programs - Readers

Transcription

programs - Readers

2016 Season Music Made Visible
PROGRAMS
06 07
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April 2016
Volume 93, No. 6
Table of Contents
Paul Heppner
Publisher
Susan Peterson
Design & Production Director
Ana Alvira, Robin Kessler,
Shaun Swick, Stevie VanBronkhorst
Production Artists and Graphic Design
Mike Hathaway
Sales Director
Brieanna Bright,
Joey Chapman, Ann Manning
Seattle Area Account Executives
Marilyn Kallins, Terri Reed
San Francisco/Bay Area Account Executives
Brett Hamil
Online Editor
Jonathan Shipley
Associate Online Editor
EMG
MASTHEAD
Paul Heppner
President
Mike Hathaway
Vice President
Genay Genereux
Accounting
Sara Keats
Marketing Coordinator
Ryan Devlin
Events / Admin Coordinator
06
PROGRAM
PAGE 22
PAGE 30
4
Greetings from the Artistic Director
& Principal Choreographer
6
History of San Francisco Ballet
7
Board of Trustees
Endowment Foundation Board
9
For Your Information
10
Explore Ballet: 2016 Audience
Engagement Programs
Master Class Series
Jonathan Shipley
Ad Services Coordinator
Carol Yip
Sales Coordinator
PROGRAM
13
Leadership
14
Artists of the Company
Principal Dancers
Principal Character Dancers
Soloists
Corps de Ballet
22 Program 06
Prism
Seven Sonatas
Rush©
07
38
San Francisco Ballet Orchestra
40
San Francisco Ballet Staff
42
Calendar of 2016 Repertory Season
Donor Events
44
Sponsor & Donor News
48
Great Benefactors
49
Artistic Director’s Council
50
Season Sponsors
52
Chairman’s Council
54
Christensen Society
58
Corporate & Foundation Support
60
Jocelyn Vollmar Legacy Circle
62
Thank You to Our Volunteers
63
San Francisco War Memorial and
Performing Arts Center
30 Program 07
Continuum©
In the Countenance of Kings
Theme and Variations
San Francisco Ballet | Vol. 23, No. 6
2016 Repertory Season
All editorial material © San Francisco Ballet, 2016
Chris Hellman Center for Dance
455 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Corporate Office
425 North 85th Street Seattle, WA 98103
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Cover: Dores André and Joan Boada in Wheeldon’s Rush© // © Erik Tomasson;
Above, L-R: Pascal Molat in Wheeldon’s Rush© // © Chris Hardy; Lorena Feijoo in
Balanchine’s Theme and Variations // Choreography by George Balanchine
© The Balanchine Trust; Photo © Erik Tomasson
FOLLOW US BEFORE AND AFTER THE PERFORMANCE!
Encore Arts Programs is published monthly by Encore Media
Group to serve musical and theatrical events in the Puget
Sound and San Francisco Bay Areas. All rights reserved.
©2016 Encore Media Group. Reproduction
without written permission is prohibited.
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PROGRAMS 06 & 07
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SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
3
Greetings from the Artistic Director &
Principal Choreographer
Welcome! We’re delighted to have you join us for Programs 06
and 07 of the 2016 Repertory Season. These triple bill programs
showcase the tremendous versatility and talents of our dancers.
As we approach the end of our season, we prepare to say goodbye to three of the Company’s long-time principal
dancers: Joan Boada, Pascal Molat, and Gennadi Nedvigin. They are incredible artists who have contributed much to
our performances over the years. We look forward to celebrating their unique artistry and achievements with a farewell
performance on Sunday, April 17, at 7pm.
If you can’t join us for this special performance, be sure see them in the final production of the year: John Cranko’s
full-length Onegin, a visual feast of rich, emotional choreography and powerful storytelling. And with a story by poet
Alexander Pushkin, set to music by the incomparable Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the ballet is Russian to its core. I hope
you’ll join us for this dramatic conclusion to our 2016 Season.
I want to take this opportunity to thank our subscribers. Many of you have received renewal packets with information
about the exciting 2017 Repertory Season that we have planned. Remember, if you renew by April 20, you’ll receive a
special “Early Bird” discount. Thank you for you steadfast support.
Sincerely,
Helgi Tomasson
Artistic Director & Principal Choreographer
4
SFBALLET.ORG
©
Program 07 features Continuum©, another Wheeldon work that we
commissioned in 2002 and last performed in 2006. Continuum©
is the second of three neoclassical ballets he set to rhythmically
complex keyboard music of György Ligeti. Also on the program
is SF Ballet’s first commission by New York City Ballet Resident
Choreographer Justin Peck, In the Countenance of Kings. Justin
created the piece on the Company last summer, setting it to
The BQE, a sweeping orchestral score by indie crossover artist
Sufjan Stevens. The piece was arranged especially for the SF Ballet Orchestra by Michael Atkinson.
Erik Tomasson
Program 06 features Prism, which I choreographed in 2000 for
New York City Ballet’s Diamond Project. Set to Beethoven’s
Concerto No. 1, this neoclassical work is always danced beautifully
by our Company. We will also perform Alexei Ratmansky’s Seven
Sonatas, a ballet that is new to SF Ballet this year. It’s a beautifully
lyric piece, set to gorgeous Scarlatti piano sonatas that the pianist
plays onstage. The program closes with Christopher Wheeldon’s
Rush©, a ballet we premiered at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival. I’m
looking forward to seeing it again on the War Memorial Opera
House stage.
History of San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet, the oldest professional ballet
company in America, has emerged as a worldclass arts organization since it was founded as
the San Francisco Opera Ballet in 1933.
Initially, its purpose was to train dancers
to appear in opera productions, but it
separated from the opera in 1942 and was
renamed San Francisco Ballet. Headed
by brothers Willam, Lew, and Harold
Christensen from the late ’30s until the
’70s, it made its mark early on by staging
the first full-length American productions
of Swan Lake (1940) and Nutcracker
(1944). Under Lew Christensen’s direction,
the Company made its East Coast debut
at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in 1956
and toured 11 Asian nations the following
year, marking the first performances of an
American ballet company in Asia.
In 1972 the Company settled in the War
Memorial Opera House for its annual
residency. The following year, Michael
Smuin was appointed associate artistic
director; in 1981, his The Tempest was
nominated for three Emmy Awards
(Willa Kim received the award for
Outstanding Costume Design), and in
1984 Smuin received an Emmy Award for
Choreography for the Great Performances:
Dance in America national broadcast of A
Song for Dead Warriors.
Top, L-R: SF Ballet founders Willam,
Lew, and Harold Christensen at the
1982 groundbreaking ceremony
of the SF Ballet Building, now
known as the Chris Hellman Center
for Dance; Bottom: Members of
San Francisco Ballet beneath the
Golden Gate Bridge on the eve of
their historic 1957 tour to Asia.
Helgi Tomasson’s arrival as artistic
director in 1985 marked the beginning
of a new era. Like Lew Christensen,
Tomasson had been a leading dancer for
the most important ballet choreographer
of the 20th century, George Balanchine.
He has since staged acclaimed fulllength productions of Swan Lake (1988,
2009); The Sleeping Beauty (1990); Romeo &
Juliet (1994); Giselle (1999); and a new Nutcracker
(2004). In 1991, SF Ballet performed in New York
City for the first time in 26 years. In May 1995,
the Ballet played host to 12 ballet companies
for UNited We Dance: An International Festival,
commemorating the 50th anniversary of the
signing of the United Nations Charter.
SF Ballet’s repertory includes works by
George Balanchine, Lew Christensen,
6
SFBALLET.ORG
William Forsythe, Agnes de Mille,
Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Mark Morris,
Rudolf Nureyev, Marius Petipa, Jerome Robbins,
Paul Taylor, Christopher Wheeldon, Val Caniparoli
and many others. In recent years, the Company’s
touring programs have become increasingly
ambitious, with engagements at venues including
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts in Washington, DC; New York City Center
and Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater; the
Opéra de Paris-Palais Garnier and the Théâtre du
Châtelet in Paris; London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre
and the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden;
and Athens’ Megaron Theatre.
The San Francisco Ballet School, overseen by
Tomasson, attracts students from around the
world, training approximately 350 annually. In
addition to filling the ranks of SF Ballet, graduates
have gone on to join distinguished ballet
companies throughout the world.
In 2004, SF Ballet debuted Tomasson’s critically
acclaimed new production of Nutcracker. The
following year, Tomasson was awarded the Lew
Christensen Medal in honor of his 20th anniversary
as artistic director of SF Ballet, and that year the
Company won its first Laurence Olivier Award,
for its 2004 fall season at Sadler’s Wells Theatre.
A readers’ poll conducted in 2006 by Dance
Europe magazine named SF Ballet “Company of
the Year,” marking the first time a non-European
company took that honor. In 2008, SF Ballet and
the San Francisco Ballet School celebrated their
75th anniversary. In 2012, SF Ballet’s tour schedule
included London and Washington, DC, as well as
first-time visits to Hamburg and Moscow. In 2013,
the Company performed at New York’s Lincoln
Center, and in 2014 the SF Ballet returned to Paris
for a three-week engagement. In fall 2015, the
Company returned to China after six years for
a critically acclaimed tour with performances in
Beijing and Shanghai.
2015 marked Tomasson’s 30th anniversary as
artistic director of SF Ballet.
San Francisco Ballet Association
Board of Trustees 2015–2016
John S. Osterweis, Chair of the Board and Executive Committee
David C. Cox, President
Chris Hellman†
Chair Emeritus
Richard C. Barker†
Immediate Past Chair
Margaret G. Gill
Vice Chair
James H. Herbert, II†
Vice Chair
Lucy Jewett
Vice Chair
James D. Marver
Vice Chair
Carl F. Pascarella
Vice Chair
Diane B. Wilsey
Vice Chair
Jennifer J. McCall
Secretary
Susan S. Briggs
Assistant Secretary
Nancy Kukacka
Treasurer
Jola Anderson
Kristen A. Avansino
Rosemary B. Baker
Karen S. Bergman
Gary Bridge
Amy Burnett
Chaomei Chen
Christine Leong Connors
Susan P. Diekman
Suzy Kellems Dominik
Kate Duhamel
Sonia H. Evers
Jason M. Fish
Julie A. Flynn
Shelby M. Gans
Joseph C. Geagea
Dr. Richard Gibbs
Beth Grossman
Thomas E. Horn
Donald F. Houghton
Hiro Iwanaga
James C. Katzman
Yasunobu Kyogoku
Kelsey Lamond
Irv H. Lichtenwald
Marie O’Gara Lipman
Mark G. Lopez
Stephanie Marver
Alison Mauzé
Marissa Mayer
Deborah M. Messemer
Mary Mewha
Kurt C. Mobley
Christine Russell
Randee Seiger
Christine E. Sherry
Charlotte Mailliard Shultz
Catherine Slavonia
David Hooker Spencer
Fran A. Streets
Arlene H. Sullivan
Judy C. Swanson
Richard J. Thalheimer
Jennifer M. Walske
Miles Archer Woodlief
Timothy C. Wu
Janice Hansen Zakin
TRUSTEES EMERITI
ASSOCIATE TRUSTEES
Michael C. Abramson
Thomas W. Allen
Marjorie Burnett
Charles Dishman
Garrettson Dulin, Jr.†
Millicent Dunham
J. Stuart Francis†
Sally Hambrecht
Ingrid von Mangoldt Hills
George B. James II†
Pamela J. Joyner†
David A. Kaplan
Mary Jo Kovacevich
James J. Ludwig†
Nancy H. Mohr
Gerald E. Napier
Thomas J. Perkins
Marie-Louise Pratt
George R. Roberts
Kathleen Scutchfield
Robert M. Smelick
Susan A. Van Wagner
Dennis Wu
Akiko Yamazaki
Marie Hurabiell
President, San Francisco Ballet
Auxiliary
Patricia D. Knight
President, BRAVO
Emily Hu
President, ENCORE!
Stewart McDowell Brady
Patrice Lovato
Co-Chairs, Allegro Circle
Helgi Tomasson
Artistic Director &
Glenn McCoy*
Executive Director
San Francisco Ballet Endowment Foundation
Board of Trustees 2015–2016
James D. Marver, President
John S. Osterweis
Kim Ondreck Carim‡
President Emeritus
Chief Financial Officer
Hank J. Holland
Laura Simpson‡
Vice President
Secretary
Thomas E. Horn
Elizabeth Lani‡
Treasurer
Assistant Secretary
† Past Chair
* ex officio
Richard C. Barker
Susan S. Briggs
J. Stuart Francis
Nancy Kukacka
Hilary C. Pierce
Larissa K. Roesch
Chris Hellman
Director Emeritus
George B. James II
Director Emeritus
‡ Non-Director
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
7
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For Your Information
HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Order online at sfballet.org
or call Ticket Services at
415.865.2000, Monday
through Friday, 10am to 4pm.
On performance dates, phones
are open from 10am until the
performance begins.
The San Francisco Ballet
Box Office is open only on
performance dates and is
located in the War Memorial
Opera House at 301 Van Ness
Avenue, at Grove Street. The
Box Office opens at noon
Tuesday through Friday and
at 10am Saturday and Sunday,
and remains open through
the first intermission. The hour
prior to each performance is
reserved for business related
to that performance only.
GROUP SALES
Groups of 10 or more can save
up to 30%. For information,
visit sfballet.org/groups or call
415.865.6785.
GIFT CERTIFICATES
Gift certificates are available
online at sfballet.org or by
calling 415.865.2000.
THE SHOP AT SF BALLET
The Shop at SF Ballet is
open one hour before
each performance, during
intermissions, and after
weekend matinees. A Ballet
Shop pass is available at
the Box Office for non-ticket
holders who wish to purchase
merchandise. Always online at
sfballet.org/shop.
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Persons with wheelchairs
may enter and exit the Opera
House through the front
doors (Van Ness Avenue),
Taxi Ramp (Grove Street), and
Carriage Entrance (north side).
Wheelchair seating positions
are located on the Orchestra
and Dress Circle levels. Contact
Ticket Services at 415.865.2000
for more information.
Wheelchair accessible stalls in
restrooms can be found on all
floors except the Main Lobby
and fifth floor Balcony level. A
lockable single user/special
needs restroom is located on
Floor 3. Please see the usher
closest to this location for
access. Accessible drinking
fountains are located on all
floors except the Balcony level.
Assistive listening devices
(Sennheiser model, infraredsound-amplification headsets)
are available at both coat-check
locations in the Main Lobby.
A major credit card or driver’s
license is required for deposit.
GENERAL ENJOYMENT
Coat-check rooms are located
in the Main Lobby on the north
and south promenades.
Lost & Found is located at the
north coat-check room, or call
415.621.6600, Monday–Friday,
8:30–11:30am.
Opera glasses are available for
$5 rental at the north coatcheck room. A driver’s license
or other form of valid ID is
required as a deposit.
Restrooms are located on all
floors except Orchestra level
(Floor 1).
Courtesy telephones for local
calls only, are located on the
first floor Lobby level directly
across from the elevators.
Patrons desiring a taxi
after a performance should
come to the Grove Street
Taxi Ramp located on the
south side of the Opera
House. Accommodations are
provided on a first come, first
served basis, and cannot be
guaranteed. Service is based
on availability of licensed taxis.
Staff will be on hand to assist.
Walking tours of the San
Francisco War Memorial and
Performing Arts Center, which
includes Louise M. Davies
Symphony Hall, War Memorial
Opera House, and the Herbst
Theatre, are available to the
public on Mondays on the hour
between 10am and 2pm. Tours
leave from the Grove Street
entrance of Davies Symphony
Hall. There are no tours on
holidays. General admission
$7; seniors/students $5. For
information, call 415.552.8338.
Parcels, backpacks, luggage,
etc., must be checked in
the Opera House coatcheck rooms.
Children of any age attending
a performance must have a
ticket and occupy that seat;
no children-in-arms or infants,
please. SF Ballet recommends
that children be at least eight
years old to attend Repertory
Season performances.
Opera House management
reserves the right to remove
any patron who is creating a
disturbance.
Latecomers will not be seated
after the lights have been
dimmed in order not to disturb
patrons who have arrived
on time. No photography or
recording is allowed during
the performance. Please turn
off phones and refrain from
talking and texting during the
performance. Food and drinks,
other than bottled water, are
not permitted in the theater.
Smoking is not permitted in the
Opera House.
An EMT is on duty in the Opera
House lower lounge during all
performances.
DINING
The Café at the Opera House
on the Lower Lounge level
opens two hours prior to
curtain time for a delicious
pre-performance buffet (no
buffet on Saturday matinees)
and is also open during
Intermission for refreshments.
Call 415.861.8150 for
buffet reservations or visit
opentable.com. Patrons
arriving before front doors
open will be admitted at the
North Carriage Entrance of the
Opera House.
Refreshments are available
on the lower level as well
as the Box, Orchestra, and
Dress Circle levels during all
performances. Refreshments
may not be carried beyond
the concession areas in
which they are served. No
outside food or beverages are
allowed. Drinking fountains
are located on all levels near
the elevators. No food or
beverages, except bottled
water, are permitted inside the
auditorium at any time.
For more general information,
visit sfballet.org.
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
9
Explore Ballet: Audience Engagement Programs
What makes a ballet orchestra
different? Who are the new
voices in the ballet world
today? What can Swan Lake
say to us in the 21st century?
What’s a typical day in the
life of a dancer? SF Ballet’s
Explore Ballet programs
answer these questions and
more. Join us, won’t you?
Cecelia Beam and Rubén Martín Cintas lead a discussion during a Ballet 101 class // © Erik Tomasson
Information at
sfballet.org/explore
FREE PROGRAMS
All Audience Engagement Programs
are subject to change. The views,
opinions, and information expressed
are strictly those of the participants,
and do not necessarily represent
or imply any official position of San
Francisco Ballet Association.
MEET THE ARTIST INTERVIEWS
Fridays, 7–7:30pm Sundays, 1–1:30pm
FREE and open to all ticket holders
These free pre-performance interviews spotlight a work being performed and are open to all ticket
holders. Learn more at sfballet.org/mta. Enjoy podcasts of select past programs at sfballet.org/podcasts.
2016 POINTES OF VIEW (POV) LECTURE SERIES
Wednesdays, 6–6:45pm FREE and open to the public
War Memorial Opera House, Orchestra Level
Use the Carriage Entrance on the north side of the building, adjacent to the courtyard
Company artists and visiting scholars offer key insights and a deeper appreciation of that evening’s
performance. But, you don’t have to buy a ticket to attend — all ballet fans are welcome! Learn more
at sfballet.org/pov. Enjoy podcasts of past programs at sfballet.org/podcasts.
Apr 6
SF Ballet 2015–2016 Resident Scholar
Carrie Gaiser Casey, PhD, places
Alexei Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas (Program
06) within the arc of Ratmansky’s career
and discusses the choreographic features
of this ballet. Apr 13
Music Director and Principal Conductor
Martin West in conversation with dance
educator Mary Wood about the SF Ballet
Orchestra’s 40th anniversary. Also for discussion
is the work of Sufjan Stevens, who composed
the music to which Justin Peck’s new work,
In the Countenance of Kings, is set.
10
SFBALLET.ORG
May 4
Mary Wood discusses Cranko’s Onegin
with SF Ballet School Associate Director
Patrick Armand and Ballet Master
Betsy Erickson.
TALK ABOUT BALLET
SEEING BALLET
$25 general; $20 SF Ballet
subscribers & members
Tickets at sfballet.org/talkaboutballet
Chris Hellman Center for Dance, 455
Franklin Street
Saturdays, 5–6pm
$25 general, per session;
$20 SF Ballet subscribers & members
Tickets at sfballet.org/seeingballet
Chris Hellman Center for Dance
455 Franklin Street
These lively events include a
60-minute talk and Q&A, plus a
wine and cheese reception with the
speaker.
Sense & Sensibility: Thoughts on
Justin Peck and a New Generation
Sat, Apr 9, 5–6:30pm
In the five years since Jennifer
Homans announced ballet’s demise
in her history Apollo’s Angels, we
have seen the rise of a new crop of
young choreographers, many of them
American. Chief among these artists
is Justin Peck, a dancer with New
York City Ballet and now its resident
choreographer. Dance critic Claudia
La Rocco shares her thoughts on Peck
and his colleagues. Are you new to ballet? Or do you want
to more deeply appreciate specific
works? Would you like to access tools
that will help you analyze any ballet?
Then Seeing Ballet is for you. These
facilitated workshops are highly
participatory and deeply engaging.
Seven Sonatas
Saturday, Apr 16, 2016
(415) 554-0181
www.cadillacSF.com
Single Master Class: $50
Observer ticket: $25
school.sfballet.org/masterclassseries
In an effort to share the joy of dance with a wider audience, SF Ballet School
presents the 2015–2016 Master Class Series for pre-professional and professional
ballet dancers ages 15–25. Each uniquely themed class will be taught in our studios
by SF Ballet Company dancers, ballet masters, and teachers. Each two-hour class
will begin at 10am with a 75-minute ballet class in our Christensen studio at
455 Franklin Street, followed by a workshop on the subject matter. Classes are
limited to 40 dancers. Not a dancer? A limited number of observer tickets are
available. Advance registration is required.
Featuring SF Ballet Company Ballet
Master Ricardo Bustamante and SF Ballet
School Faculty Member and Principal
Character Dancer Rubén Martín Cintas
mexican food,
cocktails, & fun!
44 9th Street, SF 94103
between market and miSSion
Master Class Series
Neo-Classical Ballet with the Masters
Sun, Apr 10, 10am–12pm
we’re back!
DID YOU RECEIVE TRAINING
AT SF BALLET SCHOOL?
If you would like to reconnect with
former classmates and receive the
School’s quarterly E-News, contact us
at alumni@sfballet.org to learn more.
Unveiling Onegin with Yuan Yuan Tan
and Patrick Armand
Sun, May 8, 10am–12pm
Featuring SF Ballet Principal Dancer
Yuan Yuan Tan and SF Ballet School
Associate Director Patrick Armand
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
11
San Francisco Ballet School
LEARN. GROW. DANCE.
Under the leadership of Associate Director Patrick Armand,
school and the official school of San Francisco Ballet. The
PRE-BALLET
diverse curriculum, grounded in classical technique, also
AGES 4 – 7 ( For 2016–2017 school year)
includes classes in contemporary dance, corps de ballet,
• Registration begins April 8
music, conditioning, and character dance—all in a safe,
• No audition required
professional, and family oriented environment.
• Admissions are accepted on a first
come, first served basis
• Register online for a FREE trial class
on April 3.
AUDITIONS FOR CHILDREN
AGES 8 – 11 (For 2016–2017 school year)
• Saturday, June 4
For complete audition information,
visit school.sfballet.org.
Questions? Call +1.415.865.6700
or email school@sfballet.org
San Francisco Ballet School // © Erik Tomasson
San Francisco Ballet School is the nation’s oldest ballet
San Francisco Ballet Leadership
HELGI TOMASSON
GLENN MCCOY
Artistic Director &
Executive Director
In 2015, Helgi Tomasson celebrated
his 30th anniversary as artistic
director of San Francisco Ballet. He
is the longest serving sole artistic
director of a major ballet company.
