Carousel: A Dance...Carousel: A Dance©, After the Rain, Morphoses, Carnival of the Animals,...

OUT OF THE WINGSA Study Guide Series for Classroom Teachers

Produced by The San Francisco Ballet Center for Dance Education

Carousel: A Dance

Fancy Free&

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S A N F R A N C I S C O B A L L E T 2 C A R O U S E L / FA N C Y F R E E S T U DY G U I D E

Mission Statement

he mission of San Francisco Ballet is to share our joy of dance with the widest possible audience in our community and

around the globe, and to provide the highest caliber of dance train-ing in our School. We seek to enhance our position as one of the world’s finest dance companies through our vitality, innovativeness and diversity and through our uncompromising commitment to artistic excellence based in the classical ballet tradition.

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Pascal Molat, Gonzalo Garcia & Garrett Anderson rehearse Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free

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Mission Statement ...................................................................................................... 2

About this Guide ......................................................................................................... 4

What is Dance? ........................................................................................................... 5

Profile: Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon ............................................................ 6

Profile: Choreographer Jerome Robbins .................................................................... 7

Profile: Composer Richard Rodgers ............................................................................. 9

Profile: Lighting Designers Ronald Bates & Mark Stanley ......................................... 11

Profile: Costume Designer Holly Hynes ..................................................................... 12

Profile: Set Designer Oliver Smith ............................................................................. 13

About Carousel: A Dance ©........................................................................................ 15

About Fancy Free ...................................................................................................... 16

Ride a Carousel .......................................................................................................... 17

Activity: Tying Knots ............................................................................................... 18

Activity: A Greek Sailor Dance ................................................................................ 19

Shanties and Work Songs ......................................................................................... 20

Ballet History: Milestones ......................................................................................... 22

Theater Etiquette ..................................................................................................... 23

Ballet Essentials ....................................................................................................... 25

Common Questions about Ballet ................................................................................ 27

Profile: The San Francisco Ballet ............................................................................... 29

Profile: The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra ............................................................... 31

Profile: The San Francisco Ballet School .................................................................... 32

San Francisco Ballet Center for Dance Education ....................................................... 33

Profile: Charles Chip McNeal ..................................................................................... 34

Answers .................................................................................................................... 35

Table of Contents

(© Erik Tomasson)Cover Photo: San Francisco Ballet rehearses Christopher Wheeldon’s Carousel: A Dance ©



his guide is meant to inform, spark conversation, and inspire engage-ment with San Francisco Ballet’s production of Christopher Wheel-don’s ballet Carousel: A Dance© and Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free.

The guide is divided into several sections including information about theater etiquette, essential ballet vocabulary, ballet history, answers to common questions about ballet, San Francisco Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet School, and the San Francisco Ballet Center for Dance Education, which produces this guide.

Included are questions to consider and activities to experience before or after viewing Carousel© and Fancy Free. These are designed to enhance and support your experience watching these ballets. You might consider copying portions of this guide for your class and/or bring the guide to the theater. There is even room in the margins to take notes.

About this Guide

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San Francisco Ballet rehearses Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free

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Available online at: sfballet.org



What is Dance?

ending, stretching, jumping, and turning are all activities dancers do. They work hard to transform these everyday movements into the language of dance, using each step as a word to compose first a

phrase, then a sentence, a paragraph, and finally a story, or an expression of a feeling such as joy, sadness, anger, or love. This is one of the greatest forms of communication we have available to us.

Through movement and facial expressions dancers learn to convey emotions and sometimes even entire stories without needing to speak out loud. Since dance uses no words, people around the world understand and respond to it. This is why dance is sometimes called a universal language.

Movement to music is a natural response to our enjoyment of sounds. Even an infant begins bobbing his head to music he enjoys. There are many dif-ferent types and variations of dancing from tribal dances to swing dancing, from hip hop at a party to a classical ballet on an opera house stage. Dance is a wonderful way of expressing our joy of life.

You might explore how to communicate an emotion through movement yourself. Notice how different music inspires unique motion, especially from children.

All dance is a valid form of expression.

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Yuan Yuan Tan & Yuri Possokhov in Helgi Tomasson’s ’s Seven for Eight

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onsidered one of the top ballet choreographers in the world today, Christopher Wheeldon was born in Yeovil, Somerset, England. Trained at the Royal Ballet’s

prestigious school, he joined the company in 1991, the same year in which he won the Prix de Lausanne.

In 1993, Wheeldon was invited to join New York City Ballet where he quickly rose to the rank of soloist. A talented choreographer from a young age, Wheeldon created his first major work, Slavonic Dances, for New York City Ballet’s Diamond Project in 1997 and two years later followed it up with Scenes de Ballet for the company’s 50th Anniversary season.

After creating Mercurial Manoeuvers for the 2000 Diamond Project, Wheeldon announced his retirement from dancing in order to concentrate on choreographing and he became the New York City Ballet’s first Artist-in-Residence. In the 2000-2001 season he made two ballets for the company, Polyphonia and Variations Seriueses, and at the conclusion of that season, he became the company’s first Resident Choreographer.

Over the next five years, he would create many works for NYCB, including Carousel: A Dance©, After the Rain, Morphoses, Carnival of the Animals, Liturgy, Shambards, An American in Paris and Evenfall.

For San Francisco Ballet, he has created Continuum, and he has also choreographed Tryst for the Royal Ballet and a full-length Swan Lake for Pennsylvania Ballet.

Wheeldon’s work can be seen in the 2000 film Center Stage, directed by Nicholas Hytner, with whom he collaborated on the Broadway musical Sweet Smell of Success in 2002.

In Fall of 2007, Wheeldon founded his own company, Morphoses, based in New York City.

Christopher Wheeldon

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About Choreographer

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Jerome Robbins

erome Robbins received world renown as a choreographer of ballets created for New York City Ballet, Ballet USA, American Ballet Theatre and other international

companies. He received equal kudos for his work on Broadway. He was a director of musicals, plays, movies, and television programs. This dual interest produced a staggering number of ballets and stagings of musical plays, notable for their diversity, brilliance, lyric beauty, and humor. His work is characterized by the intensity and compactness of its expression, its wide variety of mood, whether it be rhapsodic, introspective, poignant or hilarious. He has the ability to make the most complex movement appear effortless and totally reflective of the musical score, as if it were created spontaneously for that exact period of time.

No choreographer has so epitomized the American scene, or been so profligate in his expenditure of creative energy. He contributed a great body of superb work to our dance culture, represented all over the world, and in the continuous performances of musicals during the last 35 years.

His career as a gifted ballet dancer developed with Ballet Theatre where he danced with special distinction the role of Petrouchka, and character roles in the works of Fokine, Tudor, Massine, Lichine and de Mille, and of course his first choreographic sensation, Fancy Free (1944). This ballet was followed by 54 creations including: Dances at a Gathering (1969); The Goldberg Variations (1971); Watermill (1972); Requiem Canticles (1972); The Dybbuk Variations (1974); In G Major (1975); Mother Goose (1975); The Four Seasons (1979); Opus 19: The Dreamer (1979); Piano Pieces (1981); Gershwin Concerto (1982); Glass Pieces (1983); I’m Old-Fashioned (1983); Antique Epigraphs (1984); Brahms/Handel (with Twyla Tharp in 1984); In Memory Of... (1985); Quiet City (1986); Piccolo Balletto (1986); Ives, Songs (1988); 2 & 3 Part Inventions (1994), and West Side Story Suite (1995). The Jerome Robbins Chamber Dance Company completed an acclaimed tour of the People’s Republic of China, sponsored in 1981 by the U.S. Communications Agency.

