Introduced by Olympic champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, a native of the Bay Area and winner of 2008’s Dancing with the Stars, the production encores in high definition and 5.1 surround sound Sunday, December 12 at 9pm EST (check local listings) on THIRTEEN’s Great Performances on PBS. San Francisco Ballet Music Director and Principal Conductor Martin West conducts Tchaikovsky’s sprightly score.

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Tchaikovsky’s beguiling score is one of the most popular pieces of music ever written. Think “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and “Waltz of the Snowflakes.” Inspired by E.T.A. Hoffman’s 1816 story, The Nutcracker and The Mouse King, it was first proposed to Tchaikovsky by legendary choreographer Marius Petipa as a follow-up to Tchaikovsky’s other successful ballets at Russia’s famed Mariinsky Theatre: Swan Lake (1877) and The Sleeping Beauty (1890). The composer began work on it in 1891.

San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker was recorded on stage in performance at the War Memorial Opera House December 19 and 21, 2007. It is a co-production of San Francisco Ballet and KQED Public Television San Francisco, in association with Thirteen for WNET.ORG. Matthew Diamond (Dance in America’s Emmy Award-winning Swan Lake with American Ballet Theatre; Great Performances’ Crazy for You) directs; Judy Flannery (Great Performances’ A Streetcar Named Desire From the San Francisco Opera) produced. Michael Isip is Executive Producer for KQED.

An expanded version of San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker, featuring additional behind-the-scenes interviews with the production’s creators and a background piece on the 1915 World’s Fair, is available on DVD from Opus Arte/Naxos of America.

Great Performances is funded by the Irene Diamond Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, Vivian Milstein, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, public television viewers and PBS. Major corporate funding for this telecast was provided by First Republic Bank, a division of Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust, Co., FSB. Special funding for the telecast was provided by Jim and Cecilia Herbert & Family. Additional support was provided by The Flora Family Foundation and members of the San Francisco Ballet’s 75th Anniversary Sponsors Council: major sponsors include the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, The Hellman Family and Yurie and Carl Pascarella; with additional sponsors including Stuart Francis and Diana Stark; Stephen and Margaret Gill Family Foundation; Cecilia and Jim Herbert; George Frederick Jewett Foundation, Lucille Jewett, Trustee; Barbara Ravizza and John Osterweis; Kathleen Scutchfield; The Smelick Family; The Swanson Foundation; Ms. Susan A. Van Wagner; E.L. Wiegand Foundation; Diane B. Wilsey; and Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang.

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Great Performances is a production of THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG – one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers.

Despite all the success and visibility of its debut, the intervening decades have found Opus Jazz infrequently performed. The concept of taking this little-seen ballet and adapting it for the screen in a modern, real-world context was the brainchild of two New York City Ballet soloists, who, while dancing the ballet, found that it had urban themes and a contemporary relevance that spoke to them. “Sean and I danced Opus Jazz at the New York City Ballet revival in 2005,” explains Bar. “We thought the ballet seemed a bit dated in its 1950’s trappings, but the themes that came out in the dancing — the energy and raw emotion of urban youth — were just as relevant today as they were then.” Mr. Suozzi adds that because the ballet is danced in sneakers, instead of toe shoes, it seemed especially fitting to be filmed on location. “We decided to put our dancers in regular clothes, instead of costumes,” says Suozzi. “It makes the dance even more accessible. Ballet doesn’t have to be a mysterious art form — it’s our most natural, visceral expression.”

Enlisting filmmakers Henry Joost (Catfish) and Jody Lee Lipes (Brock Enright: Good Times Will Never Be The Same, Afterschool), Bar and Suozzi set out to make the most ambitious dance film in recent memory — the first to return Jerome Robbins’ choreography to the streets of New York since the movie version of West Side Story. Shot in widescreen 35mm film format, this on-location adaptation utilizes New York City locations like the pre-renovation High Line, McCarren Pool, Coney Island, Red Hook, and Carroll Gardens as backdrops for the five very different movements of the ballet. Scripted interludes between the dance scenes draw the audience further into the lives of the young, restless characters, all played by dancers from the New York City Ballet. “Acting out rage and delight through Robbins’ carefully cultivated steps, the cast demonstrated the pent-up emotions of a new generation,” raves The New York Times of this film (read the full review here). The stylized cinematography captures the majestic landscape of New York City as well the subtle beauty, energy and sensuality of the dance piece. The resulting film is a unique and compelling 43-minute abstract narrative that highlights the form, structure and energy of the dance, while embodying the raw emotional experience of urban youth.

