Swans, Art and Pain

The closing scene of the ballet, Swan Lake, carries a real-life poignancy that can be hard to capture in 19th-century story ballets. In the ghostly light of a full moon against a lake, lovers Siegfried and Odette clash with evil sorcerer Von Rothbart in a fight to the death, as Tchaikovsky’s dramatic music builds to … Read more

10 reasons you’ll love SFB’s “Nutcracker Online”

Why the San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker Online production, you ask? Because of course you have other options to watch The Nutcracker online this year. Dozens upon dozens of options, from companies all around the world. So. Here, up front, are ten good reasons: Because the first full-length North American Nutcracker started right here Those 600 … Read more

SFB’s 2016 Program 6 and 7

Breaking news on May 23, 2016: Promotions announced! See addendum (and my own personal promotion wish list) below! How quickly the time flies, over at the San Francisco Ballet, at least when you’re sitting in the audience, savoring the programs as they roll onto the War Memorial Opera House stage, entertain, enlighten, and roll right … Read more

Hummingbirds and bargain seats at the San Francisco Ballet

Buying a $25 ticket for the ballet can be a bit of a gamble. The cheapest seats tend to be the ones furthest back, in the nosebleed section, but you’ll also find them way up close, or way off to the side. (Or, one time, this miracle bargain: https://www.theclassicalgirl.com/how-i-attended-the-san-francisco-ballet-for-14/). Last Saturday night, my $25 seat was … Read more

Lambarena versus Lambaréné

San Francisco Ballet dancers in Caniparoli’s “Lambarena” I never thought I’d get the chance to mention San Francisco Ballet and my two-year African experience in the same breath, much less blog about it, but here we are. Tuesday night I attended San Francisco Ballet’s 2015 season opener, a program that featuring Serenade, RAkU and Lambarena. … Read more