"San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. San Francisco Ballet was the first professional ballet company in the United States. It is among the world's leading dance companies, presenting more than 100 performances annually, with a repertoire that spans both classical and contemporary ballet. Along with American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet has been described"
"Smuin Ballet Smuin Contemporary Ballet, formerly known as Smuin Ballet, is a touring ballet company based in San Francisco, California. Smuin Ballet performs its season in multiple venues: the Dean Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts in Mountain View, the Sunset Center in Carmel, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and at The Palace of Fine Arts Theater in San Francisco. Michael Smuin, a former dancer, choreographer and co-artistic director with the San Francisco Ballet and an award-winning choreographer, founded Smuin Contemporary Ballet in 1994. Then known as Smuin Ballet, the ""American"
"both classical and contemporary ballet. Along with American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet has been described as part of the ""triumvirate of great classical companies defining the American style on the world stage today."" With its origins in turn-of-the-century traveling companies, the San Francisco ballet routinely rented practice studios. In the late 1970s, the company was housed in a renovated parking garage on 18th Avenue, San Francisco, in a downstairs studio with ceilings so low that the dancers could not practice lifts for fear of hitting the beams. On the east coast, ballet companies"
"newly appointed CEO Alan Hineline, the company was paying off debt and attempting to update its business model to be more sustainable. The fundraising campaign was successful, but mounting debt surpassed it. Hineline resigned. In September 2015, the company again changed its name to Silicon Valley Ballet in an ""effort to erase the passed and incorporate the greater Silicon Valley area."" As Silicon Valley Ballet, the company went on a multi-week tour to Spain mid-January to mid-February 2016. They performed the ""Director's Choice"" mixed repertoire program. Upon arriving home to San Jose after a disastrous financial and artistic tour, the"
"Ballet San Jose Ballet San Jose was a ballet company based in San Jose, California, US, operating from 1985 to 2016. The company was founded in 1985 as the ""San Jose Cleveland Ballet,"" a co-venture with the ten-year-old Cleveland Ballet which offered to the dancers added performing exposure, and each city a ballet company for a moderate, shared investment. In 2000, the Cleveland Ballet ceased operations, and over half the dancers, the headquarters, and artistic director/choreographer Dennis Nahat moved to San Jose to continue operations there. The company was originally known as Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, but in July"
"Francisco Ballet. Harold Christensen continued as director of the newly named San Francisco Ballet School until his retirement in 1975. Under Harold Christensen, a nonprofessional curriculum flourished alongside its professional training, with programs targeted at students from very young children to working adults. However, the School became and remained a strictly classical academy for the 33 years that Christensen served as its head. This was particularly advantageous in light of the many directorial changes at SF Ballet, as school students who became company members were able to provide valuable continuity in the face of multiple directorial changes. The Ford Foundation"
"Opera Ballet (SFOB) under Bolm's direction as the ballet master. On June 2, 1933, even before he produces dances for operas, SFOB begins presenting independent, all-dance programs. Bolm continued to work in California and New York through 1947. He was one of the five choreographers involved in the 1940 founding season for New York's Ballet Theatre. His last appearance on stage was in 1943, as the Moor in Petrushka at the Hollywood Bowl with the Ballet Theatre. His last choreography was for San Francisco Ballet (the successor to SFOB): ""Mephisto"" in 1947, from Mephisto Waltzes by Franz Liszt (revived in"
"the job of director of the San Francisco Ballet School. The San Francisco Ballet Guild was also formed as a support organization for San Francisco Ballet. The year 1951 marked a significant shift in administration of San Francisco Ballet. Lew Christensen—""premier danseur"" at the time—partnered with his brother Willam Christensen as co-directors. Then in 1952, Lew Christensen took over as sole director. Under his guidance, San Francisco Ballet began to travel and establish itself as a significant American ballet company. Until 1956, San Francisco Ballet had remained on the West Coast, but Christensen took the company to the Jacob's Pillow"
"Shanghai Ballet Company The Shanghai Ballet Company is the state ballet company for Shanghai. This regional dance troupe organized in 1966 (though they did not settle on the name ""Shanghai Ballet"" until 1979). They perform a blend of traditional and Western dance styles and performance. The troupe is particularly well known for their performances of ""The White Haired Girl"". The troupe tours internationally. During the 1977 and the 1984 tours, members of the troupe defected, one in the US and one in Canada. The Shanghai Ballet was formally renamed in 1979 at the base of ""The White-haired Girl"" performing team,"