Under his leadership, SF Ballet has
( Chris Hardy)
evolved from a respected regional
troupe into a world-class company, praised for its diversity
and broad repertory.
©
Tomasson was first discovered by Jerome Robbins in his
native Iceland and was offered a scholarship to New York’s
School of American Ballet. Subsequently, he began his
professional career with The Joffrey Ballet and Harkness
Ballet. He later joined New York City Ballet where he became
one of the company’s most celebrated principal dancers.
Tomasson has choreographed more than 40 works. His
numerous awards include being named Officier in the
French Order of Arts, an honorary degree from The Juilliard
School, and the Grand Cross Star of the Order of the Falcon,
Iceland’s most prestigious honor. Tomasson is also the
director of the San Francisco Ballet School.
(© Chris Hardy)
Glenn McCoy’s career spans more than
30 years of operations management and
marketing in ballet and opera. He joined
San Francisco Ballet in 1987, and has
held the positions of company manager,
general manager, and managing director.
He was appointed to the position of
executive director in April 2002.
McCoy has overseen the production of more than 60 new repertory
and full-length ballets for SF Ballet and more than 45 domestic and
international tours, including engagements in Paris, London, New
York, Beijing, and Washington, DC.
He supervised SF Ballet’s operations for the critically acclaimed
international dance festival, UNited We Dance, in 1995; SF Ballet’s
75th Anniversary Season in 2008; and tapings of Lubovitch’s
Othello, Tomasson’s Nutcracker, and Neumeier’s The Little
Mermaid, which were broadcast on PBS by Thirteen/WNET New
York’s performing arts series Great Performances.
Prior to joining SF Ballet, McCoy held marketing positions at San
Francisco Opera and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
MARTIN WEST
PATRICK ARMAND
Music Director & Principal Conductor
Associate Director, SF Ballet School
Martin West is acknowledged as
one of the foremost conductors of
ballet. Born in Bolton, England, he
studied math at Cambridge University
before studying at the St. Petersburg
Conservatory of Music and London’s
Royal Academy of Music.
(© David Allen)
In 1997, West made his debut with English National Ballet
and was immediately appointed resident conductor. In recent
seasons, he has worked with many of the top companies in
North America and Europe including New York City Ballet,
National Ballet of Canada, and The Royal Ballet.
West joined SF Ballet in fall 2005, having been a frequent
guest since his debut two years earlier. He has made a
number of critically acclaimed recordings with the SF Ballet
Orchestra, including the complete score of Tchaikovsky’s
Nutcracker and an album of suites from Delibes’ Sylvia and
Coppélia. In addition, he conducted on the award-winning
DVD of Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid, as well as SF Ballet’s
production of Nutcracker for PBS.
Born in Marseille, France, Patrick Armand
studied with Rudy Bryans, his mother
Colette Armand, and at the Ecole de
Danse de Marseille. He won the Prix
de Lausanne in 1980 and continued his
studies at the School of American Ballet.
In 1981, he joined the Ballet Theatre
( Chris Hardy)
Français and was promoted to principal
dancer in 1983. The following year he joined the English National
Ballet, where he danced for six years before joining Boston Ballet
in 1990.
©
Armand has been a frequent guest teacher for schools and
companies in Amsterdam, Florence, London, Naples, Tokyo, and
Toronto. In 2006, he was appointed teacher and ballet master of
the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. In 1998 and 2009, Armand served
as a jury member of the Prix de Lausanne and since 2010, he has
been the competition’s official male coach and teacher. In 2010, he
was appointed principal of the SF Ballet School Trainee Program
and in September 2012, he assumed the position of SF Ballet
School associate director.
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
13
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL CHOREOGRAPHER
Helgi Tomasson
PRINCIPAL DANCERS
Dores André
Joan Boada
Frances Chung
Taras Domitro
Lorena Feijoo
Mathilde Froustey
Jaime Garcia Castilla
Tiit Helimets
Luke Ingham
Sofiane Sylve
Yuan Yuan Tan
Davit Karapetyan
John and Barbara Osterweis
Principal Dancer
Richard C. Barker
Principal Dancer
Maria Kochetkova
Herbert Family
Principal Dancer
Sarah Van Patten
Diana Dollar Knowles
Principal Dancer
Vitor Luiz
Pascal Molat
Gennadi Nedvigin
Carlos Quenedit
Joseph Walsh
Vanessa Zahorian
Diane B. Wilsey
Principal Dancer
PRINCIPAL CHARACTER DANCERS
Rubén Martín Cintas
Val Caniparoli†
Ricardo Bustamante†
Anita Paciotti†
SOLOISTS
Daniel Deivison-Oliveira†, Sasha De Sola, Carlo Di Lanno, Koto Ishihara†, James Sofranko,
Jennifer Stahl†, Lauren Strongin, Anthony Vincent†, Hansuke Yamamoto
CORPS DE BALLET
Lauren Parrott†
Benjamin Freemantle†
Elizabeth Powell†
Jordan Hammond†
Alexander Reneff-Olson†
Jillian Harvey
Aaron Renteria†
Esteban Hernandez
Rebecca Rhodes†
Ellen Rose Hummel†
Julia Rowe†
Norika Matsuyama†
Emma Rubinowitz†
Lee Alex Meyer-Lorey†
Skyla Schreter
Steven Morse†
Grace Shibley
Francisco Mungamba†
Sean Orza†
Gaetano Amico III†
Kamryn Baldwin†
Sean Bennett†
Kimberly Braylock-Olivier†
Samantha Bristow†
Kristine Butler
Max Cauthorn†
Thamires Chuvas†
Diego Cruz†
Isabella DeVivo†
Jahna Frantziskonis
Henry Sidford†
Miranda Silveira†
John-Paul Simoens†
Myles Thatcher†
Mingxuan Wang†
Wei Wang†
Lonnie Weeks
Maggie Weirich†
Ami Yuki†
WanTing Zhao†
APPRENTICES
Grace Choi†, Blake Kessler†, Anastasia Kubanda†, Chisako Oga†, Francisco Sebastião†
BALLET MASTER & ASSISTANT TO THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Ricardo Bustamante†
BALLET MASTERS
Felipe Diaz†, Betsy Erickson†, Anita Paciotti†, Katita Waldo†
COMPANY TEACHERS
Helgi Tomasson, Patrick Armand, Ricardo Bustamante†, Felipe Diaz†
CHOREOGRAPHER IN RESIDENCE
Yuri Possokhov
MUSIC DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR
Martin West
†Received training at the San Francisco Ballet School
14
SFBALLET.ORG
Principal Dancers
DORES ANDRÉ
JOAN BOADA
FRANCES CHUNG
TARAS DOMITRO
Born in Vigo, Spain,
Dores André trained with
Antonio Almenara and at
Estudio de Danza de Maria
Avila. She joined the Company
in 2004, was promoted to
soloist in 2012 and to principal
dancer in 2015.
A native of Havana, Cuba,
Joan Boada trained at the
National Ballet School of
Cuba and danced with seven
companies — including Ballet
Nacional de Cuba and The
Australian Ballet — before
joining SF Ballet as a principal
dancer in 1999.
Born in Vancouver, British
Columbia, Frances Chung
trained at the Goh Ballet
Academy before joining
SF Ballet in 2001. She was
promoted to soloist in 2005
and principal dancer in 2009.
Born in Havana, Cuba,
Taras Domitro trained at
the National Ballet School
of Cuba. He performed as
a principal dancer with the
Ballet Nacional de Cuba
prior to joining SF Ballet as a
principal dancer in 2008.
LORENA FEIJOO
MATHILDE FROUSTEY
JAIME GARCIA CASTILLA
TIIT HELIMETS
Born in Havana, Cuba,
Lorena Feijoo trained at
the National Ballet School
of Cuba. She danced with
Ballet Nacional de Cuba and
The Joffrey Ballet prior to
joining SF Ballet as a principal
dancer in 1999.
Mathilde Froustey was born
in Bordeaux, France, and
received her training at the
Paris Opera Ballet School. At
age 17, she joined Paris Opera
Ballet, where she was a sujet.
She joined SF Ballet as a
Born in Madrid, Spain,
Jaime Garcia Castilla studied
at the Royal Conservatory of
Professional Dance. He joined
SF Ballet as an apprentice in
2002. He was promoted to
soloist in 2006 and to principal
dancer in 2008.
Born in Viljandi, Estonia,
Tiit Helimets trained at the
Tallinn Ballet School and
began his career as a soloist
(later principal dancer) with
Estonian National Ballet. He
joined SF Ballet as a principal
dancer in 2005.
LUKE INGHAM
DAVIT KARAPETYAN
MARIA KOCHETKOVA
VITOR LUIZ
From Mount Gambier, South
Australia, Luke Ingham trained
at the Australian Ballet School
and was later a soloist with
The Australian Ballet. Ingham
joined SF Ballet as a soloist
in 2012 and was promoted to
Born in Yerevan, Armenia,
Davit Karapetyan trained
at the Armenian School of
Ballet and Schweizerische
Ballettberufsschule. He joined
SF Ballet as a principal dancer
in 2005. He was appointed
John and Barbara Osterweis
Principal Dancer in 2013.
Born in Moscow, Russia,
Maria Kochetkova trained
at the Bolshoi School and
danced with The Royal
Ballet and Bolshoi Ballet
before joining SF Ballet as
a principal dancer in 2007.
She was appointed Herbert
Family Principal Dancer in
2012.
Born in Juiz de Fora, Brazil,
Vitor Luiz trained at The
Royal Ballet School. He
danced with Birmingham
Royal Ballet and Ballet do
Theatro Municipal do Rio de
Janeiro prior to joining SF
Ballet as a principal dancer
in 2009.
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
Dancer headshots
// © Chris Hardy
and David Allen
15
Principal Dancers
PASCAL MOLAT
GENNADI NEDVIGIN
CARLOS QUENEDIT
SOFIANE SYLVE
A native of Paris, France,
Pascal Molat trained at Paris
Opera Ballet School and
danced with Royal Ballet of
Flanders. He joined SF Ballet
as a soloist in 2002 and was
promoted to principal dancer
in 2003.
Born in Rostov, Russia,
Gennadi Nedvigin trained
at the Bolshoi School and
danced with Le Jeune Ballet
de France and Moscow
Renaissance Ballet before
joining SF Ballet as a soloist
in 1997. He was promoted to
Born in Havana, Cuba, Carlos
Quenedit trained at Cuba’s
National Ballet School. He
has danced with Ballet
Nacional de Cuba, Miami
City Ballet, and The Joffrey
Ballet. He joined SF Ballet
in 2014.
Sofiane Sylve was born
in Nice, France. She has
danced with Dutch National
Ballet and New York City
Ballet. She joined SF Ballet
as a principal dancer and
guest of the School faculty
in 2008.
YUAN YUAN TAN
SARAH VAN PATTEN
JOSEPH WALSH
VANESSA ZAHORIAN
Yuan Yuan Tan was born in
Shanghai, and has danced
with Hamburg and Bolshoi
Ballets. She joined SF Ballet
as soloist in 1995, was
in 1997, and was appointed
Richard C. Barker Principal
Dancer in 2012.
Born in Boston, Sarah Van
Patten danced with the
Royal Danish Ballet before
joining SF Ballet as a soloist in
2002. She was promoted to
principal dancer in 2007 and
was appointed Diana Dollar
Knowles Principal Dancer
in 2013.
Born in Doylestown,
Pennsylvania, Joseph Walsh
trained at Houston Ballet II
before joining Houston Ballet
in 2007. He joined SF Ballet
promoted to principal that
same year.
Born in Allentown,
Pennsylvania, Vanessa
Zahorian trained at the
Kirov Academy. She joined
SF Ballet in 1997. She was
promoted to soloist in 1999
and to principal dancer in
2002. She was appointed
Diane B. Wilsey Principal
Dancer in 2014.
Principal Character Dancers
16
RICARDO BUSTAMANTE†
VAL CANIPAROLI†
RUBÉN MARTÍN CINTAS
ANITA PACIOTTI†
Born in Medellin, Colombia
Joined in 1980
Named principal character
dancer in 2007
Born in Renton, WA
Joined in 1973
dancer in 1987
Born in Reus, Spain
Joined in 2000
dancer in 2014
Born in Oakland, CA
Joined in 1968
dancer in 1987
SFBALLET.ORG
Soloists
DANIEL
DEIVISON-OLIVEIRA†
SASHA DE SOLA
CARLO DI LANNO
Born in Winter Park, FL
Named apprentice in 2006
Joined in 2007
Promoted to soloist in 2012
Born in Napoli, Italy
Joined as soloist in 2014
KOTO ISHIHARA†
JAMES SOFRANKO
JENNIFER STAHL†
Born in Nagoya, Japan
Joined in 2010
Born in Marion, IN
Joined in 2000
Born in Dana Point, CA
Joined in 2006
LAUREN STRONGIN
ANTHONY VINCENT†
HANSUKE YAMAMOTO
Born in Los Gatos, CA
Joined as soloist in 2015
Born in Phoenix, AZ
Joined in 2006
Born in Chiba, Japan
Joined in 2001
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Joined in 2005
Dancer headshots
// © Chris Hardy
and David Allen
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
17
Corps de Ballet
18
KIMBERLY
BRAYLOCK-OLIVIER†
GAETANO AMICO III†
KAMRYN BALDWIN†
SEAN BENNETT†
Born in Salem, OR
Joined in 2007
Born in Honolulu, HI
Joined in 2015
Born in San Francisco, CA
Joined in 2012
SAMANTHA BRISTOW†
KRISTINE BUTLER
MAX CAUTHORN†
THAMIRES CHUVAS†
Born in Media, PA
Joined in 2015
Born in Buffalo, NY
Joined in 2015
Joined in 2014
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Joined in 2015
DIEGO CRUZ†
ISABELLA DEVIVO†
Born in Zaragoza, Spain
Joined in 2006
Born in Great Neck, NY
Joined in 2013
JAHNA
FRANTZISKONIS
BENJAMIN
FREEMANTLE†
Born in Tucson, AZ
Joined in 2015
Born in Port Moody, BC,
Canada
Joined in 2015
SFBALLET.ORG
Born in New York, NY
Joined in 2010
JORDAN HAMMOND†
JILLIAN HARVEY
ESTEBAN HERNANDEZ
ELLEN ROSE HUMMEL†
Born in Irvine, CA
Joined in 2010
Born in Allegheny, PA
Joined later that year
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico
Joined in 2013
Born in Greenville, SC
Joined in 2012
NORIKA MATSUYAMA†
LEE ALEX MEYER-LOREY†
STEVEN MORSE†
FRANCISCO MUNGAMBA†
Born in Chiba, Japan
Joined in 2014
Born in Zurich, Switzerland
Joined in 2004
Returned in 2013
Born in Harbor City, CA
Joined in 2009
Born in Madrid, Spain
Joined in 2011
SEAN ORZA†
LAUREN PARROTT†
ELIZABETH POWELL†
Joined in 2008
Born in Palm Harbor, FL
Joined in 2013
Born in Boston, MA
Joined in 2012
ALEXANDER
RENEFF-OLSON†
Joined in 2013
Dancer headshots
// © Chris Hardy
and David Allen
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
19
Corps de Ballet
20
AARON RENTERIA†
REBECCA RHODES†
JULIA ROWE†
EMMA RUBINOWITZ†
Born in Pasadena, CA
Joined in 2014
Born in Chicago, IL
Joined in 2009
Born in Elizabethtown, PA
Joined in 2013
Joined in 2013
SKYLA SCHRETER
GRACE SHIBLEY
HENRY SIDFORD†
MIRANDA SILVEIRA†
Born in Chappaqua, NY
Joined in 2014
Born in Portland, OR
Joined in 2013
Born in Marblehead, MA
Joined in 2012
Born in São Gonçalo, Brazil
Joined in 2014
JOHN-PAUL SIMOENS†
MYLES THATCHER†
MINGXUAN WANG†
WEI WANG†
Born in Omaha, NE
Joined in 2015
Born in Atlanta, GA
Joined in 2010
Born in Shandong, China
Joined in 2014
Born in Anshan-Liaoning, China
Joined in 2013
SFBALLET.ORG
Dancer headshots
// © Chris Hardy
and David Allen
LONNIE WEEKS
MAGGIE WEIRICH†
AMI YUKI†
WANTING ZHAO†
Born in Chicago, IL
Joined in 2010
Born in Portland, OR
Joined in 2015
Born in Saitama, Japan
Joined in 2015
Born in Anshan-Liaoning, China
Joined in 2011
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
21
22
SFBALLET.ORG
06
PROGRAM
PRISM
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson
Costume Design: Martin Pakledinaz
Lighting Design: Mark Stanley
World Premiere: May 3, 2000
New York City Ballet, Diamond Project
New York State Theater; New York, New York
San Francisco Ballet Premiere: January 30, 2001
War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
These performances of Prism are made possible by
Lead Sponsor David and Vicki Cox, and Major Sponsor
Mrs. Henry I. Prien
SEVEN SONATAS
Composer: Domenico Scarlatti
Choreographer: Alexei Ratmansky
Staged by: Nancy Raffa
Costume Design: Holly Hynes
Lighting Design: Brad Fields
SF BALLET PREMIERE
World Premiere: October 2, 2009—American Ballet Theatre;
The Richard B. Fisher Center for Performing Arts at Bard
College; Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
The San Francisco Ballet premiere of Seven Sonatas is
made possible by Major Sponsor Teri and Andy Goodman,
and David A. Kaplan and Glenn A. Ostergaard
RUSH©
Composer: Bohuslav Martinů
Choreographer: Christopher Wheeldon
Scenic and Costume Design: Jon Morrell
Lighting Design: Mark Stanley
World Premiere: August 28, 2003—San Francisco Ballet,
The Edinburgh Playhouse, Edinburgh International Festival;
Edinburgh, Scotland
These performances of Rush© are made possible by
Lead Sponsor Sue and John Diekman
The 2003 world premiere of Rush© was commissioned by the
Edinburgh International Festival and San Francisco Ballet
Lauren Strongin and Hansuke Yamamoto in Wheeldon’s Rush© // © Erik Tomasson
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
23
06
PROGRAM
Left: San Francisco Ballet in Tomasson’s Prism // © Erik Tomasson
Right: Vanessa Zahorian and Hansuke Yamamoto in Tomasson’s Prism // © Chris Hardy
PRISM
BIOGRAPHIES
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn, Germany on
December 17, 1770. A crucial figure in the transition between the
Classical and Romantic eras in Western music, he remains one of
the most famous and influential of all composers. His compositions
include nine symphonies, five piano concertos, one violin concerto,
32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, and an opera, Fidelio.
Beethoven displayed his musical talents early. At the age of 21
he moved to Vienna, where he began studying composition
with Joseph Haydn. By his late 20s his hearing began to
deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost
totally deaf. In 1811 he gave up conducting and performing
in public but continued to compose; many of his most
admired works come from these last 15 years of his life.
Works from this period, including his great Mass the Missa
Solemnis, are characterized by their intellectual depth,
their formal innovations, and their intense, highly personal
expression. And that Beethoven composed his most beautiful
and extraordinary music while deaf is considered an almost
superhuman feat of creative genius. Beethoven is acknowledged
as one of the giants of classical music, and his influence
on subsequent generations of composers is profound.
HELGI TOMASSON
Choreographer
Biography on page 13
MARTIN PAKLEDINAZ
Costume Designer
Martin Pakledinaz (1953–2012) was an American costume designer
for theatre and dance. He won Tony Awards® for costume design
for 2012’s Thoroughly Modern Millie and the 2000 revival of
Kiss Me, Kate, which also earned him the Drama Desk Award for
Outstanding Costume Design.
Other notable work on Broadway includes Nice Work If You
Can Get It in 2012, the revival of Master Class in 2011, and The
Normal Heart. He earned Tony Award® and Outer Critics Circle
nominations for Moira Buffini’s Gabriel for the Atlantic Theatre
Company and The Glass Menagerie. Other projects include
Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and the world premiere of The
Golden Ticket for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis.
24
SFBALLET.ORG
In 2011, Pakledinaz designed the sets and costumes for the
SF Ballet production of Tomasson/Possokhov’s Don Quixote.
In February 2010, he designed Mark Morris’ Socrates, which
premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Opera credits
include Lucia di Lammermoor at the Metropolitan Opera, as
well as works for New York City Opera and opera houses in
Seattle, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Santa Fe, Houston, Salzburg,
and Paris.
MARK STANLEY
Lighting Designer
Mark Stanley is the resident lighting designer for New
York City Ballet where he has designed more than
200 premieres for the company. He has worked with
numerous choreographers such as Susan Stroman,
Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Justin Peck,
Christopher d’Amboise, William Forsythe, David Gordon,
and Ulysses Dove. In addition, his designs are in the
repertories of The Royal Danish Ballet, The Royal Ballet,
Paris Opera Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Dutch
National Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theater, The Joffrey Ballet, and many others.
Stanley previously served as resident lighting designer for
New York City Opera, lighting more than 20 new productions.
Additional opera credits include Boston Lyric Opera, Tulsa
Opera, and Florida Grand Opera. Stanley’s work for theater
includes lighting design for The John F. Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts, Goodspeed Opera House, and Paper
Mill Playhouse. His designs have been seen nationally on
PBS for Live from Lincoln Center and Great Performances,
including those for George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and
Peter Martins’ Swan Lake.
Stanley is currently head of lighting design at Boston
University. He is on the board of The Hemsley Lighting
Programs and is the author of The Color of Light Workbook.
PROGRAM NOTES
by Cheryl A. Ossola
In 2000, San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director and Principal
Choreographer Helgi Tomasson returned to New York City
Ballet, his home for 16 of his dancing years, to create a ballet
for the Diamond Project, a program designed to yield new
works for that company’s repertory. The result was Prism,
his second work for NYCB; a year later it premiered at San
Francisco Ballet. Widely praised by New York critics, Prism
has proved to be as successful on the choreographer’s
own company as it was on the New York troupe.
Set to Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Prism reveals the
clarity, classicism, and precision of Tomasson’s heritage as
a dancer in both Balanchine’s company and Royal Danish
Ballet. Prism’s three movements — an allegro series of trios,
a moody pas de deux, and a finale crowned by male speed
and bravura — provide a classical structure. They also reveal
Tomasson’s sure grasp of the skill he considers essential to a
choreographer — the ability to move large groups of dancers
effectively in space. He does that in Prism with varied groupings
and dynamic waves, and in a variety of emotional tones.
Prism varies from a traditional classical structure in one way: the
focal points of each movement decrease from three dancers to
two to one. Ending a ballet with what’s essentially a solo is rare
— the principal male dancer isn’t alone, but “I felt the music lent
itself to show off a male dancer there,” says Tomasson. Dressed
in black to set him apart, the solo man brings the ballet to a
whirlwind finish in a way that hints at the influence of Jerome
Robbins, a choreographer Tomasson often worked with.
The choreography is clean yet nuanced, perfectly suited to the
first two movements’ filigreed orchestrations (particularly in the
keyboard parts) and the broadly etched passages of the third
movement. In the second movement, an adagio for a central couple
that dances with languid intimacy, the corps de ballet dances in the
shadows behind the duo, echoing and amplifying their movements.
