Get ready NYC: we’re coming to New York’s Lincoln Center at the David H. Koch Theater from October 16 to 27, 2013!

From October 16-20, we’ll be presenting a variety of mixed-bill programs, with works by Edwaard Liang, Serge Lifar, Wayne McGregor, Mark Morris, Alexei Ratmansky, Helgi Tomasson, Yuri Possokhov, and Christopher Wheeldon.

From October 23-27, we’re unveiling the New York premiere of Wheeldon’s lavish new full-length ballet Cinderella — which completely sold out during its run here in San Francisco!

That line-up in full:

David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center, New York
October 16-27, 2013

Program A—October 16 & 19, 8 pm

Trio* (Tomasson)
Ghosts* (Wheeldon)
Borderlands* (McGregor)

Program B—October 19, 2 pm

Trio (Tomasson)
Ghosts (Wheeldon)
Suite en Blanc (Lifar)

Program C—October 17 & 18, 8 pm

From Foreign Lands* (Ratmansky)
Beaux* (Morris)
Classical Symphony* (Possokhov)
Symphonic Dances* (Liang)

Program D—October 20, 2 pm

Suite en Blanc (Lifar)
From Foreign Lands (Ratmansky)
Symphonic Dances (Liang)

Cinderella—October 23, 24, 25 & 26 at 8 pm; October 26 & 27 at 2 pm

Cinderella* (Wheeldon)

*New York Premiere

How to buy your tickets:

Two special pre-sale offers are available online, at Audience Rewards and beginning May 30, at Travelzoo. Tickets will be available to the general public starting June 10 by visiting our website or calling 212.496.0600.

Will you come to see us in NYC? Tell us in the comments!

Photo copyright Chris Hardy.

I was fifteen years old when I first saw San Francisco Ballet perform. The Company was performing at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and the program included one of Balanchine’s great works, Symphony in Three Movements. I was enthralled with the energy and strength of the dancers – so much style, elegance, and pizazz. I thought to myself, “That’s it, that’s the one. One day I’ll join that Company and perform a lead in that ballet.” As fate would have it, a few weeks ago, Symphony in Three Movements returned to the repertory of SF Ballet, and I danced the 1^st movement principal – originally created for Helgi. Now, after 10 years with the company, I’m saying farewell to San Francisco Ballet and will be joining Nederlands Dans Theater I in August.

Looking back on my time at SF Ballet, I have so many wonderful memories that will stay with me forever: The feeling that surges through me right before going out onto the stage in front of 2700 pairs of fixated eyes, the feeling of relief and fulfillment when the curtain falls, and the feeling of joy at watching my friends and colleagues do something they love. Those memories all create a beautiful collage in my mind of the incredible people who are the San Francisco Ballet.

When I think of leaving my artistic and creative home of ten years, I think of the stage and the vast house that we look out into every night. I think of the unbelievable crew and staff that enable us to perform at such a high level. I think of the pathways that I walk every day in the San Francisco Ballet building and the War Memorial Opera House – I know every nook and cranny of those two buildings, all the shortcuts, and all of the secret spots. I know where each employee sits and what they do to make the San Francisco Ballet tick. The dance aspect of SF Ballet is one amazing thing, but there is an entire network behind the scenes that enables us to so clearly and beautifully put our stamp on the world. I’ve come to know and love so many of these wonderful SF Ballet employees and will miss them just as much as I’ll miss the stage and the dancers.

It’s hard to believe that this journey began when I was seventeen years old. There was an “open call” audition for SF Ballet at the School of American Ballet. I flew to New York and showed up among 100 or so other male hopefuls, all there vying for one of the few spots available in the company. After a rigorous class, I was told to come to the front and speak with Helgi about the possibility of joining. When my plane landed back in North Carolina – where I would soon graduate from high school – there was a voicemail on my phone from Helgi offering me a job with the company. It’s a good thing that texts and emoticons weren’t around at the time, since I was so excited that he could have easily gotten a response from me in the form of hearts, moons, stars and rainbows.

After graduation, I moved to “sunny” San Francisco – as my father called it – in June of 2003. My father flew out with me and dropped me off to start my new life. He had always told me that San Francisco was always a perfect 70 degrees. I think he was thinking of San Diego. A little chilly, I settled into life on the west coast and immersed myself in the work of being a professional ballet dancer. I soon learned to layer.