"2006 shortened its name to simply Ballet San Jose. In 2003 the company gained benefactor and current chairman of the board John Fry, co-founder of Fry's Electronics.with a 1 million dollar contribution. Fry helped the company survive the dot-com crash and continued to support the company until he closed it in 2016. Over the years Fry became personally involved and Ballet San Jose faced increasing Fry's support, prompting Karen Loewenstern, founding board chair of Cleveland San Jose Ballet to say ""...he bought himself a ballet company."" By 2007, still lead by founding artistic director, Dennis Nahat, there was a resident"
"Ski ballet Ski ballet, simply know as Ballet in the ski world, is just that, ballet on skis. It is very similar to figure skating, combining spins, jumps, and flips in a two minute routine choreographed to music. It was part of the professional freestyle skiing tours of the seventies and eighties and then an official F.I.S and Olympic discipline until the year 2000. It became known as Acroski in the nineties in an effort to legitimize its place among the competitive ski comuntity, especially to the F.I.S. It is no longer a part of competitive freestyle skiing. Ski ballet"
"the broad success of productions such as 1977's ""Romeo and Juliet"", which aired on the PBS series ""Great Performances: Dance in America"" in 1978. This televised performance marked the first time that a West Coast ballet company, and a full-length ballet, was shown on the PBS TV series. PBS televised three more of Smuin's SF Ballet productions, and his productions of ""The Tempest"" and ""A Song for Dead Warriors"" went on to win Emmy Awards. Smuin led the company until 1985. Helgi Tomasson's 1985 arrival as artistic director marked the beginning of a new era for San Francisco Ballet. Under"
"Willam Christensen Willam Farr Christensen (August 27, 1902 – October 14, 2001) was an American ballet dancer, choreographer and founder of the San Francisco Ballet and Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is known for bringing the complete version of the Russian ballet ""The Nutcracker"" to the United States, as well as staging the first American performances of ""Swan Lake"" and ""Coppélia"". Christensen's ""Nutcracker"" was first staged in 1944 in San Francisco, where the ballet remains an annual tradition, though the production now staged there is not necessarily the Christensen version. Christensen is often credited with helping to"
"San Francisco Ballet ballerina Nancy Johnson as its head. In 1993, Lola de Avila was appointed to lead the School (Associate Director, SF Ballet School), and she held that position until 1999. When de Avila left, Gloria Govrin stepped into the position. De Avila returned in 2006 to serve as associate director until 2012. Patrick Armand was appointed associate director of the San Francisco Ballet School in September 2012, after serving for two years as principal of the SF Ballet School Trainee Program. Notable alumni of the school include: San Francisco Ballet School San Francisco Ballet School was founded in"
"written as Tchaykowsky, Tchajkowskij, Czajkowski, Chikovsky, and Tschaikovski, among numerous other variations. The New York City Ballet and The George Balanchine Trust choose to use Tschaikovsky as their preferred spelling. Their reasoning is sound: that is how the composer spelled his name when he visited New York in 1891. Described by the New York City Ballet as ""an eight-minute display of ballet bravura and technique,"" ""Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux"" opens with an expectant, lyrical ""entrée"", as the dancers discover each other on stage, join hands, and take an opening pose. This leads into a softly romantic ""grand adage"" of balances,"
"See glossary of ballet. A ballet, a work, consists of the choreography and music for a ballet production. Ballets are choreographed and performed by trained ballet dancers. Traditional classical ballets are usually performed with classical music accompaniment and use elaborate costumes and staging, whereas modern ballets, such as the neoclassical works of American choreographer George Balanchine, often are performed in simple costumes (e.g., leotards and tights) and without the use of elaborate sets or scenery. Ballet is a French word which had its origin in Italian ""balletto"", a diminutive of ""ballo"" (dance) which comes from Latin ""ballo"", ""ballare"", meaning ""to"
"Ballo The ballo was an Italian dance form during the fifteenth century, most noted for its frequent changes of tempo and meter. The name ""ballo"" has its origin in Latin ""ballō"", ""ballāre"", meaning ""to dance"", which in turn comes from the Greek ""βαλλίζω"" (""ballizō""), ""to dance, to jump about"". In Greece there is the Greek dance named Ballos. During the Quattrocento ""balli"" were written by various composers, primarily the dance masters Domenico da Piacenza and Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro who also wrote treatises including choreographies to their works. Domenico wrote of the balli as dealing with four ""misure"": The Renaissance"
