Dr. Stephanie Jordan, considered one of the best researchers and thinkers on the relationship between dance and music, discusses her path to this unusual scholarly role and how we can better understand the ways in which the two arts forms intersect. Using examples from this season’s repertory, she discusses the musicality of choreographers Alexei Ratmansky, Mark Morris, and George Balanchine.

George Elvin has spent 37 years at San Francisco Ballet, working his way up from a dresser for Nutcracker. Now he manages the wardrobe department’s day-to-day operations of the, deals with the budget, oversees rentals, and handles the men’s costumes. In this interview, he talks about the costumes for Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella, the logistics and challenges of costuming a production, and what it takes to go on tour with hundreds of costumes.

San Francisco Ballet soloist Dores Andre dances three different roles in the ballet Cinderella: the Stepsister Clementine, the Spirit of Spring, and the Spanish Princess. In this interview, she discusses how she portrays each of these characters and comments on the technique of physical comedy. Dores also talks about her early training in Spain with Lola de Avila and describes what it’s like to work with choreographer Christopher Wheeldon.

Chris Dennis talks about the role of a production director and his work as a lighting designer, specifically for Helgi Tomasson’s new ballet Caprice. Chris gives insight into the design process of a new work and discusses the technical changes that are influencing the future of design. He was instrumental in the creation process of Cinderella – working closely with the design team in both San Francisco Ballet and Amsterdam.

The melodic, atmospheric Prokofiev score that drives Cinderella is the subject of this discussion, led by SF Ballet Music Director and Principal Conductor Martin West, accompanied by Company Pianist Michael McGraw and hosted by dance educator Mary Wood.

Principal dancer Sarah Van Patten spoke about learning the lead role of Cinderella when choreographer Christopher Wheeldon created the work in 2012-13. Her long-time relationship with Wheeldon, appearing in virtually all of his works in the SF Ballet repertoire, added a special ease and depth to the process, and she elaborated on the style of movement to be expected from him. She compared dancing Cinderella to other principal roles she has interpreted, including her favorite, Juliet.

Music Director and Principal Conductor Martin West introduces "Meet the Music and Musicians" - an exploration of Stravinsky's Firebird with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.

Lorena Feijoo discusses her experiences in creating a principal role in Val Caniparoli’s world premiere Tears, including a collaborative rehearsal process that included improvisation and the challenges of working with Steve Reich’s minimalist music. Also discussed: the value of long-term working relationships between dancers and choreographers and Feijoo’s transition back to performing after the birth of her daughter.

During the run of Programs 2 and 3, Pascal Molat discusses dancing in Alexei Ratmansky’s From Foreign Lands, Wayne McGregor’s Borderlands, and Yuri Possohkov’s Firebird. Molat, who created roles in all three ballets, talks about the creative processes of these three very different choreographers, and his own approach to learning and refining a role—plus how he handles that big, slippery-looking egg in Firebird with Kaschei’s inches-long fingernails.