Firebird - San Francisco Ballet

Blue Rose
Music: Elena Kats-Chernin
Choreography: Helgi Tomasson
Costume Design: Judanna Lynn
Lighting Design: Lisa J. Pinkham
World Premiere: February 14, 2006 - War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, CA
The world premiere of Blue Rose was made possible by Lead Sponsors Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey P. Hays
With the atmosphere of a gypsy air, Helgi Tomasson’s sometimes playful and
sometimes moody Blue Rose is set to ten songs from Elena Kats-Chernin’s Ragtime
and Blue CD.
Echoing the sweep of a waltz and the drama of tango, Tomasson’s Blue Rose can
look at times like a dance in a formal ballroom, and at other times like a spurof-the-moment
gathering of close friends. There are dazzling lifts and whimsical
solos, but the core of the ballet is the personality the dancer bring to each section.
Accompanied by a pianist and violinist onstage, the ballet opens with three
couples—the women in elegant, swirling dresses and the men in black—dancing
to “Get Well Rag.” One pair continues dancing a thrilling pas de deux to
“Backstage,” followed by a solo for one of the women, danced to “Sunday Rag.”
In “Blue Rose,” the title song of the ballet, a different couple shows off a
lighthearted spirit, followed by a sparkling—and difficult—solo for the first
woman to “Peggy’s Minute Rag.”
The dramatic “Mute Princess” brings on the third couple in an emotional and
romantic pas de deux, while “Slicked Back Tango”—a solo for one of the menchanges
the mood back to flashing playfulness.
The two other men compete boyishly and with good humor in “Brothers,” and
“Russian Rag” brings back the first couple for a second duet.
All three couples return for “Alexander Rag,” a lively finish to the ballet.
© 2006 Erik Tomasson
Vanessa Zahorian & Nicolas Blanc in Helgi Tomasson’s Blue Rose
S A N F R A N C I S C O B A L L E T 20 F I R E B I R D / B L U E R O S E S T U DY G U I D E