Arrivederci Romeo & Juliet

With the final curtain down and the applause died away, we say goodbye to the “40 days in the making of Romeo & Juliet.”  We want to thank all who participated in chronicling this extraordinary adventure and the many fans that visited and explored the blog along with us.  We especially want to thank Keith Sutter, whose incredible photography captured the process in hundreds of stunning photos.  A picture is worth a thousand words so, before YOU say goodbye to Romeo & Juliet, don’t miss Keith’s video slide show of this astonishing visual journey.

Please visit our website often to keep up to date with our many upcoming activities, events, and new projects.

Ron, Carinne, and the dancers of the Sacramento Ballet

 

Slideshow by Keith Sutter

Opening Night!!

We just finished class at the studio and everyone is warm and ready to perform tonight.  I am so looking forward to loosing myself in my character tonight - I'll be playing a street woman in the market dances and I can't wait for the fight scenes of Mercutio and Tybalt and then Tybalt and Romeo.  Well, gotta get to the theater for some rehearsals!  See you all there!
- Alexandra


My body is warm and ready from our daily class, and I am packing up for the theatre for some rehearsals followed by our opening night of "Romeo & Juliet"! From now I am already trying to get into character - thinking about my acting, specific arms for the choreography, and how I am going to tease my hair for Maximum Volume for my role as a Street Woman! Cheers ~ see you at the show!
- Isha

Ready for Opening Night! Looking Back, Tired but Inspired - Carinne Binda, Artistic Director

We just finished our final Dress rehearsal in the theater and we are ready to present Sacramento with a stellar Romeo &Juliet. The dancers are exactly where we hoped for them to be; motivated, inspired, confident and dancing on the edge. I had to personally fight away tears during the rehearsal last night and that is a good sign.  When I got home, I took some time to reflect on the last 40 days and wanted to share with you one particular day that still stands out in my mind.

 

Back in mid January, at the end of the second week of rehearsal, it became apparent to Ron and myself  that because we had staggered the dancers' days off  we had worked 14 straight days and perhaps we should feel tired.  Let me explain about that 14th workday and what we experienced.  We worked in the morning with our individual Juliets and their Romeos and yet, none of the time did it feel like work. We simply spent a wonderful time with people we really enjoy. The next 3 hours we continued with Amanda, Alexandra, Chloe, Stefan and Rick, alongside several previous artists from the company who will be appearing in character roles in this production of R&J. What is it like to be surrounded by so many beautiful artists. Bliss!  Nina Baratova, our original Juliet nineteen years ago, will be one of our Lady Capulets. Lynlee Towne, our wonderful ballet mistress who has been associated with our Company for 17 years, also plays Lady Capulet. Michael Separovich, who danced many major roles for the company, appears as Lord Capulet, and Christy Schreivogel, who danced in our last rendition of R&J, now plays the role of Juliet's Nurse.

I can't describe the sense of creativity and continuity all flowing at once.  Our former dancers wanted to give as much as possible to support our present cast of Romeos and Juliets. Nine artists, so physically and emotionally present, were working collectively to shape the characters they will become on stage.  I delight and become rejuvenated by inspiring days like this. Every dancer we have worked with in the past, has been influential in shaping the aesthetic of this company. These four particular former dancers were very instrumental in helping us define the creative atmosphere we foster. 

Working with dancers has an everyday reality.  Their careers are short and so, your time with them is precious. I am most grateful to Nina, Lynlee, Christy and Michael for the many hours and Sundays they shared with us. I am also thankful to have the talents of Nolan T'Sani, Michael Vester and Colby Damon who are also joining us to make this production of R&J extraordinary.

 

It has all come together and I am feeling quite joyful. Thank you to all who have contributed to the process of this R&J. We are deeply grateful. Love and Merde to the dancers!

 

Photos by Keith Sutter from Tueday Night's Dress Rehearsal

Day 2 in the theatre with Sunchai

We just finished our second day in the theatre and I must admit that Sacramento Ballet is in GREAT SHAPE! It is going to be an amazing weekend! It's crazy to be back at Community Center Theatre! We walked into the theatre on Monday and all the dancers were freaking out! The last time we were there was December 23rd and it felt like we were just there. I always love being in the theatre! That's why we dance and why we rehearse. Is to get to the theatre and back onstage. We blocked on Monday and we didn't do costumes our lighting because we just blocked everything. But we had our first dress last night and it was amazing! It felt so good to be in costume with lighting doing a full run of the ballet. My favorite adrenaline rush was the brawl fights in the first act! I was ready to kill! It was amazing! I feel  ready to perform and I hope everyone that comes out to see Romeo and Juliet enjoys watching it as much as I enjoy performing it! See you all at the theatre!

Sunchai

Article from Sacramento Press

Click here to read about A. S. Robinson's thoughts on our Inside the Directors Studio "Men of the Ballet" Lecture

Thank you

by Roy