"Christensen are the closest thing the United States has to a European-style ""ballet dynasty"". Christensen was raised in Brigham City, Utah and was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Willam Christensen Willam Farr Christensen (August 27, 1902 – October 14, 2001) was an American ballet dancer, choreographer and founder of the San Francisco Ballet and Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is known for bringing the complete version of the Russian ballet ""The Nutcracker"" to the United States, as well as staging the first American performances of ""Swan Lake"" and ""Coppélia"". Christensen's ""Nutcracker"""
"Dance in California California is rich in dance history. In classical ballet, California is home to the oldest professional ballet company in the United States. The San Francisco Ballet, founded as the San Francisco Opera Ballet in 1933, predates both American Ballet Theater and New York City ballet. Barbara Crockett founded the Sacramento Ballet in 1954 and hosted the first festival for the Pacific Western Region of Regional Dance America in 1966. In modern dance, Ruth St. Denis established her second school in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles in 1940 while Lester Horton created the Horton Dance Group in"
"Dance in California California is rich in dance history. In classical ballet, California is home to the oldest professional ballet company in the United States. The San Francisco Ballet, founded as the San Francisco Opera Ballet in 1933, predates both American Ballet Theater and New York City ballet. Barbara Crockett founded the Sacramento Ballet in 1954 and hosted the first festival for the Pacific Western Region of Regional Dance America in 1966. In modern dance, Ruth St. Denis established her second school in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles in 1940 while Lester Horton created the Horton Dance Group in"
"turn-of-the-century cabaret idiom after a brief ""serious"" period that had produced the cantata ""Socrate"" (1918) and the piano ""Nocturnes"" (1919). The suite consists of three dances (march, waltz, can-can) and an instrumental ritornello: Early sketches show that Satie originally planned ""La belle"" as ""a musical tour through three periods of Parisian popular entertainment"" under the following headings: ""1900: Marche pour une Grande Cocotte""; ""1910: Elégance du Cirque (Ecuyère)""; and ""1920: Cancan Moderne."" He soon dropped the chronological scheme and proceeded to delve into his own musical past, giving the dances quirky titles that recalled his humoristic piano pieces of the"
"and other leading companies around the world. Helgi Tómasson (dancer) Helgi Tomasson (born October 8, 1942) is artistic director and principal choreographer for San Francisco Ballet, and a former professional ballet dancer. Since assuming leadership of San Francisco Ballet, he has helped transform the company from a respected regional troupe to one of the world's great classical ballet companies. He is originally from Iceland. Tomasson was born in Vestmannaeyjar Iceland to Tómas Bergur Snorrason and Dagmar Helgadóttir. He began his ballet training in Reykjavik with a local teacher and went on to join the National Theatre’s affiliated school, which at"
"Avalon Ballroom The Avalon Ballroom was a music venue in the Polk Gulch neighborhood of San Francisco, California, at 1244 Sutter Street (or 1268 Sutter, depending on the entrance). The space operated from 1966 to 1969, at the height of the counterculture movement. The building that housed the Avalon Ballroom was built in 1911 and was originally called the Colin Traver Academy of Dance. The Avalon Ballroom was founded by Robert E. Cohen, impresario Chet Helms and his music production company, Family Dog Productions, which had offices on Van Ness. Bands were frequently booked to perform at the Avalon on"
"to the evolution of ballet technique. In 1940, San Francisco Ballet became the first American company to stage a complete production of ""Swan Lake"". The enormously successful production starred Lew Christensen as Prince Siegfried, Jacqueline Martin as Odette, and Janet Reed as Odile. Willam Christensen based his choreography on the Petipa-Ivanov production, turning to San Francisco's large population of Russian émigrés, headed by Princess and Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia, to help him ensure that the production succeeded in its goal of preserving Russian culture in San Francisco. Several notable productions have diverged from the original and its 1895 revival:"
"2013 left the Paris Opera Ballet in July 2013 and joined the San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer because there was no chance for her becoming eventually Danseuse étoile (principal dancer) in this company. In November 2014 Benjamin Millepied, a former principal dancer of the New York City Ballet and French, took over the direction of the company and promised a change: ""They asked for a change and they will get a change."" When Benjamin Millepied nominated for the first (and only) time a ""Danseuse étoile"", Laura Hecquet was chosen. Laura Hecquet and Mathilde Froustey were described in the"
