San Francisco Ballet

SF Ballet appoints its next artistic director

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It’s big news, something I’ve been waiting for since artistic director Helgi Tomasson announced his retirement: the San Francisco Ballet today appointed Tamara Rojo as the company’s next artistic director. The following is taken from the San Francisco Ballet’s press release: (SAN FRANCISCO, CA) January 11, 2022 San Francisco Ballet today announced the appointment of … Read more

The Classical Girl’s very casual “Top 10 classical ballets” list

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Google “Top 10 classical ballets” or something similar, and you’ll find a whole slew of lists that, in truth, really don’t vary a whole lot. Some feature more contemporary ballets and include the works of Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, George Balanchine. Others opt for the whimsical and light, like Coppélia and La Fille Mal Gardée. … Read more

Rachmaninov’s spooky “Isle of the Dead”

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You’ve quite possibly seen a copy of “Isle of the Dead,” a painting by Swiss symbolist artist, Arnold Böcklin. The dreamy, haunting portrait depicts a small rowboat traversing a lake. In the boat a figure shrouded in white stands, transporting a draped coffin, as the rower behind steers the boat to shore, a rocky island … Read more

Q & A with author Terez Mertes Rose

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I had the opportunity to sit and talk face-to-face with author Terez Mertes Rose the other day (okay so it was a mirror), about her recently released novel, Ballet Orphans, a prequel and Book 3 of the Ballet Theatre Chronicles series. Here’s what she had to say…. What was the most challenging thing about writing … Read more

“Wooden Dimes” entrances in SF Ballet’s Program 3

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I am using “entranced” as description for the second time in San Francisco Ballet’s digital 2021 season with the premiere of Danielle Rowe’s Wooden Dimes. As the second of two world premieres, as well as the second dance film of the season, it invites comparison to Myles Thatcher’s Colorforms. Both transported me. Entranced me. Wooden … Read more