Surrounded by the immaculate artists in the company, I was at the right place at the right time. I was a dancer, but not an artist – that comes with time. At first, the stage was an unfamiliar, cavernous atmosphere that seemed to suck the air right out of me. So big, so full of pressure and importance. I came very early to my performances and pored over the choreography beforehand to make sure I wouldn’t make any mistakes. I still made them… many mistakes in fact. But with each performance, I became more comfortable on stage and with the trusting guidance of various coaches, repetituers and teachers, I settled into a quiet confidence. I worked hard in the studio and rehearsals, and when performance time came, I affirmed that I knew what to do and that the rest would come naturally. I learned to accept that whatever happens during a performance, I would have to go with, adapt to, and transform with. The term “merde” took on a much more personal and comforting significance.

The world of SF Ballet that Helgi has so meticulously crafted is a place of hard work and commitment to the art of dance. SF Ballet is a beautifully oiled machine – high production values and a clean modern aesthetic paired with an uncompromising reverence to classical ballet. No other ballet company offers the kind of diversity in repertoire, dancers, choreographers, and touring. It’s truly unparalleled, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have grown up in this creative environment.

Performing Forsythe's in the middle, somewhat elevated (C) Erik Tomasson

I thank Helgi for seeing something in me and believing in me as an artist over the years and for supporting all of my endeavors. To the unbelievable dancers, I give thanks to have been among your gifts, to learn from you, and grow with you. To the entire SF Ballet family, I thank you for your dedication to this beautiful art form, your perseverance and your loving energy. To my parents, I thank them for letting me put college “on hold” and for believing in me. Lastly, to my incredible partner Scott, thank you for your unwavering love and support. I will miss SF Ballet with all my heart and will do my very best to carry these experiences with me with grace and humility.

Love,

Garen

If you’re an aspiring dancer, a current student of ballet, or just want to know more about life at the School and what we look for, send us your questions now. We’ll be posing the best to Patrick tomorrow on the SF Ballet Twitter feed, where he’ll be answering your queries in a 30-minute live chat!

Want to send Patrick a question? Tweet us at @sfballet with the hashtag #AskATeacher, or alternatively just post a comment below on this blog.

More about Patrick Armand:

© Chris Hardy

Born in Marseille, France, Patrick won the Prix de Lausanne in 1980, and  has danced with Ballet Theatre Français, English National Ballet, Boston Ballet, and performed as a guest artist with the Australian Ballet, the Bayerische Staatsballet, the Deutsche Oper Ballet (Berlin), the Kirov Ballet, and the Noriko Kobayashi Ballet Theatre.

Since 2002, he has been the director of the Studio Ballet Colette Armand in Marseille. He has also been a frequent guest teacher for schools and companies in Amsterdam, Florence, London, Naples, Tokyo, and Toronto. Since 2010, he has been the official male coach and teacher of the Prix de Lausanne. In 2010, he was appointed principal of the SF Ballet School Trainee Program and in September 2012, he assumed the position of SF Ballet School associate director.

I’ve been thinking back through all of the ballets, all of the rehearsals in which I’ve taken part…you know you’ve been somewhere a long time when you can’t remember which ballet was in what season! I wish I could tell my younger self some of the little tricks I’ve learned over the years: that Coban is the all-purpose duct tape of the ballet world (ring coverer, toe tape, ribbon saver, you name it); coconut water is an infinitely tastier electrolyte replacement than Pedialyte; acupuncture works wonders for pesky bursitis; and riding hard on the bike for fifteen minutes really helps you prep for a ballet with lots of jumping.

In other ways, though, it all seems like the most ephemeral moment in time–a vapor. The moments onstage in particular have that quality. This season, I realized how truly fleeting live performance is. The only thing that you can take with you as a dancer is the way that one performance made you feel.  What I feel is what I will remember.

