SF BALLET & SFMOMA COLORFORMS FIELD TRIP
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AN EXCITING, FREE FIELD TRIP OPPORTUNITY FOR BAY AREA SCHOOLS
In partnership with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) Education, San Francisco Ballet is pleased to present an exciting free field trip opportunity for Bay Area K-12 school groups. Join SF Ballet and SFMOMA for an educational screening of the 2021 dance film COLORFORMS at SFMOMA. The film exposes students to dance, music, media, and visual art forms in a hands-on, interactive, and integrated setting. COLORFORMS was created by choreographer Myles Thatcher and filmed at SFMOMA, Golden Gate Park, Yerba Buena Gardens, and the SF War Memorial Opera House. It features professional dancers from SF Ballet with music composed by Steve Reich and performed by members of the SF Ballet Orchestra.
The 60-minute screening includes an introduction from the choreographer, interactive standards-based dance education activities led by SF Ballet teaching artists, and a post-screening Q&A. School groups attending COLORFORMS may also visit the museum's galleries (excluding special ticketed exhibitions) at no cost to continue with their arts-themed field trip. Recommended for grades 2–12.
The 20-minute dance film COLORFORMS was created by choreographer Myles Thatcher during San Francisco’s COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandate. It was filmed in December 2020, inside the galleries of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, outdoors at Golden Gate Park and Yerba Buena Gardens, and on stage at the SF War Memorial Opera House. The dance film features ten professional dancers from SF Ballet with music composed by Steve Reich and performed by 17 members of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.
Fit for children and adults alike, COLORFORMS is infused with joy—and a bit of irreverence—as all-too-necessary escapism and as a way to cast both ballet and modern art as less austere. Particularly after being offstage for months during lockdown, Thatcher also wanted to celebrate the brilliance of the ballet technique for which SF Ballet dancers are known. Read more about COLORFORMS here.
CHOREOGRAPHER: Myles Thatcher
COMPOSER: Steve Reich
FILM DIRECTOR: Ezra Hurwitz
MUSIC: Steve Reich’s Variations for Vibes, Pianos, and Strings performed by members of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. Conducted by Martin West, Music Director and Principal Conductor.
CAST: Dancers of SF Ballet: Sean Bennett, Ulrik Birkkjaer, Frances Chung, Cavan Conley, Sasha De Sola, Isabella Devivo, Esteban Hernandez, Jasmine Jimison, Steven Morse, Maggie Weirich.
LENGTH: 20 minutes
WORLD PREMIERE: February 11, 2021
Spring 2025 SCREENING DATES & TIMES:
- Monday, May 12, 2025 @ 10:30–11:30 a.m. and 12:00–1:00 p.m
- Tuesday, May 13, 2025 @ 10:30–11:30 a.m. and 12:00–1:00 p.m
- Thursday, May 15, 2025 @ 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
- Friday, May 16, 2025 @ 10:30–11:30 a.m. and 12:00–1:00 p.m
All the above screenings take place at SFMOMA's Phyllis Wattis Theater, located at 151 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94103, and include self-guided SFMOMA gallery access (excluding special ticketed exhibitions) for all classrooms attending. Morning screenings include gallery access after the film; afternoon screenings have the choice between gallery access either before or after the film depending on the school schedule. School groups who choose to visit the galleries before an afternoon screening must contact schoolvisits@sfmoma.org after their screening is confirmed to coordinate arrival time on the day of their screening. NOTE: Museum hours on Thursdays are 12pm-8pm so there will be no gallery access available for school groups before the 11 a.m. screening on Thursday, May 15th.
School groups are responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from SFMOMA. SFMOMA offers a limited number of bus scholarships for SFUSD Title I schools. For more information, please contact schoolvisits@sfmoma.org.
Questions?
Please contact education@sfballet.org for questions about the COLORFORMS screening and other field trip logistics.
Please contact schoolvisits@sfmoma.org for questions about SFMOMA gallery access and/or planning your visit to SFMOMA.
Click here to learn more about SF Ballet’s Education programs for K-12 schools.
SPONSORS OF SF BALLET'S EDUCATION PROGRAMS
San Francisco Ballet gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Lead Sponsors Bank of America, Flora Family Foundation, and the Diana Dollar Knowles Foundation.
RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS
ABOUT THATCHER’S COLORFORMS
