Feature Stories
New Faces at San Francisco Ballet
This year, San Francisco Ballet welcomed 14 new dancers to its ranks. Hailing from near and far, their interests and talents are as varied as their backgrounds. We caught up with each of them to get a little snapshot of what you can’t see while they’re onstage.
1 Gaetano Amico III, Corps de BalletGaetano—or Guy to his friends—is currently teaching himself Spanish and would like to practice his new language by traveling to Spain sometime soon. Although he was born in Salem, Oregon, his favorite thing to eat for breakfast is Boston Cream Pie. Guy joined the Company as an apprentice last season after participating in the SF Ballet School Trainee Program and was promoted to the corps de ballet this year.
2 Clara Blanco, Corps de Ballet
Häagen Dazs’ Vanilla Macadamia Nut ice cream and chocolate are two of Clara Blanco’s vices. She also enjoys listening to Radiohead and makes a ritual of touching the floor once just before going onstage to hopefully keep spills at bay. Clara rejoins us this year after a one-year stint with Birmingham Royal Ballet.
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“Well, actually it feels very, very good. I thought it was going to be weird at first, but actually it feels like I never left. I missed it a lot and I realized how good a place it is and how important it was for me. [Those were] things that I didn’t know when I was here. Everything seems very, very exciting.” |
3 Ludmila Campos, Corps de Ballet
An avid travel fan, Ludmila would love to be a correspondent for the Travel Channel following her dance career. She joined the Company in 2006 as an apprentice after training at the San Francisco Ballet School and Escola de Danças Maria Olenewa in her native Brazil. Her guilty pleasures include bad reality television and sleeping in. Before a performance, Ludmila always double checks that her ribbons are tucked in and wishes her friends good luck.
4 Charlene Cohen, Corps de Ballet
A craft-lover at heart, Charlene enjoys spending free time at Lafayette Park, near her home. She also has a soft spot for Boston Terriers and wouldn’t mind being a book editor if she weren’t a professional dancer. She most recently danced with Miami City Ballet.
5 Sasha De Sola, Corps de Ballet
Sasha’s favorite San Francisco hangout since she joined the Company as an apprentice last season is the Palace of Fine Arts. She admits to watching the television comedy The Office religiously despite her busy rehearsal schedule. If she were an animal, Sasha would be a panther because they are both strong and graceful at the same time.
6 Damir Emric, Corps de Ballet
Damir can’t stop listening to “Mushaboom,” a mashup song by Feist and the Postal Service. He has a zeal for cooking, hazelnut ice cream, and eating cookie dough. Damir is originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina and most recently danced with Ballet San Jose.
7 Julianne Kepley, Soloist
Atlanta-born Julianne Kepley would like
to travel somewhere tropical with her husband soon for a romantic getaway. She joins the Company as a soloist after eight years with Atlanta Ballet and five years with the Joffrey Ballet. For a special treat, she enjoys pancakes for breakfast and coffee-flavored ice cream for dessert. If Julianne had to choose another profession, she would be involved with biology research or become a biology teacher.
8 Mateo Klemmayer, Soloist
Mateo moved to San Francisco from Europe to dance as a soloist for the Company, and he loves his new city. So far his favorite neighborhood is Haight Ashbury. He has danced with a number of companies, including Boston Ballet and Zurich Ballet, and most recently was engaged as a first artist with Birmingham Royal Ballet. Mateo can’t imagine being anything else besides a professional dancer.
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“I love San Francisco; it’s absolutely my favorite city. I must say, honestly, it’s the nicest company that I’ve worked with. The dancers have a certain energy.” |
9 Maria Kochetkova, Principal
No good luck charms or set pre-performance routines for Maria: a champion of international ballet competitions, she trusts herself and prepares mentally. She would pursue photography if she had more time and would like to visit New Zealand in the future.
10 Christopher Mondoux, Corps de Ballet
A former SF Ballet School student and graduate of the Trainee Program, Chris always dresses from right to left when getting ready for a performance. He boasts a talent for impersonations and accents, and a sweet tooth for maple granola and the candy bin in the Ballet’s Production office. He can often be found at his favorite coffee shop in the Mission.
11 Ashley Muangmaithong, Corps de Ballet
As soon as Ashley has some free time after the 75th Anniversary Season, she hopes to plan another trip to Thailand, where much of her extended family lives. She was a student in the School and participated in the San Francisco Ballet School Trainee Program for two years and spent a year as an apprentice with Oregon Ballet Theatre before joining the Company. If she weren’t a professional dancer she would have liked to pursue graphic design or integrative biology. Ashley says her favorite guilty pleasure is popcorn dipped in rocky road ice cream.
12 Kendall Teague, Corps de Ballet
Kendall finds no need to leave Hayes Valley where he lives. His active schedule lets him get away with putting away pints of Cinnamon Buns ice cream by Ben & Jerry’s. A native of Waynesville, North Carolina, he loves playing the drums and listening to pop music, when he thinks no one else is listening …
13 Aubert Vanderlinden, Corps de Ballet
As a budding choreographer himself, Aubert is looking forward to working with the choreographers of the New Works Festival. After a long day of rehearsal, you might find him relaxing at his favorite swanky lounge downtown. Originally from Uccle, Belgium, Aubert dreams of someday traveling to New Zealand to explore the beautiful environment there.
14 Luke Willis, Corps de Ballet
On a lazy Sunday morning, Luke Willis enjoys downing eggs, grits, bacon, toast, and a mimosa somewhere in the Marina. With a power breakfast like that, no wonder he plans to soon climb Mt. Kilimanjaro with a friend from Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, where he danced before joining SF Ballet. In regards to pre-performance rituals, Luke says, “I have lots of little things up my sleeve, but meditation is always a big part of it.”