The SFB principal gains strength and stamina on her kickboard. With Gennadi Nedvigin in Liam Scarlett’s “Hummingbird.” Photo by Erik Tomasson, Courtesy SFB. Frances Chung is a petite powerhouse. Exceptionally strong, the 5′ 4″ San Francisco Ballet principal has the technical chops to perform a sparkling Kitri and the endurance to lead the African-classical fusion of […]

Myles Thatcher in the studio. Photo by Erik Tomasson, Courtesy SFB.   A New Ballet Voice SAN FRANCISCO This season, budding dancemaker Myles Thatcher had the opportunity to be mentored by one of the world’s greatest classical choreographers. Alexei Ratmansky chose the San Francisco Ballet corps member for the Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative, […]

Dynamic and musical, the new SFB corps member already has leading roles. DeVivo in Myles Thatcher’s Stone and Steel. Photo by Erik Tomasson, Courtesy SFB. Few first-year corps members dance featured roles in ballets by Alexei Ratmansky and Liam Scarlett. But San Francisco Ballet’s 19-year-old Isabella DeVivo is the exception that proves the rule. In […]

Many productions of Nutcracker feature the traditional Act II dances that have been challenged as negative stereotypes. We asked three directors their opinions. Ronald Alexander, Program director of the professional training programs at Steps on Broadway and the director of Harlem School of the Arts Prep Program. The whole ballet tradition is inherently racist, so […]

The Mariinsky in Nijinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps. Photo by Natasha Razina, Courtesy Mariinsky.   One Hundred Years Later May 29 marks the centennial of Nijinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps. Dance artists pay tribute to the original provocateur around the world (probably without the riots, but one never knows):     Akram Khan Company in […]

30 Years of Dance in Philly A series bringing contemporary dance to Philadelphia for three decades, Dance Celebration—and its director Randy Swartz—has much to rejoice about. Over the years Celebration has presented more than 1,500 performances by 200 troupes. This month one company, Pilobolus, that appeared in Celebration’s first season and in many since, returns […]