During this extraordinary, prolific career, Mr. Robbins served on the National Council on the Arts from 1974 to 1980, and the New York State Council on the Arts/Dance Panel from 1973 to 1988. He established and partially endowed the Jerome Robbins Film Archive of the Dance Collection of the New York City Public Library at Lincoln Center. His numerous awards and academic honors included the Handel Medallion of the City of New York (1976), the Kennedy Center Honors (1981), three Honorary Doctorates, an honorary membership in the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (1985), and in 1988 he was awarded the National Medal of the Arts.

Mr. Robbins died at the height of his creative powers. Most importantly, he brought joy, emotional involvement and humorous pleasure to millions of people, not only in the United States, but throughout the entire world. His work will continue to delight us for generations to come.

About Choregrapher

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Choreography by Jerome Robbins

Ballets: 2 & 3 Part Inventions3 X 3Afternoon of a FaunAfterthoughtsAge of AnxietyAllegro con GraziaAndantinoAntique EpigraphsBalladeBrahms/HandelBrandenburgThe CageCelebrationChansons MadecassesCircus PolkaThe ConcertConcertinoDances at a GatheringDumbarton OaksThe Dybbuk VariationsEight LinesAn Evening’s WaltzesEventsFacsimileFancy FreeFanfareFirebird

Four BagatellesFour Chamber WorksThe Four SeasonsGershwin ConcertoGlass PiecesThe Goldberg VariationsThe GuestsHandel - Concerto GrossoL’Histoire du SoldatI’m Old FashionedIn G MajorIn Memory of...InterplayIn the NightIntroduction and Allegro for

HarpIves, SongsJones BeachMother GooseMovesLes NocesN.Y. Export: Opus JazzOpus 19 - The DreamerOther DancesPas de TroisPiano PiecesPiccolo BallettoThe Pied Piper

PulcinellaQuartetQuiet CityRequiem CanticlesRondoScherzo FantastiqueA Sketch BookA Suite of DancesSummer DayTricoloreUne Barque sur L’OceanWatermillWest Side Story Suite

What Did You Learn About the Choreographers?

1) In what country was Christopher Wheeldon born?

2) Where did Jerome Robbins develop his career as a dancer?

3) Name three dance companies for whom Christopher Wheeldon has made ballets.

4) With whom did Jerome Robbins collaborate on Brahms/Handel?

5) What film did Christopher Wheeldon choreograph?

SEE PAGE 35 FOR ANSWERS.

Janet Reed & Jerome Robbins in Fancy Free.

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Richard Rodgers

ne of the great composers of American musical theater, Richard Rodgers is perhaps best known as half of the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein partnership. With

over 900 songs and 40 Broadway musicals to his credit, Rodg-ers embodies an era in American music, and remains one of the theater’s most enduring influences.

Born in 1902 in New York City, Rodgers and his first partner, lyricist Lorenz Hart, struggled to get their first break in musical comedy until 1925, when Rodgers’ song “Manhattan” turned the benenfit show Garrick Gaieties into an overnight hit.

Rodgers and Hart continued on with a string of successes on Broadway, notably Dearest Enemy, The Girl Friend, Peggy-Ann and A Connecticut Yankee, before moving to Hollywood where they wrote such popular tunes as “Isn’t It Roman-tic?” and “Blue Moon.”

Returning to Broadway in 1935, Rodgers and Hart enjoyed another string of hits including On Your Toes, Babes in Arms, The Boys From Syracuse and Pal Joey. Sadly, however, in 1943, Hart passed away, shortly after completing their last musical together, By Jupiter.

Rodgers struck up a new partnership with Oscar Hammerstein II, and their first collaboration Oklahoma! turned out to be a smashing success. Revolutionizing the structure of the American musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein would go on to create some of the best known and most popular musicals of all time, includ-ing Carousel, Flower Drum Song, South Pacific, The King and I and The Sound of Music. Scores by Rodgers and Hammerstein became known for their witty lyrics and sophisticated musicality, as well as the tunefulness of their songs.

Collectively the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals would win 34 Tonys, 15 Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes, two Grammies and two Emmy awards.

After Hammerstein’s death in 1960, Rodgers worked on his own musical No Strings, for which he wrote words and music. He also collaborated with lyricists Stephen Sondheim, Sheldon Harnick and Martin Charnin in later years.

In 1979, Rodgers passed away at the age of 77.

About Composer

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What Did You Learn?

1) Who wrote the lyrics to Richard Rodgers’ early musicals?

2) Name three of Richard Rodgers’ most famous musicals.

3) How many Tony Awards have Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals won?

4) Name three people with whom Rodgers collaborated.

SEE PAGE 35 FOR ANSWERS.

For more about Richard Rodgers visit the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization:http://www.rnh.com

The Garrick GaietiesDearest EnemyA Connecticut YankeeOn Your ToesBabes in ArmsI’d Rather Be RightI Married an AngelThe Boys from SyracuseToo Many GirlsHigher and HIgherPal JoeyBy JupiterOklahoma!CarouselAllegroSouth Pacific

The King and IMe and JulietPipe DreamCinderellaFlower Drum SongThe Sound of MusicNo StringsDo I Hear a Waltz?Two by TwoRexI Remember Mama

Musicals by Richard Rodgers



Ronald Bates

About the Lighting Designers

orn in Fort Smith Arkansas, Ronald Bates was one of the dance world’s foremost lighting designers. A production manager for New York City Ballet, Bates studied scenic

design at Los Angeles City College, and worked as a stage manager and set builder in California.

At the request of NYCB founder Lincoln Kirstein, he became production stage manager of that company, working closely with George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins on the designs and technical production of countless ballets. Considered an authority on stage floor construction for dance, he continued to manage productions for NYCB for over 20 years until his death in 1986.

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Mark Stanleyhe current lighting director for New York City Ballet, Mark Stanley has designed over 140 premieres for the company, including Helgi Tomasson’s Prism and Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia and Rush.

Stanley has designed for opera productions nationwide from Wolf Trap Opera to the New York City Opera, as well as for theatrical plays at the Kennedy Center, Paper Mill Playhouse and several off-Broadway productions.

Stanley is the author of The Color of Light workbook.

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Holly HynesAbout the Costume Designer

he day-to-day work of managing the dozens of tailors and drapers in New York City Ballet’s costume shop is under the direction of Holly Hynes, director of costumes since 1989.

An accomplished costume designer, Hynes has dressed over sixty ballets, more than half of them at New York City Ballet. In addition, her work can be seen in companies such as Pennsylvania Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Nashville Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet. Hynes has also deisgned for two Broadway productions, On Borrowed Time, and George Bernard Shaw’s Getting Married, as well as a dozen other plays and muscials at the off-Broadway York Theater.

An authority on costume reproduction, Hynes is entrusted by the George Bal-anchine Trust and the Jerome Robbins Trust with the task of teaching the art of reproducing costumes of ballets with an established design. Four of her costume renderings have become part of the permanent collection of the Museum of the City of New York, and Hynes has enjoyed two gallery showings at Avery Fisher Hall.

Six miniature ballerina dolls designed by Hynes were chosen to be featured in the Christmas decorations at the White House in 1996, and, in 1997, she created a one woman show of her costumes, sketches and photographs for the Marvin Cone Galleries in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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Oliver SmithAbout the Set Designer

inner of eight Tony Awards, five Donaldson Awards, New York City’s Handel Medallion and numerous other honors, Oliver Smith (1918-1994) was the twentieth century’s most decorated American set designer. His scenic designs

for musical comedy spanned a golden age on Broadway from the 40s through the 70s, including My Fair Lady, Hello, Dolly!, West Side Story, Brigadoon, Camelot, and over sixty others; his designs for the dance included Rodeo, Fall River Legend, Fancy Free and Les Noces (and many others for American Ballet Theatre, which he co-produced for forty years with Lucia Chase); his films included Band Wagon, Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma! and Porgy and Bess; and his opera designs filled the stages of the Metropolitan and New York City Operas.

