COLORFORMS marks SF Ballet’s first film-to-stage adaptation
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, MARCH 7, 2023—Myles Thatcher’s COLORFORMS, a film-to-stage adaptation, will debut next week during San Francisco Ballet’s The Colors of Dance, a triple bill program running from March 14–19. COLORFORMS marks Thatcher’s fourth creation for SF Ballet’s repertory seasons and the first time SF Ballet has embarked on a film-to-stage adaptation in its 90-year history.
COLORFORMS premiered as a dance film during SF Ballet’s 2021 Digital Season. Like the film, in the stage version of COLORFORMS Thatcher explores the vibrancy and joy of dance itself and captures the myriad feelings that humans experience when encountering art. Thatcher, who is also an SF Ballet Soloist, first created a mainstage Company work in 2015, with Manifesto. “I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to work with these dancers who are not only physically talented, but also intelligent and capable and generous with their spirit, movement, and time,” said Thatcher, who recalled beginning COLORFORMS’ choreography as the Company returned to the studios following quarantine in August 2020. “It’s incredible to work with people who you know and trust, and who know you. This—making COLORFORMS—is the dream.”
COLORFORMS retains elements of the film, like a paper plane motif, and is set to Steve Reich’s Variations for Vibes, Pianos, and Strings which uses three string quartets and two pianos. Jim French has designed the sets and lighting that evoke an art museum, and Susan Roemer of S-Curve Apparel & Design has created gently updated costumes for the stage premiere. More information about the COLORFORMS dance film can be found here, and casting for the stage premiere can be found here.
The Colors of Dance opens with Helgi Tomasson’s 7 for Eight (2004) and closes with William Forsythe’s Blake Works I (2016). A series of elegant solos and ensemble numbers for eight dancers and set to portions of Johann Sebastian Bach’s keyboard concertos, 7 for Eight includes costumes designed by Sandra Woodall and lighting designed by David Finn. Blake Works I is set to seven songs from James Blake’s album The Colour in Anything. Forsythe—one of ballet’s most innovative creators—crafts a living love letter to the art form with complex, kaleidoscopic movements that riff off the classic ballet vocabulary.
The Colors of Dance press images are available in the online press photo database.
Tickets start at $29 and may be purchased online at sfballet.org or by calling 415-865-2000, Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm Pacific. The Colors of Dance will run from March 14–19 for a total of seven performances at the War Memorial Opera House and runs approximately 2 hours and 4 minutes including two intermissions. SF Ballet’s 90th anniversary season continues with Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella (March 31 ̶ April 8) and Tomasson’s Romeo & Juliet (April 21 ̶ 30).
ABOUT MYLES THATCHER
Myles Thatcher is a dancer with San Francisco Ballet and a choreographer. After training at The Harid Conservatory, Ellison Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet School, he joined SF Ballet in 2010. As a dancer, he has performed principal or featured roles in many classical and contemporary ballets, including Lensky in Onegin, and Paris in the 2015 film of Tomasson’s Romeo & Juliet for Lincoln Center at the Movies’ Great American Dance. Thatcher began choreographing while a Trainee at SF Ballet School and has created five works for the School. His In the Passerine’s Clutch premiered at SF Ballet’s 2013 Repertory Season Gala; followed by Manifesto, which premiered as part of the 2015 Repertory Season; Ghost in the Machine, which premiered as part of the 2017 Repertory Season; and Otherness, which premiered during 2018 Unbound: A Festival of New Works. In 2015, Thatcher also created Passengers for The Joffrey Ballet, Polaris for New York City Ballet, and Body of Your Dreams for the Rolex Arts Weekend in Mexico City. In 2018, Thatcher’s Redbird premiered at Charlotte Ballet, and in 2020, his dance film Frontiers debuted at My Light Shines On: An Evening with Scottish Ballet. He has also choreographed for Cincinnati Ballet and Kansas City Ballet. Thatcher was selected by Alexei Ratmansky to participate in the 2014–15 Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative. He has been nominated for Isadora Duncan Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography for Manifesto and Ghost in the Machine. COLORFORMS is his fourth work for SF Ballet’s Repertory Season.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
7 for Eight
Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Costume Design: Sandra Woodall
Lighting Design: David Finn
World Premiere: February 26, 2004—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Music: Keyboard Concerto No. 5, BWV 1056 (2nd & 3rd movements); Keyboard Concerto No. 4, BWV 1055 (1st and 2nd movements); Concerto for 4 Harpsichords, BWV 1065 (2nd movement) arranged for one harpsichord; Keyboard Concerto No. 1 BWV 1052 (2nd and 1st movements). Costumes constructed by Birgit Pfeffer, Palo Alto, California.
COLORFORMS
Choreographer: Myles Thatcher
Composer: Steve Reich
Scenic and Lighting Design: Jim French
Costume Design: Susan Roemer
World Premiere (film version): February 11, 2021—San Francisco Ballet
Premiere (stage version): March 14, 2023—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Music: Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings by Steve Reich, used by arrangement with Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes company, publisher and copyright owner. Costumes constructed by S-Curve Apparel, San Francisco, California. Scenic construction and painting by San Francisco Ballet Carpentry and Scenic Departments.
Blake Works I
Choreography and Scenic Design: William Forsythe
Composer: James Blake
Staged by: Ayman Harper
Costume Design: Dorothee Merg and William Forsythe
Lighting Design: Tanja Ruehl and William Forsythe
World Premiere: July 4, 2016–Paris Opera Ballet, Palais Garnier; Paris, France
San Francisco Ballet Premiere: February 3, 2022—War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Music: Songs from The Colour in Anything: “I Need a Forest Fire”, “Put That Away and Talk to Me”, “The Colour in Anything”, “I Hope My Life (1-800 Mix)”, “Waves Know Shores”, “Two Men Down”, and “f.o.r.e.v.e.r.”. Costumes constructed by San Francisco Ballet Wardrobe Department.
ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
San Francisco Ballet is one of the world’s leading ballet companies. As a commissioner, collaborator, and presenter, the Ballet performs locally, nationally, and internationally with the top choreographers, artists, and dancers while proudly celebrating its trailblazing role in dance. Since its founding in 1933 and as the oldest professional ballet company in the United States, the organization has been an innovator in dance and an originator of well-loved cultural traditions, from staging the first American production of Swan Lake to being the first company in the United States to present an annual holiday Nutcracker. In the progressive, innovative spirit of San Francisco, its mission is to share the beauty of classical and contemporary ballet, the joyful, transformative experience of live dance performance by artists working at the highest caliber, and to provide exceptional training opportunities for the next generation of professional dancers in its School.
PRESS CONTACT:
Kate McKinney, Senior Manager, PR
kmckinney@sfballet.org
415-865-6610