Floating in the background, the ensemble fills the space and
creates a sense of comfort and depth.
For Principal Dancer Sofiane Sylve, Tomasson’s use of the
corps de ballet in Prism shows that he’s thinking like an
artistic director. “You cannot forget about the corps,” she says,
pointing out that many choreographers tend to work with small
ensembles, sometimes only principal dancers or soloists. “For
choreography you need this corps de ballet; why else would
you have 80 people in the company?” she says. “You have to
give them something to do and not just stand there and be
furniture. That’s why Balanchine was so clever — he made [the
corps de ballet] move as much as the people in the front.”
Along with having time onstage with the corps de ballet, Sylve
says, she likes “to be onstage for a chunk of time,” which
Prism allows her to do. “It’s nice to have a 10- or 12-minute pas
de deux; when you’re going to be on for that long you can
create something. I like that you have the time to do that.” In
terms of the steps themselves, Sylve says Prism offers “some
intricate stuff, and the partnering — it’s a little challenging
to figure out. And every movement is very different.”
Near the ballet’s end the movement stops and the solo man
turns, lifting his arms like a conductor, bringing the audience
as well as the dancers under his command. The moment is big
and breathtaking, textured with the kind of joyful exuberance
you often find in a classically structured ballet set to beautiful
music. As Sylve puts it, “It’s like comfort food.”
PRISM
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Music: Beethoven: Piano Concerto
No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15. Costumes
constructed by Barbara Matera, Ltd.,
New York, New York. Fabric dyeing by
Dye-Namix, New York, New York.
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
25
06
PROGRAM
INSTANT
EXPERT
SEVEN SONATAS
BIOGRAPHIES
What Do
Dancer
Ranks
Mean?
SEVEN SONATAS
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Music: Domenico Scarlatti: Keyboard
Sonatas, K. 474, 198, 481, 39, 547, 450,
and 30. Costumes constructed by Cygnet
Studios, New York, New York.
DOMENICO SCARLATTI
Composer
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) was born in Naples
the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric
Handel. He is known primarily as a Baroque composer,
although his music was influential in the development of the
Classical style. Domenico was the sixth of ten children of the
composer and teacher Alessandro Scarlatti, and his musical
gifts developed with an almost prodigious rapidity. At the
age of sixteen he became a musician at the Chapel Royal,
and two years later he settled in Rome, where he became
the pupil of some of the most eminent musicians in Italy.
Scarlatti’s 555 keyboard sonatas are single movements,
written mostly for the harpsichord or the earliest pianofortes.
Some of them display the influence of Iberian folk music,
harmonic audacity in their use of discords, and unconventional
modulations to remote keys.
Ratmansky was named artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet
in January 2004. Under his direction, the Bolshoi Ballet was
named Best Foreign Company in 2005 and 2007 by The Critics’
Circle in London. Ratmansky joined American Ballet Theatre
as artist in residence in January 2009. He has choreographed
12 works for the company, including On the Dnieper and
Seven Sonatas in 2009; The Nutcracker in 2010; Firebird and
Symphony #9 in 2012; and The Sleeping Beauty in 2015.
Ratmansky is the recipient of numerous honors including
knighthood of the Order of Dannebrog, bestowed by Queen
Margrethe II of Denmark in 2001; the the Benois de la Danse
prize in 2005, for his choreography of Anna Karenina for the
Royal Danish Ballet; and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship
in 2013.
NANCY RAFFA
Scarlatti composed a number of operas and cantatas,
symphonias, and liturgical pieces. Well known works
include the Stabat Mater of 1715 and the Salve Regina of
1757, which is thought to be his last composition. His work
has attracted notable admirers, including Frédéric Chopin,
Johannes Brahms, Béla Bartók, and Dmitri Shostakovich.
ALEXEI RATMANSKY
Choreographer
Alexei Ratmansky was born in St. Petersburg and trained at
the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow. His performing career
included positions as principal dancer with Ukrainian National
Ballet, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet.
He has choreographed ballets for the Mariinsky Ballet, the Royal
Swedish Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, New York City Ballet,
San Francisco Ballet, The Australian Ballet, and many others.
26
SFBALLET.ORG
Stager
Nancy Raffa is a ballet master, coach, and performer at
American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She burst onto the global ballet
scene when she was 15 years old, becoming the first American
female to capture the Gold Medal at the Prix de Lausanne.
Her performance career includes principal and/or soloist
positions with ABT, Ballet de Santiago (Chile), Ballet National
Francais de Nancy, and Miami City Ballet. She has partnered
or worked with Rudolf Nureyev, George Balanchine, Mikhail
Baryshnikov, Merce Cunningham, Natalia Makarova, Twyla
Tharp, and many more.
She has assisted choreographer Alexei Ratmansky on all of his
work at ABT since 2009 and has staged several of his works
for leading ballet companies including On the Dneiper and
The practice of ranking dancers is a very
old tradition developed to meet the needs
of the theatre. At least one differentiation
among ranks was in place as early as
1713, when King Louis XIV set separate
salaries for principal dancers. As ballet
took hold, opera house ballet companies,
which supplied dancers for both operas
and ballets, were training grounds where
ranks marked the dancers’ progress to
coveted roles. The terms designating rank
vary among countries and companies. In
the US today, “principal dancer,” “soloist,”
and “corps de ballet dancer” are most
common; however, some companies
have more ranks, while others have none.
Typically, principal dancers take on primary
roles, soloists perform smaller featured
parts, and the corps (meaning “body”) de
ballet dances as a group. Historically, the
corps de ballet was more ornamental than
mobile; nowadays these dancers often
perform demanding choreography. Corps
de ballet dancers also might perform as
demi-soloists (“demi” means “half”) in
couples or small groups.
At San Francisco Ballet, the lines between
roles and ranks often blur. Artistic Director
and Principal Choreographer Helgi
Tomasson allows choreographers to
choose dancers without regard to rank;
anyone may perform principal roles, and
even apprentices (who are still in training
and typically dance with the corps de
ballet) may dance featured parts.
Thanks to dance scholars Marian Smith and
Carrie Gaiser Casey for research assistance.
Left: Stella Abrera and Christine Shevchenko in Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas //
Rosalie O’Connor, Photo Courtesy American Ballet Theatre
©
Firebird for Dutch National Ballet and Seven Sonatas for Atlanta
Ballet. At San Francisco Ballet, she has also staged Ratmansky’s
Shostakovich Trilogy.
and a revival of George Balanchine’s Don Quixote. Other
credits include Boston Ballet, The Royal Ballet, Lyon Opera
Ballet, Houston Ballet, and Nederlands Dans Theater.
HOLLY HYNES
Costume Designer
Holly Hynes is an accomplished costume designer with 200
ballets to her credit, including more than 70 at New York City
Ballet. In fact, Hynes served as the director of costumes for
21 years, creating iconic designs for Peter Martins, Christopher
Wheeldon, and many others. With this came the enormous
task of becoming the primary authority of original costume
reproduction for the Jerome Robbins Estate and The
George Balanchine Trust.
Outside the dance world, Hynes has designed for two
Broadway productions, and four of her costume renderings
remain in the permanent collection of the Museum of the
City of New York. Today, Hynes is the resident costume
designer for The Suzanne Farrell Ballet at The John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC,
a position she has held since the Ballet’s inception in 1999.
Seven Sonatas is one of her most recent dance projects.
BRAD FIELDS
Lighting Designer
Brad Fields has traveled extensively throughout the
world as a lighting designer for ballet and modern dance
companies. As a lighting director with American Ballet
Theatre, Fields has designed the lighting for numerous
ballets including Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée
and William Forsythe’s workwithinwork, among others.
Fields frequently collaborates with Spanish choreographer
Nacho Duato, designing lighting for contemporary works set
on Compañía Nacional de Danza and full-length works for
Mikhailovsky Theatre St. Petersburg. Other projects include
Natalia Makarova’s La Bayadère for The Australian Ballet
PROGRAM NOTES
by Cheryl A. Ossola
Alexei Ratmansky made Seven Sonatas in 2009, his first
year as artist in residence at American Ballet Theatre (ABT).
He arrived there from the Bolshoi, where, as artistic director,
he had made his mark by choreographing full-length ballets
and restaging the classics and Soviet-era ballets. His first
ballet for ABT was a new production of the full-length
Russian ballet On the Dneiper; Seven Sonatas, the next
piece he made there, is cut from entirely different cloth.
It’s cloth that Helgi Tomasson, San Francisco Ballet’s artistic
director and principal choreographer, was eager to bring to
his dancers and audiences. Seven Sonatas “is a jewel of a
piece,” he says. “Just beautiful — and the quality of it, the
inventiveness!” The work is very different from the other
Ratmansky ballets that are in the Company’s repertory, From
Foreign Lands and Shostakovich Trilogy, and showing that kind
of range in one choreographer, says Tomasson, “is wonderful.”
An ensemble work for six dancers, Seven Sonatas is set
to keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, performed
by an onstage pianist. Scarlatti wrote 555 sonatas, more
than half of them in the six years before his death in 1757,
and many of them when he lived in Spain and Portugal.
“It’s great music, very innovative for its time, I think,”
Ratmansky said in an ABT-produced video. “Very structured.
It’s really amazing that he wrote all this music for one
person, for the princess who later became the Queen
of Spain. It feels like a conversation between two highly
educated, sophisticated, and very talented [people].”
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Though the sonatas are said to show the influence of Iberian
folk music, the stylization is subtle by today’s standards. “In
those days, what you were allowed to do in music was much
more defined,” says Music Director and Principal Conductor
Martin West. “There were more boxes you had to fit into,
so having a Spanish influence could be just a simple little
rhythm. Anybody today would say that doesn’t sound very
Spanish, but [in Scarlatti’s day] it was groundbreaking.”
then as a whole community together. And they’re supporting
each other and they’re breaking away from each other. It
actually is quite dramatic.” By ending with everybody in unison,
she adds, the ballet is saying “that the human condition is
like a common language that all human beings share. Alexei
never loses that notion of ‘We need to say something with
this art form or it doesn’t mean anything.’ And he manages
to do that with Seven Sonatas in a really simple way.”
Seven Sonatas is a “study of the music with a human element
woven into it,” says Nancy Raffa, an ABT ballet master and
the stager of Ratmansky’s works. “It’s a vehicle for dancers to
explore, and take their potential as a dancer to the maximum.
It gives them an opportunity to be individual, to be free, make
their spirit move through their body and be the music. No
character, no boundary — they have to stay in the margin
of what Alexei is asking for, but there’s big artistic freedom
there.” The piece was to premiere at Bard College, in a small
venue, and Ratmansky played off that intimacy. “He wanted it
to be as if this dance was happening, this life was happening,
and the audience was looking through a peephole in the
door,” Raffa says. Rather than performing it outwardly, to an
audience, “the dancers are bringing us into their world.”
What Ratmansky saw when he finished the ballet was that “it
wasn’t the music that was inspiring the steps, but the steps
inspiring the music,” Raffa says. “And that’s what he asked
me to convey to the dancers: ‘We want it to look as if the
music is playing because of what you’re feeling and what
you’re doing.’ In other words, he’s saying, ‘Create music with
your bodies. Don’t dance to the music; be the music.’”
To create that world took two hours a day, every day for a
month, says Raffa. “It was like watching a master jeweler
working with a bunch of raw diamonds — it was literally
a very little bit at a time. Sometimes he stayed with two
eight-bar phrases, and he would work an hour and a
half on just that. He literally did it phrase by phrase.”
For the opening, which features all six dancers, Ratmansky
chose a sonata that is moderately paced and soft. Next come
duets, solos for a man and a woman that use the same piece of
music, and lighthearted trios. The finale, serious in tone, is set
to stronger, more dramatic music. Using painting as a metaphor
for the choreographic process, Raffa says the dancers “come
out of the canvas as individuals. Then they come out of the
canvas as couples, with different ways of expressing love — a
conflictive way, a joyous way, a playful way. And then you see
men together with their very masculine humor, very Alexei
humor, and the women mocking them — very folkloric in a way.”
In the studio at SF Ballet, Raffa gives detailed feedback to the
dancers as she hones the choreography. “Breathe with the
body, not the arms,” she says about a moment in the finale.
“Find different ways to do it, some stronger, some softer.” She
asks one dancer for a less vigorous bicycling movement, joking,
“You’re like E.T. on his bicycle, phoning home.” Later she tells
the same dancer, “You had a beautiful moment when you took
his hands on your shoulders. Keep that.” Emphasizing the need
for precision, she reminds the dancers that “we see everything
— every detail, every transition. The floor is gray, the backdrop
is blue, the piano and wings are black, and you’re in white.”
The dancers move through the solos, duets, and trios “until
Alexei gets them, like atoms, to settle,” says Raffa. “Then the
tone becomes very heavy and very serious. It’s like they go
on this journey as individuals, then as couples, then as trios,
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SFBALLET.ORG
RUSH©
BIOGRAPHIES
BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ
Composer
Along with Leoš Janáček, Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959)
was one of the giants of Czech music in the twentieth
century; a composer with a distinctly individual voice. In
his lifetime, he created nearly 400 compositions including
six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and many
orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works.
Martinů was born in the Moravian town of Polička. Starting violin
lessons at the of seven, he wrote his first compositions by the age
of ten. In 1906, he entered Prague Conservatory, but was later
expelled for “incorrigible negligence.” However, he continued
composing, producing many works during and after World War I,
including the patriotic cantata Czech Rhapsody in 1918 and two
ballets by 1923. But Martinů felt the need for additional training.
Returning to the Conservatory, he studied composition with
Josef Suk, later working in Paris with Albert Roussel.
In the 1930s he focused on the neoclassical style, as developed
by Stravinsky, and experimented with expressionism,
constructivism, and jazz idioms. His symphonic career began
when he immigrated to the US in 1941, where he composed
his six symphonies, which were performed by every major US
orchestra. Eventually Martinů returned to Europe, where he lived
until his death.
CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON
Choreographer
Christopher Wheeldon trained at The Royal Ballet School and
joined The Royal Ballet in 1991. In 1993, Wheeldon joined New
York City Ballet, and was promoted to soloist in 1998. He retired
from dancing in 2000 to concentrate on choreography.
He was New York City Ballet’s first artist in residence and also
resident choreographer. Wheeldon has created works for
companies around the world, including eight works for SF Ballet.
In 2006 Wheeldon formed Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company
and in 2012 he was appointed artistic associate of The Royal
Ballet. In 2014 Wheeldon directed and choreographed the
musical version of An American In Paris for which he won a 2015
Tony Award® for Best Choreography.
JON MORRELL
Scenic and Costume Designer
Jon Morrell trained at the Central School of Art and Design in
London. Designs for ballet include many collaborations with the
Scottish Ballet and The Royal Ballet. For San Francisco Ballet
he designed Christopher Wheeldon’s Rush© and Ashley Page’s
Guide to Strange Places, and for New York City Ballet and
Houston Ballet he designed Wheeldon’s Carnival of the Animals.
For theater, Morrell was awarded the Olivier Award for Best
Costume Design for the London West End premiere of the
musical Top Hat. In addition to other theatre work, Morrell has
also designed sets and costumes for companies including the
English National Opera, the Royal Swedish Opera, Santa Fe
Opera, Scottish Opera, and New Zealand Opera, among others.
Morrell has also designed costumes for a number of opera
companies including English National Opera, Opera Australia,
San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, English National
Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Chicago Lyric Opera, to name a few.
MARK STANLEY
Lighting Designer
PROGRAM NOTES
by Cheryl A. Ossola
Imagine “a rush of cool air,” choreographer Christopher
Wheeldon said to his dancers about a moment of stillness in
the ballet he was creating — and from that description emerged
the title for Rush©. San Francisco Ballet danced the world
premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland in
August 2003; the ballet had its US premiere in San Francisco
the following spring. Last performed at the Stern Grove
Festival in 2015, Rush© wraps dynamic movement, quirkiness,
and an elegant central duet into an exhilarating ballet.
Wheeldon describes Bohuslav Martinů’s lush Sinfonietta de
La Jolla, his choice of music for Rush©, as “a force of nature.
Both the first and last movements are incredibly vigorous.
I spoke with the dancers about finding ways to make their
bodies look like they’re being sucked backwards.”
As an overall choreographic approach, Wheeldon chose
to go deep, responding to the music’s imagery as much as
to its rhythms. But which approach to use wasn’t always
clear, as evidenced by the dilemma he faced in one section
near the end. “It’s like the troops come charging across
the stage,” he says. “I could do one of two things: have a
whirlwind of movement, or do nothing, and maybe in our
minds we’d see this whirl of movement.” He compares it
to “that moment in the vortex of a twister when it’s still; it’s
peaceful. It’s the moment for everyone to take a deep breath
and prepare for the fireworks of the last movement.”
Those fireworks, however, came easily compared to the second
movement pas de deux. “What do you do with panoramic,
epic-sounding patterns in the orchestra when you’ve decided to
use only two dancers?” Wheeldon says. “I had choreographed
too many steps, so we edited away, trying to find the right
places for certain movements to hit the music, as opposed to
creating shapes that mirrored what was going on in the music.”
“He made a story there,” says Ballet Master Anita Paciotti
about the pas de deux. “To me, it’s something epic; they are
very heroic figures, almost Greek. They have a story, and
there’s chaos that comes between them — in the center
section all the dancers whirl around them and they’re just
standing there, him covering her eyes to shield her.”
Principal Dancer Pascal Molat well remembers working
with Martinů’s music in those early rehearsals. “It was so
hard, you cannot imagine,” he says. “It has many different
rhythms. It’s more difficult than [George Balanchine’s] Agon.
Here, you are passing through the music and counting
in order to be right. If you try to listen to the music, to
be with the music, you’re going to be off the count.”
In Rush©, the difficulty of working with Martinů’s tricky counts is
compounded by other factors. One is that principal dancers don’t
often have to dance in the kind of “tremendous synchronicity”
Paciotti says this ballet asks of its two lead couples. And
then there’s the fact that Wheeldon has “his own sense of
musicality. It’s always valid; it’s just not obvious,” Paciotti says.
“And that’s why it’s interesting; that’s why you don’t get tired
of his work. And it’s speedy at the ending, just wild. When the
dancers see it for the first time they say, ‘We can’t do that.’”
But they can. “You can’t argue with the technique of [Wheeldon’s]
choreography; it is doable, and he’ll show you,” says Paciotti.
“He is one of the best dancers in the world. He’s a technical
master; he can do any step better than anyone, including
the girls. He can balance; he can do pointe work; he can do
everything. That is the remarkable thing about Christopher
Wheeldon. His imagination can take him to crazy places.”
RUSH© PRODUCTION CREDITS
Music: Sinfonietta de La Jolla for Chamber Orchestra and Piano
used by arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and
copyright owner. Costumes constructed by Ann Beck Dance and
Specialty Costumes, San Francisco, California and CMC Design,
San Francisco, California. Scenic construction and painting by
San Francisco Ballet Carpentry and Scenic Departments at the
San Francisco Opera Scenic Studios.
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SFBALLET.ORG
07
PROGRAM
PROGRAM SPONSORS
MR. RICHARD C.BARKER
GAIA FUND
CONTINUUM©
Composer: György Ligeti
Choreographer: Christopher Wheeldon
Lighting Design: Natasha Katz
World Premiere: April 4, 2002
San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco, California
These performances of Continuum© are made
possible by Lead Sponsor Beth and Brian Grossman;
Major Sponsors Mary Jo and Dick Kovacevich, and
Catherine and Mark Slavonia; and Sponsors
Karen S. Bergman, and Michael and Mary Schuh.
The 2002 world premiere of Continuum© was
underwritten in part by the Phyllis C. Wattis
New Works Fund.
IN THE COUNTENANCE OF KINGS
Composer: Sufjan Stevens
Orchestrated by: Michael P. Atkinson
Choreographer: Justin Peck
Costume Design: Ellen Warren
Lighting Design: Brandon Baker
WORLD PREMIERE
World Premiere: April 7, 2016
San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House;
San Francisco, California
The 2016 world premiere of In the Countenance of Kings
is made possible by Lead Sponsors Mr. Richard C. Barker,
Gaia Fund, David and Kelsey Lamond, Yurie and Carl Pascarella,
and The Seiger Family Foundation, with additional support from
the Byron R. Meyer Choreographers Fund and
Osher New Work Fund of the San Francisco Ballet
Endowment Foundation.
THEME AND VARIATIONS
Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreographer: George Balanchine
Staged by: Elyse Borne
Costume Design: Nicola Benois
Lighting Design: David K.H. Elliott
Vanessa Zahorian and Davit Karapetyan in Balanchine’s Theme and Variations //
Choreography by George Balanchine © The Balanchine Trust; Photo © Erik Tomasson
World Premiere: November 26, 1947
Ballet Theatre, City Center Theater;
New York, New York
San Francisco Ballet Premiere: August 19, 1986
Ravinia Festival; Highland Park, Illinois
These performances of Theme and Variations are
made possible by Lead Sponsor Nancy A. Kukacka,
and Sponsor BRAVO.
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
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07
PROGRAM
CONTINUUM©
PRODUCTION CREDITS
CONTINUUM©
BIOGRAPHIES
GYÖRGY LIGETI
Composer
György Ligeti (1923–2006) was born in Dicsöszentmárton,
Romania. As a Jew living in Nazi-controlled Eastern Europe,
he was denied university study and instead enrolled in the
Kolozsvár Conservatory in 1941. Surviving the war, Ligeti
graduated from the Budapest Academy of Music in 1949.
Ligeti and his wife fled their homeland during the Revolution in
1956. In 1958 Ligeti produced the influential Artikulation, one
of his first electronic works. Other important progressive works
followed, such as Apparitions in 1958–1959, Atmosphères in
1961, Requiem in 1963–1965, and his opera Le Grand Macabre
in 1975–1977 (it was revised in 1997). Ligeti received numerous
awards and prizes, including the 1986 Grawemeyer Prize and
the 1996 Music Prize of the International Music Council.
CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON
Choreographer
NATASHA KATZ
Lighting Designer
Natasha Katz has worked extensively on Broadway as well as in
opera and ballet. Katz has designed for more than 40 Broadway
plays and musicals and is the winner of four Tony Awards© for
Best Lighting Design, for The Glass Menagerie in 2014, Once in
2012, The Coast of Utopia in 2007, and Aida in 2000. Katz also
designed Cyrano de Bergerac for The Royal Opera and the original
production of The Normal Heart at the New York Shakespeare
Festival. Her film work includes Barrymore and Mike Tyson: The
Undisputed Truth. She has also lit the HBO television specials
Mambo Mouth and Side-O-Rama. Katz designed Christopher
Wheeldon’s Carnival of the Animals for New York City Ballet, and
has worked with American Ballet Theatre, among other companies.
PROGRAM NOTES by Cheryl A. Ossola
Christopher Wheeldon’s Continuum© is a work of many moods
and tones — a dance visualization of music by late-20th-century
avant-garde composer György Ligeti. It’s also, according to
Ballet Master Anita Paciotti, who assisted the choreographer
during the ballet’s creation, “very much his response to the
four couples he worked with. It was custom-built for them.”
