. Jim Sohm was a dancer under both directorships and he has said that he had to learn a brand new repertory and take on classical technique after Tomasson took over as director. So, based on history, Tamara Rojo may feel she has more freedom to make changes than might seem immediately apparent.

 

10 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

I headed over to Ballet Alert to see what the discussion looked like, and at least one poster seemed unconvinced that Julian Mackay had settled in well there.

[Full disclosure: I'm also a Ballet Alerter.] Due to the pandemic and injury, I don't think Mackay ever established himself deeply within the company. The true people to watch are the principal dancer Joseph Walsh, the ballet master Felipe Diaz, and the school director Patrick Armand, who are all central to the company as it exists presently. Whether they stay or go will give a better indication of how radical the change will be.

 

5 hours ago, FionaE said:

In regards to the departures, asides from Julian MacKay, all are retiring or leaving for new, different opportunities … including Madison Keesler and Benjamin Fremantle.

 

Freemantle's departure (for whatever reason) is the biggest loss because he's young, came out of the school and is at home equally in the classical, neo-classical and contemporary repertories. 

Edited by miliosr
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capybara

capybara

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1 hour ago, Sim said:

Tamara Rojo has just put an ad to find her successor on Instagram.  I am a bit surprised that ENB isn’t further along with the process by this stage!  


The Press Release was put up on here a week or so ago. It’s worth going to the headhunters’ website and clicking the link to the job and person specs. The closing date is 6th May.

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Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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5 minutes ago, capybara said:


The Press Release was put up on here a week or so ago. It’s worth going to the headhunters’ website and clicking the link to the job and person specs. The closing date is 6th May.

 

Here's the link to the press release:

 

 

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miliosr

miliosr

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San Francisco Ballet has announced its season for 2023:

2023 SEASON - San Francisco Ballet (sfballet.org)

 

next@90 Festival

'A' - Jan 20-Feb 11, 'B' - Jan 21-Feb 8, 'C' - Jan 25-Feb 7

NEXT@90 - San Francisco Ballet (sfballet.org)

 

Giselle (Helgi Tomasson)

Feb 24-Mar 5

 

Program 5 (Helgi Tomasson/Myles Thatcher/William Forsythe)

Mar 14-19

 

Cinderella (Christopher Wheeldon)

Mar 31-Apr 8

 

Romeo & Juliet (Helgi Tomasson)

Apr 21-30

 

Tomasson programmed this season and, as I understand it, will oversee the next@90 Festival. So, we won't have any ideas about Tamara Rojo's plans for quite a while.

 

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