Oliver Smith was born in Waupun, Wisconsin, to a high school principal and his arts-loving wife, who encouraged Smith’s early interest in architecture, literature, and the performing arts. After his parents divorced and his mother remarried, Smith moved east, as his stepfather owned a store in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. A quintessentially American artist, Smith began painting watercolors while an architecture student at State College in Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the graduate playwriting program at Yale.

However, he decided to spend a year in New York City before going to graduate school. In the fall of 1939, he moved into a rooming house in Brooklyn Heights: 7 Middagh Street, well known in literary circles as the communal residence of Paul and Jane Bowles, Benjamin Britten, W. H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Richard Wright, and Gypsy Rose Lee, among others. It was at 7 Middagh Street that Smith began forging the show-business contacts that helped launch his set design career (after stints as an usher at the Roxy movie palace, a clerk at the Brooklyn Public Library, and a department store salesman). During this first year in New York, Smith’s watercolors were exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum and the Bonestell Gallery in Manhattan. When little sold, Smith’s cousin Paul Bowles advised him, “You paint, and you like the theatre. So paint for the theatre.” Smith proceeded to develop a design portfolio and set about breaking into the business. It was a field uniquely suited to his talents, as his sensitivity to the sculpting of space made for scenic designs that were both beautiful and tailored to the practical needs of individual productions.

Smith never made it to graduate school. In 1941, his professional debut for Massine’s ballet Saratoga was hailed by a New York critic as a breakthrough in American scenic design. Agnes DeMille’s Rodeo followed in 1942, and On the Town and Fancy Free (with Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein) in 1944. Smith’s scenery won raves for each, launching a career in design for theatre, ballet, opera and film.

Throughout this career, Oliver Smith’s work blended a distinctly American painting style with the choreographed grace of his moving scenery, creating designs that earned accolades around the world.

Biography reprinted by kind permission of the Estate of Oliver Smith.

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What Did You Learn?

1) Was Oliver Smith American? If so, in what state was he born?

2) What was his first artistic love?

3) Why did he begin to design for theater?

4) What was his first big success?

5) Name the four categories in which Oliver Smith designed.

See page 35 for answers.

Amnon V’Tamar

The Catherine Wheel

Contredances

Eccentrique

Estuary

Facsimile

Fall River Legend

Fancy Free

The Four Marys

Interplay

Nimbus

Les Noces

On Stage!

Petrouchka

Points on Jazz

Rib of Eve

Rodeo

Swan Lake

Texas Fourth

Tristan

Waltz Academy

The Wild Boy

Oliver Smith’s work for dance

You can see high quality reproductions of Oliver Smith’s designs at BroadwayArt.com and you can learn more about him at:

www.abt.org/education/archive/designers/smith_o.html

www.infography.comFor a comprehensive list of his works for theater go to:

www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=23380



Carousel: A DanceComposer: Richard Rodgers

Choreography: Christopher WheeldonStaged by: Ashley Wheater and Anita Paciotti

Costume Design: Holly HynesLighting Design: Mark Stanley

Music: Carousel Waltz, “If I Loved You”World Premiere: November 26, 2002—New York City Ballet, New York State Theater; New York, NY

In Carousel: A Dance©, choreographer Christopher Wheeldon takes the famous romance at the center of the original Rodgers and Hammerstein musical and distills it down to the essence of boy-meets-girl, managing to suggest the giddiness of love as well as the carnival atmosphere in a brief sketch.

In the original musical, the young Julie Jordan falls in love with a carousel barker named Billy Bigelow from a travelling circus. Though Julie is warned that Billy is undependable, and certainly not good company for a nice girl, Julie falls in love with him, and even after Billy is fired from his carnival job, she agrees to marry him.

The dire predictions about Billy turn out to be true, and when the young couple finds themselves in need of money, Billy falls into crime. However, his plans go wrong and Billy is killed.

At the Pearly Gates to heaven, Billy is offered the chance to redeem himself, if he will return to earth to bring happiness to the life of his young daughter, Louise.

For his ballet, Wheeldon has chosen to use two of the musical’s most familiar tunes, the “Carousel Waltz” and the touching song that Billy sings to Julie, “If I Loved You.”

If I loved you time and again I would try to say all I’d want you to know.

If I loved you, words wouldn’t come in an easy way—round in circles I’d go!

Longing to tell you, but afraid and shy,

I let my golden chances pass me by!

Soon you’d leave me, off you would go in the mist of day,

Never, never to know how I loved you, if I loved you.

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Three sailors on shore leave during World War II are the stars of Jerome Robbins’ lively and colorful Fancy Free. With their only plan being to have some fun in New York City, the trio sets out to find dates and adventure in this jazzy and freewheeling ballet. Jerome Robbins created, and starred in, Fancy Free in the closing days of World War II and the bright-eyed optimism felt by the whole country runs throughout the energetic and charming ballet, which was later made into the popular musical On the Town.

After hitting the shore, the guys head for a nearby bar, where they meet up with two ladies whom they convince to join them for a night out on the town. With three guys and two girls, some predictable competitiveness comes out among the men in the form of great dancing.

But though the ballet features some high flying tricks, the essence of Fancy Free is the characters of the three sailors and two women themselves.

Pascal Molat, Gonzalo Garcia and Garrett Anderson rehearse Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free

Fancy FreeMusic: Leonard Bernstein

Choreography: Jerome RobbinsStaged by: Jean Pierre Frohlich

Scenic Design: Oliver SmithCostume Design: Kermit LoveLighting Design: Ronald Bates

World Premiere: April 18, 1944—Ballet Theatre, Metropolitan Opera House; New York, NY

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Ride a Carousel

Herschell Spillman Carousel in Golden Gate Park

In Golden Gate Park, you can ride the 1912 Her-schell-Spillman car-ousel, in the pavilion in the playground east of Bowling Green Drive. With

62 animals (including 40 jumping animals), two chariots, and a spinning tub, it is one of the Bay Area’s only four-row carousels. (Children 5 and under ride free, 6-12 years old are $.50, Adults are $1.50 per ride.)

Dentzel Carousel in the San Francisco Zoo

Built in 1921, this beautiful carousel with its 52 hand-carved wooden zoo animals--including a Sumatran tiger, a horse, a cat, a giraffe, an ostrich-- is one of

the most lavish carousels of the Bay Area. In 1994, the carousel was restored by hand and you can find it now near the entrance to the Zoo. ($2 per person, standing adults ride free)

Zeum Carousel in Yerba Buena Gardens

In 1998, the San Francisco Zeum, installed the grand carousel from San Francisco’s famous Playland at the Beach. Sending its riders spinning at 8

mph, the carousel was originally built for San Francisco in 1906 by Charles Looff, and its carvings recall then-exotic locations like Arabia, Africa and the Ottoman Empire. ($3 per person, each ticket gives you two rides.)