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SFBALLET.ORG
Music: György Ligeti, works for keyboard (in order of performance):
Musica Ricercata, No. 1, Sostenuto; Etudes pour piano, Book 1, No. 2
(“Cordes a vide”); Musica Ricercata, No. 6, Allegro molto capriccioso;
Five Pieces for Piano Four-Hands: II (Polyphonic Etude); Capriccio No.
1 (1947); Etudes pour piano, Book 1, No. 4; “Fanfares,” “Continuum”
for Harpsichord; Musica Ricerata, No. 10, Vivace capriccioso; Musica
Ricerata, No. 11, Andante misurato e tranquillo; Etudes pour piano,
Book II, No. 13; “L’escalier du diable,” used by arrangement with
European American Music Distributors LLC, sole US and Canadian
agent for Schott Musik International, Publisher and copyright holder.
Costumes constructed by Nancy Endy.
Created for San Francisco Ballet in 2002 and last performed
by the Company in 2006, Continuum© is the second of three
neoclassical ballets Wheeldon set to Ligeti’s keyboard music.
The other two, Polyphonia and Morphoses, choreographed
for New York City Ballet in 2001 and 2002, respectively, share
Continuum©’s spare look and emphasis on the couple. The
rhythmically complex, often dissonant Ligeti piano scores don’t
strike the ear as inherently danceable, but Wheeldon chose
them for this triad of dances in a deliberate move away from
Romantic-era music. “Audiences shouldn’t just be entertained,”
he says. “They should be challenged. And I believe the only
way you can push an audience is by pushing yourself.”
The ballet has lighthearted moments, particularly in two
quartets, but “there’s an oppressive quality to the piece that
I think is purposeful,” says Paciotti. When Wheeldon made
Continuum© it was not long after 9/11. Though the tragic
event wasn’t the primary influence on what Wheeldon did in
the studio, it did have an effect on him. “We all talked about
9/11; it was on everybody’s mind,” Paciotti says. “I don’t think
overall you get the idea that this is a very somber piece, but
it has serious moments and it closes on a serious moment.”
There are only two direct references to 9/11, both of them
in the central pas de deux. “When the two hands meet and
they make the world, that’s basically the two airplanes,”
says Principal Dancer Sofiane Sylve. Paciotti says the
message in those cupped hands, though Wheeldon didn’t
say it explicitly, is that the world is fragile. At one point
where a red horizontal line is on the backdrop, Sylve
replicates it, sweeping her arms along an unseen horizon.
“Basically those two lines are matching,” she says. “It’s
all about the world. You’re looking toward the future.”
Wheeldon might have been thinking about the future, but he
was also responding to the immediate world, in the form of his
eight dancers and a piano score he pronounced, when he was
a 13-year-old piano student, “the ugliest thing” he’d ever heard.
But perspectives change, and in his 30s Wheeldon saw the
music’s intricacies and surprises as worthy of exploration. All of
the music is difficult, but the final piece, “L’escalier du diable”
(“The Devil’s Staircase”), says Paciotti, “is crazy. For the pianist
too. You can’t really count it. Paciotti says she and Wheeldon
invented a formula for counting the piece, “just to make some
sense out of it. And then there were other places where you
Left: San Francisco Ballet in Wheeldon’s Continuum©; Right: Dores André and Joseph Walsh rehearse Peck’s In the Countenance of Kings // Both © Erik Tomasson
could make no sense out of it. It takes a long time, but when
you get intuitive, experienced, smart, musical dancers who
are very in tune with one another, it goes together very well.”
the soundtrack to Round-Up, an impressionistic documentary
film about rodeo riders. In 2015, Stevens released Carrie &
Lowell, a personal album inspired by the death of his mother.
As for his dancers, Wheeldon gives them much to work
with. He makes liberal use of the floor — crawling, kneeling,
rolling — and when the dancers are on their feet they
move through intricate partnering, effervescent solos,
whispers of folk dance, elegance, athleticism, and sensuality.
Wheeldon and his lighting designer, Natasha Katz, set off
the dancers in dramatic ways, isolating them in tight pools
of down light or, when they take flight, splashing daylight
across the stage. The result is sculptural, minimalist, and
evocative. “There’s no special effects; there’s no big set,”
says Sylve. Yet “there’s another dimension created.”
MICHAEL P. ATKINSON
IN THE COUNTENANCE
OF KINGS
BIOGRAPHIES
Orchestrator
Michael P. Atkinson is a Brooklyn-based hornist, conductor,
and composer. As solo hornist of The Knights, a trailblazing
group of young musicians that has been called “a chamber
music experience in orchestral form,” he has concertized in
the US and Europe. The Knights were also the subject of a
September 2011 documentary called We Are the Knights, aired
on PBS. As an orchestral and chamber musician, Atkinson has
performed with the New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St.
Luke’s, Washington National Opera, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra,
Shanghai Symphony, and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln
Center. As an arranger, he has frequently worked with Sufjan
Stevens, and prepared the score for his award-winning The BQE
and conducted its world premiere at the BAM 25th Anniversary
Next Wave Festival. His work with Stevens would capture the
attention of New York City Ballet resident choreographer Justin
Peck, who later tapped them to create the scores of his ballets
Year of the Rabbit and Everywhere We Go. In 2014 Atkinson coorchestrated A Swan Lake with composer Mikael Karlsson for
the Royal Norwegian Ballet company.
SUFJAN STEVENS
Composer
JUSTIN PECK
Detroit-born singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sufjan
Stevens ventured into music as a member of the folk-rock band
Marzuki. Sun Came, his debut solo album, appeared in 2000,
followed in 2001 by the heavily electronic Enjoy Your Rabbit,
a song cycle concerning the animals of the Chinese zodiac. In
2003 he released the first album in his ambitious “Fifty States”
project, Michigan, a 15-track conceptual piece on which he
played over 20 instruments. Although the original intent was
to release an album based on every state in the Union, the
only follow-up to date has been 2005’s Illinois, which became
one of the best-reviewed albums of that year. In 2007, Stevens
created the instrumental/film project The BQE, a symphonic
and cinematic exploration of the infamous Brooklyn-Queens
Expressway. The composition and film were commissioned by
the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival. Stevens
teamed up with Yarn/Wire in 2014 to compose and perform
Choreographer
At 28 years old, Justin Peck has already been hailed as
an important new voice in 21st century choreography.
Originally from San Diego, he moved to New York at the
age of 15 to attend the School of American Ballet. Peck
joined New York City Ballet (NYCB) in 2006 and was
promoted to soloist in 2013. Since joining NYCB, Peck has
danced an extensive repertoire including principal roles
in ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Alexei
Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, and many others.
Peck had his choreographic debut in 2009 and, since
then, has created new ballets for Paris Opera Ballet, Pacific
Northwest Ballet, the School of American Ballet, Miami
City Ballet, the New World Symphony, The Guggenheim
Museum, and more. He has collaborated with the likes
CONTINUED
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
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Justin Peck, Dores André and Joseph Walsh rehearse
Peck’s In the Countenance of Kings // © Erik Tomasson
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Music: “The BQE” by Sufjan Stevens used by
arrangement with New Jerusalem Music Publishing,
publisher and copyright owner. Music of Sufjan
Stevens orchestrated for San Francisco Ballet by
Michael P. Atkinson.
of Sufjan Stevens, Shepard Fairey, Bryce Dessner,
Marcel Dzama, Humberto Leon, and Prabal Gurung.
In 2014, Peck was appointed resident choreographer
of New York City Ballet, making him only the second to
hold this position. He has created over 10 ballets for the
company and, in 2014, was the subject of the documentary
Ballet 422, which followed him for two months as he
created NYCB’s 422nd original dance, Paz de la Jolla.
ELLEN WARREN
Costume Designer
Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Ellen Warren grew up
dancing at the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre. At the age
of 15 she was accepted into the School of American Ballet and
joined New York City Ballet (NYCB) as a corps de ballet
member in 2003. After nine seasons with NYCB, she
returned to the West Coast as a freelance dancer,
where she also began honing her sewing skills.
Years of constructing leotards for herself led to creating
custom pieces for fellow dancers, catching the eye of former
colleague and now NYCB’s resident choreographer and
soloist, Justin Peck. In the summer of 2015 the two collaborated
on Peck’s Osso Duet, which premiered at The Nantucket
Atheneum Dance Festival. Soon after Warren was invited to
design and construct the costumes for In the Countenance of
Kings, Peck’s first commission for San Francisco Ballet.
BRANDON BAKER
Lighting Designer
Brandon Stirling Baker is a noted lighting designer for
dance and theatre. Since 2012, he has worked extensively
with choreographer Justin Peck, and his work has been
commissioned by New York City Ballet, Miami City
Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet,
Pennsylvania Ballet, Paul Taylor’s American Modern
Dance, Los Angeles Music Center, LA Dance Project,
Ailey II, and Limón Dance Company, among others.
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SFBALLET.ORG
His lighting has been presented by major theaters
internationally including Lincoln Center; The John F. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts; Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris;
Sadler’s Wells, London; Maison de la Danse, Lyon; Le Silo,
Marseille; Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa; Havana Festival Ballet;
Oldenburg Staatstheater, Germany; National Theater, Jamaica;
Teatro Municipal Columbia; Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los
Angeles; The Joyce Theater, New York; REDCAT, Los Angeles;
and the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao.
Baker is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts and
studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. He is the
winner of the 2016 Lotos Foundation Prize for emerging artists
In the Countenance of Kings, the first ballet created for San
Francisco Ballet by 28-year-old Justin Peck, takes its name
from one movement of its score, The BQE by Sufjan Stevens.
And, like the music, the ballet is big, cinematic, energetic, and
joyful. That might seem surprising to anyone who knows the
BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) itself, which is regarded
as a symbol of urban blight. But as Peck says, for Stevens
the BQE “inspired some great composition. Sometimes
people find that what’s not necessarily the most obviously
beautiful thing will inspire something that is beautiful.”
Peck, named resident choreographer in 2014 at New
York City Ballet (where he dances as a soloist), began
choreographing in 2009. Soon after, his work caught the
eye of Helgi Tomasson, San Francisco Ballet’s artistic
director and principal choreographer. Tomasson says he
immediately thought Peck’s work “was not the average
or the ordinary. There was a major talent there.”
Despite his youth, Peck has choreographed roughly 30
ballets. He and his Paz de la Jolla, NYCB’s 422nd repertory
work, were the subject of a 2015 documentary film, Ballet
422. Peck is calm and assured in the studio, unafraid to
think through a step or phrase while the dancers look on.
And he’s quick to listen to their ideas. Maturity is something
Tomasson considers when commissioning work from a young
choreographer, “but it’s not the deciding factor,” he says;
what he looks for is “maturity and weight to the work.”
Peck’s interest in choreography arose early. “When I first
came to SAB [the School of American Ballet, at NYCB] I
didn’t know a lot about ballet as an art form,” he says. “I
started training kind of late, when I was 13, and I liked the
athleticism of it, and striving for perfection in the classical
technique, and the story ballets. But it wasn’t until I was
exposed to the works of [George] Balanchine — and
[Jerome] Robbins, and some new choreographers too —
that I saw how movement and music could interrelate and
that there can be something just in that relationship.”
The athleticism that appealed to Peck as a dance student
is a predominant quality in his choreography today. In
the Countenance of Kings has breath and suspension,
complexity and contrast; stillness and speed. Peck describes
his aesthetic as not only athletic but also “a musically
sensitive one, and a bright, punctuated way of moving. All
the while still using a classical vocabulary when I can.”
Peck says everything he’s doing in this ballet ultimately
comes from the music. “Sufjan wrote such a huge piece
of music, with so much energy and speed and athleticism
and changes in rhythm, that it would be impossible not to
create something similar in scale. I’m riding the wave of
the music.” Referring to the score’s cyclical nature, Peck
says “it’s like matter is not created nor destroyed. So it’s
taking these dancers and what they’re capable of — using
it and recycling it and seeing how it comes back to life.”
The music is part of a mixed-media project that premiered in
2007 as an original film with live orchestra accompaniment.
(Written and directed by Stevens, the triptych-format film
includes shots of and from the BQE, plus sequences of
hula-hooping). The score, which has been shortened
and reorchestrated to fit the SF Ballet Orchestra, is “very
multilayered,” says Music Director and Principal Conductor
Martin West. “I find it almost a throwback to the ’60s psychedelic
stuff — lots of things going on all at once; you don’t quite
know what’s next. It’s like the BQE, I suppose, coming from all
directions.” West describes one recurring theme that’s done
“in different styles and different orchestrations and definitely
different rhythms. Sometimes it’s solid and sometimes it breaks
down into a little “waltzy” thing, and in 30 seconds it’s dissolved
into a jazz trio sort of thing. I like the jazziness; I think it’s fun.”
From the start Peck visualized this ballet as having a
protagonist, and that decision led him to name the rest of
the cast. (The corps de ballet, for example, is “The School of
Thought.”) He says he was working conceptually with “how we
perceive the world around us. I think that translates really well
into dance. A piece like this — it’s not a narrative, but it’s like a
semi-story.” Motifs of awakening and seeing infiltrate the ballet,
and relationships are evident everywhere — these people know
one another, and they play, tease, tend, and challenge. And run.
Coaching the dancers on their running style, Peck says, “It’s
a Paul Taylor run, and I want it freer, more athletic. But I don’t
want this” — he pumps his arms — “I don’t want Baywatch.”
Running is, at times, a transition from one richly textured bit
of choreography to the next. “It’s like molecules speeding
up and expanding outward,” Peck says about one sequence,
describing an urgency that underlies the ballet. The dancers
seem to be exploring a new world, and in setting them on this
task Peck makes great use of the stage: movements bursting
with opposing energy, suspension, and expansiveness;
freeze-frame “Kodak moments”; and the kind of languid
movements he calls “gooey.” And that athleticism he loves?
It colors much of the ballet. “Take it up a notch,” he calls to
one dancer. “Like your limbs are going to separate from
your body.” Yet beneath this contemporary, jazzy, exuberant
dancing, ballet’s classical foundation is there, and Peck
calls for it over and over. “We want to start from a classical
position,” he tells the dancers, “then slowly decompose.”
The result, Tomasson says, is that Peck “did beautiful things for
us. He captured the energy this company has. And of course the
dancers are so willing, and giving, that they will do whatever a
choreographer wants, and they’re challenged by it. I can’t wait
to see it onstage.”
BIOGRAPHIES
PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Composer
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1849–1893) is widely considered
the most beloved Russian composer in history. Although he
displayed an early passion for music, his parents groomed
him for work in the civil service. When he was 21, he
enrolled at the newly founded St. Petersburg Conservatory,
becoming one of the school’s first composition students.
In 1863, he moved to Moscow, where he became a
professor of harmony at the Moscow Conservatory.
Tchaikovsky’s work was first publicly performed in 1865, and
in 1868 his First Symphony was well-received when it was
performed in Moscow. By 1875, Tchaikovsky had won acclaim
with his Symphony No. 3 in D Major. In 1876, he completed the
ballet Swan Lake as well as the fantasy Francesca da Rimini.
Despite a tumultuous personal life, Tchaikovsky’s body of work
constitutes 169 pieces including symphonies, operas, ballets,
concertos, cantatas, and songs. Among his most famed late
works are the ballets The Sleeping Beauty (1890) and The
Nutcracker (1892). Tchaikovsky died suddenly on November
6, 1893, in St. Petersburg, just six days after conducting
the premiere of his Sixth Symphony, the “Pathétique.”
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
35
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Music: Theme and Variations (final movement of
Suite No. 3 in G, Op. 55) by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Costumes constructed by Kim Baker, London,
England. This performance of Theme and Variations, a
Balanchine© Ballet, is presented by arrangement with
the George Balanchine Trust and has been produced
in accordance with the Balanchine Style© and
Balanchine Technique© service standards established
and provided by the Trust.
San Francisco Ballet in Balanchine’s Theme and
Variations // Choreography by George Balanchine
©
The Balanchine Trust; Photo © Erik Tomasson
GEORGE BALANCHINE
Choreographer
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, George Balanchine (1904–1983)
is one of ballet’s most influential and innovative contemporary
choreographers. After studying at the Imperial Ballet School,
and working as a dancer in the Mariinsky Theatre, Balanchine
became ballet master for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes
in Paris. Balanchine served as ballet master and principal
choreographer of New York City Ballet from 1948 until his
death in 1983. He created over 400 dance works, many of
which are in the repertory of SF Ballet, including Serenade
(1934); Concerto Barocco (1941); Le Palais de Cristal, later
renamed Symphony in C (1947); Agon (1957); Symphony in
Three Movements (1972); Stravinsky Violin Concerto (1972);
Ballo della Regina (1978); Jewels (1967); and many more.
ELYSE BORNE
Stager
Elyse Borne began her dance training in her native Los
Angeles and finished at the School of American Ballet in New
York. She performed with New York City Ballet for more than
13 years, having been promoted to soloist. She performed
numerous principal roles in ballets by Balanchine and
Robbins and shared a debut in The Nutcracker with Mikhail
Baryshnikov. She served as Ballet Mistress for Miami City
Ballet for eight years and SF Ballet for six years. Currently
she devotes herself full time to staging ballets on behalf of
the George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins Trusts, and
additional works by Hans van Manen and Helgi Tomasson.
NICOLA BENOIS
Costume Designer
Nicola Alexandrivoch Benois (1901–1988) was born in
in St Petersburg, Russia. His father, was a lawyer and
the artist for the Imperial Mariinsky Opera House in
St. Petersburg. As a young man, Benois studied art
under his father and worked as scenographer and set
designer for Mariinsky Opera and Ballet productions.
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SFBALLET.ORG
He emigrated from Russia to Paris in 1923, where he worked
for Serge Diaghilev as a set designer for several of the
“Russian Seasons” ballet productions. He later became
principal scenographer at the Teatro alla Scala (La Scala).
Benois collaborated with Luchino Visconti, La Scala’s powerful
producer, who insisted on period jewelry and the use of
authentic methods in the crafting of costumes and jewelry
for his performing stars. Benois became a master of historical
design, and his work was an important contribution to the
success of La Scala during its ‘golden era’ in the 1950s and 60s.
DAVID K.H. ELLIOT
Lighting Designer
David K.H. Elliott has designed for American Ballet Theatre,
ODC, Joe Goode Performance Group, Robert Moses’ Kin, Jess
Curtis/Gravity, and Ballet San Jose, and has also toured with
the Bolshoi, the Kirov, Paris Opera Ballet, and the White Oak
Dance Project. His work includes designs for Pennsylvania
Ballet, Boston Ballet, Keith Terry, Della Davidson, John Fisher,
Linda Ronstadt, Playwright’s Horizons, California Shakespeare
Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Teatro Zinzanni, Marin
Theater Company, West Wave Dance, Bandaloop and others.
He is the recipient of the Dancer’s Group Lighting Designer
in Dance Award, an Isadora Duncan Award, two DramaLogue Critics Awards and Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award.
Working with Lightswitch, he has been an associate designer
on numerous trade shows and corporate events. He retired
in 2013 after 24 years as a Lecturer at UC Berkeley in the
Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies.
Meet the Musician: Laura Griffiths
When principal oboist Laura Griffiths was
11, listening to Prokofiev’s Peter and the
Wolf, she thought of the oboe as a duck.
Then she heard the instrument played
live and knew it was for her. “It’s so vocal,”
she says. “I wanted to express myself;
sing without actually singing. There’s so
much room for variation and color.”
The oboe, a double-reed instrument,
produces sound via vibrating pieces of
cane. “We make our own reeds,” Griffiths
says. “You split the cane, gouge out the
middle, then fold it and tie it into a reed.”
Customized reeds are necessary because
each oboist “has a different embouchure
(use of the lips, tongue, and teeth),” she
says. “It’s specific to our tone quality and
pitch, and what we can do with articulation
and response.”
Griffiths played with the symphony
orchestras of Rochester, Cleveland, and
San Francisco before joining the San
Francisco Ballet Orchestra in 2005. “I still
feel excited to be part of the ballet. When I
was a kid I saw Helgi Tomasson dance with
New York City Ballet, so I appreciate ballet,
and the music.” Tchaikovsky, for example:
“There’s so much to sink your teeth into.”
SF BALLET
ORCHESTRA
40TH SEASON
George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations is a classical
ballet in miniature, complete with tutus, tiaras, and a central
pas de deux. In both choreography and tone it reads as a
dazzling tribute to Imperial Russia, whether presented in
its traditional setting of a ballroom with pillars, drapes, and
chandeliers or simply against a colorful background.
Theme and Variations, though, is pure dance, without
the story and characterizations of a full-length classical
ballet. And it has a reputation as having two of the most
formidable, and exposed, principal roles in Balanchine’s
repertory. If the dancers “make a mistake or something
goes wrong,” says San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director
and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson, “everybody
in the theater will know. Yet it’s very fulfilling to dance.”
When Balanchine created Theme and Variations, in 1947,
it was for American Ballet Theatre, not his own New York
City Ballet. A critical success, the ballet helped cement his
reputation in the United States (though he had been working
here for 15 years by then). Alicia Alonso and Igor Youskevitch
danced the premiere, followed by an impressive roster of
dancers that includes Gelsey Kirkland, Mikhail Baryshnikov,
Cynthia Harvey, and Kevin McKenzie (now ABT’s artistic
director). The ballet premiered at New York City Ballet in
1960. Tomasson, who joined NYCB in 1970, was among the
principal dancers who performed it. He recalls dancing it
with Kirkland on the company’s tour of the Soviet Union in
the 1970s and in New York, as well as with Patricia McBride.
Balanchine probably made changes in the ballet at NYCB;
according to Elyse Borne, a George Balanchine Trust stager,
that company’s production differs slightly from ABT’s.
music’s title or structure.) In 1970, 23 years after creating
Theme and Variations, Balanchine integrated the piece
into a new, larger ballet, Tchaikovsky Suite No. 3. This time
he choreographed the full four-movement score, using the
Theme and Variations choreography (with minimal changes)
for the final movement. The first three movements of
Tchaikovsky Suite No. 3 have a far more romantic tone than
the sparkling finale; the women wear flowing dresses and
have their hair down, and some of them dance barefoot.
In this ballet, Balanchine whips his dancers through his
notoriously fast footwork, virtuosic solos, pas de deux,and
ensemble dances, all demanding pristine technique. But equally
demanding is the pacing: it’s all about stamina, says Borne. “This
is just ‘Go!’” she says. “And those solos for the [principal] girl are
so fast — she goes from the second one right into the pas de
deux, and they go from the pas de deux right into the finale.”
Borne does her best Balanchine imitation: “You don’t need a
rest step; you can rest later. When you’re retired you can rest.”
SF Ballet has had Theme and Variations in its repertory
since 1986; it was last performed in San Francisco in 2011
and on tour to China in 2015. Tomasson likes to keep it
active because the dancers need ballets that challenge
them on this level in order to keep their technique sharp.
