ARTISTIC & PRODUCTION CREDITS SAN FRANCISCO BALLET STERN GROVE FESTIVAL July 29, 2018 Running Time: Serenade 35 minutes Intermission 20 minutes Tarantella 7 minutes Pas de Deux from The Infinite Ocean 7 minutes Pas de Deux from Don Quixote, Act III 10 minutes Intermission 20 minutes Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes 24 minutes Total: 2 hours, 3 minutes Serenade Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreographer: George Balanchine Staged by: Elyse Borne Costume Design: after Karinska World Premiere: March 1, 1935—American Ballet, Adelphi Theater; New York, New York San Francisco Ballet Premiere: April 18, 1952—War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California Tarantella Composer: Louis Moreau Gottschalk Choreography: George Balanchine Staged by: Elyse Borne Costume Design: after Karinska World Premiere: January 7, 1964—New York City Ballet, City Center of Music and Drama; New York, New York San Francisco Ballet Premiere: August 3, 1986—Stern Grove Festival; San Francisco, California Pas de Deux from The Infinite Ocean Composer: Oliver Davis Choreographer: Edwaard Liang Scenic Design: Alexander V. Nichols Costume Design: Mark Zappone -more-
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ARTISTIC & PRODUCTION CREDITS SAN FRANCISCO BALLET Kits/Stern Grove... · ANIMA ANIMUS Bosso/Dawson/Otto/Takeshima/Ingalls Feb. 12 eve, 13 eve, 15 eve, 17 mat, 21 eve, 23 mat & eve
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ARTISTIC & PRODUCTION CREDITS SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
STERN GROVE FESTIVAL
July 29, 2018 Running Time: Serenade 35 minutes Intermission 20 minutes Tarantella 7 minutes Pas de Deux from The Infinite Ocean 7 minutes Pas de Deux from Don Quixote, Act III 10 minutes Intermission 20 minutes Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes 24 minutes Total: 2 hours, 3 minutes Serenade Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreographer: George Balanchine Staged by: Elyse Borne Costume Design: after Karinska World Premiere: March 1, 1935—American Ballet, Adelphi Theater; New York, New York San Francisco Ballet Premiere: April 18, 1952—War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California Tarantella Composer: Louis Moreau Gottschalk Choreography: George Balanchine Staged by: Elyse Borne Costume Design: after Karinska World Premiere: January 7, 1964—New York City Ballet, City Center of Music and Drama; New York, New York San Francisco Ballet Premiere: August 3, 1986—Stern Grove Festival; San Francisco, California Pas de Deux from The Infinite Ocean Composer: Oliver Davis Choreographer: Edwaard Liang Scenic Design: Alexander V. Nichols Costume Design: Mark Zappone
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET HISTORY A tradition of innovation flows through the history of San Francisco Ballet. Long recognized for pushing boundaries in dance, SF Ballet has always built upon strong classical roots, while continually exploring and redefining where the art form is headed. The San Francisco Opera Ballet was founded in 1933, primarily to prepare dancers to appear in lavish opera productions. In 1942, the ballet officially separated from the opera and was renamed San Francisco Ballet. From the late 1930s to the 1970s, SFBallet was led by three brothers: Willam, Lew, and Harold Christensen. The young company was the first to create full-length American productions of Swan Lake (1940), and Nutcracker (1944). SF Ballet performed on the East Coast for the first time in 1956, at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. The following year, the Company toured 11 Asian nations, the first performances of an American ballet company in Asia. The tour was so successful that it was followed by a four-month tour of Latin America in 1958 and a three-month tour of the Middle East in 1959. The 1970s were tumultuous. The Company started an annual season in the War Memorial Opera House in 1972, and Michael Smuin was appointed associate artistic director in 1973. But in 1974, SF Ballet faced bankruptcy. Dancers rallied community support with an extraordinary grassroots effort called “Save Our Ballet,” successfully bringing the Company back from the brink. SF Ballet then developed the first long-range plan for an American dance company and, 18 months later, was financially stable. Smuin’s The Tempest was the first ballet broadcast live from the War Memorial Opera House and was nominated for three Emmy Awards in 1981 (Costume Designer Willa