Pier 39’s San Francisco Carousel

The two-tiered carousel at Pier 39 was opened in 2002, and is a fiberglass replica of a double-decker Venetian carousel from the turn of the century

($1). Crafted in Italy by the Bertazzon company, it is the only carousel in the United States decorated with images of its home city, including paintings of Coit Tower, Chinatown and Lombard Street. 50 people can ride the 42 horses (which will rock and jump) and two

swaying gondolas. ($3 per ride)

Have you ever ridden a carousel? Once a staple of circuses and fairs, carousels were originally created in medieval times as a way for Arabian and Turkish horsemen to practice their battle training. In California there are 33 operating carousels across the state, and five of the finest are in the Bay Area. Take a ride on a carousel near you!



This knot was mostly used as a “stopping” knot. To secure the end of a rope from slipping.

Activity: Tying Knots

This knot was often used in the end of a rope forming a lariat loop.

This is a common method of hitching animals, such as a horse. Notice that it is a type of slippery hitch.

This was one of the most widely used knots. Because it passes around an object in only one direction, and puts very little strain on the rope fibers. Tying it over an object that is open at one end is done by dropping one overhand loop over the post and drawing them together. It is also effective if both ends are not accessible.

This is occasionally useful as a temporary hold, say for a well

behaved horse. It is actually only an over-hand knot around the object with the end run back through the knot and left “slip-

pery.” It can be quickly untied by pulling on the free end.

This is a reliable and useful knot for attaching a rope to a pole or boat mooring. As its name suggests, it is two half hitches, one after the other. To finish, push them together and snug them by pulling on the standing part.

You can loosen the square knot easily by either pushing the ends toward the knot or by “upsetting” the knot by pulling back on one end and pulling the other through the loops.

This is an important hitch, especially for dragging a heavy object like a log. It will hold firmly so long as there is a steady pull; slacking and jerk-ing may loosen it. The timber hitch was also useful in pio-neering when two timbers were “sprung” together. When it is used for dragging, a simple hitch should be added near the front end of the object to guide it.

For more on different Knots go to: http://www.troop7.org/Knots/

Overhand Knot Figure Eight Knot Hitching Tie

Clove Hitch Slippery Hitch

Two Half Hitches Square Knot

Timber Hitch



The Syrtos

In traditional Greek dance, there are two distinct types; the springing/leaping dance and the shuffle/dragging dance known as syrtos. Most dances are circle dances, start with the right foot and move counter-clockwise. Each dancer is linked by a handkerchief or by holding hands, wrists or shoulders. In the old traditions of the past, men and women rarely danced together, although chains of men and women danced together at the same time. Often times, the women would dance in the inner circle and the men in the outer circle, but today, we can all dance together.

Below is an example of a traditional Greek dance often performed by sailors. The music is to the well-known tune, Zorba the Greek. For fun, you can also try doing the dance to a different tune. Take your time, and try each step in turn, and don’t be afraid to add on! Dancers often improvised and made up new steps as the dance went along.

Begin dance standing in a circle, facing inward

Count 1: Facing the center, step RIGHT FOOT to the right

Count 2: Step LEFT FOOT across in back of your right foot

Count 3: Step your RIGHT FOOT to right, turning to face diagonally right

Count 4: Step LEFT FOOT across in front of your right foot

Count 5: Step RIGHT FOOT to the right

Count 6: Step LEFT FOOT

Count 7: Turn to face the center, Step RIGHT FOOT toward the center

Count 8: Take a small step on your LEFT FOOT forward

Count 9: Take a small step on your RIGHT FOOT backward

Count 10: Still facing the center, step your LEFT FOOT backward

Count 11: Take a small step with your right foot backward

Count 12: Take a small step with your left foot forward

REPEAT

A dance scene from Zorba the Greek



Shanties and Work Songs

WORK SONGS

A shanty is a work song that was sung by sailors as they did their jobs aboard a ship. Sailors do a variety of jobs aboard a ship like haul up anchors, hoist sails, and load cargo. Before there were machines to help do the work, it was all done by hand. Performing these tasks required great strength, and many men had to work together to get the job done. The shanty supplied the rhythm for these jobs so that all the sailors knew when it was time to pull or push together. It also provided entertainment.

The shanty was usually sung in call-and-response style. A lead singer, known as the “shantyman,” often made up the solo part as he went along. Sometimes his lyrics were funny. The rest of the sailors would join in on the chorus section.

The shantyman had to have a loud booming voice and a good imagi-nation for making up words. The lead singer had a hard job, singing loudly enough so everyone could hear him over the noise of the sea. If the shantyman was very good, he kept all the sailors amused as they worked, and the day went by much faster.

Often shanties had great rhythmic energy, but sometimes they were slower. The mood and tempo of the shanty was often related to

the task that was being done. Also, because sailors came from all parts of the world, the shanties represented all the different Nationalities of the sailors, and many different types of songs got mixed into shanties. This made them all the more interesting.

Beside shanties, there are many other kinds of work songs. Farmers, cowboys, miners, and railroad builders all sang when they worked. Almost every job involving manual labor has a song history. Also, work songs are found in just about every culture.

Some work songs are about the life of the worker, while other songs set a rhythm to help workers to move at the same pace. Like the shanty, a lead singer would set the tempo for the work, and the rhythm of the song would follow the same beat. Sometimes workers would sing about the hardships of the jobs. They sometimes sang funny. Mostly, they sang to pass the time, and make the hard work more enjoyable.



Sea Faring Songs

Below are two examples of sea shantys. Try singing these songs in a fun, rhythmic way with your classmates and friends. What kinds of work might you be doing while singing these songs?

If you’re feeling a more adventurous, you could even try writing your own seafaring poetry.

Sea Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,

And a gray mist on the sea’s face, and a gray dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

John Masefield

A Wanderer’s Song

A wind’s in the heart of me, a fire’s in my heels,

I am tired of brick and stone and rumbling wagon-wheels;

I hunger for the sea’s edge, the limit of the land,

Where the wild old Atlantic is shouting on the sand.

Oh I’ll be going, leaving the noises of the street,

To where a lifting foresail-foot is yanking at the sheet;

To a windy, tossing anchorage where yawls and ketches ride,

Oh I’l be going, going, until I meet the tide.

And first I’ll hear the sea-wind, the mewing of the gulls,

The clucking, sucking of the sea about the rusty hulls,

The songs at the capstan at the hooker warping out,

And then the heart of me’ll know I’m there or thereabout.

Oh I am sick of brick and stone, the heart of me is sick,

For windy green, unquiet sea, the realm of Moby Dick;

And I’ll be going, going, from the roaring of the wheels,

For a wind’s in the heart of me, a fire’s in my heels.

John Masefield



People have danced since the beginning of civi-lization. Dance can be a form of celebration, it can be part of religious ritual, and it can be performed as entertainment. Ballet is a par-ticular kind of dancing which requires a very special technique that has developed over 400 years of history.

Ballet began in the form of lavish entertain-ment spectacles during the Renaissance in the courts of Italy and France. In fact, the term “ballet” and the word “ball” are both derived from the Italian verb ballare, which means “to dance.” Early ballets were performed in ball-

rooms; they contained speaking and singing as well as dancing; and the performers were mostly the nobility, members of the courts. These court ballets reached their height of popu-larity under King Louis XIV, who was an accomplished dancer himself.

He formed the first official school, L’Académie Royale de Musique et de Danse, known today as the Paris Opera. To this day, all ballet vocabu-lary is in French. Ballet evolved away from court ballrooms into a more structured theater environment. The

performers began to be trained professionals rather than amateurs dancing for their own enjoyment.

At first all of the dancers were men. The first women appeared professionally in 1681. In the early 1700s, one ballerina shortened her skirts so that her brilliant footwork was visible, and removed the heels from her shoes to make her movements easier. Another, concerned with dramatic expression, removed her heavy hoop skirts and fashionable wigs to make her charac-ters more believable.