Sure, I will never forget when my dressed nearly ripped off in The Little Mermaid or the show of Nutcracker that the company performed during a city-wide power outage.  But overwhelmingly, when I recall a particularly wonderful opening night or personal premiere, I can’t remember whether that tricky pirouette went well, or if I bobbled or slipped here or there. No… I remember the fresh air in Paris, swirling to smooth Dave Brubeck tunes with my soon-to-be husband; I remember feeling my blood pumping and the raw power of dancing with the entire corps de ballet in perfect unison at the end of Artifact Suite; I relive the sheer fun of singing “America” in West Side Story, running off breathless and nearly laughing at how much fun it was;  I recollect being moved to tears while dancing Serenade, the movement fit the music so perfectly; I remember how amazed I was the first time we did a curtain call for Onegin and saw the audience rise to their feet en masse. What a feeling. And those are just a few moments–I could go on about every ballet.  I just remember that ineffable high of moving to gorgeous live music, feeling really connected and in tune with the people I’m dancing with, and relishing the ability to feel so alive and in the moment.

Courtney Elizabeth rests during rehearsal in New York. (© Erik Tomasson)

This week will be my final week with San Francisco Ballet. It has been such a rewarding and fulfilling dream of a career, and I could not have asked for more. I’m so grateful for how much I’ve danced (as many as 55 out of 60 performances some seasons!), for where I’ve danced (it’s hard to compete with our Opera House, Kennedy and Lincoln Centers, and places like Tivoli and Odeon Herodes Atticus), and what I’ve danced–I’ve gotten to perform timeless classics, work one-on-one with living legends like Mark Morris and Paul Taylor, and collaborate on new works with some of the most influential, gifted choreographers of our time.

More than anything, though, I also feel incredibly blessed to have worked alongside such ridiculously talented artists–you are all an inspiration, both onstage and off. If I could say just one parting thing to my fellow dancers, it would be this: enjoy every moment.  Every second onstage is a gift, and though that moment in time will pass, you can choose to remember the incredible way it made you feel, and no one can ever take that away.

Courtney Elizabeth in Balanchine's Scotch Symphony (Choreography by George Balanchine, copyright The Balanchine Trust); (photo copyright Erik Tomasson)

Courtney’s last performance will be in Cinderella on May 12.

SF Ballet are one of three winners alongside Warrior Gateway and The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Thank you so much to everybody who helped us yesterday!

_____________

We need your help, ballet fans!

We could win a $1 million media grant to allow us to bring dance to a wider audience — if we can just get the biggest number of retweets for this tweet by tomorrow (May 10):

RT This photo by 5/10 2 help @sfballet win a $1 Million Media Grant from @pvblicf #SALT2013 @wublocked twitter.com/PvblicF/status…

— PVBLIC Foundation (@PvblicF) May 9, 2013

If you’re on Twitter, please help us out by retweeting (RT) this tweet by PVBLIC Foundation ASAP! Just visit https://twitter.com/PvblicF/status/332554572163850240 and hit ‘Retweet’. Let’s do this!

Elana Altman in Tomasson/Possokhov's Don Quixote (copyright Erik Tomasson)

“It’s been such an honor growing up on this Opera House stage. It is never easy to say goodbye, but the time has come. Thank you to the amazing audience for all your years of support!”

-Elana Altman, SF Ballet Soloist

Up next, Elana is attending a Master’s program in Italy at the University of Gastronomic Sciences. SF Ballet wishes her all the best!

Garen was born in Arlington, Virginia and trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts, Maryland Youth Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, and Boston Ballet School. He was named an apprentice in 2003, joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet a year later, and was promoted to soloist in 2008.

He’ll be saying farewell to SF Ballet after ten incredible years with the company, to join Netherlands Dans Theatre I in August. He says “excited for this incredible opportunity, but will dearly miss his colleagues and the wonderful patrons of SF Ballet.”

Garen Scribner rehearses Ratmansky's From Foreign Lands (© Erik Tomasson)

When did you realize you were serious about ballet?

“12 years old. I grew up 5 minutes from the Kennedy Center and saw everything that came through. I could spot the dancers as they came out of the theater and observed that they possessed a certain special quality, a lightness of being. They were stylish and worldly. I wanted to be like that.”

Your favorite performance you’ve ever seen onstage?

“Netherlands Dans Theater performing works by Kylian, Lightfoot/Leon and Crystal Pite. Pretty unbelievable pieces and some of the world’s finest dancers.”

Your favorite role to dance?

“The lead in Double Evil, in the middle somewhat elevated, anything by Christopher Wheeldon.”

The one thing you wished more people knew about dancing?

“We’re professional dancers. We’re not in school. Male dancers are not called “ballerinos.” And yes, we are allowed to eat.”

Your guilty pleasure?