Kim won). In 1984, Smuin received an Emmy for Choreography for the Great Performances: Dance in America national broadcast of A Song for Dead Warriors. Helgi Tomasson’s arrival as artistic director in 1985 began a new era at SF Ballet. Like Lew Christensen, Tomasson had been a leading dancer for George Balanchine, one of the most prominent choreographers of the 20th century. Tomasson has choreographed extensively for the Company and has staged acclaimed full-length productions of Swan Lake (1988, 2009); The Sleeping Beauty (1990); Romeo & Juliet (1994); Giselle (1999); and a new Nutcracker (2004). He has also expanded the repertory to include new works by choreographers William Forsythe, Mark Morris, Paul Taylor, Christopher Wheeldon, Val Caniparoli, and many others. In 1991, SF Ballet performed in New York City for the first time in 26 years. The New York Times proclaimed, “Mr. Tomasson has accomplished the unprecedented: He has pulled a so-called regional company into the national ranks, and he has done so by honing the dancers into a classical style of astonishing verve and purity. SF Ballet under Helgi Tomasson’s leadership is one of the spectacular success stories of the arts in America.” Under Tomasson, SF Ballet has also undertaken ambitious programming. In May 1995, SF Ballet
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SFB History/Page 2
hosted 12 international ballet companies for UNited We Dance: An International Festival, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter in the War Memorial Opera House. In 2008, the New Works Festival, organized to mark the Company’s 75th anniversary, introduced 10 premieres by 10 choreographers. In recent years, the Company’s touring programs have also become increasingly extensive, with international engagements in Paris, London, Moscow, Hamburg, Athens, Shanghai, and Beijing. In 2018, the Company presented Unbound: A Festival of New Works, showcasing 12 world premieres by 12 renowned choreographer,s over four programs and 17 days. As part of Unbound, SF Ballet hosted a number of ancillary events including a series of live streams, community pop-ups, a dance film series, and Boundless: A Symposium on Ballet’s Future. San Francisco Ballet School, also established in 1933, has grown into a preeminent training center under Tomasson and associate director Patrick Armand. The School attracts students from around the world, training approximately 350 annually. In addition to filling the ranks of SF Ballet, graduates have joined distinguished ballet companies throughout the world.
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SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ARTISTS OF THE COMPANY 2018–19 SEASON
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL CHOREOGRAPHER
Helgi Tomasson
PRINCIPAL DANCERS Dores André
Ulrik Birkkjaer Jaime Garcia Castilla
Frances Chung Sasha De Sola
Carlo Di Lanno
Mathilde Froustey Angelo Greco Tiit Helimets Luke Ingham
Vitor Luiz Aaron Robison
Ana Sophia Scheller
Jennifer Stahl Sofiane Sylve
Yuan Yuan Tan Sarah Van Patten
Joseph Walsh Wei Wang
PRINCIPAL CHARACTER DANCERS
Ricardo Bustamante Val Caniparoli Rubén Martín Cintas
PROGRAM 1 FULL-LENGTH PRODUCTION DON QUIXOTE Minkus/Gorsky after Petipa/Tomasson, Possokhov/Pakledinaz/Ingalls Jan. 25 eve, 26 mat & eve, 27 mat, 29 eve, 30 eve, 31 eve, Feb. 1 eve, 2 mat
PROGRAM 2 KALEIDOSCOPE DIVERTIMENTO NO. 15 Mozart/Balanchine/after Karinska/Stanley APPASSIONATA+ Beethoven/Millepied/Dugas/Sartori/Hakimi
ANIMA ANIMUS Bosso/Dawson/Otto/Takeshima/Ingalls Feb. 12 eve, 13 eve, 15 eve, 17 mat, 21 eve, 23 mat & eve
PROGRAM 3 IN SPACE & TIME THE FIFTH SEASON Jenkins/Tomasson/Woodall/Mazzola SNOWBLIND Beach, Foote, and Pärt/Marston/Kinmonth/ Ingalls ETUDES Czerny/Lander Feb. 14 eve, 16 mat & eve, 19 eve, 20 eve, 22 eve, 24 mat PROGRAM 4 FULL-LENGTH PRODUCTION THE SLEEPING BEAUTY Tchaikovsky/Tomasson after Petipa/ Worsaae/Miller March 9 eve, 10 mat, 12 eve, 13 eve, 14 eve, 15 eve, 16 mat * World Premiere + SF Ballet Premiere
2019 Repertory Season Calendar/Page 2 PROGRAM 5 LYRIC VOICES YOUR FLESH SHALL BE A GREAT POEM Garneau/McIntyre/Bartelme and Jung/Ingalls BOUND TO Henson/Wheeldon/Puissant/Ingalls YURI POSSOKHOV WORLD PREMIERE* March 27 eve, 28 eve, 30 mat & eve, April 2 eve, 5 eve, 7 mat PROGRAM 6 SPACE BETWEEN RODEO: FOUR DANCE EPISODES Copland/Peck/Bartelme, Jung, Peck/Baker LIAM SCARLETT WORLD PREMIERE* BJÖRK BALLET Gudmundsdottir, Sigurdsson/Pita/Morante /Ingalls March 29 eve, 31 mat, April 3 eve, 4 eve, 6 mat & eve, 9 eve