Women became the most popular dancers when they began to dance en pointe (on the tips of their toes, wearing special shoes). This period, the Romantic Era, was a time when most ballets were about supernatural creatures and

the contrast between reality and imagination. Advances in theater technology, such as gas lighting and more realistic sets, helped create an atmosphere of fantasy.

After 1850, the center of the ballet world shifted from Paris to St. Petersburg, Russia. There, a great ballet master and choreographer, Marius Petipa, produced the famous ballets Swan Lake,The Sleeping Beauty and the Nut-cracker in collaboration with composer Peter I. Tchaikovsky.

By 1900, the very best dancers were trained at the Imperial Russian Ballet School. In 1909, a group of these dancers, including Vaslav Nijin-sky and Anna Pavlova, came to perform in Paris where they made a tremendous impres-sion and revived interest in classical ballet.

The Ballets Russes toured Europe and America presenting a varied repertoire and showcasing outstanding dancers for the next twenty years. Anna Pavlova formed her own company and traveled to every corner of the world, intro-ducing ballet to people who had never seen it before.

Americans became enthusiastic about ballet in the 1930s when many of those dancers settled in America. One of these, George Balanchine, began a major ballet school and eventually directed New York City Ballet. Another was Adolph Bolm, who was the first director of San Francisco Ballet, the first professional ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933.

Today, every major American city has a pro-fessional ballet company and good training schools. Thanks to the influence of superstars like Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov, male dancers are again as prominent as the bal-lerinas.

Contemporary ballets contain movements which are influenced by modern dance, and many performance pieces tell no story but are abstract or plotless. And so, the art of ballet continues to evolve.

Ballet History: Milestones

Louis XIV



• The performance will begin promptly at 11:30am and lasts approximately one hour and fifteen minutes, without an intermission.

• Let your students know in advance what behavior is expected of them. This is a LIVE performance. Unlike television or the movies, the performers on stage are there at that moment and are dancing for the audience’s pleasure. Any noise distracts them. The performance will be exciting, but let your students know that they will be required to sit quietly in their seats for a fairly long period of time.

• School clothes are appropriate dress, however, some students may choose to “dress up.”

• Please plan to arrive at the Opera House at least 30 minutes prior to the performance as latecomers cannot be seated once the performance has begun.

• By now you should have received your tickets and a seating chart. Please show the tickets to the usher, and he or she will help you locate your seats.

• No food, drink, chewing gum, skateboards, cameras, or recording equipment are allowed inside the theater. If you plan to bring any of these items, please have your students leave them on the bus until after the performance has ended. We do not have provisions for storing these items at the Opera House.

• Cell phones, iPods, electronic games and other devices should all be turned off or set to “silent” mode.

• It is important to have your students visit the rest room before the performance begins. It is inappropriate to visit the rest rooms during a live performance. At all times, children must be accompanied to the restroom by an adult. Ushers will direct you to the rest rooms.

• Bus parking is limited. For more information on bus parking, please call 415.865.2000.

Theater Etiquette



We recommend that you provide your students with some guidelines of things to look and listen for during the performance. You may also want to encourage your students to add to this list.

Students should be encouraged to:

A. Watch the dancers.

B. Listen to the music.

C. Look at the costumes and set designs.

D. Laugh when they see the dancers do something funny.

E. Clap to show the dancers and musicians that they are enjoying the performance when the dancing has finished. It is customary to applaud when the dancers take a bow.

Students should be encouraged NOT to:

A. Talk or make noise because they might miss something impor-tant.

B. Chew gum or eat because it is disruptive to others and makes a mess at the theater.

C. Leave their seats before the lights go on because this is very disruptive to their neighbors.

D. Use their iPods, cell phones or CD players in the theater because this is disruptive to the dancers and other members of the audience.

Theater Etiquette continued


accent To call attention to a particular movement or note in a phrase of dance or music.

adage [ah-DAHZH] Slow sustained movements in ballet.

audience Spectators at a performance.

audition To try out for a role; a trial performance where a dancer is judged on his/her ability to dance.

balance Maintaining the stability and equilibrium of the body.

ballet [BA-lay] A classical dance form originating in European Courts during the 17th and 18th centuries that is characterized by grace and movement with intricate gestures and codified footwork.

ballerina A female ballet dancer of highest ranking.

ballet master/mistress An individual (usually a retired dancer) with varying responsibilities including teaching, coaching, and rehearsing ballets.

barre The place where a dancer goes to begin his/her class work. The barre is a long pole securely attached to a wall, to give the dancer support. After the dancer has done barre work to warm up, he/she will move to the center of the classroom or studio to practice increasingly complex steps.

beat The underlying pulse which measures time; beat is part of rhythm.

choreographer The visionary of the dancing in a ballet. He/she is responsible for creating the ballet for the stage and integrating the dance, music, decor, story, costumes, and lighting.

choreography The art of creating and arranging steps to create a dance.

composer A person who creates music.

concert A public dance or music performance.

continuous Movement uninterrupted in time.

conductor The leader of the orchestra.

corps de ballet A group of dancers who work together as an ensemble. They form the background for

the ballerina and her partner and are the backbone to any ballet company.

costumes The clothing performers wear to help set the mood a choreographer wishes to create, allowing for freedom of movement for dancers and actors alike.

dancer Translates the choreographer’s vision to the audience through technique and interpretation.

demi [duh-MEE] Half.

divertissements Consist of a variety of short dances inserted in certain ballets as entertainment.

dress rehearsal Final practice before a perfor-mance.

dynamics The force, energy and intensity with which motions are executed; ranging from soft, slow & fluid to hard, fast & sharp.

emotions Feelings expressed in dance such as joy, sorrow, hate, love, etc.

energy A unit of force in movement.

ensemble A group of dancers working together on a performance.

focus To concentrate on one thing at a time.

freeze A halt in movement at any given time.

grand [grahn] Grand or big.

interpretation Deciding the meaning or concept of a dance or movement.

isolate To focus on one body part at a time.

jeté [zhuh-TAY] To leap.

leap To jump from one foot to the other.

level A position or movement in space that occurs on

the horizontal plane, such as high, medium or low.

lighting design Is used to enhance scenery and costumes, as well as give a sense of time.

narrative A dance that tells a story.

near Close in space without actual physical contact.

Ballet EssentialsJust as sports, math, construction, and many other activities have their own vocabulary, so too does ballet. Because much of ballet’s early development occurred in France, many of the words are French and have been handed down since the 16th century. Here are some common terms and their applications.



parallel A primary position in dance where the feet are flat on the ground with toes pointing forward.

pas de deux A dance for two people, traditionally a ballerina and a premier danseur.

pattern An ordered arrangement which repeats itself.

pantomime The art of telling a story, expressing a mood or an emotion or describing an action without words.

perfect spot Finding a place to dance with suf-ficient self/personal space.

performance The presentation of a dance, play or theatre piece for others.

phrase A series of dance movements forming a unit in a choreographic pattern.

plié [plee-AY] To bend the knees.

pointe shoes Shoes worn only by female dancers that enable them to dance on the tips of their toes. The area covering the toes is made of layers of fabric glued together in the shape of a “box” covered in satin and hardened. The sole of the shoe is made of hard leather to prevent the shoe from breaking when bent and to help support the foot. To keep the shoe on tightly, the dancers sew satin ribbons and elastic to the sides and tie the ribbons securely around their ankles. A pair of pointe shoes costs $50 to $80 wholesale and lasts from 1 hour to 8 hours of work.