Following the dance film is a 10-minute documentary by director Matt Wolf (Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell) and Anna Farrell (Twelve Ways to Sunday) that recounts the history and summarizes the enduring significance and appeal of Opus Jazz. Choreographer (and original West Side Story dancer) Eliot Feld, Sondra Lee (one of Robbins’ original “Opus” dancers), along with other Robbins’ friends and colleagues join the current cast of dancers to contextualize the cultural and historical importance of Mr. Robbins’ career and NY Export: Opus Jazz.

“Great Performances has been bringing the best in American dance to public television viewers via the Dance in America series since 1976,” says Executive Producer David Horn. “WNET was very fortunate to be able to collaborate with Robbins during his lifetime on several landmark productions for television. So we are proud to serve as the broadcast partner for this film, and we are confident the adaptation will make an impact on today’s generation, as it has on generations before.”

Written for the screen by Jody Lee Lipes and edited by Zac Stuart-Pontier, NY Export: Opus Jazz was produced by Kyle Martin and Melody Roscher. Great Performances is funded by the Irene Diamond Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, Vivian Milstein, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, public television viewers and PBS. Major funding for NY Export: Opus Jazz was also provided by the Jerome Robbins Foundation, Emily Blavatnik, Chandra Jessee, Gillian Attfield, Arlene C. Cooper, Judy Bernstein Bunzl and Nick Bunzl, Marty and Perry Granoff, and Nancy Norman Lassalle. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer.

Dance in America

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
NUTCRACKER

Composer:  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Choreography: ©Helgi Tomasson

Scenic Design:  Michael Yeargan

Costume Design: Martin Pakledinaz

Lighting Design:  James F. Ingalls

Projection Design:  Wendall K. Harrington

Conductor: Martin West

Closing credit crawl:

Director  (CARD)
MATTHEW DIAMOND

Producer  (CARD)
JUDY FLANNERY

Host (CARD)
KRISTI YAMAGUCHI

Lighting Director
ALAN ADELMAN

Audio Producer & Engineer
ADAM ABESHOUSE

Coordinating Producer
ALISON GIBSON

Associate Director
RAE KRAUS

Associate Producer
JUNE MESINA OUELLETTE

Segment Producer
LINDA SCHALLER

CAST

Uncle Drosselmeyer
DAMIAN SMITH

Clara
ELIZABETH POWELL

Nutcracker Prince
DAVIT KARAPETYAN

Snow Queen
YUAN YUAN TAN

Snow King
PIERRE-FRANÇOIS VILANOBA

Sugar Plum Fairy
VANESSA ZAHORIAN

Genie
SARAH VAN PATTEN

Chinese Man
NICOLAS BLANC

Russian Lead
PASCAL MOLAT

Grand Pas De Deux Ballerina
MARIA KOCHETKOVA

Soloists

RICARDO BUSTAMANTE

ANITA PACIOTTI

PASCALE LEROY

JIM SOHM

RORY HOHENSTEIN

CLARA BLANCO

GARRETT ANDERSON

DAVID ARCE

DORES ANDRE

FRANCES CHUNG

JAIME GARCIA CASTILLA

HANSUKE YAMAMOTO

ANTHONY SPAULDING

BRETT BAUER

MARIELLEN OLSON

ELANA ALTMAN

JENNIFER STAHL

JAMES SOFRANKO

LOUIS SCHILLING

MATTHEW STEWART

Corps de Ballet

ERIN MCNULTY
MIRIAM ROWAN
COURTNEY CLARKSON
DANA GENSHAFT
COURTNEY WRIGHT
AARON ORZA
ALEXANDRA LOREY
GAREN SCRIBNER
PAULI MAGIEREK
STEVEN NORMAN
CHRISTOPHER MONDOUX
NICOLE GRAND
MARGARET KARL
SHANNON ROBERTS
SASHA DESOLA
DANIELLE SANTOS
COURTNEY ELIZABETH
ASHLEY MUANGMAITHONG
ALEXANDRA MCCULLAGH
LUDMILA CAMPOS
ADELINE KAISER
LILY ROGERS
PATRICIA PEREZ
CHARLENE COHEN

