New Shows at The SF Ballet

San Francisco

We're so excited about the Opening of 'Space Between' and 'Little Mermaid' ballet programs at the San Francisco Ballet. We've had a little chat with the SF ballet team to find out how it all started and what we can expect from this season. Read our interview below.

1. We have many locals in SF who had never visited SF Ballet before. Why should they visit? SF Ballet is one of the world’s premier dance institutions. Founded in 1933, the Company has a vibrant history (it was the first in the country to present the full-length Nutcracker!) and is determined to showcase the best of the art form, from classical ballet (think tutus and tiaras) to cutting-edge works (like Björk Ballet). The Company is supported by a diverse community of people, including devout dance lovers and those completely new to the art form! SF Ballet’s dancers hail from all around the world. The glamorous War Memorial Opera House—a San Francisco landmark—is where they perform. 2. SF Ballet has just introduced the World Premiere of Liam Scarlett's Die Toteninsel. Tell us more about this show. Liam Scarlett, whose full-length work Frankenstein was SF Ballet’s 2017 sell-out hit, returns to the company for the world premiere of Die Toteninsel, set to Rachmaninoff’s brooding tone poem The Isle of the Dead. “I’m always first drawn to the music,” Scarlett says; Die Toteninsel is his second ballet choreographed to Rachmaninoff’s large-scale symphonic work (his first was in 2017 for Symphonic Dances, created for The Royal Ballet, where he is artist in residence). Rachmaninoff’s score suggests the rowing of oars and slow-building waves, and an irregular time signature contributes to a sense of uneasiness. “Finding steps to go into five counts switches on a different way of thinking,” says Scarlett. “But once you get that rhythm, it sets [the choreographic process] up from the beginning.” 3. What is Björk Ballet and how does it relate to Björk herself? Commissioned for SF Ballet’s 2018 Unbound: A Festival of New Works, Arthur Pita’s Björk Ballet celebrates the theatricality of Björk and her music, setting songs spanning her discography, from 1993’s Debut to Utopia from 2017. Pita’s choreography for twenty-two total dancers mixes kicks, lunges, and squats with classically inspired technique, and features a number of striking dances, including an octet set to Björk’s shimmering, bell-like “Frosti,” which Pita thinks should “look like a ballerina music box on acid.” Marco Morante’s costuming includes metallic, fringed body suits with geometric piping, and Pita himself created additional visual décor, including eruptions of tinsel meant to resemble tall grasses and a “mirrored” floor. Called a “cacophony of glamour, craziness and fairytale” by The Guardian, Björk Ballet is a sensational experience for dancers and audiences alike. 4. What was the inspiration behind Die Toteninsel? Rachmaninoff’s work was itself inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s ubiquitous painting The Isle of the Dead from 1883, which depicts a small sea craft approaching an ominous, rocky islet. 5. Which dates and times would you recommend for visitors? Here are upcoming dates for Program 07 'Little Mermaid': Friday, April 19, 2019 at 8:00 pm Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 2:00 pm Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 8:00 pm Tuesday, April 23, 2019 at 7:30 pm Wednesday, April 24, 2019 at 7:30 pm and more. 6. When attending a show at SF Ballet, do guests have a chance to enjoy drinks in the same building? Yes! SF Ballet’s vendor is Global Gourmet, and they serve wine, champagne, cocktails, and food on-site!

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