port de bras [pawr deh brah] Movement of the arms.

premier danseur A male ballet dancer of the highest ranking.

principal dancer A male or female dancer of the highest ranking.

proscenium The part of a modern stage directly in front and framing the curtain.

rehearsal The practice of a dance before performing.

relevé [rehl-VAY] To rise to the balls of the feet.

repertoire [rep’ er-twär] The collection of dances performed by a ballet company,

rhythm The pattern of music or movement through time.

sauté [soh-TAY] To jump.

set designer A person who creates scenic design.

scenic design Like costumes and makeup, scenic design helps to tell the story or set the mood of the ballet. The set must be designed so that the dancers can enter and exit the stage according to the choreographer’s wishes.

shape A specific design of the body at rest or in motion.

solo A dance performed by one person.

space Area occupied by the dance or dancer.

stretch To elongate or extend one’s muscles.

studio The place where dancers study dance, practice and rehearse.

technique The method and procedures of classical ballet training to get desired results; a dancer’s ability to perform all steps and movements correctly.

tempo The speed at which a rhythm moves.

tendu [tahn-DEW] To point or stretch the foot.

theater A place for the presentation of performances an essential in ballet.

turnout The ability of the dancer to turn the legs outward from the hip joints to a 90-degree angle.

tutu Ballet skirt, usually made of net. Tutus may be of varying lengths. While the style and mood of the ballet help to deter-mine the preferred tutu length, the dancer’s tech-nique is most clearly vis-ible when she wears a short tutu. Tutus are very expensive; the cost of a jeweled tutu ranges from $3,200 - $4,200. Yuan Yuan Tan (in a tutu) and Roman Rykine,

in the pas de deux from George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations.

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Ballet Essentials continued



1. What is a ballet?

It is dancing to music on stage in front of an audience using the classical ballet vocabu-lary.

2. How do ballet dancers make up the steps they do?

They don’t make up the steps. Dancers learn the basic ballet steps in class. Ballet steps are like words. Just as you combine words to form a sentence and then a paragraph, choreographers combine hundreds of steps to express a feeling, idea, or tell a story.

3. What do dancers do when they aren’t on stage?

They practice exercises in daily ballet class to stay in shape and improve their skills, and they spend a lot of time learning and practicing dances taught by a choreographer. A ballet dancer’s day is similar to a professional athlete’s. Can you imagine what would happen if the 49ers or the Warriors did not have training camp or daily practices?

4. How long does it take to become a ballet dancer?

It takes about eight to ten years of training to become a professional ballet dancer. Training ideally begins when a student is between the ages of 8 and 10. Beginners go to ballet class once or twice a week; by the time a student is 15 years of age, he or she will be taking 10-15 lessons a week.

While ballet classes can provide exercise, discipline and enjoyment for all, the hope of a professional career is limited to very few people. Those who will enter professional ballet companies have worked long and hard to develop their superior skills and are dedicated to their art.

5. Why does it take so long to become a ballet dancer?

Part of a ballet dancer’s job is to make the difficult look easy. Ballet dancers must spin around many times without getting dizzy, lift their legs above their ears, and jump high in the air. It takes a lot of training to do things like that.

6. Can children dance on stage?

Children who take ballet classes are sometimes invited to dance with professional ballet companies. There are 74 children’s roles in San Francisco Ballet’s production of Nut-cracker. All parts are double cast so there are at least 148 ballet students involved. Some ballet schools also give a performance each year at which all the children get a chance to perform and show what they have learned.

7. Is ballet just for girls?

No. Every year more and more boys are taking ballet lessons. Ballet is hard work and requires great coordination, strength, and athletic ability. Boys have to learn to jump high, turn very fast without getting dizzy, lift girls, and make it all look easy.

Common Questions about Ballet



8. When do girls learn to dance on their toes?

Girls usually begin to wear pointe shoes when they are 11 or 12 years old. They have to wait until their bones are hard enough and their muscles in their feet and legs are strong enough to support their full weight en pointe.

9. Don’t dancers get dizzy when they turn?

No, they don’t get dizzy because they are taught a trick called “spotting.” Before they begin turning, they pick something to look at—a clock, a door, a light. Then they try and keep looking at it as they go around and around. Go ahead and try it.

10. Do dancers sometimes fall and hurt themselves?

Just as athletes are vulnerable to certain injuries, so are dancers. Ballet is very demanding on a dancer’s body; it has even been said that “ballet is a contact sport.” Dancers hurt their backs and shoulders, necks and knees. They pull muscles, sprain ankles, twist joints, and break bones in their feet and legs. Ballet dancers take many steps to prevent injuries including taking class everyday to keep their muscles strong, loose, and warm, performing warm up exercises before they dance, and putting a special powder on their shoes, called rosin, to prevent them from slipping. Even so, there is always the chance that a dancer will get hurt.

11. Do dancers get nervous before a performance?

Even though professional dancers perform before thousands of people, every time they perform they still get a little nervous. But when they begin to dance, the nerves subside and they just perform the best they can.

12. When do dancers have to stop dancing?

Dancing is a very hard life. Dancers work from almost the moment they get up in the morning until the time they go to bed at night. As a result, most dancers stop dancing when they are about 35-40 years old—about the time many professional athletes have to retire.

13. Do professional ballet dancers get paid a lot of money?

A very few famous ballet dancers make a lot of money. Most professional ballet dancers, however, are not rich at all.

14. If dancers have to train so long, and work so hard, and make so little money, and are prone to injury, why do they do it?

Ballet dancers dance because they love dancing and because it brings them great joy.

Common Questions about Ballet continued



an Francisco Ballet, the first professional ballet company in America, has emerged as a world-class arts organization since it

was founded as the San Francisco Opera Ballet in 1933. Initially, its primary purpose was to train dancers to appear in lavish, full-length opera productions.

Willam Christensen arrived in 1938, choreographing the Company’s first full-length production, Coppélia, the following year. In 1940, he staged the first American full-length production of Swan Lake. On Christmas Eve 1944, Christensen launched a national holiday tradition with the premiere of Nutcracker, the first complete version of the ballet ever staged

in the United States.

In 1942, the Company became a totally separate entity from the opera and was renamed San Francisco Ballet. Willam Christensen was artistic director, and his brother Harold was appointed director of San Francisco Ballet School, a position he retained for 33 years. Lew Christensen, America’s first premier danseur, joined Willam as co-director in 1951, and

took over the Company the following year. Under Lew’s direction, the Company made its East Coast debut at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in 1956, and toured 11 Asian nations the following year, marking the first performances of an American ballet company in the Far East.

In 1972, after performing in various San Francisco theaters, the Company settled permanently in the War Memorial Opera House for its annual residency. The following year Michael Smuin was appointed associate artistic director, and celebrated his new partnership with Lew Christensen by collaborating on a full-length production of Cinderella. In 1976, Smuin’s Romeo and Juliet was the first full-

length ballet shown on the PBS television series, “Dance in America,” winning an Emmy award. His Tempest, broadcast across the nation live from the Opera House, also received an Emmy.

In 1974 San Francisco Ballet faced bankruptcy, but its supporters and the community responded with an extraordinary grass-roots effort called “Save Our Ballet,” which successfully brought the Company back from the brink. That same year, Dr. Richard E. LeBlond, Jr. was appointed president and general manager of the San Francisco Ballet Association. He developed the first long-range plan for an American dance company, and in 18 months San Francisco Ballet was in the black financially.