STUDENTS OF SAN FRANCISCO BALLET SCHOOL

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ORCHESTRA

Music Director
MARTIN WEST

Production Manager
LEFTY LEFCOURT

Master Carpenter
NIXON BRACISCO

Master of Properties
KENNETH M. RYAN

Master Electrician
DENNIS HUDSON

Audio Engineer
KEVIN KIRBY

Orchestra Personnel Manager
TOM ROSE

Stage Manager
JANE GREEN

Wardrobe Supervisor
GEORGE ELVIN

Wig and Makeup
RICHARD BATTLE

PRODUCTION

Manager, TV Production Operations
FRANK CARFI

Unit Manager
JOLEE HOYT

Engineer in Charge
JIM ROLIN

Technical Director
GREG OVERTON

Camera Operators
DIANE BIEDERBECK
MIKE ELWELL
ED FUSSELL
VICTOR GONZALEZ
GREG KING
BETTINA LEVESQUE
JOHN REPCZYNSKI
RONNIE E. SMITH

Video
MARK SANFORD
ERIC SHACKELFORD

Videotape
HERB FERRETTE
JONATHAN MORRIS

Audio Recording Engineer
SILAS BROWN

Audio
HELEN SILVANI
FRED TETZNER

Field Engineers
TIM KUBIT
HUGH HEALY

Lighting Supervisor
KEVIN CONNAUGHTON

House Electricians
TIMOTHY PURCELL
ELOISE TWINING

Utilities
MARIA MENDOZA
MARTY COEN
RICK SANTANGELO
JIM MCKEE

Stage Manager
FRANK ZAMACONA

Graphic Design
ZALDY SERRANO
CARLO A. FLORES

Audio Post Production
ADAM ABESHOUSE
DANN THOMPSON

Script Consultant
SHARON WOOD

Editors
MARK STEPP
STEPHANIE CHALLBERG

Online Editor
ROBERT O’GEEN

Remote Crew

Camera
TOMAS TUCKER
RICK BUTLER

Audio
FRED TETZNER
HELEN SILVANI
LAURETTA MOLITOR

Tape
ERIC SHACKELFORD

Lighting
DARRELL FLOWERS
JEFFREY GILLIAM
JOE MENDOZA

Grip
JAMES GREENFIELD
RICK EDMONDSON

Teleprompter
RANDY BRASE

Stage Manager
MARGARET CLARKE

Special Thanks
Conservatory of Flowers
Park and Recreation, San Francisco

Richard Reutlinger
Tim Simon and Ann Little Simon

Archival Photos and Film Courtesy Of
Donna Ewald Huggins
The Exploratorium of San Francisco

For San Francisco Ballet

Artistic Director
HELGI TOMASSON

Executive Director
GLENN McCOY

General Manager
LESLEY KOENIG

For  KQED

Vice President, Television & Education Network
MICHAEL J. ISIP

Vice President, TV Engineering & Operations
STEVE WELCH

Executive Vice President, Marketing & Communications
DONALD DERHEIM

For Great Performances

Production Associate
MIICHAEL WEINSTEIN-REIMAN

Series Producer
BILL O’DONNELL

Executive Producer
DAVID HORN

A Co-production of
San Francisco Ballet and KQED Public Television
In association with Thirteen/WNET New York

© 2008  KQED, Inc.
San Francisco Ballet Association

Web Credits

PRODUCER
Daniel Ross

DESIGNER
Nicholas Miller

PAGEBUILDING
Brian Santalone

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Brian Lee