“That’s very, very necessary,” he says. It’s not enough to
work on technique in class, he says; dancers need to face
the demands of classical ballet onstage. “I feel you have to
come back to center, to the core of what you trained for,” he
says. That means classicism — pure, clean, and exhilarating.
For the score, Balanchine chose the final movement of
Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 3 for Orchestra, written in 1884,
which consists of an opening theme followed by 12
variations. (Balanchine often named his ballets after their
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
37
San Francisco Ballet Orchestra
2016 40th Anniversary Season
SF Ballet Orchestra // © Erik Tomasson
Martin West, Music Director & Principal Conductor
Ming Luke, Guest Conductor
VIOLIN I
VIOLA
FLUTE
HORN
Cordula Merks
Yi Zhou
Barbara Chaffe
Kevin Rivard
Wenyi Shih**
Anna Kruger
Julie McKenzie
Keith Green
Beni Shinohara
Joy Fellows
Patricia Farrell*
Brian McCarty
PICCOLO
William Klingelhoffer
Concertmaster
Associate Concertmaster
Assistant Concertmaster
Principal
Associate Principal
Assistant Principal
Heidi Wilcox
Caroline Lee
Mia Kim
Paul Ehrlich
Robin Hansen
Elizabeth Prior*
Brian Lee
Mariya Borozina
Lev Rankov*
Carla Picchi*
CELLO
Eric Sung
Principal
Jonah Kim
Associate Principal
Principal
Julie McKenzie
OBOE
Laura Griffiths
Principal
Marilyn Coyne
ENGLISH HORN
Marilyn Coyne
Victor Fierro
CLARINET
Principal
Thalia Moore
Natalie Parker
Craig Reiss
Nora Pirquet
Andrew Sandwick
VIOLIN II
Marianne Wagner
Associate Principal
Rebecca Jackson
Assistant Principal**
Patricia Van Winkle
Assistant Principal
Ruth Lane*
CONTRABASS
Steve D’Amico
Principal
BASS CLARINET
Andrew Sandwick
Principal
Associate Principal
CORNET
Adam Luftman
Principal
Scott Macomber*
TRUMPET
Conrad Jones**
Principal
John Pearson*
TROMBONE
Jeffrey Budin
Principal
Hall Goff
BASS TROMBONE
Scott Thornton
Principal
BASSOON
Elbert Tsai
Shinji Eshima
Rufus Olivier
TUBA
Katherine Button*
Jonathan Lancelle
Patrick Johnson-Whitty
Peter Wahrhaftig
Mark Drury
CONTRABASSOON
Clifton Foster
Julie Kim*
Associate Principal
Assistant Principal
Principal
Patrick Johnson-Whitty
38
SFBALLET.ORG
Principal
Principal
TIMPANI
James Gott
Principal
PERCUSSION
David Rosenthal
Principal
Todd Manley*
Peter Thielen*
Richard Kvistad*
HARP
Annabelle Taubl
Principal
PIANO
Natal’ya Feygina*
Tracy Davis
Orchestra Personnel Manager
& Music Administrator
Matthew Naughtin
Music Librarian
** Season substitute
* Extra player
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
39
San Francisco Ballet Staff
Helgi Tomasson, Artistic Director & Principal Choreographer
Glenn McCoy, Executive Director
ARTISTIC
MUSIC
Ricardo Bustamante
Martin West
Felipe Diaz, Betsy Erickson,
Anita Paciotti, Katita Waldo
Mungunchimeg Buriad, Natal’ya Feygina,
Nina Pinzarrone
Yuri Possokhov
Tracy Davis
Associate Director, Marketing
Caroline Giese
Matthew Naughtin
Associate Director, Communications
Ballet Master & Assistant to the Artistic Director
Ballet Masters
Music Director & Principal Conductor
Company Pianists
Choreographer in Residence
Orchestra Personnel Manager & Music Administrator
MARKETING &
COMMUNICATIONS
Mary Beth Smith
Director of Marketing & Communications
Massimo Chisessi
Kyra Jablonsky
Music Librarian
Valerie Megas
ADMINISTRATION
Mary Goto
Assistant to the Artistic Staff
Cecelia Beam
Thomas Weitz
OPERATIONS
Laura Simpson
April Johnston
Debra Bernard
Maja Valusek
Nicholas Ashby
Lauren Chadwick
Katharine Chambers
Kelly Harris
Artistic Administrator
Alan Takata-Villareal
Logistics Manager
Abby Masters
Human Resources Manager
Board Relations Manager
General Manager
Human Resources Generalist
Company Manager
Assistant to Senior Executive Staff
Juliette LeBlanc
Production Analyst
DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCTION
Thomas W. Flynn
Christopher Dennis
Jennifer Mewha
Chad Owens
Fermin Nasol
Kate Share
Elizabeth Lani
Director of Development
Production Director
Associate Director of Development
Technical Coordinator
Senior Manager, Capital and Principal Gifts
Manager of Wardrobe, Wig, Make-Up,
and Costume Construction
Jim French
Planned Giving Manager
Jim Sohm
Research Manager
Lighting Supervisor
Jane Green
Stage Manager
Jessica Barker
Nixon Bracisco
Kelly Corter Kelly
Kenneth M. Ryan
Kevin Kirby
John O’Donnell
George Elvin
Interim Head of Women’s Wardrobe
Richard Battle
Melanie Birch
Assistant Make-Up and Wig Supervisor
Sherri LeBlanc
Communications Associate
James Hosking
Video Producer/Editor
Erik Almlie
Media Asset Administrator
Olivia Ramsay
Social Media Producer
Madison Crystal
Editorial Associate
Mark Holleman
Amy Drew
Elena Ratto
Elisabeth Morgan
Jole Mendoza
Nicole Lugtu
David Clark
Jonathan Levin
Michelle Hughes, Jericho Lindsey, Jason Narin,
Nick Valasco, Patricia Pearson
Major Gifts Associate
Associate Director, Ticket and Patron Services
Box Office Manager/Treasurer
Sales and Service Supervisor
Patron Services Specialist
Ticketing Database Specialist
Box Office Supervisor
Ticket Services Associates
Carrie DuBois-Shaw
FINANCE
Lynn Noonan
Kim Ondreck Carim
Temporary Special Events Associate
Make-Up and Wig Supervisor
Rena Nishijima
Ari Lipsky
Marie Morrow-Wright
Patti Fitzpatrick
Group Sales Representative
Jennifer Peterian
Development Database Coordinator
Wardrobe Manager
Nannette Mickle
Ingrid Roman
Christensen Society Officer
Flyman
Temporary Graphic Designer
Betsy Lindsey
Institutional Giving Officer
Audio Engineer
Web and Digital Platforms Manager
TICKET SERVICES
Corporate Giving Officer
Master of Properties
Marketing and Promotions Manager
Emily Markoe
Senior Christensen Society Officer
Master Electrician
Senior Manager, Digital Marketing
Major Gifts Officer
Special Events Manager
Master Carpenter
Senior Manager, Marketing and Sales
Pamela Sullivan
Membership Manager
Assistant Stage Manager
Senior Manager, Retail Operations
Principal Gifts Consultant
Chief Financial Officer
Natalie Quan
Controller
Valerie Ruban
Company Shoe Administrator
Accounting Supervisor
Nicole Markovich
Senior Accountant
40
SFBALLET.ORG
Jeffrey Lyons
Rubén Martín Cintas
Dance in Schools and Communities
Teaching Artists
Nathan Brito
Parrish Maynard
Ilona McHugh
Pollyana Ribeiro
Wendy Van Dyck
Cynthia Pepper
Phoenicia Pettyjohn
Joti Singh
Maura Whelehan
John Velasquez
Dana Genshaft
Adrian Rodriguez
Henry Berg
Dance in Schools and Communities
Accompanists
Todd Martin, Stanley Wong
Leonid Shagalov
Tamara de la Cruz, Nicole Drysdale,
Yajnaseni Das Vincent
Jamie Narushchen, Daniel Sullivan
Eva Spillane
Staff Accountant
Jennifer Kovacevich
Lean Ops Project Manager
FACILITIES
Facilities Manager
Facilities Supervisor
Facilities Coordinator
Facilities Assistants
Receptionists
Seng Saechao
Weekend Facilities Assistant
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
Murray Bognovitz
Director of Information Technology
Karen Irvin
Application Administrator & Help Desk Coordinator
Josh Marshall
Web Administrator
Jiapeng Jiang
IT Specialist
FRONT OF HOUSE
Lee R. Crews Endowed Faculty Member
Trainee Program Assistant
Contemporary Dance
Conditioning
Character Dance
Music
Sofiane Sylve
Principal Guest Faculty
Joanna Berman, Pascal Molat
Guest Faculty
Jacqueline Barrett, Monique Loudieres,
Yannick Boquin
2015–2016 Visiting Guest Instructors
Cynthia Harvey, Larisa Lezhnina
2016 Summer Session Visiting Guest Instructors
School Pianists
Jamie Narushchen
School Pianist Supervisor
Lee R. Crews Endowed Pianist
Ella Belilovskaya, Ritsuko Micky Kubo,
Daniel Sullivan, Galina Umanskaya, Billy Wolfe
School Pianists
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
House Manager
ADMINISTRATION
Anthony Cantello, Laurent Dela Cruz, Martin Dias,
Ushers
EDUCATION
AND TRAINING
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET SCHOOL
Andrea Yannone
Director of Education and Training
Christina Gray Rutter
Assistant Administrative Director
Jasmine Yep Huynh
Manager of Youth Programs and Teacher Support
Katelyn Harris
Operations Manager
Elizabeth Roddy
School Programs Coordinator
Jennifer Bakane
School Registrar and Summer Session Coordinator
Cecelia Beam
Adult Education Seminar Coordinator
Helgi Tomasson
Tai Vogel
Patrick Armand
Nicole Sikora
Director
Associate Director
COMPANY PHYSICIANS
Richard Gibbs, M.D.
Supervising Physician
Rowan Paul, M.D.
Primary Care Sports Medicine
Kristin Wingfield, M.D.
Primary Care Sports Medicine
Frederic Bost, M.D.
On-site Orthopedist
Peter Callander, M.D., Keith Donatto, M.D.,
Jon Dickinson, M.D.
Orthopedic Advisors to the Company
Michael Leslie
Company Physical Therapist
Karl Schmetz
Consulting Physical Therapist
Active Care, Lisa Giannone, Director
Jamye Divila
Starsky Dias, Marialice Dockus, Elaine Kawasaki,
Eileen Keremitsis, Bill Laschuk, Sharon Lee,
Lenore Long, Doug Luyendyk, Evelyn Martinez,
Dale Nedelco, Wayne Noel, Beth Norris, Jan
Padover, Julie Peck, Robert Remple, Bill Repp,
Rilla Reynolds, Joe Savin, Kelly Smith, Theresa
Sun, Tom Taffel, Richard Wagner, Steve Weiss,
JoAnne Westfall, Elaine Yee
David Frazier
Zeke Nealy
Wade Peterson
Bongo Sidibe
Administrative Associate, Education & Training
Education Assistant
Charlie Schnitzer
School Faculty
School Assistant
Patrick Armand
Kristi DeCaminada
Yuko Katsumi
Tina LeBlanc
Residence Staff
Justin Butac
Leslie Donohue, Chris Fitzsimons
School Physical Therapists
Off-site Physical Therapy & Conditioning Classes
Leonard Stein, D.C.
Chiropractic Care
Henry Berg
Rehabilitation Class Instructor
Celina Mercer
Wellness Program Manager
The artists employed by San Francisco Ballet are
members of the American Guild of Musical Artists,
AFL-CIO, the Union of professional dancers, singers,
and staging personnel in the United States.
The San Francisco Ballet Association is a member of
Dance/USA; American Arts Alliance; the Greater San
Francisco Chamber of Commerce; and the San Francisco
Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Legal Services provided by Adler & Colvin; Fallon Bixby
Cheng & Lee; Fettmann Ginsburg, PC; Epstein Becker
& Green, PC; Littler Mendelson, PC; Miller Law Group;
and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Audit services
provided by Grant Thornton LLP. Insurance brokerage
services provided by DeWitt Stern Group.
The Centers for Sports and Dance Medicine at Saint
Francis Memorial Hospital are the official health care
providers for the San Francisco Ballet School. Special
thanks to Dr. James G. Garrick, Dr. Susan Lewis, Dr. Jane
Denton, Dr. Selina Shah, Dr. Rémy Aridizzone, Chris
Corpus, Joseph Levinson, and the Physical Therapy
Department for generously providing their services.
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
41
Calendar of 2016 Repertory Season Donor Events
Listed below are the 2016 Repertory Season events through May for members of the Artistic Director’s Council (ADC), Chairman’s
Council (CHM), Christensen Society (CS), The Jocelyn Vollmar Legacy Circle (VLC), and Friends of San Francisco Ballet. For more
information, please visit our website at sfballet.org/donate/donor_events, or contact Senior Christensen Society Officer Ari Lipsky
at alipsky@sfballet.org or 415.865.6635.
PROGRAM 06
APRIL
Prism
SUN
MON
TUE
WED
THU
Seven Sonatas
FRI
SAT
1
2
12pm ADC
Orchestra Event
Rush©
3
4
5
6
7
PROGRAM 07
5pm
CS Dinner
Continuum©
9:30pm
CHM Cast Party
In the Countenance of Kings WORLD PREMIERE
10
11
7:30pm: 06
7:30pm: 07
8pm: 06
12
13
14
15
11am
VLC Luncheon
2pm: 06
Onegin
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET SCHOOL
STUDENT SHOWCASE
17
18
2pm: 07
6pm
CS Trainee
Performance
24
25
9
11am
Company Class
Observation
7:30pm: 06
12pm
CS and
Patron Brunch
PROGRAM 08
8
2pm: 07
16
10:30am
SF Ballet School
Open House
7:30pm: 07
7:30pm: 07
7:30pm: 06
8pm: 07
2pm/8pm: 06
19
20
21
22
23
29
30
5:30pm
CS Studio
Rehearsal
26
27
28
1pm
Open Dress
Rehearsal,
Onegin
5:30pm
ADC Dinner on
Stage
8pm: 08
MAY
SUN
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
5pm
CS Dinner
12:30pm
Ballet History
Lecture
7:30pm: 08
7:30pm: 08
7:30pm: 08
8pm: 08
2pm/8pm: 08
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
7:30pm
Student
Showcase
Performance
6pm
Student
Showcase
Performance &
Dinner
7:30pm
Student
Showcase
Performance
2pm: 08
8
2pm: 08
42
SFBALLET.ORG
T
O
N
E
N
DO
THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2016
SF Ballet School students in MacMillan’s Soirée Musicale; 2015 Student Showcase // © Erik Tomasson
An Invitation to Dance: San Francisco Ballet School 2016 Student Showcase
The SF Ballet Student Showcase demonstrates the School’s remarkable
PERFORMANCE AND DINNER
accomplishments throughout the year and gives audiences the rare opportunity
Thursday, May 26
to experience a performance by the next generation of ballet professionals.
Performance at 6pm at Yerba Buena Center
Students from all levels of the School will perform repertory pieces and ballets
for the Arts Theater, followed by dinner at the
specially created for them to showcase their amazing talent and training.
Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco
Full evening tickets for the May 26 performance and dinner begin at $500. All
SHOWCASE DINNER HOSTED
proceeds benefit San Francisco Ballet School Scholarship Fund.
BY SF BALLET AUXILIARY
BUY TICKETS NOW
sfballet.org/studentshowcase
Ms. Michelle Gilman Jasen
2016 Student Showcase Chair
Ms. Marie Louise Hurabiell
San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary President
PERFORMANCE DATES
Wednesday, May 25 at 7:30pm
Thursday, May 26 at 6pm
Friday, May 27 at 7:30pm
Sponsor and Donor News
AN INVITATION TO
DANCE: SAN FRANCISCO
BALLET SCHOOL 2016
STUDENT SHOWCASE
DINNER AND
PERFORMANCE
Each year the San Francisco Ballet School
produces Student Showcase, a series
of special performances to display the
remarkable skills and talents of our students
and faculty. This year’s event will be held
Wednesday, May 25 through Friday, May 27,
2016 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Theater in downtown San Francisco.
To celebrate this important occasion, the
San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary, led by event
chair Michelle Gilman Jasen in conjunction
with the San Francisco Ballet School
Committee, will host its annual Student
Showcase Dinner “An Invitation to Dance”
on Thursday, May 26 immediately following
the performance. We are delighted that SF
Ballet Trustee Donald F. Houghton is the
Honorary Chair of the evening.
THANK YOU, KPMG
This elegant evening will begin with the
performance at 6pm, followed by dinner at
the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco, two
blocks from the theater. The dinner raises
funds to support scholarships and financial
aid programs of the School.
We are especially grateful to Debbie Messemer, Managing
Partner of KPMG’s San Francisco market and SF Ballet Trustee
since 2009, for her leadership and advocacy for the Ballet.
We are thrilled to welcome KPMG and
Saks Fifth Avenue as new sponsors of
this event. Saks Fifth Avenue will also
generously host the Launch Party. And
we’re equally pleased to welcome back
Dodge & Cox, which has generously
supported the Showcase for almost
20 years.
For more information or to order
tickets to this event, please go to
sfballet.org/studentshowcase.
44
SFBALLET.ORG
KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm, has been a proud
sponsor of San Francisco Ballet for 15 years. In 2016, we are
pleased to recognize KPMG as a partner on three different
projects: the Opening Night Gala; An Invitation to Dance:
the 2016 Student Showcase; and SF Ballet’s endowment.
KPMG’s significant gifts not only help ensure that SF Ballet
continues to be a leader in the world of dance but also that
the Bay Area remains a culturally vibrant community.
“We are delighted to continue our support of San Francisco
Ballet. With 101 locations across the United States and more
than 29,000 people, KPMG has a profound impact on the
communities in which we live and work. By supporting
organizations like the Ballet, we are able to do our part
as an active corporate citizen and create shared value
among our communities,” remarked Ms. Messemer.
San Francisco Ballet Student Showcase. // © Erik Tomasson
2016 SEASON SPONSOR:
THE WILLIAM AND FLORA
HEWLETT FOUNDATION
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
has supported San Francisco Ballet’s
work for almost fifty years. Beginning
in the 1970s, the Hewlett Foundation
was instrumental in sustaining the
organization, initially through its support
of San Francisco Ballet School and the
Apprentice Program. We are honored that
they have continued to invest in our work
through a three-year grant for general
operating support, which was awarded in
2014. We are delighted to recognize them
as a Lead Sponsor of our 2016 Season.
Some of Bill and Flora Hewlett’s earliest
donations—before they even started
their foundation—were to performing arts
organizations. Five decades later, their
commitment can still clearly be seen with
donations to the Company totaling more
than $12 million. The William and Flora
Hewlett Foundation is one of the Bay Area’s
largest funders of the performing arts with
more than 230 grantees representing
tremendous breadth of artistic expression.
“Artistic expression that makes a difference
in the lives of people in our community
is central to the Hewlett Foundation. Our
primary goal is to ensure continuity and
innovation in performing arts through the
creation, performance, and appreciation
of exceptional works that enrich lives and
benefit communities throughout the San
Francisco Bay Area,” said John E. McGuirk,
director of the Performing Arts Program.
BENTLY FOUNDATION
SUPPORTS FRANKENSTEIN
We are pleased to announce an exceptionally generous, $500,000 grant
from the Bently Foundation to support the creation of Frankenstein, a coproduction with The Royal Ballet. With great appreciation, we welcome the
Bently Foundation as a new funder of SF Ballet. The Foundation’s contribution
underscores the importance of this project, and we are honored that it has
decided the production warrants this significant level of support. They join
the Hellman Family as Co-Lead Sponsors of Frankenstein. Additional
support is provided by Ms. Laura Clifford, SF Ballet Trustees Stephanie and
James Marver, and an anonymous donor.
The Bently Foundation was established by Christopher Bently as a means
to support the communities served by his suite of companies, believing
that with corporate success comes the responsibility to engage with the
community and inspire positive change. “San Francisco Ballet has long been
a world leader for dance and culture,” said Christopher, “Bently Foundation
is dedicated to nurturing and improving our world, fostering support for
organizations, individuals and ideas that align with our core values of
cultivating the arts, advancing environmental sustainability, and aiding
animal welfare.”
Bently is a long-time subscriber and supporter of SF Ballet. His wife Camille,
executive director of the Bently Foundation said, “We are enthusiastic and
proud to support SF Ballet as well as this exciting project. Everything about
it speaks to us—the incredible creative collaboration for Frankenstein and
partnership with The Royal Ballet truly gives us the feeling of being part of
something historic.”
Frankenstein is a new full-length story ballet closely based on Mary Shelley’s
novel. The ballet is now being choreographed by The Royal Ballet Artist in
Residence Liam Scarlett, and will feature a commissioned score by American
composer Lowell Liebermann and designs by Scottish artist John Macfarlane.
We are excited to present this significant new production on the War Memorial
Opera House stage during the 2017 Repertory Season. Frankenstein will
premiere at The Royal Ballet on May 4, 2016.
In 2005, the Hewlett Foundation was
honored as a Great Benefactor of SF Ballet
in recognition of its longstanding support of
the Ballet’s artistic programs.
John Macfarlane’s set design for Liam Scarlett’s
Frankenstein // Courtesy The Royal Ballet
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
45
Sponsor and Donor News
THE LEGACY OF BOB ROSS:
TWENTY YEARS OF SF BALLET
SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP
SUPPORT
Nearly 13 years after his death, the philanthropy of
Bob Ross continues to support San Francisco Ballet.
SF Ballet is pleased to mark the 20th anniversary of
two scholarship funds he established during his
lifetime and fully funded upon his death. The Eric
Hellman Memorial Scholarship and the Keith White
Memorial Scholarship were created to honor two
writers who were journalists with the Bay Area
Reporter (B.A.R.), the pioneering weekly gay
newspaper Bob Ross co-founded. Keith White
was a dance writer and Eric Hellman wrote about
dance and other art forms at the B.A.R.
Each year, the scholarships support deserving
students at the SF Ballet School. There are currently
four members of the Company’s corps de ballet
who received these scholarships: Julia Rowe,
Miranda Silveira, and Kamryn Baldwin were all
recipients of the Keith White Memorial Scholarship
and Rebecca Rhodes received the Eric Hellman
Memorial Scholarship. Apprentice Anastasia Kubanda
was also a recipient of the Keith White Memorial
Scholarship.
These two scholarships are not the only projects made
possible through the generosity of Mr. Ross, a former
Trustee and a Great Benefactor of SF Ballet. Through
the Bob Ross Foundation, additional grants have
sponsored international tours, film projects, and the
Bob Ross Scholarship.
Mr. Ross was born in New York City in 1934. As a
teenager in New York, he had seen many of the era’s
great opera and ballet artists and cultivated a deep
appreciation of the arts. In 1956, he arrived in San
Francisco, following his discharge from the Navy. As
publisher of the B.A.R., one of the first things he did, as
he developed the arts section of the newspaper, was to
start covering dance. A supporter of SF Ballet for many
years, he joined the Ballet Board of Trustees in 1998.