Helgi Tomasson’s arrival as artistic director in July 1985 marked the beginning of a new era for San Francisco Ballet. Like Lew Christensen, Tomasson was, for many years, a leading dancer for the most important ballet choreographer of the 20th century, George Balanchine. Less than two years after Tomasson’s arrival, San Francisco Ballet unveiled its fourth production of Nutcracker during the Company’s 54th repertory season. Tomasson has since staged acclaimed full-length productions of many classics, including Swan Lake (1988); The Sleeping Beauty (1990); Romeo & Juliet (1994); Giselle (1999); Don Quixote, co-staged with Principal Dancer Yuri Possokhov (2003); and a new Nutcracker (2004).

In 1991, San Francisco Ballet performed in New York City for the first time in 26 years, returning in 1993, 1995, 1998, and 2002. All five engagements received great critical acclaim. Following the first tour, Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times wrote, “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

Profile: San Francisco BalletHelgi Tomasson, Artistic Director

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Helgi Tomasson, San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director

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the dancers into a classical style of astonishing verve and purity. San Francisco Ballet under Helgi Tomasson’s leadership is one of the spectacular success stories of the arts in America.”

In May 1995, San Francisco Ballet played host to 12 ballet companies from around the world for UNited We Dance: An International Festival, commemorating the 50th anniversary of signing the United Nations Charter, which took place in the Performing Arts Center in San Francisco. Never before had a dance event brought together over 150 international artists for two weeks of creative exchange and inspiration.

San Francisco Ballet continues to enrich and expand its repertory, and presents approximately 100 performances annually. The Company’s vast repertory includes works by Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, August Bournonville, Christopher Bruce, Val Caniparoli, Lew Christensen, Nacho Duato, Flemming Flindt, William Forsythe, James Kudelka, Jirí Kylián, Lar Lubovitch, Agnes de Mille, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Hans van Manen, Peter Martins, Mark Morris, Rudolf Nureyev, Marius Petipa, Roland Petit, Jerome Robbins, Paul Taylor, Antony Tudor, and Christopher Wheeldon.

In recent years, the Company’s touring program has become increasingly ambitious. In particular, the Company has developed strong relationships with a number of domestic performing arts centers including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., New York’s City Center, and Southern California’s Orange County Performing Arts Center. San Francisco Ballet has also enjoyed more frequent overseas tours, including engagements at prestigious venues such as the famed Opéra de Paris-Palais Garnier in Paris (2001); London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre (1999, 2004) and the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden (2002); Athens’s Megaron Theatre (2002); the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles (2003); and the Edinburgh International Festival at the Edinburgh Playhouse (2003).

In 2004, San Francisco Ballet returned to both Athens, as part of the Athens Festival at the Herod

Atticus Amphitheatre, and Sadler’s Wells Theatre. Notably, on the second day of the Company’s London engagement, Sadler’s Wells’ box office experienced the second highest single sales day in their history. Of the Company’s 2004 London engagement David Dougill of The Sunday Times wrote, “Helgi Tomasson’s outstanding artistic direction (now in its 20th year)…has transformed a regional American troupe into one of the world’s top ballet companies.”

In 2005, the Company returned to Paris, participating in a three-week inaugural engagement at Les étés de la Danse de Paris, a new outdoor dance festival held in the Marais district of Paris. As part of the engagement’s three-program repertory, San Francisco Ballet presented commissioned works by internationally acclaimed choreographers Lar Lubovitch, Paul Taylor, and Christopher Wheeldon.

In 2004, San Francisco Ballet was the first American ballet company to present the evening-length Sylvia, with all-new choreography by Mark Morris. The Company also performed a two-week Centennial Celebration to honor the 100th anniversary of the birth of Master Choreographer George Balanchine. In December 2004, San Francisco Ballet debuted Tomasson’s critically acclaimed new production of Nutcracker, hailed by The New York Times as “ . . . striking, elegant and beautiful.” In 2005, Tomasson was awarded the prestigious Lew Christensen Medal in honor of his 20th anniversary as artistic director of San Francisco Ballet, and that same year, the Company won its first Laurence Olivier Award for its 2004 fall season at Sadler’s Wells Theatre. In 2006, in a reader’s poll conducted by Dance Europe magazine, San Francisco Ballet was the first non-European company to be voted Company of the Year by the publication.

The San Francisco Ballet School, run by Tomasson and associate director Gloria Govrin, attracts students from around the world, training approximately 325 annually. In addition to filling the ranks of San Francisco Ballet, graduates have gone on to join distinguished ballet companies throughout the world.

San Francisco Ballet Profile continued



If you have ever played a musical instrument then you understand how difficult it can be. Imagine having to read the written music (the score), play your instrument, and watch the conductor (the leader of the orchestra) for the correct tempo (musical speed)—all at the same time! This is the job of the musicians you see in the orchestra pit at any San Francisco Ballet performance and it is key.

Watch the conductor at any ballet performance and you’ll see him keeping a close eye on both the dancers and the musicians so that the music can be more than just a beautiful accompaniment—it can help support the dancers. Keep in mind, the dancers are

moving to the sounds the orchestra makes. There are some moves that can only be danced at certain speeds. Jumping, for instance: a dancer, no matter how gifted, can only stay in the air so long, before gravity pulls him back to earth.

San Francisco Ballet was one of the first dance companies to have its own permanent body of musicians and it is fortunate to be one of the few that has its own full-time orchestra. Founded in October 1975 with 38 musicians, the San Francisco Performing Arts Orchestra served as the Ballet’s official orchestra. By 1978, when the company returned to New York for its first season since 1965, the critic Byron Belt hailed the Orchestra as “one of the best in the business.”

Each musician is independently trained, studying his or her instrument for years before even auditioning to be hired into the orchestra. A panel consisting of the music director, concertmaster and, sometimes, other musicians, chooses new orchestra members. Keep in mind that musicians can usually do their job for many, many years, so the hiring of new members does not happen a lot. The person auditioning plays their instrument from behind a curtain so they are evaluated on their talent alone. Once hired, the professional musician’s job will be to take the musical score home and work on their part in the orchestration. The orchestra gets together only a couple of times for rehearsal before playing for the dancers.

As important as the musicians are, a conductor is essential to the unity of an orchestra. The conductor leads the orchestra by moving his or her arms and hands to direct the musicians as they play the music, interpreting the music of the composer and deciding how the music should sound. He or she also must decide at what tempo (how fast or slow) they are going to play each piece—even more important for orchestras playing for dancers than just in concert since the right or wrong tempo can affect the dancers’ performance.

In June 2005 San Francisco Ballet announced the appointment of Martin West as San Francisco Ballet’s music director and principal conductor. At the time, San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson said, “We are confident that his in-depth knowledge of the company and orchestra, coupled with his extensive conducting experience, will complement the world-class artistry of San Francisco Ballet.”

WHAT DID YOU LEARN?1) What is a group of musicians called? 2) What is the written music called? 3) What is the leader of the orchestra called? 4) What is the speed of the music called? 5) What two elements make up an orchestra? 6) What do musicians do to get a job with an orchestra? 7) Who is the new music director?

Profile: The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra

The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra as seen from the orchestra pit



an Francisco Ballet School trains and prepares gifted students for a career with San Francisco Ballet and

other professional dance companies. The training program is designed to take stu-dents from their very first step through a comprehensive curriculum of classical ballet technique.

The School begins accepting students at age eight. Admission is by audition only, and children must meet very specific requirements. The ideal candidate is a healthy child with a straight and supple spine; legs that are well turned out from the hip joint; and correctly arched feet.

Children should also have an ear for music and an instinct for movement.