PROGRAM 7 FULL-LENGTH PRODUCTION THE LITTLE MERMAID Auerbach/Neumeier April 19 eve, 20 mat & eve, 23 eve, 24 eve, 25 eve, 28 mat PROGRAM 8 SHOSTAKOVICH TRILOGY Shostakovich/Ratmansky/Tsypin/Dekker/ Tipton May 7 eve, 8 eve, 9 eve, 10 eve, 11 mat & eve, 12 mat * World Premiere + SF Ballet Premiere
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HELGI TOMASSON
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL CHOREOGRAPHER
Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson, one of the supreme classical dancers of his generation, has led San Francisco Ballet for 33 years and is the longest-serving sole artistic director of a major ballet company. Since Tomasson’s arrival in 1985, San Francisco Ballet has evolved from a respected regional troupe to an international company praised for its wide-ranging repertory, dancers of uncommon range and skill, and artistic vision. Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, Tomasson began his early ballet training there with an Icelandic teacher and then joined the National Theatre’s affiliated school, led by Danish instructors Erik and Lisa Bidsted. He began his professional career at age 15 with the celebrated Pantomime Theatre in Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens. Two years later, Jerome Robbins met Tomasson and, impressed by his dancing, arranged a scholarship for him to study at the School of American Ballet in New York City. Soon after, Tomasson began his professional career with The Joffrey Ballet and two years later joined The Harkness Ballet. Over the next six years, he became one of the company’s most celebrated principal dancers. In 1969, Tomasson entered the First International Ballet Competition in Moscow as a United States representative and returned with the Silver Medal (the Gold Medal was awarded to Mikhail Baryshnikov). The following year, Tomasson joined New York City Ballet as a principal dancer, distinguishing himself as a dancer of technical purity, musicality, and intelligence. He was one of the foremost interpreters of George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, and both men created roles in new ballets for Tomasson. Balanchine encouraged him to choreograph and, in 1982, Tomasson choreographed his first ballet for the School of American Ballet Workshop. In 1985, Tomasson become artistic director of SF Ballet, America’s oldest professional ballet company. He has since choreographed more than 50 ballets, including full-length productions of Don Quixote (co-staged by Yuri Possokhov), Giselle, Romeo & Juliet (taped for Lincoln Center at the Movies Great American Dance), The Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker (taped for PBS’ Great Performances), and two productions of Swan Lake (1988 and 2009). His repertory ballets, such as 7 for Eight, Chi-Lin, Concerto Grosso, The Fifth Season, Handel—a Celebration, Meistens Mozart, Nanna’s Lied, and Sonata, showcase the unique qualities of individual dancers. As a choreographer, teacher, and coach, Tomasson has fostered an uncompromising classicism that has become the bedrock of the Company’s repertory and training. He balances this devotion to the classics with an emphasis on new work, commissioning ballets from choreographers William Forsythe, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, Mark Morris, and Justin Peck, among others. Tomasson has expanded SF Ballet’s repertory, acquiring works by choreographers such as Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, August Bournonville, Michel Fokine, Hans van
HELGI TOMASSON ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL CHOREOGRAPHER
REPERTORY
Choreographed for San Francisco Ballet:
Caprice (2014)
Trio (2011)
Swan Lake (2009)
On a Theme of Paganini (2008)
On Common Ground (2007)
Blue Rose (2006)
The Fifth Season (2006)
Bagatelles (2005)
Nutcracker (2004)
7 for Eight (2004)
Don Quixote (2003)
Concerto Grosso (2003)
Chi-Lin (2002)
Bartok Divertimento (2002)
Chaconne for Piano and Two Dancers (1999)
Giselle (1999)
Silver Ladders (1998)
Two Bits (1998)
Twilight (1998)
Criss-Cross (1997)
Pandora Dance (1997)
Soirées Musicales (1996)
Tuning Game (1995)
Sonata (1995)
When We No Longer Touch (1995)
Quartette (1994)
Romeo & Juliet (1994)
Nanna’s Lied (1993)
Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons) (1992)
Forevermore (1992)
Two plus Two (1992)
Aurora Polaris (1991)
Meistens Mozart (1991)
“Haffner” Symphony (1991)
The Sleeping Beauty (1990)
Con Brio (1990)
Valses Poeticos (1990)
