San Francisco Ballet’s Opening Night Gala
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Photo by Drew Altizer
Raindrops did not deter ballet lovers who donned dazzling ball gowns to attend San Francisco Ballet’s 85th repertory season opening-night gala on Sunday, January 14.
After cocktails and an elegant black-tie dinner under the baroque dome of City Hall, guests with umbrellas aloft dashed through the storm to the War Memorial Opera House for a program that highlighted the ballet company’s dramatic and adventurous upcoming season. The evening included the ballet school’s student performances, and the opportunity for all company dancers to perform.
Stephanie Marver’s tribute to the coming season was a pair of dramatic Boucheron bracelets depicting a black and a white swan, crafted in diamonds and sapphires at Boucheron’s Paris atelier. “It’s my homage to San Francisco Ballet and a reflection of my admiration for ballet dancers and choreographers,” said Marver.
The gala program, conceived by SF Ballet’s artistic director and principal choreographer Helgi Tomasson, was designed as a showcase of the new season, with nine classical and contemporary works, and three San Francisco Ballet premieres.
A surprise addition to the gala evening’s after party was the VIP Lounge—featuring DJ Will Magid and a sushi chef—where benefactors would meet SF Ballet dancers.
Also dancing up a storm were Charlote Shulz, Barbara Brown, Komal Shah, O.J. Shansby, Carolyn Chang and Akiko Yamazaki (a longtime ballet patron), as well as star dancers Yuan Yuan Tan and Mathilde Froustey.
San Francisco Ballet’s 2018 repertory season includes the revival of Tomasson’s The Sleeping Beauty and the return of Liam Scarlett’s Frankenstein, along with Justin Peck’s Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes. A snippet of John Neumeier’s Nijinsky by guest company The National Ballet of Canada was presented, and a tribute to Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein (Program 5) entitled Robbins: Ballet & Broadway.
Guests at the gala were buzzing about “Unbound,” a festival of 12 world premieres by some of the most innovative and forward-thinking choreographers working today. Tomasson commented that this unique festival, taking place in April and May, would offer a glimpse of the future of ballet as an art form.
The San Francisco Ballet season opens with The Sleeping Beauty, from January 23 through February 4.
Written by Diane Dorrans Saeks
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