(SAN FRANCISCO, CA) March 20, 2024 – San Francisco Ballet (SF Ballet) today announced details for next@90 Curtain Call, a triple bill featuring encore performances of works by international choreographers Nicolas Blanc, Yuri Possokhov, and Danielle Rowe originally commissioned by SF Ballet for last year’s next@90 festival.
Celebrating the innovative spirit and dynamic talent of SF Ballet, next@90 Curtain Call returns three crowd favorites from the 2023 season’s festival of world premieres to the War Memorial Opera House. Featuring Blanc’s Gateway to the Sun, Possokhov’s Violin Concerto, and Rowe’s MADCAP, each performance will captivate audiences with a compelling array of contemporary ballets.
Originally commissioned and created for SF Ballet’s 90th anniversary, Possokhov’s Violin Concerto reimagines Igor Stravinsky’s celebrated score with a fresh and bold interpretation. Steeped in classical vocabulary that shows off the company’s steely technique, the ballet was met with standing ovations as a standout piece of the next@90 festival. Additionally, Blanc, a former SF Ballet Principal Dancer, created the poetic and moving Gateway to the Sun in five movements, set to celebrated contemporary composer Anna Clyne’s exquisite score for cello and orchestra.
Another crowd-pleaser from last season’s next@90 festival, MADCAP features Rowe’s love of storytelling and theatrics as she masterfully dissects the anatomy of a clown. Pär Hagström’s eerie, carnival-inspired score transports audiences into Rowe’s sinister world of the clown after the circus lights go dark.
next@90 Curtain Call brings together a diverse lineup of choreographers and dancers who push the boundaries of classical ballet while honoring its rich tradition. The program is a testament to SF Ballet’s commitment to presenting groundbreaking choreography and fostering the next generation of dance artists.
YURI POSSOKHOV, SF Ballet’s Choreographer in Residence, presented Violin Concerto at 2023’s next@90 festival. Possokhov, who became Choreographer in Residence after retiring from dancing for SF Ballet in 2006, recalls Balanchine’s Violin Concerto as one of his favorite ballets by the choreographer which he danced many times. Possokhov approaches Stravinsky’s score with fresh eyes, however. “I needed to do this now,” Possokhov said. “My memory of Balanchine comes back, of course, but this impulse gives me the chance to express myself.” Violin Concerto showcases Possokhov’s musicality and is set on seven couples and one lead ballerina. Violin Concerto includes scenic designs by Alexander V. Nichols and costume designs by Sandra Woodall.
DANIELLE ROWE, the Australia-born, Portland-based choreographer and Artistic Director of Oregon Ballet Theater created her second repertory work for SF Ballet with MADCAP. Rowe’s love of storytelling and theatrics was brought to the fore in her 2023 next@90 premiere, which dissects the anatomy of a clown and uses its motion as inspiration for the choreography. Set to eerie, carnival-inspired music by Pär Hagström orchestrated by Philip Feeney, MADCAP also offers an unusual task for the dancers: using their voices, with recitation, singing, percussive hisses and hoops and hollers throughout the ballet. “It’s been a very collaborative experience,” said Rowe at the time of creation, highlighting the versatility and bravery of the dancers: “They’re so willing to be uncomfortable, so willing to try something new.” Rowe’s collaborative team includes costume designer Emma Kingsbury and lighting designer Jim French. Former SF Ballet Soloist Garen Scribner is Rowe’s assistant.
NICOLAS BLANC, former SF Ballet Principal Dancer and current Rehearsal Director/Coach and Choreographer at The Joffrey Ballet, returned to SF Ballet in 2023 for Gateway to the Sun, his new ballet set to Anna Clyne’s DANCE for cello and orchestra from 2019. “Dance is a liberation, dance is a sense of soothing, of solace for a human being,” said Blanc, who models the five movements of Gateway to the Sun after the five lines of 13th century poet Rumi that Clyne excerpted for her score:
Dance, when you’re broken open.
Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance, when you’re perfectly free.
— Rumi
At previous Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson’s request, Blanc created two works for SF Ballet School in 2006 and 2007. Gateway to the Sun is Blanc’s first ballet created on the company and includes scenic and costume designs by Katrin Schnabel.
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TICKETS & PERFORMANCE DATES
Tickets start at $29 and are available for purchase at sfballet.org. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling Ticket Services at 415-865-2000, open Monday through Friday, 10am to 4pm. A service charge applies and prices are subject to change.
Tuesday, April 2 at 7:30pm
Wednesday, April 3 at 7:30pm
Friday, April 5 at 7:30pm
Sunday, April 7 at 2pm
Thursday, April 11 at 7:30pm
Saturday, April 13 at 2pm and 8pm
Total runtime: 2 hours and 5 minutes, with two intermissions
next@90 Curtain Call runs in repertory with the company’s Dos Mujeres program.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Gateway to the Sun
Choreographer: Nicolas Blanc
Composer: Anna Clyne
Scenic and Costume Design: Katrin Schnabl
Lighting Design: Jim French
World Premiere: January 25, 2023—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Music: Dance by Anna Clyne, used by arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright owner. Costumes constructed by Lineamente, Inc., Chicago, IL. Scenic construction and painting by San Francisco Ballet Carpentry and Scenic Departments.
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Violin Concerto
Choreographer: Yuri Possokhov
Composer: Igor Stravinsky
Scenic Design: Alexander V. Nichols
Costume Design: Sandra Woodall
Lighting Design: Jim French
Assistant to the Choreographer: Tiit Helimets
World Premiere: January 25, 2023—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Music: Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra, used by arrangement with European American Music Distributers Company, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music, Mainz, Germany, publisher and copyright owner. Costumes constructed by Parsons-Meares Ltd., New York, NY. Hand painting and prototypes by Margaret Peot, Virginia Clow, and Mary Macy. Fabric painting by Dyenamix. Scenic construction and painting by San Francisco Ballet Carpentry and Scenic Departments. Photographs provided by World History Archive/Alamy Stock Photo, Gravure Francaise/Alamy Stock Photo, Heritage Image Partnership Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo.
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MADCAP
Choreographer: Danielle Rowe
Composer: Pär Hagström
Music Arranged by: Philip Feeney
Costume Design: Emma Kingsbury
Lighting Design: Jim French
Assistant to the Choreographer: Garen Scribner
World Premiere: January 20, 2023—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Music: “Before You Know”, “Imaginary Circus”, “I Can Feel You’re Close Now”, “Wind Spirits”, “Don’t Look Under Your Bed”, “The Forgotten Memories”, “The Old Forgotten Funfair Band”, and “You Can Never Catch Me”, written and composed by Pär Hagström, courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com. Costumes constructed by Colin Davis Jones Studios, New York, NY.
ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
San Francisco Ballet is a leading ballet company and trailblazer in dance locally, nationally, and internationally. Performing, commissioning, and collaborating with exceptional artists in dance and across disciplines, SF Ballet balances an innovative focus on new and contemporary choreography with a deeply held dedication to the classics. SF Ballet is a catalyst for the future of ballet by cultivating creativity, bringing dance of the highest caliber to a wide audience, and providing exceptional training opportunities for the next generation of professional dancers in its world-renowned School.
Since its founding in 1933 and as the oldest professional ballet company in the United States, the Ballet has been an innovator in the artform and an originator of beloved cultural traditions, from staging the first American production of Swan Lake to bringing an annual holiday Nutcracker to U.S. audiences.