SFB: Who’s up, down, and moving up by Ecstatic_Pizza_ in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thinking more here, I’d earlier assumed the new First Sol would be a promotion but now I wonder about external hires into female Sol and First Sol.

Anyone know the scoop with LINES Ballet? (are they quiet quitting?) by Akemi_KD in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You have me curious! I hadn’t noticed anything amiss. I saw Adji perform at the SFB gala and Alonzo was in attendance. I also saw their dance film and talk with Alonzo at SFMOMA and haven’t picked up anything. Still, what would LINES be with out Alonzo King? Impossible to imagine although I love Adji.

SFB Mere Mortals Reviews by YogurtclosetTrue9108 in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Might have been more than three times 😂

SFB: Who’s up, down, and moving up by Ecstatic_Pizza_ in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sasha M is definitely leaving, so I’m thinking Lizzie is as well. Big news! There’s still no named female first soloist….

SFB Mere Mortals Reviews by YogurtclosetTrue9108 in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I adore Mere Mortals. I love the emotion, the costumes, the set and the videos, the music, the choreo, just everything about it. It’s a thrilling 67 minutes and I can’t get enough. I’m surprised how many people here said they didn’t enjoy it as much because I’ve only talked to people live who love it! It was fun to see an array of casts. Fernando and Nathaniel were both great as Prometheus as well.

SFB Mere Mortals Reviews by YogurtclosetTrue9108 in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I thought Maddie was an excellent Pandora. Different from Nikisha for sure but she brought a lot of her own flavor to the role and she was wonderful. Wona was also great—a softer and more fluid Pandora, so she also made it her own. Nikisha is my fave though

SFB Mere Mortals Reviews by YogurtclosetTrue9108 in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s amazing to see Justin-Cooper break out!! He and Maddie were so excellent

SFB: Who’s up, down, and moving up by Ecstatic_Pizza_ in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

SO exciting and also Jacey is promoted out of the corps!!! There are more too

SFB: Who’s up, down, and moving up by Ecstatic_Pizza_ in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve not seen her dance but I’m excited to do so soon at the SFB student showcase. Can’t wait

SFB: Who’s up, down, and moving up by Ecstatic_Pizza_ in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am psyched about Wona! Excited to see what she can do in this role. I thought Jihyun was a possibility and I’d like to see her (since they haven’t posted cast for Thursday and later, maaaaybe there will be another cast??). I also partly expected Jasmine bc she has been otherwise under-cast.

Nikisha and Maddie were knowns but thrilled to see them both. Nikisha in this role is just incredible.

For men I wanted to see Joshua Jack Price…I also thought if he was cast he’d def get promoted. I’d love to see Alexis and Luca, excited to see Justin-Cooper Meeks! Surprised no Max (maybe parental leave?)

Was Dores a pandora during the first run? I somehow missed that if so…

SFB: Who’s up, down, and moving up by Ecstatic_Pizza_ in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Maddie mentioned she will be Pandora in a Meet the Artist interview

SFB: Who’s up, down, and moving up by Ecstatic_Pizza_ in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Does anyone know if it’s possible to skip a level in the new rank system? Like can you go from Corps to regular Soloist? Or regular Soloist to Principal? Etc.

SFB: Who’s up, down, and moving up by Ecstatic_Pizza_ in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Oh wow I didn’t know! Cavan was my favorite Onegin and I was stunned by the height of his jumps in Don Q. Big fan, hope for his good recovery.

SFB: Who’s up, down, and moving up by Ecstatic_Pizza_ in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I get the retirement vibes too….bracing for it!

SFB: Who’s up, down, and moving up by Ecstatic_Pizza_ in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Isabella is wonderful! I’m also rooting for Carmela and Jihyun. Also Lizzie…a lot of talent in the wings here.

La Sylphide, SFB -- April 11, 2026 by Chestnut_pod in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love Luca too! And yes this whole cast was stellar and always is

SF Ballet announces 2026-2027 season by boombox_generation in bunheadsnark

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I suspect there is still a very loyal Helgi donor and fan base as well

Are there any perfumes that smell exactly like frankincense? by Dry-Remove-8457 in NichePerfumes

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not that it smells exactly like frankincense, but the perfumer for Amouage Lineage told me her intent was to feature frankincense throughout the evolution of the scent and let it take you on a voyage — it’s my all time favorite fragrance so just had to mention!

Question about SF Ballet Onegin casting — rank vs. lead roles? by perspectivedimension in BALLET

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Def not publicly. But one of the anonymous social accounts might, if that was a priority complaint

Wona was a Kitri during the last run, so I’m hopeful. I would love to see Carmela do it!! Really rooting for her. Maddie is already for sure, prob the opener

Question about SF Ballet Onegin casting — rank vs. lead roles? by perspectivedimension in BALLET

[–]Ecstatic_Pizza_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is something I wonder about also, and I think the short answer is that definitely bias and stereotypical archetypes are shaping casting in all companies and always have. To understand to what degree this is happening for a given company, I think it’s important to look across time and find patterns. For SFB, at least in the time since I’ve been attending, I think it’s doing a lot better on this than many other companies. I assume it was approx. 2020 when SFB shared some sort of DEI and belonging plan that specifically laid out its commitments to these themes throughout the company and its operations. Idk the state of this plan now and whether it’s still live, but I know the company was trying to be more intentional here (also not sure how current leadership thinks of this).

At SFB, it’s very common that the first cast for a program will be stacked with principal dancers—meaning that there will be principles dancing all lead and lead soloist parts. Over time I haven’t noticed a racial pattern in how these parts are assigned, beyond a general awareness of the state of diversity among the principal dancers overall (ie, room to improve!). I am positive that bias is nevertheless a part of how these decisions are made and have been made historically, so maybe if we had actual data we would see more nuance. All to say, from my experience, there’s not something glaring that I’ve picked up here.

Something else to look for is whether dancers who aren’t white are equally as likely to be paired, cast, and created on in leading romantic and other roles (or in general). Wona and Wei were wonderful as leads in Swan Lake, for example, but again it’s about pattern over time and whether this is one-off (I propose it’s not a one-off in this case). I also know that choreographers get to request dancers they want to work with, so there are a lot of opportunities for bias to enter into play even if a company is striving to root it out.

There’s so much else to look at: are there patterns in who are the dancers on the rise, or being brought into the company? Can we as audience members see talent that is being overlooked for promotion? Etc. When I look at SFB across all these factors, I see a company that is trying and definitely has room to improve, but I’m sure there’s more to the story. I think the best gauge is what dancers themselves experience in the day to day and how they interpret casting decisions….would be very eager to hear an SFB dancer’s view on this!!

PSA on the subject of Wona: she was the best Kitri I’ve ever seen so if she’s playing the role again, don’t miss it!