San Francisco Ballet Meet the Artist Interviews

Assistant to the Artistic Director and Ballet Master, Ricardo Bustamante. Ricardo describes the rich history of the ballet, Coppélia, and its value in a company's repertoire, both from the audience's and the dancers' point of view. He discusses the place that character roles have in a dancer's career as well as in a company's repertoire, and elaborates on his own interpretation of the role of Dr. Coppélius.

Registrar Kirsten Gamb interviews Ballet Master and Principal Character Dancer, Anita Paciotti. Kirsten and Anita discuss some of Anita’s favorite memories in her early years after joining the company in 1968. She gives us an overview of the changes and evolution of the Company to present. Ms. Paciotti tells the audience about the role and process of restaging and rehearsing ballet works. Anita concludes with an overview of Balanchine’sCoppelia and the inclusion of San Francisco Ballet School’s students in the performance.

Registrar Kirsten Gamb interviews Soloist Elana Altman. Kirsten and Elana discuss her growing up at San Francisco Ballet School and the transition into the Company. Elana also talks about her participation in the LEAP program and her senior project on Nutrition as it pertains to Dance Injury. Elana shares with the audience her insight in her role in Artifact Suite and the improvisational work in Forsythe’s pieces.

Writer and Editor Cheryl Ossola interviews Principal Character Dancer Val Caniparoli. Val talks about creating the role of Jacob Schmidt in Helgi Tomasson’s Nanna’s Lied and other roles he’s performed in his 30-plus-year history at SF Ballet. An in-demand choreographer with more than 60 ballets in his repertory, he discusses his development and methods as a choreographer, including his work for the 75th-Anniversary Season’s New Works Festival, Ibsen’s House, and his latest piece for SF Ballet, Double Stop, created for this year’s Gala. He talks about how a ballet changes from rehearsal to performance, adapting his works to other companies, and upcoming projects, and he announces the launch of his website, valcaniparoli.org.

Jodie Gates, répétiteur for William Forsythe’s Artifact Suite, discussed her role in staging the work. She described the works of Forsythe as she has come to know them through performing with his company, and she stressed the characteristics of musicality and physicality that dominate his choreography.

Board Relations Manager Jennifer Kovacevich interviews Ballet Master and Assistant to the Artistic Director Bruce Sansom. Jennifer and Bruce discuss Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Winter Dreams. Bruce describes the creation of the piece and the intention of the choreographer to distill the characters and relationships of Anton Chekhov’s play The Three Sisters into a pure dance-drama. They discuss the unique challenges the ballet presents the dancers and touch on the use of Benesh Movement Notation in the staging of the work for SF Ballet.

Charles Chip Mc Neal, Director of Education interviews Costume Designer Mark Zappone Mr. Zappone discusses his past and present association with San Francisco Ballet. He explains how he approaches the collaborative process and how he must attend to the needs and desires of the choreographer and the dancers. He goes on to describe the design and construction process for costumes this season. Finally, Mr. Zappone describes his work with choreographer Yuri Possokhov on RakU, and goes into elaborate detail on the costumes he has designed for Helgi Tomasson’s World Premiere, Trio

Charles Chip Mc Neal, Director of Education interviews Technical Director Christopher Dennis. New San Francisco Ballet Technical Director Christopher Dennis discusses his strategic role as a bridge between the Artistic and Production departments. He gives insight into his dual role as Technical Director and lighting designer. Finally, Dennis relates the highs and lows of putting a production on the stage, both in SF and on tour.

Claire Sheridan of Saint Mary's College interviews Principal Dancer Sofiane Sylve. Sofiane shares her thoughts about the character of Myrtha in the ballet Giselle, and discusses how the magic of the stage supersedes the physical pain that can be part of a dancer's career. She also talks about how the world of ballet is portrayed in popular movies.

Board Relations Manager Jennifer Kovacevich interviews Soloist Courtney Elizabeth Jennifer and Courtney discuss Courtney’s roles in Sir Frederick Ashton’s Symphonic Variations and George Balanchine’s Symphony in C. Courtney describes the stylistic differences and respective challenges of each ballet, and also discusses the roles she’s looking forward to dancing later in the season.

Cecelia Beam, HR Manager and Adult Education Coordinator interviews Wendy Ellis Somes Wendy discusses how she became the owner and custodian of Sir Frederick Ashton’s Symphonic Variations and Cinderella . Having worked directly with Ashton, Wendy shares in-depth insights into the creation of the choreography, set and costume design of Symphonic Variations. She speaks about how the choreography challenges dancers in its demand for technical precision and meditative artistry.

Writer and Editor Cheryl Ossola interviews Corps de Ballet Dancer Daniel Baker Daniel, a native of Newcastle, Australia, explains how he got started in ballet and discusses his years as a student at the School of American Ballet and a dancer at Miami City Ballet. At San Francisco Ballet, he faced a new challenge in dancing the role of Hilarion in Giselle, and he talks about his experience in learning to do mime and character acting. Daniel also talks about his choreography (he received a New York Choreographic Institute Fellowship Grant in 2009) and how he was asked to dance in a Twyla Tharp ballet to be broadcast on TV’s Dance in America.

Mary Wood interviews Helgi Tomasson, Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi presented an overview of the 78th Season, pointing out highlights such as the world premiere ballets and San Francisco ballet premieres. He discussed the evening's ballet, Giselle, and how important he feels it is for the repertoire of the company, as well as for the growth of the ballerinas who portray the title role. He expressed his excitement over the upcoming company premiere of Coppelia, and what an important addition it is to the repertoire.

Planned Giving Manager Allison Groves interviews Principal Dancer Rubén Martín Cintas Rubén discusses interpreting the roles he dances, including that of Hilarion in Giselle, and how the Company prepares for a new season of ballet. He explains the preparation needed for the variety of dance styles presented by SF Ballet, and the difference between dancing with the Company and dancing as a guest artist at other ballet companies. He also recalls his early years of ballet training with his brothers and the years that he and his brother Moises Martín danced together.

Charles and Pascal discuss the work of ballet icon, George Balanchine and they talk about the multiple roles Pascal holds at San Francisco Ballet including teacher, coach, and Character.