A great balletomane, he understood the importance of
ballet training, “While on the Board, he asked to serve
on the School Committee and for many years was the
only man on the committee,” said SF Ballet Trustee
Tom Horn. “As the AIDS epidemic decimated many in
our community, the B.A.R. was not spared, and Keith
and Eric were taken in the early days. Bob wanted
these talented arts critics to be remembered and
felt that these school scholarships would not only
perpetuate their memory in a field they loved but help
sustain the high quality of talent generated at the San
Francisco Ballet School.”
A close friend of the late Mr. Ross, Mr. Horn is the
director of the Bob Ross Foundation. His stewardship
of the Foundation is guided by the priorities Mr. Ross
established during his lifetime. “Bob was always a big
picture guy. That is why he set up the Foundation, to
address all of his interests in an efficient way,” said Mr.
Horn. “He liked organizations that were efficient and
well run. It wasn’t enough to have a good mission; you
had to have good leadership. You need to be able to
attract volunteers and donors. Bob felt that SF Ballet
was really everything it should be.”
SF Ballet is honored by the generous and thoughtful
planning of Mr. Ross. The gifts that he made during his
lifetime, as well as those put in place after his death,
have provided meaningful support for SF Ballet.
SF Ballet Trustee Tom Horn with current Company member Kamryn
Baldwin, recipient of the Keith White Memorial Scholarship, and
current SF Ballet School Trainee Nathaniel Remez, recipient of the
Bob Ross Scholarship.
46
SFBALLET.ORG
We are honored to recognize these named funds
that contribute support for the creation and
performance of new works. Those highlighted
with an asterisk (*) were fully or primarily funded
through estate gifts.
ENDOWED FUNDS SUPPORT
NEW WORKS
We present a compelling mix of ballets, making each season as
unique and engaging for our long-time subscribers as it is for new
audiences. The commissioning of new ballets is critical to building
this strong and diverse body of work.
“New choreography ensures that the art of dance stays alive.
Working with new choreographers gives us the opportunity
to grow both as artists and as people,” says Principal Dancer
Dores André. “As dancers, we have input and can discover new
areas of creativity within ourselves. We are a part of history in the
making.”
SF Ballet is fortunate to have annual donors who generously
support new works, as well as those who have established San
Francisco Ballet Endowment Foundation funds for their creation.
The Endowment Foundation was established to hold and manage
endowment funds for the benefit of San Francisco Ballet. Its
goal is to provide the Ballet with a reliable source of support
while safeguarding its investments. Each year, a transfer from
the Endowment Foundation provides support for a variety of
essential SF Ballet functions including the creation of new works,
touring, financial aid for SF Ballet School students, and community
education and outreach programs.
The annual operating transfer from the Endowment Foundation is
an increasingly important source of funding for the organization.
It is now our third-largest source of revenue, after ticket sales
and contributions. In the 2015 fiscal year, these funds provided
approximately nine percent of our core operating budget. Twentyfive percent of last year’s transfer was directed toward new works.
We are grateful to the thousands of patrons who have supported
SF Ballet’s endowment. All donors who make gifts totaling
$25,000 or more to the endowment create named funds, whether
for general use or for a particular purpose. These funds provide
ongoing support and serve as a lasting legacy of each donor’s
generosity. For information on supporting the Endowment
Foundation, please contact Senior Manager, Capital and Principal
Gifts Fermin Nasol at fnasol@sfballet.org or 415.865.6622
Anonymous
Ernest A. Bates New Works Fund
Burnett Family New Works Fund
Dan and Stacey Case New Works Fund
Robert Clegg New Works Fund
Columbia Foundation New Works Fund
Mary B. Cranston New Works Fund
Suzy Kellems Dominik New Works Fund
Sonia H. Evers New Works Fund
Ford Foundation New Works Fund
Diana Stark and J. Stuart Francis
New Works Fund
Stephen and Margaret Gill New Works Fund
Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. New Works Fund
Mimi Haas New Works Fund
Mimi & Peter Haas New Works Fund
Walter & Elise Haas New Works Fund
Sally and William Hambrecht
New Works Fund
The Hellman Family New Works Fund
Cecilia and James Herbert New Works Fund
New Works Fund
John E. and Jeanne Hulse New Works Fund
George B. James New Works Fund
Lucy and Fritz Jewett New Works Fund
Catherine P. Lego New Works Fund
Paul G. Lego New Works Fund
Irv H. Lichtenwald and Stephen R. Ripple
New Works Fund
The Marver Family New Works Fund
Byron R. Meyer Choreographers Fund
Berit and Robert A. Muh New Works Fund
National Endowment for the Arts
New Works Fund
Osher New Work Fund
Barbara Ravizza and John Osterweis
New Works Fund
Kenneth Rainin New Works Fund*
Bob Ross New Works Fund
Kate and George W. Rowe New Works Fund
The Smelick Family New Works Fund
Gail and Robert M. Smelick
New Works Fund
TeRoller Fund for New Productions*
Richard J. Thalheimer New Works Fund
Helen Von Ammon New Works Fund
Karen and David Wegmann
New Works Fund
Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang
New Works Fund
Great Benefactors
Since its founding in 1933, SF Ballet has grown into one of the world’s leading ballet companies and ballet schools. This evolution
has been made possible through the steadfast and generous support of patrons in the Bay Area and throughout the world. In
2005, SF Ballet created the honor of Great Benefactor to recognize donors whose cumulative giving to SF Ballet is $1 million or
more. This year we are pleased to welcome Fang and Gary Bridge, Susan and John Diekman, and Stephanie and James Marver
as Great Benefactors and thank them for their support.
American Airlines
Estate of Dora Donner Ide
The San Francisco Foundation
Estate of Helen Anderton
The James Irvine Foundation
AT&T
The William G. Irwin Charity Foundation
BRAVO
Bank of America Foundation
G. William Jewell
The Shubert Foundation, Inc.
Richard C. Barker
George F. Jewett Foundation
The Smelick Family
Bingham McCutchen LLP
George F. Jewett, Jr. 1965 Trust
Estate of Natalie H. Stotz
Fang and Gary Bridge
Lucy and Fritz Jewett
The Swanson Foundation
Jennifer Caldwell and John H. N. Fisher
Estate of Mildred Johnson
California Arts Council
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Ms. Susan A. Van Wagner
The State of California
Maurice Kanbar
Visa Inc.
Estate of Lewis and Emily Callaghan
Dr. and Mrs. Jerome Ormond Kirschbaum
Wallis Foundation
Mrs. Daniel H. Case III
Phyllis C. Wattis
Chevron Corporation
Estate of Diana Dollar Knowles
Wells Fargo
Deloitte
Koret Foundation
The E. L. Wiegand Foundation
Susan and John Diekman
Mary Jo and Dick Kovacevich
Diane B. Wilsey
Suzy Kellems Dominik
The Charles Henry Leach, II Foundation
Jennifer Jordan McCall,
Foundation Trustee
Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang
Rudolph W. Driscoll
Sonia H. Evers
Catherine Lego
First Republic Bank
Paul Lego
Ford Foundation
Estate of Georg L. Frierson
Stephen and Margaret Gill Family
Foundation
Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund
Grants for the Arts
Stephanie and James Marver
Alison and Michael Mauzé
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Nicola Miner and Robert Mailer Anderson
Estate of Richard B. Gump
Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
Mimi Haas
Colleen and Robert D. Haas
Walter & Elise Haas Fund
Estate of Katharine Hanrahan
Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey P. Hays
William Randolph Hearst Foundation
The Hellman Foundation
The Bernard Osher Foundation
John Osterweis and Barbara Ravizza
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Yurie and Carl Pascarella
The Thomas J. and Gerd Perkins
Foundation
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Kenneth Rainin
Mr. George R. Roberts
The Hellman Family
Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock
The Herbert Family
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The Edward E. Hills Fund
Bob Ross
Gordon Russell
San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary
Donald F. Houghton
Mrs. Jeannik Méquet Littlefield
The Marver Family
Gaia Fund
48
Marie and Barry Lipman
SFBALLET.ORG
The Zellerbach Family
Artistic Director’s Council
SHOP AD
San Francisco Ballet gratefully acknowledges the members of the Artistic Director’s
Council. Their generous annual support of $100,000 or more has been instrumental
to the success of SF Ballet, the SF Ballet School, and SF Ballet’s Education Programs.
Council members receive customized benefits including special access to performances,
exclusive events, and rehearsals. For more information, please contact Senior Manager,
Capital and Principal Gifts Fermin Nasol at 415.865.6622 or fnasol@sfballet.org.
GRAND BENEFACTORS
GIFTS OF $250,000 AND ABOVE
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL
GIFTS OF $100,000–$249,999
Richard C. Barker
Anne T. and Robert M. Bass
Bently Foundation
Gaia Fund
Chaomei Chen and Yu Wu
Grants for the Arts
Ms. Laura Clifford
GSR Capital
David and Vicki Cox
The Hellman Family
Sue and John Diekman
Sonia H. Evers
IDG Capital Partners
First Republic Bank
Lucy Jewett
Shelby and Frederick Gans
Mr. and Mrs. James D. Marver
Drs. Richard D. and Patricia Gibbs
Mr. and Mrs. John S. Osterweis
Beth and Brian Grossman
E. L. Wiegand Foundation
Donald F. Houghton
Koret Foundation
Nancy A. Kukacka
David and Kelsey Lamond
Christa and Mark Lopez
Mr. and Mrs. Kurt C. Mobley
Osterweis Capital Management
Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock
The Seiger Family Foundation
Denise Littlefield Sobel
David H. Spencer
Judy C. Swanson
Diane B. Wilsey
Visit The Shop
at SF Ballet
You’ll find a spectacular assortment
of SF Ballet-branded merchandise,
beautiful jewelry, and wonderful gifts.
The Shop is open one hour before
curtain time and during Intermission.
We’re also open for thirty minutes
following matinee performances.
Always online at sfballet.org/shop.
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
49
2015–2016 Season Sponsors
2015 Nutcracker
PROGRAM 03
Program Sponsor
Stephanie and James Marver
Lead Sponsors
The Herbert Family
Swan Lake
Lead Sponsors
Sponsors
The Smelick Family
Official Airline of Nutcracker
United
2016 Repertory Season
SATURDAY NIGHT SUBSCRIPTION SERIES
Lucy and Fritz Jewett Saturday Night Series
Mark and Christa Lopez
Denise Littlefield Sobel
San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary
Major Sponsors
Richard and Elizabeth Fullerton
Family Foundation
Stephen and Margaret Gill Family Foundation
Cecilia and Jim Herbert
Richard Thalheimer Family
Sponsors
Ms. Laura Clifford
Ms. Laura McCabe-Edgar
PROGRAM 01
Magrittomania
Major Sponsors
PROGRAM 04
Sponsors
Diane B. Wilsey
Coppélia
Lead Sponsor
Julie and Greg Flynn
Jennifer and Steven Walske
Katherine and Gregg Crawford
Ms. Jeri Lynn Johnson
Dr. Jan and Mr. Jonathan Zakin
Pas/Parts 2016
Lead Sponsor
Sponsors
Joseph and Marianne Geagea
Barbara and Stephan Vermut
PROGRAM 05
Sponsors
Jason M. Fish and Courtney Benoist
Kathleen Grant, M.D. and Thomas Jackson, M.D.
San Francisco Ballet Allegro Circle
Dances at a Gathering
Lead Sponsor
David Spencer
Sponsor
ENCORE!
PROGRAM 02
Program Sponsor
Swimmer
Major Sponsors
Rubies
Sponsor
Sponsors
Colette V.A. Cornish, in honor of her
introduction to Balanchine ballet
Athena and Timothy Blackburn
Grady and Amy Burnett
Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Leff
Larissa Roesch and Jason Crethar
Alan and Patricia Tai
Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes
Major Sponsor
Mrs. Suzy Kellems Dominik
Continuum©
Lead Sponsor
Beth and Brian Grossman
Major Sponsors
Catherine and Mark Slavonia
Sponsors
Karen S. Bergman
Michael and Mary Schuh
In the Countenance of Kings WORLD PREMIERE
Lead Sponsors
Mr. Richard C. Barker
Gaia Fund
David and Kelsey Lamond
Sponsors
Byron R. Meyer Choreographer’s Fund*
Osher New Work Fund
*Endowed Fund of the San Francisco Ballet
Endowment Foundation
Lead Sponsor
H. B. and Lucille Horn Foundation
Kacie and Michael Renc
Fearful Symmetries WORLD PREMIERE
Lead Sponsors
Sonia H. Evers
Prism
Lead Sponsor
David and Vicki Cox
Major Sponsor
Mrs. Henry I. Prien
Seven Sonatas
Major Sponsors
Teri and Andy Goodman
David A. Kaplan and Glenn A. Ostergaard
Rush
Lead Sponsor
©
Sue and John Diekman
SFBALLET.ORG
Sponsor
BRAVO
PROGRAM 08
Onegin
Program Sponsor
Mr. and Mrs. John S. Osterweis
Lead Sponsor
2016 Opening Night Gala
Presenting Sponsor
PROGRAM 06
Sponsors
Mr. Richard C. Barker
Gaia Fund
Nancy A. Kukacka
Donald F. Houghton
50
PROGRAM 07
Program Sponsors
Benefactor Dinner Sponsor
KPMG
Patron Dinner Sponsor
After Party Sponsor
La Perla
Grand Benefactor Reception Sponsor
BVLGARI
Cocktail Reception Sponsor
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Performance Sponsor
Style Me New LLC
Invitation Sponsor
Pacific Union – Christie’s International Real Estate
Touring
Beijing and Shanghai, China — October 2015
Lead Sponsors
GSR Capital
Major Sponsors
Richard C. Barker
Sponsors
Dr. Nancy Chang
China Guangfa Bank
Olivia Hsu Decker
FICO China
Elizabeth Pang Fullerton
Soul Htite
Keywise Capital
St. Regis Beijing
Mr. and Mrs. James N. Sullivan
The following funds of the San Francisco Ballet Endowment Foundation
provide permanent support for touring by San Francisco Ballet:
Lead Underwriters
Osher Touring Fund
G. William Jewell Touring Fund
The Hellman Family Touring Fund
Major Underwriters
Frannie and Mort Fleishhacker Touring Fund
Stephen and Margaret Gill Family Foundation Touring Fund
Teri and Andy Goodman Touring Fund
Pamela J. Joyner and Alfred J. Giuffrida Touring Fund
Bob Ross Foundation Touring Fund
Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Touring Fund
Underwriters
Davidson Bidwell-Waite and Edwin A. Waite Touring Fund
Glenn McCoy Touring Fund
Phyllis W. Nelson Touring Fund
Anne and Michelle Shonk Touring Fund
General
San Francisco Ballet’s performances are made possible in part by grants from Grants for the Arts,
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Koret Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
La Marca Prosecco® is the featured sparkling wine of San Francisco Ballet.
Yamaha Pianos are the performance and rehearsal pianos of San Francisco Ballet and the School, and are provided by Piedmont Piano Company.
Kryolan Professional Make-up is the preferred make-up provider of San Francisco Ballet.
Media
Nutcracker Media Sponsors
Repertory Season Media Sponsors
Education
Co-Lead Sponsors of San Francisco Ballet’s Education Programs
Additional support is provided by Major Sponsor Wells Fargo Foundation and Sponsors Gap Foundation and the Zellerbach Family Foundation.
The Dance in Schools and Communities program is supported by Major Sponsor The Charles Henry Leach, II Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley
Community Foundation.
The Student Matinee Series is supported by the Gaia Fund of the San Francisco Ballet Endowment Foundation.
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
51
The Chairman’s Council
San Francisco Ballet gratefully
acknowledges the generous support
of Chairman’s Council members,
who contributed gifts of $15,000
or more to the annual fund as of
February 22, 2016. In addition
to receiving Christensen Society
benefits, members of the Chairman’s
Council receive benefits tailored to
their individual interests, such as the
opportunity to sponsor a ballet or
enjoy an exclusive viewing of a ballet
rehearsal. If you would like more
information about the Chairman’s
Council, please contact Major
Gifts Officer Pamela Sullivan at
psullivan@sfballet.org or
415.865.6634.
We are pleased to give special
recognition to donors who have been
honored as ten-year members of the
Chairman’s Council or Christensen
Society. Their names appear in italics
in this section. Former SF Ballet
Trustees and Associate Trustees are
noted with an asterisk (*).
52
SFBALLET.ORG
PRESENTER’S COUNCIL
GIFTS OF $50,000-$99,999
CHAIRMAN’S COUNCIL
GIFTS OF $15,000-$24,999
Rosemary B. Baker
Karen S. Bergman
Athena and Timothy Blackburn
Grady and Amy Burnett
Mrs. Suzy Kellems Dominik
Kate and Bill Duhamel
Mr. and Mrs. Greg Flynn
Richard and Elizabeth Fullerton
Family Foundation
Margaret and Stephen Gill
Mr. Hiro Iwanaga
Mr. and Mrs. James C. Katzman
Reiko and Yasunobu Kyogoku
Irv H. Lichtenwald and Stephen R. Ripple
Ms. Karla Martin*
Mrs. Henry I. Prien
Joan E. Roebuck
O.J.* and Gary Shansby
Catherine and Mark Slavonia
Joyce L. Stupski
Mr. and Mrs. James N. Sullivan
Mr. Richard J. Thalheimer
Jennifer and Steven Walske
Anonymous
Judy and David Anderson
Brenton and Lysbeth Warren Anderson
Eleonore Aslanian in memory of
Edward Aslanian
Kristen A. Avansino
Rachel Brass and Richard Foster
Ron and Susan Briggs
Mr. John G. Capo
J. and J. Chang
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Cohan
Robert and Laura Cory
Dr. and Mrs. Jordan Deschamps-Braly
Paula M. Elmore*
Chandler and Oliver Evans
Lynn Feintech and Tony Bernhardt
Randi and Bob Fisher
Mrs. Mortimer Fleishhacker
Tim and Amanda Garry
James C. Gries
Brian and Elizaveta Gustafson
Mr. Isaac Hall
Brian and Rene Hollins
James C. Hormel and Michael P. Nguyen
Mr. Basheer Janjua
John G. Kerns*
William and Gretchen Kimball Fund
Susan B. Levine and James W. Lauer
Patrice and Walther Lovato
Ms. Susan Marsch
Timothy Marten, M.D.
Mr. Gregg Mattner
Justin T. McBaine
Jane and Roger McCarthy
Stewart McDowell Brady and Philip Brady
Mr. and Mrs. James J. Messemer
Mary Mewha
Mr. James E. Milligan*
Mrs. Stuart G. Moldaw
Mr. David Oldroyd and Mr. Ronnie Genotti
Roland G. Ortgies and
Carmela C. Anderson-Ortgies
Mr. Kevin Osinski and Mr. Marc Sinykin
Leslie and Nick Podell
Alex & Maria Raitz
Dave and Judy Redo
Glenn H. Reid and Frank S. Lanier
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Roach
Christine Sherry and Lawson Fisher
The Honorable and Mrs. George P. Shultz
Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Smelick
Michael and Susanna Steinberg
Mr. and Mrs. William R. Timken
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Tuttle
Mr. Aaron T. Wheeler
The Whitman Family Foundation
S.B. Hadley Wilson
Ms. Patricia Wyrod
Diane and Howard Zack
SPONSOR’S COUNCIL
GIFTS OF $25,000-$49,999
Anonymous
John and Gioia Arrillaga
Courtney Benoist and Jason M. Fish
Ms. Eliza M. Brown
The Dan and Stacey* Case Family Foundation
Dr. Nancy Chang
Colette V.A. Cornish
Katherine and Gregg Crawford
Dana and Robert Emery
Carol Emory and The Wingate Foundation
Jacqueline* and Christian P. Erdman
Mr. Robert S. Fisher*
Joseph and Marianne Geagea
Kathleen Grant, M.D. and
Thomas Jackson, M.D.
Thomas E. Horn
Ms. Soul Htite
Ms. Jeri Lynn Johnson
Christine and Pierre Lamond
Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Leff
Peter and Melanie Maier
Ms. Laura McCabe-Edgar
Alexander R. Mehran*
Mr. and Mrs. Michel Oltramare
Kacie and Michael Renc
Mr. George R. Roberts
Larissa Roesch and Jason Crethar
Mr. Gordon Russell and Dr. Bettina McAdoo
Michael and Mary Schuh
Tom Steyer and Kat Taylor
Alan and Patricia Tai
Mr. and Mrs. William Truscott
Barbara and Stephan Vermut
Mr. and Mrs. David Viniar
Dr. Jan and Mr. Jonathan Zakin
2017
Maria Kochetkova in Cinderella // © Erik Tomasson
SEASON
A magical season featuring the North American
premiere of Scarlett’s Frankenstein; the return
of Wheeldon’s Cinderella and Tomasson’s
Swan Lake; and world premieres by Possokhov,
Bubeníček and Pita.
Principal Series subscribers, renew
by April 20 for Early Bird pricing.
sfballet.org/renew
01 HAFFNER SYMPHONY // JIŘÍ BUBENÍČEK WORLD PREMIERE //
Jan 24 – Feb 04
01
05
02 SEVEN SONATAS // YURI POSSOKHOV WORLD PREMIERE //
PAS/PARTS 2016
Jan 26 – Feb 05
03 FRANKENSTEIN NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Feb 17 – 26
04 STRAVINSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO // PRODIGAL SON //
3RD BALLET TBA
Mar 07 – 18
02
06
05 FUSION // ARTHUR PITA WORLD PREMIERE //
FEARFUL SYMMETRIES
Mar 09 – 19
06 SWAN LAKE
Mar 31 – Apr 12
03
07
07 TRIO // MYLES THATCHER WORLD PREMIERE //
WITHIN THE GOLDEN HOUR
Apr 05 – 18
08 CINDERELLA
Apr 28 – May 07
04
Principal Series packages go on public sale June 15.
08
Join our email list at sfballet.org to stay in the loop with all things SF Ballet.
SF Ballet welcomes Stephanie and James Marver as the Lead Sponsor of our
2017 Repertory Season.
SF Ballet proudly thanks the following major sponsors for their support of our 2016-2017 Season.
Left, from top: Vanessa Zahorian in Tomasson’s Haffner Symphony; Sofiane Sylve and Julia Rowe in Forsythe’s Pas/Parts 2016; Set design
by Tom Macfarlane for Liam Scarlett’s Frankenstein. Courtesy The Royal Ballet; Vanessa Zahorian and Davit Karapetyan in Balanchine’s
Stravinsky Violin Concerto (Choreography by George Balanchine © The Balanchine Trust); Right, from top: Sofiane Sylve in Scarlett’s
Fearful Symmetries; San Francisco Ballet in Tomasson’s Swan Lake; San Francisco Ballet in Wheeldon’s Within The Golden Hour;
Maria Kochetkova and Joan Boada in Wheeldon’s Cinderella // All Photos © Erik Tomasson
The Christensen Society
San Francisco Ballet gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Christensen Society members, who contributed gifts of $2,500
to $14,999 to the annual fund as of February 22, 2016. The Christensen Society is named for American dance pioneers Harold, Willam,
and Lew Christensen, three brothers who were instrumental in the founding and development of SF Ballet. This group of donors helps
SF Ballet maintain its artistic excellence, and receives exclusive benefits including behind-the-scenes access. For more information
about the Christensen Society please contact Senior Christensen Society Officer Ari Lipsky at alipsky@sfballet.org or 415.865.6635.