Handel—a Celebration (1989)
Swan Lake (1988)
Intimate Voices (1987)
Bizet pas de deux (1987)
Concerto in d: Poulenc (1986)
Confidencias (1986)
Additional Ballets: Prism (2000), choreographed for New York City Ballet “Much Ado…” (1999), choreographed for Alberta Ballet Simple Symphony (1996), choreographed for SF Ballet School Showcase. Beads of Memory (1985), choreographed in 1985 for Houston Ballet Little Waltz (1985), choreographed for New York City Ballet’s Gala on students of School of American Ballet Menuetto (1984), choreographed for New York City Ballet Contredanses (1984), choreographed in 1984 for Finis Jhung’s Chamber Ballet USA Ballet d’Isoline (1983), choreographed for School of American Ballet Giuliani: Variations on a Theme (1982), choreographed for School of American Ballet
GEORGE BALANCHINE
CHOREOGRAPHER
George Balanchine (1904-1983) is regarded as one of the foremost ballet choreographers and one of the great artists of the twentieth century. His influence in the worlds of ballet, music, and modernism is immense, and he had a great and lasting impact on New York’s cultural scene during a particularly creative period of the city’s history. The son of a composer, Balanchine began studying the piano at the age of five, then studied at the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg from 1913 to 1921. He continued his education with three years at the state’s Conservatory of Music, where he studied piano and musical theory, including composition, harmony, and counterpoint. Balanchine made his dancing debut at the age of 10 as a cupid in the Maryinsky Theatre Ballet Company production of The Sleeping Beauty. He joined the company’s corps de ballet at age 17 and also staged one work, Enigmas. In the summer of 1924, Balanchine—along with Tamara Geva, Alexandra Danilova, and Nicholas Efimov—left the newly formed Soviet Union for a tour of Western Europe. All four dancers were invited by impresario Serge Diaghilev to join his Ballets Russes in Paris. After watching Balanchine stage a new version of the Stravinsky ballet Le Chant de Rossignol, Diaghilev hired him as ballet master to replace Bronislava Nijinska. Balanchine served as ballet master with Ballets Russes until the company was dissolved following Diaghilev’s death in 1929. After that, he spent his next few years on a variety of projects which took him all over Europe, then returned to Paris to form his own company, Les Ballets 1933. It was then that he met American dance connoisseur Lincoln Kirstein. Kirstein’s great passion for the contemporary arts included the dream to establish an American ballet school and an American ballet company that would rival those of Europe. He persuaded Balanchine to come to the United States and help him fulfill this dream, and in 1934, the pair founded the School of American Ballet. The first original ballet Balanchine choreographed in this country—Serenade, set to music by Tchaikovsky—was created for dancers from the School and had its world premiere outdoors on the estate of Kirstein’s friend, Edward Warburg, near White Plains, New York. The School remains in operation to this day, training students for companies throughout the United States and the world, but the first ballet companies founded by Balanchine and Kirstein were not as long-lived. American Ballet, Ballet Caravan, and American Ballet Caravan came and went in the years between 1936 and 1940. In 1946, following World War II, Balanchine and Kirstein joined forces again to form Ballet Society, a company which introduced New York
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Balanchine/Page 2 subscription-only audiences over the next two years to such new Balanchine works as The Four Temperaments (1946), Stravinsky’s Renard (1947), and Orpheus (1948). Morton Baum, chairman of the City Center of Music and Drama, was so impressed by the program that he invited Ballet Society to join City Center, but with a new name. On October 11, 1948, New York City Ballet was born, dancing an all-Balanchine program consisting of Concerto Barocco, Orpheus, and Symphony In C. Balanchine served as ballet master for New York City Ballet from that year until his death in 1983. An authoritative catalogue of his works lists 425 works created from 1920 to 1982, and many of these continue to be danced today, including Firebird (1949; restaged with Jerome Robbins, 1970); Bourrée Fantasque (1949); La Valse (1951); The Nutcracker, Ivesiana, and Western Symphony (1954); Allegro Brillante (1956); Agon (1957); The Seven Deadly Sins (a revival of the original Les Ballets 1933 production) and Stars and Stripes (1958); Episodes (1959); Monumentum Pro Gesualdo and Liebeslieder Walzer (1960); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1962); Movements For Piano And Orchestra and Bugaku (1963); Don Quixote and Harlequinade (1965); Jewels–his only full-length plotless ballet (1967); Who Cares? (1970); Duo Concertant, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, and Symphony In Three Movements (1972); Coppélia (1974); Pavane (1975); Union Jack (1976); Vienna Waltzes (1977); Ballo della Regina and Kammermusik No. 2 (1978); Robert Schumann’s “Davidsbündlertänze” (1980); and Mozartiana (1981). Though it is for his ballet choreography that Balanchine is most admired, he also choreographed for theater, movies, and opera. He choreographed numerous musical comedies, including On Your Toes, Cabin in the Sky, Babes in Arms, Where’s Charley?, Song of Norway, I Married an Angel, The Boys from Syracuse, The Merry Widow, and The Ziegfeld Follies of 1935. His film credits include Star Spangled Rhythm, I Was an Adventuress, and The Goldwyn Follies. Balanchine’s style has been described as neo-classic. His response to the Romantic classicism was to de-emphasize the plot in his ballets, preferring to let “dance and music be the star of the show.” Balanchine always preferred to call himself a craftsman rather than a creator, comparing himself to a cook or a cabinetmaker (both hobbies of his), and he had a reputation throughout the dance world for the calm and collected way in which he worked with his dancers and colleagues. Above all, he emphasized the primacy of music, choosing important composers and commissioning new works rather than relying on traditional ballet scores. “Choreography can only be the result of great music,” he said, and “The music is always first.” In 1970, U.S. News & World Report attempted to summarize Balanchine’s achievements:
“The greatest choreographer of our time, George Balanchine, is responsible for the successful fusion of modern concepts with older ideas of classical ballet ... often working with modern music, and simplest of themes, he has created ballets that are celebrated for their imagination and originality. He has made American dance the most advanced and richest in choreographic development in the world today.”
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Balanchine/Page 3
Balanchine was the recipient of many honors in his lifetime, including one of the first Kennedy Center Honors; induction into Hollywood’s Entertainment Hall of Fame; a Knighthood of the Order of Dannebrog, First Class, by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark; the Gold Medal of Merit from the National Society of Arts and Letters; the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Letters, First Class; the French Legion of Honor; French Commander of the Order of Arts and Letter decoration; and National Institute of Arts and Letters award for Distinguished Service to the Arts. Shortly before his death in 1983, he received his last major award: the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that can be conferred upon a civilian in the United States. Biography, with amendments, courtesy of New York City Ballet.
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EDWAARD LIANG
CHOREOGRAPHER
A former dancer with New York City Ballet and Netherlands Dance Theater, Edwaard Liang has built an international reputation as a choreographer. Over the last decade, he has created work for the Bolshoi Ballet, Houston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Kirov Ballet, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Shanghai Ballet, Singapore Dance Theatre, and Washington Ballet.
Born in Taipei, Taiwan and raised in Marin County, California, Mr. Liang began his dance training at age five with Marin Ballet. After studying at the School of American Ballet, he joined New York City Ballet in 1993. That same year, he was a medal winner at the Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition and won the Mae L. Wien Award. By 1998, he was promoted to soloist. In 2001, Mr. Liang joined the Tony Award®-winning Broadway cast of Fosse. His performance in Fosse was later televised nationally on PBS’ Great Performances series–“Dance in America: From Broadway: Fosse,” and subsequently released on DVD. By 2002, Liang was invited by Jiří Kylián to become a member of the acclaimed Netherlands Dance Theater.