“The Real Housewives. Sorry.” [So are we Garen, so are we — SFB]

Your dream job, if you weren’t a dancer?

“A piano man.”

Your favorite place in San Francisco?

“The stage of the War Memorial Opera House, surrounded by my incredible colleagues.”

Your favorite place in the world?

“With my friends and beautiful family.”

© Chris Hardy

The one song you can’t stop listening to right now?

“Recently, Vito Mazzeo and I have been rocking out to “Frozen” by Madonna in our dressing room… I’m also really into “Windows are Rolled Down” by Amos Lee and “Another Year” by Brolin.”

Your favorite movie?

“Best in Show.”

Your favorite book?

“The Giver.”

Your idea of a perfect day off?

“Run on Crissy Field with my dog and my boyfriend, workout, brunch, movie and a nice dinner. And some anti-inflammatory medication.”

Garen and Pilot the Dog.

 Stay tuned for a personal goodbye from Garen soon on this blog!

All the action from inside the specially-created party tent was captured by our Twitter mirror photo-booth, which snapped self-portraits of partygoers and posted the pictures directly to Twitter. Here’s our exclusive glimpse into the night!

As dress rehearsal came to a close…

Oh no you don’t… #Cinderella #rehearsal #SFBinsider #6hourstogo vine.co/v/bQpjbBz1Ivp

— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 3, 2013

    …the Ball tent came to life:  

Spotted at the #CinderellaBall: your fairytale tent awaits… twitter.com/sfballet/statu… — San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

    Before dinner, the War Memorial Opera House played host to cocktails:  

Spotted at #CinderellaBall: @wheeldondance himself! Toi Toi Toi #Cinderella twitter.com/sfballet/statu… — San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

Photo op: the #Cinderella Artistic team at #CinderellaBall #photopros vine.co/v/bQjHrjvEgXB — San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

And so to dinner:

Journey into our #CinderellaBall tent for dinner… vine.co/v/bQIWl3ULPKV

— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

Dinner at #CinderellaBall with @wheeldondance twitter.com/sfballet/statu…

— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

We also roamed backstage with a special handheld Twitter mirror, inviting dancers to create their own short Vine videos!

Snapped: one of these is our awesome Twitter mirror, one is a #Cinderella prop… BUT WHICH IS WHICH? twitter.com/sfballet/statu… — San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

@madisonkeesler has a message for you backstage! vine.co/v/bQIDu3xB3lM

— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

#Cinderella Fates #backstage… Watch out, they’ll get you. vine.co/v/bQTDnqz1aDw

— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

Emma R in make-up for #Cinderella… 15 mins til curtain! vine.co/v/bQIDzh3paev — San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

As the curtain fell on Cinderella to a standing ovation…

Rapturous curtain call for #Cinderella opening night! twitter.com/sfballet/statu… — San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

…the After Party began…

As #Cinderella draws to a close, the #CinderellaBall After Party begins… vine.co/v/bQTH9pOITJq

— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

…and our dancers hit the Twitter mirror photo-booth!
 

After Party at #CinderellaBall twitter.com/sfballet/statu… — San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

After Party at #CinderellaBall with @sassysidford twitter.com/sfballet/statu…

— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

After Party at #CinderellaBall twitter.com/sfballet/statu…

— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

After Party at #CinderellaBall with @balletrusse twitter.com/sfballet/statu…

— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

After Party at #CinderellaBall with @modernrubbish we getting down! twitter.com/sfballet/statu…

— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

We gave partygoers the handheld Vine mirror and asked them searching questions…

“What do you think of #Cinderella so far?” vine.co/v/bQTvq7MZgDi

— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

“What did you think of #Cinderella?” With @margaretkarl and @kateduhamelf3f vine.co/v/bQTQWPjdei1

— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

“What would you ask your fairy godmother for?” #CinderellaBall vine.co/v/bQtzKjQBwDa — San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

“How long did it take you to get ready for the #CinderellaBall vine.co/v/bQT06jhr23x — San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

But by the end of the night, everyone (including Cinderella and her Prince) needed a bite:

Tonight’s #Cinderella stars are hungry! @balletrusse and Joan vine.co/v/bQtrzQeXP1Y

— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 4, 2013

Were you there to use our Twitter mirror? See if you can spot yourself in our photo gallery on our Twitter feed!