"Harkness Ballet The Harkness Ballet (1964–1975) was a New York ballet company named after its founder Rebekah Harkness. Ms. Harkness inherited her husband's fortune in Standard Oil holdings and was a dance lover. Ms. Harkness funded Joffrey Ballet, but when they refused to rename the company in her honour, she withdrew funding and hired most of the Joffery dancers for her new company. Joffery Ballet later moved to Chicago, and continues to function. Harkness Ballet, established in 1964, gave its debut performance in Cannes in 1965, with George Skibine as director, Marjorie Tallchief as ballerina and a repertory featuring work"
"Ballet Theatre (1937), The Royal Winnipeg Ballet (1939), The Australian Ballet (1940), the New York City Ballet (1948), the National Ballet of Canada (1951), and the National Ballet Academy and Trust of India (2002). In the 20th century styles of ballet continued to develop and strongly influence broader concert dance, for example, in the United States choreographer George Balanchine developed what is now known as neoclassical ballet, subsequent developments have included contemporary ballet and post-structural ballet, for example seen in the work of William Forsythe in Germany. The etymology of the word ""ballet"" reflects its history. The word ""ballet"" comes"
"San Francisco Ballet Building The San Francisco Ballet Building, located in San Francisco, California, was designed by architect Beverly Willis and completed in 1984. ""The New York Times"" identified it as ""the first building in the United States to be designed and constructed exclusively for the use of a major ballet company."" The San Francisco Ballet Building is located within the Civic Center, San Francisco. Beverly Willis’s design would later serve as a model for the design of future American ballet companies and schools. Upon completion, the San Francisco Ballet Building became a landmark achievement in the ballet world. ""The"
"for some time and decided to make Apollo, leader of the muses, its central figure while reducing the number of muses from nine to three. They were Terpsichore, personifying the rhythm of poetry and the eloquence of gesture as embodied in the dance; Calliope, combining poetry and rhythm; and Polyhymnia, representing mime. Stravinsky explained the original title ""Apollon Musagète"" to mean ""Apollo, Leader of the Muses"". Stravinsky wrote for a homogeneous ensemble of bowed string instruments, substituting contrasts in dynamics for the contrasts in timbre he employed in ""Pulcinella"". The ballet takes its inspiration from the grand tradition of French"
"Monte-Carlo"" name. The jury decided that de Basil owned Massine's ballets created between 1932 and 1937, but not those created before 1932. It also ruled that both successor companies could use the name ""Ballet Russe"" — but only Massine and Blum's company could be called ""Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo"". Col. de Basil renamed his company again, calling it the ""Covent Garden Russian Ballet"" and bringing on Michel Fokine as resident choreographer. Sol Hurok ended up managing Blum and Massine's company as well. The Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo and the Original Ballet Russe often performed near each other. Under its new"
"and Juliet"" (1994); ""Giselle"" (1999); ""Don Quixote"", co-staged with former principal dancer and current choreographer in residence Yuri Possokhov (2003); and ""Nutcracker"" (2004). Tomasson's ""Nutcracker"", set in San Francisco during the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, is notable for being the only uniquely San Francisco ""Nutcracker"". It features sets (including ""a backdrop of San Francisco's Victorian houses known as 'painted ladies) and costumes created by, respectively, Michael Yeargan and Martin Pakledinaz, both repeat Tony Award-winning designers. Upon its premiere, ""The New York Times"" called Tomasson's ""Nutcracker"" ""striking, elegant and beautiful"". Today, San Francisco Ballet presents approximately 100 performances each year."
"Tomasson's direction, San Francisco Ballet has been recognized as one of the most innovative ballet companies in the world due to its early and frequent commissioning of new works by aspiring choreographers around the globe, the breadth of its repertory—spanning classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and contemporary ballet—and the diversity of its company members. The ""Financial Times"" noted in 2012, ""Tomasson ... helped shatter the distinction between the US top companies and so-called 'regional companies. Over a span of more than 25 years, Tomasson has staged acclaimed full-length productions of classics including ""Swan Lake"" (1988, 2009); ""The Sleeping Beauty"" (1990); ""Romeo"
"to the company founded by Sergei Diaghilev and active during his lifetime. (In some publicity the company was advertised as ""Les Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghileff."") In English, the company is now commonly referred to as ""the Ballets Russes"" (plural, without italics), although in the early part of the 20th century, it was sometimes referred to as “The Russian Ballet” or “Diaghilev’s Russian Ballet.” To add to the confusion, some publicity material spelled the name in the singular. The names “Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo” and “The Original Ballet Russe” (using the singular) refer to companies that formed after Diaghilev's"