san francisco ballet

Last Bows And New Beginnings

July 29, 2016 by Rachel Hellwig

Gennadi Nedvigin in Cranko's Onegin. (© Erik Tomasson) — Gennadi Nedvigin in Cranko’s Onegin. (© Erik Tomasson)

The final performances of a career can be a difficult time in a dancer’s life, but Atlanta Ballet’s incoming artistic director, Gennadi Nedvigin, is looking toward the future.

“It’s bittersweet,” he said of his retirement in a phone interview. “But, I’m not saying goodbye. My new job is a continuation of the creational process. I’ll still be at home in the studio and part of making what happens on stage.”

Nedvigin, who completed 19 seasons with San Francisco Ballet in the spring, will perform for the last time on July 30 at DESPERTARES in Guadalajara, Mexico, an event showcasing renowned dancers including The Royal Ballet’s Lauren Cuthbertson, English National Ballet’s Tamara Rojo, San Francisco Ballet’s Maria Kochetkova, Dutch National Ballet’s Michaela DePrince, and New York City Ballet’s Joaquin De Luz, among others.

Atlanta Ballet’s 11-year veteran Nadia Mara will join Nedvigin as his dance partner. “I wanted Atlanta Ballet to be represented at the gala,” he said. “It’s wonderful to work with Nadia and get to know her better.”

At DESPERTARES, Nedvigin will perform a piece he didn’t get the chance to dance during his career–the Nighthawk pas de deux from Yuri Possokhov’s contemporary ballet Swimmer. “It’s a dream come true,” said Nedvigin, who appeared in other passages of Swimmer during its premiere at San Francisco Ballet in 2015 and encore earlier this year. “It’s emotional and challenging,” he explained. “Yuri is an intuitive choreographer and this pas de deux is a story within a story.”

In an intimate preview rehearsal at Atlanta Ballet’s studios on Monday, Nedvigin and Mara performed Nighthawk, set to Tom Waits’ smoky song of longing If I Have to Go. Dressed in costumes suggesting mid-century America–a dark suit and hat for him, a vintage-style red dress for her–Nedvigin and Mara portrayed a couple struggling through an undesired goodbye. Nedvigin also shared a lighthearted solo from the other piece he and Mara will perform in, Les Lutins by Johan Kobburg. The works highlighted Nedvigin’s refinement and diaphanous jumps and Mara’s strength and sense of drama.

In a post-performance Q&A, Mara said that Nedvigin already felt like part of the company’s family. Nedvigin is likewise looking forward to the start of the season next month. “I can’t wait to begin working with these dancers,” he said. “I’m excited about the future of Atlanta Ballet.”

Gennadi Nedvigin and Nadia Mara in Nighthawk pas de deux from Nighthawks pas de deux from Yuri Possokhov’s Swimmer. Photo by Charlie McCullers, courtesy of Atlanta Ballet. — Gennadi Nedvigin and Nadia Mara in *Nighthawk* pas de deux from Yuri Possokhov’s *Swimmer*. Photo by Charlie McCullers, courtesy of Atlanta Ballet.

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Prix Rewind–Women’s Classical Variations

January 20, 2016 by Rachel Hellwig

by Rachel Hellwig

Prix de Lausanne is tough competition. Inevitably, many wonderful dancers aren’t counted among the prize winners. Here are some lovely non-winning performances from past competitions by dancers who are now in companies…

Tyler Donatelli – 2014. Now with Houston Ballet.

Thamires Chuvas – 2012. Now with San Francisco Ballet.

Mai Miyazaki – 2012. Now with Tokyo City Bal let.

Natsuki Yamada – 2014. Now with Semperoper Dresden.

Ayaka Fujii – 2012. Now with Stuttgart Ballet.

Anisa Sinteral Scott- 2011. Now with Ballet West.

Dancer Profile: Yuan Yuan Tan

June 1, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

Yuan Yuan Tan. Photograph by Erik Tomasson.

“To be perfect is impossible, but to be better is possible.” – Yuan Yuan Tan

The first chapter of Yuan Yuan Tan’s dance career literally hinged on a coin toss. The 11-year-old was among a small group of students selected for the prestigious Shanghai Dancing School–despite the fact that she had no dance experience at the time. Tan’s mother approved of the plan, but her father did not. He wanted her to be a doctor or engineer. Believers in fate, her parents decided to flip a coin. Dance won.

Tan was behind at the school and struggled at first, often just watching other students from the corner. But then a teacher recognized her natural talent and gave her private lessons. Soon enough, Tan excelled. She started entering and winning awards at ballet competitions, though she found the stress to be challenging. Yet, it was at competitions that San Francisco Ballet director Helgi Tomasson first spotted her. He invited her to join the company as a soloist. Two years later, she was promoted to principal- the youngest dancer to achieve this status in the history of the company.

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Dancer Profile: Maria Kochetkova

May 8, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

Maria Kochetkova in Cinderella. Photograph by Erik Tomasson

“Trust yourself, you can do so much more than you think you can.” –Maria Kochetkova

Maria Kochetkova did not want to be a dancer. She wanted to be a gymnast. But her parents encouraged her to try ballet, arguing that dancers had longer career prospects than gymnasts. Kochetkova hated the idea at first, but came to appreciate dance and proved talented enough to be accepted into the Bolshoi Ballet’s school. Still, she found ballet hard and training at the school intense and often intimidating. She also came to learn that her height of five feet would limit professional opportunities in her home country.