We are pleased to give special recognition to donors who have been honored as ten-year members of the Christensen Society. Their
names appear in italics in this section. Former SF Ballet Trustees and Associate Trustees are noted with an asterisk (*).
CHOREOGRAPHER’S COUNCIL
GIFTS OF $7,500-$14,999
Gifts of $7,500-$14,999
Anonymous (7)
Ms. Susan Anderson-Norby
Chris and Janet Bajorek
Dr. Margaret Bates and Scott Johnson
Christopher and Camille Bently
Lydia and Steven Bergman
Ms. Susan Blake
Claire and Jared Bobrow
Bruce Braden
Kelly and Samuel* Bronfman II
Mrs. Barbara Byrne
Jon B. Chaney
Antoinette Chatton
Ms. Carolyn M. Clements
Jack and Gloria Clumeck
Mr. and Mrs. Sol Coffino
Michele Beigel Corash and Laurence Corash
Jill Daly
Mr. Thomas L. Davis and Mrs. Marden N.Plant
Juanita and Manuel Del Arroz
Mr. and Mrs. Kevan Del Grande
Earl Diskin
Mr. and Mrs. David Dossetter
Ms. Paulette Doudell
Robert and Judith Duffy
Douglas and Barbara* Engmann
Mr. Frank J. Espina and Mrs. Andrea Valo-Espina
Tawna and John Farmer
Mr. and Mrs. John L. Field
Doris Fisher
Phyllis K. Friedman
Ms. Sally Garbarino
John and Marcia Goldman
James K. and Helen L. Goodwine
Nicholas and Mary Graves
Ann M. Griffiths
Mr. George F. Gund
Dr. Nahum Guzik
Mr. and Mrs. David M. Haskin
Mr. Kenneth Hitz
Ms. Kathryn Huber
Robert G. Hulteng
Guyton Jinkerson
Ms. Lisa A. Keith
Ms. Micki Klearman
Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Klett
Arlene and Steve Krieger
Maja Kristin
Captain Witold Klimenko and
Dr. Darlene Lanka-Klimenko
Mark and Debra Leslie
54
SFBALLET.ORG
Mark S. Litwin and Lorraine Lusted
Carol and Hal Louchheim
Sean Madnani
Lori and David F. Marquardt
Dr. Jack McElroy and Dr. Mary Ann Skidmore
Nion T. McEvoy
Marta L. Morando
Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman
Manfred K. Mundelius
Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Newman
Miriam Sedman and Ralph Nyffenegger
Mr. and Mrs. Michael O’Sullivan
Mr. James Parsons and Ms. Andrea Hong
Melanie and Rob Pedrick
Beth Price
Mr. and Mrs. Neal I. Powers
Mr. Fritz Quattlebaum
Delanie and Peter Read
Julian Robertson
Kamran and Helena Shamsavari
Mr. and Mrs. Roderick W. Shepard
Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Sherwin
Anne and Michelle Shonk
Ms. Cherida Collins Smith
Ms. Fran A. Streets
Roselyne C. Swig*
Ms. Trecia Knapp and Mr. Bruno Tapolsky
Helgi and Marlene Tomasson
Drs. Oldrich and Silva Vasicek
Mr. and Mrs. Alan Vidinsky
The Watkins Family
Cynthia and Edgar Whipple
Travis and Jim Wright
Mr. Tim C. Wu and Mr. Eric Murphy
Kenneth and Anna Zankel, The Grove
DANCER’S COUNCIL
GIFTS OF $5,000 - $7,499
Anonymous (3)
Mr. and Mrs. Tarang Amin
Mr. and Mrs. Greer Arthur
Marie-José and Kent Baum
Mr.* and Mrs. Joachim Bechtle
Miss Carol Benz
Davidson Bidwell-Waite and Edwin A. Waite
Mrs. Jan Birenbaum
Mr. Charles Alden Black, Jr. and
Mr. C. Grisham, Jr.
Ms. Martha E. Blackwell
Dr. Thomas and Janice Boyce
Mr. and Mrs.* William S. Brandenburg
Dr. Odelia Braun
Cynthia and Fred Brinkmann
Ms. Barbara Brown
James R. and Melinda M. Brown
Peggy and Donald Burns
Mr. and Mrs. G. Steven Burrill
Dr. Paula Campbell
Paula and Bandel Carano
Mrs. Malkah Carothers
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Chaiken
Ms. Carolyn Chandler
Ms. Karen K. Christensen
Ms. Diana Chulick
Robert Clegg*
Dr. Charles Connor
Ms. Phyllis Cook
Ms. Phoebe Cowles
Mary B. Cranston*
Ms. Nancy Curtiss
Mr. and Mrs. James A. Davidson
Mr. Don W. DeFranco and Mr. Paul Strickland
Marvin Dennis
Samantha DuVall and Darren Bechtel
Mrs. Delia F. Ehrlich
Buck Farmer and Leida Schoggen
Brent and Sandra Fery
Ms. Katherine M. Fines and Mr. Henry Heines
Mr. and Mrs. David Fleishhacker
Mr. Dennis N. Fluet
Camille and Sean Flynn
Mr. Jean Louis Forcina
Marilyn & Robert Funari Family Foundation
Sally L. Glaser and David Bower
Nonie H. Greene and Todd Werby
Mr. William J. Gregory
Linda Groah
Mr. and Mrs. John and Lucie Hall
Ms. Claudia Hardin
Clarence W. Harrison
Dr. Birt Harvey
Mr. and Mrs. A. Grant Heidrich III
Mary Lou Ambinder Heine
Ms. Laura Miller and Mr. Matthew Herold
Mr. and Mrs. John S. Hoch
Mr. and Mrs. Terry Houlihan
Ms. Kimberly M. Hughes
Susan and Lyman Hurd
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Jasen
Mr. Laurence Jurdem and Ms. Jorie Waterman
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Kautz
Ms. Daru H. Kawalkowski
Kevin King and Meridee Moore
Ms. Dana Klamecki
Ms. Linda Kurtz
Mr. and Mrs. Jude Laspa
Mr. David Laudon and Mr. Randall Laroche
Mrs. Mona Lessing-Harroch
Ms. Betsy A. Linder
Dr. and Mrs. Herschel Loomis, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Allen Luniewski
Mr. and Mrs. Laurence R. Lyons
Mr. Michael Manning
Mr. and Mrs. L.W. Thomas May
Joan and Robert McGrath
Mr. and Mrs. John A. McQuown
Mr. Wallace Mersereau
Byron R. Meyer*
Fred and Carole Middleton
Mrs. Toni R. Miller
Ms. Carla Oakley
Mrs. Alexandra Ottesen
Ms. Mindy Owen
Patricia Sanderson Port
Mr. Gordon L. Radley
Ursula Ralph
Barbara Rambo* and Thomas A. Goossens
Drs. Garry and Kathy Rayant
Reach-A-Star Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Todd G. Regenold
Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. Richardson
Rigg Family
Mr. and Mrs. Sanford R. Robertson
Ms. Marianne B. Robison
Mr. N. D’Arcy Roche and
Mrs. Stephanie Twomey Roche
Mr. and Mrs. David E. Rosenkrantz
Ms. Susan Rosin and Mr. Brian Bock
Mr. and Mrs. Mark J. Ryan
Dorothy Saxe
Mr. Michael Scagliotti and Mrs. Miya R. Peard
Peter and Linda Schwarz
Dr. David Tai-Man Shen and Ms Elaine Shen
Ms. H. Marcia Smolens
Mrs. Linda Snyder
Mr. and Mrs. George H. Sollman
The Spero Family
Mr. and Mrs. Mathew Spolin
Mr. and Mrs. Randall N. Spratt
Susanne Stevens
The Streets Family
Mrs. Dwight V. Strong
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Swartz
Mrs. Bente Tellefsen
Mr. and Mrs. Charles V. Thornton
Mr. and Mrs. William L. Thornton
Mr. Harry Tierney
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Tortorici
Janet Sassoon-Upton and John R. Upton, Jr.
Ms. Susan A. Van Wagner
Dr. Conrad Vial
Paul A. Violich
Ms. Susan Warble
Emily and Bob Warden
Daniel and Marie Welch
Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Wertsch
Benjamin and Mary Ann Whitten
Karen and Stephen Wiel
Marilyn Wolper
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Woodall
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald C. Wornick
Dr. Keith R. Yamamoto
Sharon and Robert Yoerg
Dr. and Mrs. Burton A. Zabin
ASSOCIATE’S COUNCIL
GIFTS OF $2,500-$4,999
Anonymous (8)
Ms. Diane K. Aaron
James Abrams and Thomas Chiang
Michael C. Abramson
Norman Abramson and David Beery
Mr. Amir Adibi
Molly and Stewart Agras
Ms. Kirsti Aho and Mr. Dale Underwood
Mr. Bruce Albert and Dr. Chady F. Wonson
Mr. Joseph W. Alegre
Sig and Susan Anderman
Jola and John M. Anderson
Dr. and Mrs. Joseph S. Andresen
Ms. Gigi Anthony
Mr. Scott Anthony and Ms. Christine DeSanze
Mr. Hiroki Asai
Asmus Family
Ms. Corine Assouline
Mr. and Mrs. Bartley B. Baer
Dr. Thomas and Julie Ballard
Mr. Stephen A. Bansak III
Mr. Stephen J. Barber
Mr. Charles Barrett
Mr. Michael Barrientos
Karen Bartholomew
Jeanne and William Barulich
Ms. Joan B. Bayston
Mr. and Mrs. David W. Beach
Mr. and Mrs. Gene Becker
Dr. George Becker
Ms. Lydia Beebe
Ms. Desa C. Belyea
Ms. Catherine Bergstrom
Mr. Phil Bettens
RADM and Mrs. John W. Bitoff
Amos and Carla Blackmon
Ms. Phyllis Blair
Mr. Noel T. Blos
Bon Air Center
Mr. William Bonville
Candis A. Bourdet
Ms. Carolyn J. and Mr. David W. Brady
Mr. Robert Brandt
Germaine Brennan Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Brenner
Catherine Brown and Gerald Gwathney
Edward and Carole Brown
Mrs. Wynne Brown and Miss Parker Brown
Josephine Brownback
Mr. Peyton Bryars
Katie Budge
Betty C. Bullock and Robert Murray
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Burkhart
Julie and David Burns
Mrs. John Callander
Libi Cape
Ms. Marion Carr
Nina Carroll
Ms. Linda Carson
Dr. Heidi H. Cary
Dr. and Mrs. George Cassady
Charles R. Castellano and Deryl Castellano
Drs. Valerie and Devron Char
Mr. Marvin Charney
Mr. Paul Clifford
Douglas Clough and Erin Uesugi
Ms. Annelle Clute
Susan and Mitchell Cohen
Ms. Claudia Coleman
Ms. Robin Collins
Hannah and Kevin Comolli
Richard and Sylvia Condon
Jane A. Cook
Alice M. Corning
Joan and Victor Corsiglia
Ms. Sandi Covell
Ron and Shahla Cowan
Ms. Nora C. Cregan
Ms. Lilly Creighton
Mrs. Mary A. Culp
Mr. Stephen Danko
Ms. Susan J. Davenport
Dr. and Mrs. R.L. Davis
Ms. Bonnie De Clark
Ms. Carleen Hawn DeLay
Dr. Richard M. Delfs
Ms. Carole A. Demsky
Julie Desloge and George A. Newhall
Ms. Julie D. Dickson
Ms. Patricia Dobashi
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore S. Dobos
Ms. Diane N. Donovan
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Draper III
Michael E. Dreyer and Harry B. Ugol
Mr. Garrettson Dulin, Jr.
Anita C. Eblë
Michelle and Zane Edwards
Diane and Joseph Ehrman III
Ms. Lorre Erlick
Mr. Greg Evans
Evans Fund
Rev. Richard Fabian
Mr.* and Mrs. Irwin Federman
Merritt and Mary Lou Fink
Mr. William E. Fisher
Ms. Linda Jo Fitz
Mr. Thomas W. Flynn
Ms. Mayhill Fowler
Mr. David B. Franklin
Mr. Douglas Frantz
Dr. and Mrs. A. W. Fricke
Mr. Ian Friedland
Mrs. Mary Ann Fullilove
Penny and Gregory Gallo
Ms. Joy Gim
Sandra and Yuen Gin
Nora Goldschlager
Drs. Meryl Gordon and Robert Schermer
Ms. Shelley Gordon
Mr. James Gosling
Mr. Reeve Gould
Mr. Michael Grady
Richard L. Grant and James L. Miller
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
55
The Christensen Society
Donald W. and Patricia L. Green
Ms. Joan Green
Judy and Josh Green
Mrs. Robert M. Greenhood
Ms. Doris Grimley
Claude and Nina Gruen
Mark Grundman & Elaine Deane
Dr. Jerome Guillen
Duncan and Jeanie Gurley
Mrs. Sharon S. Gustafson
Mimi Haas
Stephen Halprin
Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Hamer III
Alexander and Catherine Hargrave
Sara and Catherine Harkins
Dr. Elizabeth A Harrison
Mr. Christoph Hartmann
Michael and Julie Hawkins
Mr. and Mrs.* Kenneth Hecht
John F. Heil
Miranda Heller and Mark Salkind
Troy and Alysia Helming
Helts Foundation
Dr. and Mrs. I. C. Henderson
Robert Lee Henderson
Joan and Alan Henricks
Ms. Mary Herman
Ms. Kristine T. Hernandez and
Mr. Michael R. Glaser
Mr. and Mrs. John S. Herr, Jr.
Mrs. Cynthia Hersey
Mrs. Virginia Hodgson
Mr. Michael Hoffman
Sunny Holland and Alan Pryor
Mr. Ralph D. Holt
Dr. Ray Hsu and Dr. Joanna Lin
Ms. Marie Louise Hurabiell
Ms. Margaret Hutchins
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald W. Hutton
Ms. Meghan Imrie
Ms. Karen J. Irvin
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Isaac
Ms. Giovanna Jackson*
Jackson Family
Ms. Andrea Jacoby
Mrs. Barbara Johnson
Ms. Mary Johnson
Mr. Todd Jolly and Ms. Judith Murio
Ms. Toni K. Jones
Debra and Blake Jorgensen
Mr. Campbell C. Judge and Ms. Kim Ellis
Ms. Roberta Kameda
Bruce and Dasa Katz, Katz Family Foundation
Mr. Kris Kazaks
Mr. Thomas Kearney
Kristen Kelly
Rev. Keenan C. Kelsey
Drs. Douglas and Carol Kerr
Ms. Kathryn Kersey
Ms. Jennifer H. Kilpatrick
Mrs. Amanda H. Kirkwood
Mrs. Jerome Ormond Kirschbaum
Ms. Beverly P. Kivel
Mr. and Mrs. Alan F. Klein
Ms. Patricia D. Knight
Ms. Suzanne Knott and Mr. Tom Rose
Mr. and Mrs. Mark S. Koenig
Hal and Iris Korol
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Kostic
Mr. Jordan Kramer
Mrs. Carla L. Labat
Jim and Anne Lairmore
Sharon Lambert and Charles Cohen
Ms. Patricia Lamond
Laube Family Foundation
Patricia W. Leicher
Patricia Lekas and John Wentz
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher E. Lenzo
56
SFBALLET.ORG
Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Leonard
Mr. and Mrs. Mark R. Lepper
Mr. Robert Levenson
Mr. Roy Levin
Rhoda Levinthal
Pam G. Lewis
Claire and Herbert Lindenberger
Ms. Sandra S. Lloyd
Dr. Mary Jane W. Loda
Carol and Bill Lokke
John and Kate Lord
Mr. and Mrs. Steve Love
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Ludgus
Dr. and Mrs. G. Karl Ludwig, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. James J. Ludwig
Mrs. Chelsea D. Lynch
Mr. Petros Maniatis
Ms. Joan Mann
Ms. Virginia Martin
Ms. Anita Martinez
Ms. Connie V. Martinez
Ms. Mary E. Massee
Holly and Stephen Massey
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Maurer
Mr. Patrick McCabe
Jennifer J. McCall
Dr. and Mrs. W. D. McCallum
Mr. Glenn McCoy
Ms. Kathleen McEligot
Ms. Janice McIntosh
Lisa and Jason McPhate
Mr. David E. Meders
Mr. Martin Melia
Dr. Beryl Mell
Mr. Steve Merlo
Mr. and Mrs. Lou Meylan
Hank and Bonnie Miller
Richard Miller and John Vinton
Mr. Ted E. Mitchell
Susan and Jack Molinari
Mr. and Mrs. Ken Moonie
Gary and Eileen Morgenthaler
Mr. Hokuto Morita
Diane L. Morris
Mrs. Janet Morris
Ms. Alexandra Moses
Mr. Milton J. Mosk and Mr. Thomas Foutch
Kathleen Much and Stanley Peters
Peter Johnson Musto
Mr. Andrew Myrick
Mrs. Shirley Negrin
Drs. Andrew and Lynn Newman
Diana Nichols
Ms. Allison Nielsen
Patricia and Hayes Noel
Mr. Paul Nordine
Mr. Hiromichi Nozaki
Mr. Richard Oppenheimer
Mr. and Mrs. Philip Ouyang
Drs. Lester and Anne Packer
Ms. Ann Paras
Mr. William D. Parent
Mrs. Lori Perica
The Phillips Family
Ms. Hilary Pierce
Edward and Linda Plant
Melissa and Ritchie Post
Dale and Danielle Power
Ms. Sandra Price
Mr. John Pringle
Louis Ptacek and Ying-Hui Fu
Ms. Ruth Quigley
Ms. Nancy Quintrell
Jennifer Rainin
James Deveney and Steve Rausch
Ms. Teresa Remillard
Louise and Paul Renne
Jon Q. and Ann S. Reynolds
Mrs. Lisa A. Rhodes
Thomas C. Rindfleisch and A. Carlisle Scott
Ms. Kathryn Roberts
L.L. Roberts and A.R. Wilbanks
Ms. Patricia Rock and Mr. John Fetzer
Major and Mrs. Charles Roell
Jack and Fran Rominger
Ms. Patricia Rosenberg
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Rosenthal
Ms. Karen Roth
Kate Rowe
Mr. Paul L. Rowe and Mr. Michael Sereno
Paul Sack and Shirley Davis
Dr. Ellen Salwen
Louise Adler Sampson
Ms. Letitia Sanders
Ms. Ellen Sandler
Donald and Terry Sarver
Gwendy and Anthony Scampavia
William and Linda Schieber
Kathleen Schiebold
Peter Lotnar Schmidt
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Schwab
Mrs. S. D. Schwabacher
Mr. and Mrs. James D. Seltsam, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Gary J. Shapiro
Ms. Diane Sheardown
Mrs. Harriet J. Simpson
Marietta and Earl Singer
Mr. Aaron Sittig
Dr. Dale Skeen
Karen L. Skidmore
Ms. Eileen Soden
Mr. James Sokol
Mr. Scott C. Sollers
Mary Ann Somerville
Rosemary G. Southwood
Ms. Ellice Sperber and Ms. Emma Elizalde
Ruth and Alan Stein
Mr. Matthew Stepka
Lisa J. Stern-Hazlewood
Mr. Ray S. Stewart and Ms. Norma Pappas
Shelby T. Strudwick
Joseph J. Sturkey
Maureen and Craig Sullivan
Darian and Rick Swig
Ms. Lita Swiryn
Dr. Edmund Tai
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Tan
Ms. Nadine Tang
Mr. James Teter
Judy and Harold Ticktin
Mr. Dana Tom
Lowell Tong and Alasdair Neale
Ms. Christine Z. Tooby
Ms. Amanda Topper
Patricia Unterman and Tim Savinar
Ms. Rhonda Vitanye
Mr. and Mrs. Gregg von Thaden
Mr. Richard A. Votava
Ms. Adrian Walker
Rosalie V. Weaver
Eitan Fenson and Barbara Weinstein
Mr. and Mrs. Otto Weiss
Daphne and Stuart Wells
David and Kay Werdegar
Mr. and Mrs. Steve West
Melanie and Ronald Wilensky
David and Karima Wilner
Mr. and Mrs. Terry Winograd
Ms. Muriel Wolverton
Ms. Glenda Wong
Celeste and Darryl Woo
Sharon* and Dr. Russell Woo
Beatrice Wood
Laureen Woodruff
Mrs. Richard E. Zimmerman
PROGRAMS 04 & 05
56
Make a
Legacy Gift
Jocelyn Vollmar has dedicated her life to dance and to SF Ballet.
A San Francisco native, she received her training at SF Ballet School
and was a distinguished principal dancer with the Company. Her
extraordinary career included important milestones for the organization:
she performed in the SF Ballet American premieres of the nowuniversally loved ballets Swan Lake and Nutcracker, in which she was
our first Snow Queen.
In 1948, she was invited by George Balanchine to dance with New York
City Ballet in its inaugural year and then performed internationally
before returning to complete her performing career here at SF Ballet.
After leaving the stage, Jocelyn was a teacher at the SF Ballet School
from 1985 to 2005, training generations of dancers. Her contributions
have been many in shaping the organization, including her devotion to
the art form at the highest standards of excellence.
The Jocelyn Vollmar Legacy Circle is
comprised of thoughtful individuals who
have made a commitment to our work
by including SF Ballet in their will or
other estate plans. For information about
bequests and other legacy gifts, contact
Planned Giving Manager Elizabeth Lani at
415.865.6623 or legacycircle@sfballet.org.
WanTing Zhao and Jocelyn Vollmar // © Chris Hardy;
Inset: Jocelyn Vollmar and Julien Herrin in
Christensen’s Nutcracker, circa 1958
Corporate and Foundation Support
Institutional gifts provide valuable
support to SF Ballet’s artistic, touring,
education, and outreach activities.
Corporate and foundation grants of all
sizes, in-kind gifts, and matching gifts
enable the Ballet to train and perform
at the highest standard of artistry.
Corporate partnership with SF Ballet
delivers a wealth of valuable benefits
such as public recognition as a
supporter, hospitality opportunities for
clients and executives, and discounts
on tickets for employees. To learn
more, please contact Corporate
Giving Officer Amy Drew at
adrew@sfballet.org or 415.865.6616.
Foundation giving to SF Ballet is an
investment in the cultural life of the
Bay Area. To learn more, contact
Institutional Giving Officer
Elisabeth Morgan at
emorgan@sfballet.org or
415.865.6626.
