Frances Chung, named a principal dancer in 2009, discusses the challenges and pleasures of performing the role of Kitri in the full-length Don Quixote for the first time this season. She reminisces about her arrival at SFB as a very young dancer, after winning prizes in the Prix de Lausanne and the Adeline Genée Awards. She speaks about how each role in many different styles as enabled her to grow as an artist.

Don Quixote is well-known as a rollicking comedy packed with virtuoso dance. We will hear from Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson and Technical Director Christopher Dennis about the process of bringing San Francisco Ballet new scenery

In this program, San Francisco Ballet performs three works by 20th century choreographic giant George Balanchine and focuses on the variety of his output, from the classic and traditional Divertimento #15, through a revival of the romantic Scotch Symphony. Ballet Scholar Carrie Gaiser Casey, Ph.D. with San Francisco Ballet’s Visiting Scholar Dr. Beth Genné, a historian of dance and of art at the University of Michigan and Dr. Stephen Hinton, Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Music at Stanford University, will explore and comment in depth on the role of modernism in art and music in the 1940s, focusing on the cutting-edge ballet The Four Temperaments, choreographed by Balanchine in 1946 and set to the music of Paul Hindemith.

This program features Symphonic Dances a world premier by emerging choreographer Edwaard Liang. Ballet Master Katita Waldo shares how a choreographer takes a work from conception to production. Also on the program is Helgi Tomasson’s The Fifth Season and Jerome Robbins’ Glass Pieces.

The company shows off its versatility performing the lush classicism of Rudolph Nureyev’s Raymonda Act III, the wrenching drama of Yuri Possokhov’s RAkU, and the contemporary creation of Ashley Page’s world premiere Guide to Strange Places. Assistant to the Artistic Director and Ballet Master Ricardo Bustamante and Soloist Elana Altman expand on the training and the discipline that allow San Francisco Ballet dancers to master this span of styles.

The interview begins with a look at Program 7, an all-Balanchine evening. Soloist Garen Scribner discusses his roles in The Four Temperaments and his work on Scotch Symphony as a student at North Carolina School of the Arts, where he trained with former New York City Ballet principal dancer Melissa Hayden. Garen also talks about his work with Get in Front, a cancer-prevention initiative, and the benefit performance coming up on June 6 at the Herbst Theater, as well as dancing in a L’Oreal commercial with Jennifer Lopez. The Q&A discussion touches on dance notation, Balanchine’s style and legacy, and more.

Pascal Molat discusses his diverse and challenging roles - ranging from the comedic role of Sancho Panza in Don Quixote to the sullen and pensive Poet in The Little Mermaid. Molat also talks about the importance of mentoring young dancers as he considers a post-dancing career as a Ballet Master or coach.

Professor Genné discusses the life of choreographer George Balanchine and his importance to the development of American Ballet. She describes his influences and inspirations as well as themes that emerge in his works before discussing in turn each of the ballets on the afternoon’s program: Divertimento No. 15, Scotch Symphony, and The Four Temperaments.

Principal Dancer Damian Smith discusses dancing Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet, including his approach to the character, learning to sword fight, and the nuances of working with various Romeos over the years. He talks at length about the 2010 tour to Australia he produced and directed, performing with a select handful of SF Ballet principal dancers. And he looks back on his 16 years with SF Ballet and what he’s learned about himself, why he dances, partnering, and making each performance fresh.

Daniel Deivison-Oliveira