Against the wishes of her teachers, she entered the Prix de Lausanne competition at age 18. The plan paid off–she won an apprenticeship to the Royal Ballet. She took it, as the Bolshoi did not offer her a job. But life in London wasn’t easy. She felt restrained in the company and her contract was not renewed. She left to join the English National Ballet where she rose to the rank of soloist. Eventually, though, she felt restrained there as well and desired to explore a more contemporary and diverse repertoire. She had her eye on San Francisco Ballet and sent them an audition tape. She did not hear back. In the meantime, she serendipitously crossed paths with choreographer Christopher Wheeldon who happened to be searching for a short female dancer for San Francisco Ballet. He was impressed by her work and recommended her to the artistic director, Helgi Tomasson. She was soon offered the position of principal. She has been with the company ever since.

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Trey McIntyre On The #DancerResource Project

March 31, 2015 by 4dancers

Preparing yourself for life as a professional dancer can be a daunting task. Worse yet, it is often difficult to find solid advice about how to navigate through the transition from student to professional–and what is expected of you can vary a great deal from company to company.

Enter Trey McIntyre and the #DancerResource project.

Trey McIntyre is a well-known figure in the dance world, and he is also the creator and curator of an amazing resource for dancers that taps professionals in the field to share their expertise and knowledge. We reached out to Trey to learn more about how this all got started and who is involved, and he shared some information about this exciting new resource with us in the interview below…

Enjoy! And please do share this series with any young dancers you know.

What exactly is the #DancerResource project?

The #DancerResource project is a collection of essays, letters, and videos from Artistic Directors, Choreographers, and dancers responding to the questions from young dancers about how to best be preparing themselves to both get into the company that they want to be in and how to navigate the transition in becoming a professional dancer.

Can you talk a bit about where the idea for this series came from?

I taught a class at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in December during their Intensive Arts session about the transition of becoming a professional. I was struck by how much fear and lack of knowledge surrounded the process of approaching a company. Every Artistic Director is different and the students felt like they had one shot at getting it right, but felt at a disadvantage with a lack of specific information. One of the students had a question about how to go to New York and freelance, so I reached out to one of my former dancers, Chanel DaSilva, who is doing that very thing. She responded with a thorough, insightful, and loving letter to the dancers that they were thrilled to get. This gave me the idea that I should just reach out to directors and ask the questions that these students wanted to know the answers to.

Who are some of the people that have participated in this project thus far?

We began with David Hallberg. I have known David since creating a work on him at American Ballet Theatre and have always found him to be a person of great character–and even though he maintains a position of great prestige, he operates with such dignity and humility. I thought that would be a great perspective to include and I was right. His entry is beautiful. I’ve tried to make the responses as varied as possible. Large and small companies. Contemporary to classical companies. People at different stages in their career. Sidra Bell just contributed a great video. Lar Lubovitch, San Francisco Ballet, The Bad Boys of Dance.

How did you decide who you were going to reach out to, and how has the response been?

I’ve mostly reached out to people that I know personally, but made some cold calls too, especially to people that students from my UNCSA class wanted to hear from. Almost everyone has been thrilled to be a part of it and agrees that there is a need for this information.

Why do you think this type of information is valuable, and who is the series geared toward?

The series is geared toward students who are looking toward a professional career. I’ve often been struck by how few schools, dance or otherwise, provide real-world training in the nitty-gritty. They may give excellent technical training, but how do you actually adapt your thinking to the professional world to have a successful career? My hope is that these candid perspectives add some information to make that more possible.

How long do you envision continuing this project?

For as long as there are people who have things to say.

Where can people find the previous installments, and how often do you post them?

All of the installments are on the TMP Facebook page and we release a new one every Wednesday. Sometimes we do more and especially now that we are in audition season. (Editor’s note: You can also find the series archived on the Trey McIntyre Project’s website.)

Who do you have in the upcoming lineup?

Entries coming up include River North Dance Chicago, Jonathan Jordan from The Washington Ballet, and a primer on freelance work in NY from dancer Tobin Del Coure.

Trey McIntyre was born in Wichita, Kansas, and trained at North Carolina School of the Arts and Houston Ballet Academy. At Houston Ballet, he was appointed Choreographic Apprentice in 1989 and then, in 1995, he became the company’s Choreographic Associate. He has created more than 100 works for companies such as New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Stuttgart Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Pennsylvania Ballet and founded his own company, Trey McIntyre Project, in 2005. McIntyre’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Dance Magazine, PBS NewsHour, People Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, and many others. He is also a filmmaker and photographer, currently working on a documentary and collection of photos, while continuing to work with companies all over the world.

Tyler Donatelli – 2014. Now with Houston Ballet.

Thamires Chuvas – 2012. Now with San Francisco Ballet.

Mai Miyazaki – 2012. Now with Tokyo City Ballet.

Natsuki Yamada – 2014. Now with Semperoper Dresden.

Ayaka Fujii – 2012. Now with Stuttgart Ballet.

Anisa Sinteral Scott- 2011. Now with Ballet West.

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Mai Miyazaki – 2012. Now with Tokyo City Bal let.