CORPORATE COUNCIL
GRAND BENEFACTOR’S COUNCIL
GSR Capital
GIFTS OF $100,000–$249,999
First Republic Bank
GIFTS OF $50,000–$99,999
Chevron
KPMG
SPONSOR’S COUNCIL
GIFTS OF $25,000–$49,999
Bank of America
FICO China
Freed of London
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Keywise Capital
La Perla
Wells Fargo Foundation
IN-KIND DONORS
SFBALLET.ORG
GIFTS OF $10,000–$14,999
Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough, LLC
China Guangfa Bank
Dodge & Cox
Gap Foundation
Integnology
Mechanics Bank Wealth Management
Saks Fifth Avenue
Wells Fargo
Willis
DANCER’S COUNCIL
GIFTS OF $5,000–$9,999
BlackRock
Delta Dental of California
Denning and Company
Heart of Neiman Marcus Foundation
St. John
GIFTS OF $2,500–$4,999
Schiff Hardin LLP
ABC7 KGO-TV
Bay Area Rapid Transit
KCBS Radio
KPIX
KQED TV
Method
Neiman Marcus Union Square
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco magazine
San Francisco Media Company
GIFTS OF $15,000–$24,999
The Fairmont San Francisco
Miette
Nob Hill Gazette
Piedmont Piano Company
GIFTS OF $50,000–$99,999
J Riccardo Benavides
La Marca Prosecco®
McCalls Catering & Events
GIFTS OF $2,500–$4,999
Crystal Geyser
Epi Center MedSpa
SPONSOR’S COUNCIL
GIFTS OF $25,000–$49,999
Bay Area Reporter
St. Regis Beijing
United
58
GIFTS OF $15,000–$24,999
Abbot Downing
BVLGARI
Pacific Union — Christie’s International
Real Estate
GIFTS OF $10,000–$14,999
Coomi
Kryolan Professional Make-up
Patina Catering
Sutter Securities Incorporated
FOUNDATION AND
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
GRAND BENEFACTOR
Bently Foundation
Gaia Fund
Grants for the Arts
E. L. Wiegand Foundation
GIFTS OF $100,000–$249,999
Shelby and Frederick Gans Foundation
Koret Foundation
GIFTS OF $50,000–$99,999
Edward Baker Foundation
Cox Family Foundation
Flora Family Foundation
Richard and Elizabeth Fullerton Family
Foundation
Stephen and Margaret Gill Family Foundation
Grossman Family Foundation
The Diana Dollar Knowles Foundation
The Shubert Foundation, Inc.
Wallis Foundation
SPONSOR’S COUNCIL
GIFTS OF $25,000–$49,999
Arrillaga Foundation
Dan and Stacey Case Family Foundation
The Cockayne Fund Inc.
H. B. and Lucille Horn Foundation
The William G. Irwin Charity Foundation
Lamond Family Foundation
The Charles Henry Leach, II Fund
Masud and Alex Mehran Foundation
Tang Family Foundation
The Walske Charitable Foundation
GIFTS OF $15,000–$24,999
Crescent Porter Hale Foundation
Walter & Elise Haas Fund
John Brockway Huntington Foundation
Roberts Foundation
GIFTS OF $10,000–$14,999
Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation
Crankstart Foundation
G. Fredrick Charitable Foundation
John and Marcia Goldman Foundation
Mimi and Peter Haas Fund
Heising-Simons Foundation
Sunlight Giving Foundation
The E. L. Wiegand Foundation, Reno, Nevada
The Wingate Foundation
K.A. Zankel Foundation
Zellerbach Family Foundation
DANCER’S COUNCIL
GIFTS OF $5,000–$9,999
Nancy & Joachim Bechtle Foundation
Mervyn L. Brenner Foundation, Inc.
Clumeck Foundation
Fleishhacker Foundation
Marilyn & Robert Funari Family Foundation
Edward And Marjorie Goldberger Foundation
Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund
Walter S. Johnson Foundation
Jeanne and Sanford Robertson Fund
The Laney Thornton Foundation
The Vasicek Foundation
GIFTS OF $2,500–$4,999
Caritas Charitable Foundation
The Donald and Carole Chaiken Foundation
Dorrance Family Foundation
Katz Family Foundation
Lakeside Foundation
Laube Family Foundation
Post Family Foundation
Springcreek Foundation
Visit The Shop
at SF Ballet
Need a gift for that “special someone”
or just some clothing that shows the
world your love of ballet? We have a
beautiful collection of items you won’t
find anywhere else.
The Shop is open one hour before
curtain time and during Intermission.
We’re also open for thirty minutes
following matinee performances.
Always online at sfballet.org/shop.
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
59
The Jocelyn Vollmar Legacy Circle
The Jocelyn Vollmar Legacy Circle
recognizes and thanks individuals
who, as a part of their own legacy,
make an investment in the future of
San Francisco Ballet. The group is
named for Jocelyn Vollmar, who has
dedicated her life to San Francisco
Ballet. Her career spans many
milestones for the Company, from
performing roles in SF Ballet’s first
Nutcracker and first Swan Lake, to
training generations of dancers in
the San Francisco Ballet School.
Her contributions have been many
in shaping the institution, including
her devotion to the art form at the
highest standards of excellence.
Legacy gifts come in all sizes and
include gifts from wills and living
trusts; gifts that return lifetime
income, such as charitable gift
annuities; our pooled income
fund; and other planned gifts. The
Jocelyn Vollmar Legacy Circle is
pleased to publically acknowledge
its members. For information about
Legacy Circle membership and
estate gift options, please
contact Planned Giving Manager
Elizabeth Lani at elani@sfballet.org
or 415-865-6623.
60
SFBALLET.ORG
Anonymous (48)
Michael C. Abramson
Norman Abramson and David Beery
Sophie and Ted Aldrich
Anthony J. Alfidi
Cal Anderson
David and Judith Preves Anderson
Steven D. Arias
Roulhac and Tom Austin
Nancy R. Axelrod
ML Baird, in memory of Travis & Marion Baird
Rosemary B. Baker
Richard C. Barker
Valera Ferrea Barnhart
Marie Schoppe Bartee
Margaret Bates, M.D.
Richard and Kathy Beal
Dr. and Mrs. Walter E. Berger
Karen S. Bergman
Davidson Bidwell-Waite and Edwin A. Waite
Arthur Bienenstock
Patricia Ellis Bixby
Phyllis B. Blair
Aviva Shiff Boedecker
Jon Borset
Bruce Braden
Lisa K. Breakey
Rita Brenner and Leonard Schwab
Ron and Susan Briggs
Leonard Brill and Richard Sanjour
Cynthia and Frederick Brinkmann
Ms. Agnes Chen Brown
James R. and Melinda M. Brown
Marjorie and Gerald Burnett
Julie and David Burns
Adrian and Carol Byram
Patricia J. Campbell
Jack Capito
Linda Parker Cassady
Michaela Cassidy
Antoinette Chatton
Diane and William Clarke
Robert Clegg
Bette Jean Clute
Michael Q. Cohen and Carol Berman Cohen
Jane A. Cook
Mary Ellen Copner
Colette V.A. Cornish
Sandi Covell
Deborah Pearson Cowley
Kenneth and Diane Cox
Lynda Meyer Cronin
Gerald Currier
Barbara Daily
Cornelia Y. de Schepper
Martha Debs
David and Alaina DeMartini
Karel and Mark Detterman
Charles Dishman
Earl Diskin
Christine H. Dohrmann
Sam Alicia Duke
Joseph Ehrman III
Carol Emory
Ms. Frances Eubanks
Merritt and Mary Lou Fink
Richard Fitzgerald
Victoria Flavell
Frannie Fleishhacker
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Foote
Mary Jo and David Francis
Douglas Frantz
Sandra and Alfred Fricke
Joseph and Antonia Friedman
Connie Marie Gaglio
John Garfinkle
Stephen and Margaret Gill
S. Bradley Gillaugh
Jane Gitschier
Meryl Gordon, M.D.
Michael W. Grady
Lawrence Grauman, Jr.
Joan and Michael Green
Patricia Lindsay and Donald W. Green
Roger W. Green
James Gries
Martin C. Hamilton
Rosemary (Rosie) Hayes
Terry Hynes Helm
Linda K. Hmelo
Betty Hoener
Thomas E. Horn
Donald F. Houghton
Vija M. Hovgard
Harold D. and Jocelyn P. Hughes
Dorothy and Bradford Jeffries
Berdine Jernigan
Mrs. Barbara Johnson
Mark G. Jones
Mrs. René Jopé
Dr. Devorah Joseph in memory of
Nerrissa Joseph
David A. Kaplan
Rose Adams Kelly
John Kerns
Mrs. Jerome Ormond Kirschbaum
Ms. June Kronberg
Joan Shelbourne Kwansa
Sharon Lampton
Kimun Lee
Marcia Lowell Leonhardt
Irv Lichtenwald and Stephen R. Ripple
Carol and Hal Louchheim
Barbara Lowe
James J. Ludwig
Mr. and Mrs. Laurence R. Lyons
Jo Markovich
John Robert Martin
Connie V. Martinez
Mr. James D. Marver
Erika-Marie Matthes
Dosia Matthews
Gwen and Hamp Mauvais
Mrs. Alice T. May
Steven and Niko Mayer
Mrs. William L. McGee
Betsy and Ed McGuigan
James H. McMurray
Susan J. Meadows
Robert L. Merjano
Steve Merlo
Karl Meyer and Kelly Hails
J. Sanford Miller
Ms. Joyce E. Miller
Mr. Sidney F. Mobell
Nancy and Larry Mohr
Patricia Mok
Milton J. Mosk
Kathleen Much
Tom and Anne Muller
Peter Johnson Musto
Virginia Mylenki and James J. Pidgeon
Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Newman
Tom Nicoll
Norman and Hillevi Null
Peter Nye and James Marks
Marc Sinykin and Kevin Osinski
John S. Osterweis
Rudy Picarelli
Karen Posner
Steve and Cleo Postle
Roger and Deborah Potash
Mr. and Mrs. Albert M. Price
Jane Radcliffe
Dave and Judy Redo
Estate Gifts
Glenn H. Reid and Frank S. Lanier
M.A. Rey-Bear Trust
Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Ringe
Pat Roberts
Elsie Robertson
Pauline and Richard Roothman
Renee and Dennis Ross
Renee Rubin
Karl Ruppenthal and Jo Maxon
Pat Sanderson
R. L. Sauer
Norman Schlossberg
Ms. Catherine Schmidt
Walter and Sharon Schneider
Al Schroeder
Harold E. Segelstad
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Self
Christine Selle
Michael and Daryl Shafran
J. Gary and O.J. Shansby Foundation
John-Luke Sheridan
Mrs. Carter Parrish Sherlin
Carol R. Sholin
Edward M. Silva
Charles G. Smith
Cleveland M. Smith
Dr. W. Byron Smith
M. Eileen Soden, Ph.D.
Scott C. Sollers
Sue Sommer
Sharon St. James
Stephen B. Steczynski
Nancy Stern
Susanne Stevens
Jane and Jay Taber
Tom Taffel and Bill Repp
Mr. and Mrs. Alan Tai
Jack Eugene Teeters
Gretchen and L. Jay Tenenbaum
Sam Thal, M.D.
Suzanne and Charles Thornton
Jazz Tigan
Mr. and Mrs. Howard Timoney
Michael E. Tully
Janet Sassoon-Upton and John R. Upton, Jr.
Shirley Wilson Victor
Carolyn and Terry Voet
Mrs. Katherine Wallin
Mrs. Barbara W. Wanvig
Rosalie V. Weaver
Dr. Frieda Weiner
Ingrid M. Weiss
Daphne and Stuart Wells
Benjamin and Mary Ann Whitten
Karen and Stephen Wiel
Mr. Burlington Willes
Laureen Woodruff
Dr. Robert and Sharon Yoerg
Janice Hansen Zakin
Kristine A. Zeigler
Mrs. Stephen A. Zellerbach
San Francisco Ballet gratefully recognizes the following patrons whose contributions to
SF Ballet through their estates have provided meaningful support since July 1, 2012. The
Ballet is honored by their generosity and vision for the future of the institution. Bequests
and other planned gifts, both large and small, are an integral part of the Ballet’s financial
well-being. To learn how to include the Ballet in your own plans, please contact Planned
Giving Manager Elizabeth Lani at elani@sfballet.org or 415.865.6623.
GIFTS OF $1,000,000 AND ABOVE
Richard B. Gump
Louis E. Hendricks
Natalie H. Stotz
GIFTS OF $50,000 TO $99,999
Harry William Redell
Grace Williams
GIFTS OF $500,000 TO $999,999
Lee R. Crews
Milan Milton Holdorf
Mary Jo Pace
Patricia A. TeRoller
GIFTS UP TO $50,000
Anonymous (9)
Philip M. Eisenberg
Sarah C. Evans
Paul E. Fey
Keith Joseph Isaacson
John E. Leveen
Karl and Alice Ruppenthal Foundation for the Arts
Ruth Morse
Lee J. Mosley
Jessica M. Putney
Paul C. Silva
Marion and Willis Slusser
L. Jay Tenenbaum
Wingate Foundation
GIFTS OF $250,000 TO $499,999
Anonymous
Dr. Florence R. Oaks
Delores M. Schweizer
GIFTS OF $100,000 TO $249,999
Nancy Croley
S. E. Bush, Jr.
Mr. William K. Dick
Ms. Edith Hammerslough
Lloyd N. Harper
Ms. Vera M. Long
George W. Lord
Phyllis W. Nelson
Olivia Thebus
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
61
Thank You to Our Volunteers
The San Francisco Ballet “family” extends beyond the stage to include a large community of dedicated and generous volunteers who are
personally involved in the Company’s success. The tireless efforts of these volunteers contribute greatly to SF Ballet’s accomplishments.
AUXILIARY
The San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary is a group of dedicated women who organize SF Ballet’s annual fundraising events including the
Opening Night Gala Dinner and Student Showcase Dinner. For more information, please visit sfballet.org/auxiliary.
Ms. Marie Louise Hurabiell, President
ACTIVE MEMBERS
Ms. Blanca Aguirre
Mrs. Judy Anderson
Ms. Donna Bachle
Mrs. Bartley B. Baer
Ms. Deborah Taylor Barrera
Mrs. Kevin W. Bartlett
Ms. Alletta Bayer
Miss Carol Benz
Mrs. Steven Bergman
Ms. Catherine Bergstrom
Ms. L’Ann Bingham
Ms. Beverley Siri Borelli
Ms. Giselle Bosc
Mrs. William S. Brandenburg
Mrs. Kent F. Brooks
Mrs. G. Steven Burrill
Mrs. Linda Rose Victoire Byers
Mrs. Kathleen Coffino
Ms. Christine Leong Connors
Ms. Rebecca Cooper
Mrs. Angelos J. Dassios
Ms. Carleen Hawn DeLay
Ms. Carole A. Demsky
Ms. Christine DeSanze
Mrs. Samara Diapoulos
Mrs. John E. Fetzer
Ms. Jane Gazzola
Mrs. Vincent Golde
Ms. Shelley Gordon
Mrs. David Grove
Ms. Lori Harmon
Mrs. Joseph Harris, Jr.
Mrs. Terrence M. Hazlewood
Mrs. Ronald R. Heckmann
Mrs. Christopher Hemphill
Ms. Kimberly Hopper
Ms. Kathryn A. Huber
Mrs. Richard Jasen
Mrs. James C. Kelly
Ms. Trecia Knapp
Mrs. Mark S. Koenig
Ms. Claire Stewart Kostic
Mrs. Alexander Leff
Ms. Betsy A. Linder
Ms. Sheila M. Lippman
Ms. Patricia Ferrin Loucks
Mrs. Carol Louie
Mrs. Rhonda Mahendroo
Mrs. Heather Cassady Martin
Ms. Laura V. Miller
Mrs. Elizabeth Robinson Mitchell
Ms. Margaret Mitchell
Mrs. Michael O’Sullivan
Ms. Melissa Powar
Miss Tanya Marietta Powell
Mrs. Virginia Leung Price
Ms. Maria K. Ralph
Ms. Megan Ray
Ms. Kacie Renc
Ms. René Rodman
Ms. Stephanie B. Russell
Ms. Meg Ruxton
Mrs. Christina Santelli
Ms. Marcela Casciani Schwaegler
Mrs. James D. Seltsam, Jr.
Mrs. David Selzer
Ms. V’Anne Singleton
Ms. Grace Nicolson Sorg
Shelby T. Strudwick
Mrs. Charles V. Thornton
Mrs. Andrea Valo-Espina
Mrs. Patrick Walravens
Ms. Amy Wender-Hoch
Mrs. Aimee West
Ms. Freddi Wilkinson
Mrs. Eric Wold
Mrs. Robert W. Wood
Ms. Patricia Wyrod
Miss Carla J. Wytmar
Mrs. Ronald Zaragoza
Mrs. Helgi Tomasson
Honorary Member
SUSTAINING MEMBERS
Jola Anderson
Mrs. James P. Anthony
Mrs. Thomas G. Austin
Ms. Rosemary B. Baker
Ms. Katherine Banks
Ms. Harriet L. Barbanell
Mrs. Patrick V. Barber
Mrs. Kent T. Baum
Mrs. Peter Berliner
Mrs. John W. Bitoff
Mrs. Athena Blackburn
Mrs. Richard A. Bocci
Ms. Caroline Krawiec Brownstone
Mrs. Donald W. Carlson
Mrs. Walter Carpeneti
Mrs. Charles E. Clemens
Ms. Robin Collins
Mrs. Daniel P. Cronan
Ms. Gail De Martini
Mrs. Theodore S. Dobos
Mrs. David Dossetter
Mrs. Happy Dumas
Dr. DiAnn Ellis
Mrs. Douglas J. Engmann
Mrs. Christian P. Erdman
Ms. Lorre Erlick
Ms. Dixie D. Furlong
Mrs. Stephen Ghiselli
Mrs. William E. Grayson
Ms. Nonie H. Greene
Mrs. John P. Grotts
Ms. Catherine D. Hargrave
Mrs. Michael R. Haswell
Ms. Terry Hynes Helm
Mrs. James A. Henderson
Ms. Kelli Hill
Mrs. Michael F. Jackson
Ms. Daru H. Kawalkowski
Ms. Lisa A. Keith
Mrs. William N. Keller
Mrs. Robert D. Kroll
Ms. Jean Larette
Miss Elizabeth Leep
Ms. Debra A. Leylegian
Mrs. Barry R. Lipman
Mrs. John C. Lund
Mrs. Robert W. Maier
Ms. Susan A. Malecki
Ms. Sandra Mandel
Mrs. Michael L. Mauzé
Mrs. Mark A. Medearis
Mrs. James J. Messemer
Mrs. Dennis Mooradian
Ms. Alison Morr
Mrs. Jane S. Mudge
Miss Suzanne J. Muntzing
Ms. Vickie Nelson
Mrs. Robert L. Newman
Mrs. Peggy L. Newton
Ms. Carole A. Obley
Ms. Margrit Paul
Mrs. Edward Plant
Mrs. Nick Podell
Mrs. Todd G. Regenold
Ms. Lorrae Rominger
Ms. Dara C. Rosenfeld
Mrs. Jay Ryder
Ms. Isabel M. Sam-Vargas
Ms. Ellen Sandler
Mrs. Thomas Schiff
Mrs. David Tai-Man Shen
Ms. Merrill Randol Sherwin
Ms. Karen L. Skidmore
Mrs. Susan Solinsky
Mrs. Mathew Spolin
Mrs. Jerome J. Suich II
Mrs. Judy Swanson
Ms. Jody K. Thelander
Ms. Valerie D. Toler
Ms. Elizabeth W. Vobach
Mrs. Gregg von Thaden
Ms. Barbara Waldman
Mrs. Wallace Wertsch
ALLEGRO CIRCLE
ENCORE!
Allegro Circle is a diverse group of donors who contribute
their professional expertise and networks in support of
the ongoing excellence of SF Ballet. For more information,
please contact Major Gifts Officer Pamela Sullivan at
psullivan@sfballet.org or 415.865.6634.
ENCORE! is a group of young Bay Area men and women
supporting SF Ballet through performance attendance, volunteer
involvement, and financial support. For more information on
ENCORE!, visit facebook.com/sfballetencore or email encore@
sfballet.org.
STEERING COMMITTEE
Stewart McDowell Brady and Patrice Lovato
Co-Chairs
Paula Elmore
Amanda Garry
Susan Marsch
Gregg Mattner
Aaron Wheeler
Patricia Wyrod
LEADERSHIP
Emily Hu
President
Christopher Correa
Vice President
Susan Lin
Secretary
Wilson Yan
Treasurer and Immediate Past President
62
SFBALLET.ORG
Jane Burkhard
Immediate Past President
Lena Gikkas
Julie Hall
Vanessa Jn-Baptiste
Elizabeth Sgarrella
Sunil Sharma
Maggie Winterfeldt Clark
BRAVO
BRAVO is an organization of community volunteers who support SF Ballet through a variety of administrative tasks and activities in the
Ballet offices and at events. For more information and to apply for membership, visit bravo.sfballet.org, email bravo@sfballet.org or
call 415.865.6750.
Patricia D. Knight, President
VOLUNTEER HOURS DURING THE 2014–2015 SEASON
250+ Hours
Roger Green
Corine Assouline
James Gries
Joan Green
Elmira Lagundi
Julie Hawkins
Dosia Matthews
Giovanna Jackson
John Mazurski
Patricia Knight
Betsy McGuigan
Suzanne Knott
Roberta McMullan
Steve Merlo
Patricia Nelson
Kathryn Roberts
Deric Patrick
Eileen Soden
Howard Perkins
Steve Wong
Sue Plasai
Sara Pope
100–249 Hours
Twyla Powers
Jenny Au-Yeung
Pauline Roothman
Carolyn Balsley
Lacy Steffens
Marilyn Breen
Daphne Wray
Thomas Brown
Jill Zerkle
Paulette Cauthorn
Jeanette Chudnow
Roslyn Eng
Philip Fukuda
55–99 Hours
Margaret Anderson
Jon Borset
Mary Davi
Martha Debs
Tariq El-Amin
Piers Greenhill
Michael Hart
Cindy James
Robin Kinoshita
David Lau
Cyndy Lee
Aldona Lidji
Pirkko Lucchesi
Linda Miyagawa
Keiko Moore
Gale Niess
Deborrah Ortego
Jazmine Paniagua
Elizabeth Price
Tracy Stoehr
Joshua Theaker
Desmond Torkornoo
Leslie Tsirkas
Karen Wiel
40–54 Hours
Edie Bazjanac
Jen Doerger
Christina Hecht
Christine Jensen
Susan Kalian
Sanae Kelly
Laura Kerepesi
Carrie Kost
Margaret McCormack Wilcox
Kathi Saage
Laura Sanders
Amy Sides
Anne Snowball
Steve Trenam
Sylvia Walker
San Francisco War Memorial and
Performing Arts Center
War Memorial Opera House is owned and operated by the city and
county of San Francisco through the board of trustees of the War
Memorial of San Francisco, The Honorable Edwin M. Lee, Mayor.
TRUSTEES
Thomas E. Horn, President
Nancy H. Bechtle, Vice President
Belva Davis
Gorretti Lo Lui
Mrs. George R. Moscone
MajGen J. Michael Myatt, USMC (Ret.)
Paul F. Pelosi
Charlotte Mailliard Shultz
Vaughn R. Walker
Diane B. Wilsey
Elizabeth Murray, Managing Director
Jennifer E. Norris, Assistant Managing Director
PROGRAMS 06 & 07
63
HERMÈS BY NATURE

programs - Readers

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