Students are placed in one of eight divisions accord-ing to age, experience, and ability. They follow a struc-tured sequence of training stages designed to increase their stamina, discipline, and technical skills in accordance with their age and physical development. The program includes

classes in technique, pointe work, pas de deux, men’s technique, contemporary and character dance, and music. Seminars on nutrition and related issues are offered throughout the school year. The curric-ulum is taught by a renowned faculty, emphasizing strong classical technique and a flow of movement that suggests a sense of energy, freedom, and joy. It’s a style that readily adapts to meet the demands of any choreographer or ballet

company, and any type of movement, classical and nonclassical (modern).

All classes are taught to live piano accompaniment, a crucial element in developing a child’s understanding of the relationship between music and move-ment. The youngest students attend ballet classes two or three days a week. From the fourth level on, students attend classes Monday through Friday. Students at the advanced levels begin their day at an hour when many academic schools are still in session, which means that in order to con-tinue their ballet studies, students need to make accommodation to complete their regular education.

The school’s newly developed Trainee Program for advanced students from the San Francisco Ballet School is designed to ease the transition from the student to a professional ballet dancer. This year there are 9 trainees who are 16-19 years old and come from all over the world to study at the school. The trainees rehearse and perform classical and contemporary dance pieces, from the repertory of San Fran-cisco Ballet.

Upon completion of studies at San Francisco Ballet School, students neither receive diplomas nor are they considered graduates. Ballet education is an ongoing process, one that continues throughout a dancer’s career. They develop self-motiva-tion, self-discipline, grace, physical adroit-ness, and an appreciation for the arts, which they carry throughout their lives. Even those students whose paths lead to non-dance careers gain immeasurably from having studied ballet.

Profile: The San Francisco Ballet School

“A school is the foundation and lifeblood of a company. Tomorrow’s stars are today’s students. Beauty does not come easily. Precision cannot be gained quickly. In the School we strengthen not only the legs and the arms, but the spirit of our students as well, for in ballet class they learn the reward of hard work.”

- Helgi Tomasson

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s a vital cultural contributor to our community, San Francisco Ballet has created The Center for Dance Education (CDE) with programs that reach

wide audiences from diverse populations throughout the Bay Area; approximately 35,000 people benefit from these programs each year. Though the Education Department is fairly new, there are long established free programs administered by San Francisco Ballet.

The highly popular pre-performance discussion program, Meet the Artist Interviews spotlight the specific San Francisco Ballet repertory program to be performed that evening/afternoon. These informative talks feature Company dancers, guest artists, choreographers and conductors in conversation with a moderator. Meet the Artist Interviews last 30 minutes and take place in the War Memorial Opera House one hour before performance time on selected evenings and Sunday matinees as well as opening nights of all repertory programs and are free to all ticket holders.

Dance scholar and educator Mary Wood, along with other guests, hosts the Pointes of View lecture series, which are salon-style interviews with San Francisco Ballet dancers, guest artists, choreographers, musicians, and designers. These hour-long informative discussions give attendees an in-depth look into the specific San Francisco Ballet repertory program to be performed that evening. These programs are free and open to the public and due to popular demand have relocated to the Green Room of the Veterans Building of the War Memorial.

The San Francisco Ballet Center for Dance Education is also proud to offer new and expanding programs that serve

children, youth, and families throughout the Bay Area, providing important avenues of access, education, and opportunities in dance.

San Francisco Ballet offers two Community Matinee

performances of selections from the current Spring Season. These matinees feature special educational behind-the- scenes lecture demonstrations. All Community Matinee performances are at the War Memorial Opera House. Discount tickets are offered to students and seniors, serving approximately 6,000 school age children, teachers, and seniors annually.

Family Connections is a program that brings dance workshops and lectures to venues such as the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch and the Asian Art Museum.

This program gives children and their parents a shared experience of dance and when available, free tickets to see the SF Ballet company in performance at the War Memorial Opera House are provided to participants.

The Dance In Schools and Communities (DISC) program is SF Ballet’s longest standing outreach program. This celebrated program reaches nearly 3,000 elementary school children each year, with 10-week dance residencies in 30 elementary schools in the San Francisco Unified School District. Dance In Schools and Communities is a multi-cultural dance and music program celebrating the historical, traditional and folkloric dance traditions of diverse cultures. DISC provides all participants complementary tickets to SF Ballet Community Matinees. Annually, DISC awards approximately 50 students with full one-year scholarships to the prestigious San Francisco Ballet School.

Select DISC students are also given the opportunity to participate in the annual Performance Project. During this multi-week program, children experience the process of creating and performing a dance/musical presentation. Performances take place at various venues throughout San Francisco.

Ballet 101 is a class for adult learners who are curious about the art of ballet and the world of dance. This adult education course is designed to give participants a hands-on, interactive learning experience. The program harnesses the talent and experience of SF Ballet employees and faculty who staff this program. The course consists of a series of lectures and experiential activities that build on the prior learning.

A new program of the CDE, the Community Circle Dance Camp is a week-long summer day camp that provides instruction in dance, music and art for children from all over San Francisco. Targeted towards inner-city youth, the camp is based in the Tenderloin neighborhood and is offered free of charge for children of low-income families. A wide variety of classes are offered to students, ranging from hip hop, salsa, to circus arts and visual arts, providing them a well rounded experience in arts education.

Online Educational Resources are designed to educate and excite users about SF Ballet and dance in general. Downloadable Study Guides enhance the theater-going experience for students attending Community Matinees, by providing information specific to the ballets being performed. Study Guides include articles, stories, music clips, and links to online resources.

Profile: The San Francisco Ballet Center for Dance Education

“We embrace the dancer in everyone, and are committed to sustaining the vital role the arts play in education.”

- Charles Chip McNeal

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harles Chip McNeal is a lecturer, choreographer, adjudicator, and teacher, conducting artist/teacher training, evaluating and developing educational programs throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Since 1980, McNeal has been teaching, developing, and implementing community outreach and education programs for San Francisco Ballet. He has consulted for: The National Endowment for the Arts, The Kennedy Center, The California Arts Council and the California State Department of Education and many others.

In 1994, McNeal received the distinguished Bernard Osher Cultural Award for public service in the field of arts education and was named the winner of the 2004 Levi Strauss & Co. Award For Outstanding Teachers and Administrators in the Arts.

His performing credits include stage work and films, with an extensive back-ground in musical theater. The many dance forms he has studied and performed include Afro-Cuban, jazz, tap, ballet, West African, and several folkloric styles including Israeli, Russian Folk Dance, and Scottish Country Dancing.

McNeal works as a freelance dance critic, and has produced four documentaries profiling arts programs and important issues in arts education, the latest of which is “A Cultural Exchange with South Africa Ballet Theatre,” which chronicles San Francisco Ballet’s outreach program in Africa.

Charles Chip McNealArts Educator and Director of EducationSan Francisco Ballet Center for Dance Education

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Answers

THE CHOREOGRAPHERS (P. 8)

1. England

2. Ballet Theatre

3. New York City Ballet, The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet

4. Twyla Tharp

5. Center Stage

RICHARD RODGERS (P. 10)

1. Lorenz Hart

2. On Your Toes, Pal Joey, Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, The Sound of Music (refer to list on p. 10)

3. 34

4. Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II, Stephen Sondheim, Sheldon Harnick, Martin Charnin

OLIVER SMITH (P. 14)

1. Yes, in Wisconsin

2. writing plays

3. Because he liked to paint and had worked in the theater

4. Saratoga

5. Theater, dance, opera, film

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ORCHESTRA (P. 31)

1. The score

2. Conductor

3. October 1975

4. 49-55 musicians

5. Three, the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra


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