While dancing with NDT, Liang discovered his passion and love for choreography. Since establishing himself as a choreographer, his works have been performed by dance companies around the world and he has won numerous awards for his choreography including the 2006 National Choreographic Competition.
In 2013, Liang was named artistic director at BalletMet where he continues to choreograph new works for companies both domestically and abroad.
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MARIUS PETIPA
CHOREOGRAPHER Marius Petipa, the "father of classical ballet," was born in Marseilles, France, in 1819. He began his dance training at the age of seven with his father, Jean Petipa, the French dancer and teacher. Marius was educated at the Grand College in Brussels and also attended the conservatoire, where he studied music. Although he disliked dancing in those early years, his progress was so great that he made his debut in 1831 in his father's production of Gardel's La Dansomanie. In 1834 Jean Petipa became Maitre de Ballet at the theatre in Bordeaux and it was here that Marius completed his education. At the age of sixteen, he became premier danseur at the theatre in Nantes, where he also produced several short ballets. In 1839 Marius left Nantes to tour North America with his father, and on their return visit went to Paris. The following year he made his debut at the Comedie Francaise, where he partnered Carlotte Grisi in a benefit performance. He continued his studies with A. Vestris and became a principal dancer in Bordeaux. Petipa next went to Spain in 1845, to work at the King's Theatre. While in Madrid, he studied Spanish dance and choreographed Carmen et son Terero, La Perle de Seville, L'Aventure d'une fille de Madrid, La Fleur de Grenade, and Depart Dour la Course des Toureaux. Petipa returned to Paris as a principal dancer, but in 1847 left for Russia. He had signed a one-year contract with the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatre, but was to remain there for the rest of his life. As a principal dancer, Petipa often appeared with Fanny Elssler and was much acclaimed for his performances in such ballets as Paquita (which he restaged and in which made his debut), Giselle, La Peri, Armida, Catarina, Le Delire d'un peintre, Esmeralda, Le Corsaire and Faust. Considered an excellent dancer and partner, his acting, stage manners and pantomime were held up as examples for many generations of dancers. When Giselle was revived in 1850, Petipa made some changes in the Wilis scenes, which became the Grand Pas des Wilis of 1884. In 1854, he married Maria Sourovshchikova, a student in the graduating class of the Imperial School, who later danced in many of her husband's ballets. (Petipa's second marriage was to Lubova Leonidovna, a member of the Moscow Ballet, in 1882.) In 1854 he became an instructor in the school, while continuing to dance and to restage ballets from the French repertoire. Sources differ on the first original work he staged for the Imperial Theatre: some state it was cc
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Petipa/Page 2 The Star of Granada, others that it was A Marriage During Regency. But all sources concur that his first great success was The Daughter of Pharoh (staged in six weeks), which resulted in his appointment as Choreographer-in-Chief in 1862 – a position he held for nearly fifty years. In 1869 Petipa became Premier Ballet Master of the Imperial Theatre. The value of his accomplishments is inestimable: he produced more than sixty full-evening ballets and innumerable shorter works and he is considered to have laid the foundation for the entire school of Russian ballet. The ballet repertoire in the Soviet Union is still based mainly on his works. Those who felt the dramatic content of ballet should be strengthened began to oppose Petipa toward the end of his career. His noble classicism and consciousness of form was considered old-fashioned, and in 1903, at age 84, Petipa was forced to retire from the Imperial Theatre as a direct result of the failure of his ballet, The Magic Mirror. His last years were filled with bitterness and disillusionment because his beloved theatre had been taken away. He died in St. Petersburg in 1910. Marius Petipa is considered one of the greatest choreographers of all time. He researched the subject matter of the ballets he staged, making careful and detailed preparations for each production, and then worked closely with the designer and composer. Petipa elevated the Russian ballet to international fame and laid the cornerstone for 20th Century ballet. His classicism integrated the purity of the French school with Italian virtuosity. Biography courtesy of American Ballet Theatre.
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JUSTIN PECK
CHOREOGRAPHER
At 29 years old, Justin Peck has 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, San Francisco Ballet, LA Dance Project, The Guggenheim Museum, and more. He has collaborated with the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Shepard Fairey, Bryce Dessner, Marcel Dzama, Humberto Leon, and Dries Van Noten.
In 2014, Peck was appointed resident choreographer of New York City Ballet, making him only the second person 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.