{{Short description|Ballet by Mark Morris}} {{Italic title}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Infobox ballet | name = Sandpaper Ballet | italic title = yes | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | choreographer = Mark Morris | composer = Leroy Anderson | premiere = {{Start date|1999|04|27}} | place = War Memorial Opera House | ballet_company = San Francisco Ballet | designer = Isaac Mizrahi<br/>James F. Ingalls | created_for = | genre = | type = | url = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> }} '''''Sandpaper Ballet''''' is a ballet choreographed by Mark Morris to music by Leroy Anderson. It was created for the San Francisco Ballet, and premiered on April 27, 1999, at the War Memorial Opera House.<ref name=Morris>{{cite web|url=https://markmorrisdancegroup.org/work/sandpaper-ballet/|title=Sandpaper Ballet|website=Mark Morris Dance Group|accessdate=November 21, 2020}}</ref>

==Production== ===Choreography=== Mark Morris's ''Sandpaper Ballet'' was created for the San Francisco Ballet.<ref name=SFGate/> Tina Fehlandt, a frequent collaborator of Morris who had staged the ballet, said Morris "loves ballet, and he uses ballet vocabulary [...] But he likes to use it in a different way." She noted that this ballet is "very classical."<ref name=Houston/> The ballet is performed by sixteen women and nine men. Fehlandt said Morris deliberately used an odd number of dancers as a challenge as he "loves spacial patterns and moving large groups of people around" and "wanted to challenge himself."<ref name=Houston/> She also said Morris wants the dancers to be individualistic, "so there's not a sense they're performing at you. Although, that said, if you didn't feel good on a particular day he'd want you to pretend."<ref name=Houston>{{cite news|url=https://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/Less-abrasive-Sandpaper-1505906.php|title=Less abrasive Sandpaper|work=Houston Chronicles|last=Glentzer|first=Molly|date=May 22, 2005}}</ref>

===Music=== The ballet is set to music by Leroy Anderson, who was associated with the Boston Pops Orchestra.<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/10/arts/dance-review-a-ballet-heritage-but-no-fear-of-the-new.html|title=Dance Review; A Ballet Heritage, But No Fear Of the New|work=New York Times|last=Kisselgoff|first=Anna|date=October 10, 2002}}</ref> All eleven scores used by Anderson are three to four minutes long,<ref name=SFChron/> though "Sleigh Ride" is used as an overture.<ref name=BWW>{{cite news|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/san-francisco/article/BWW-Review-CLASSICAL-REVISION-at-San-Francisco-Ballet-Offers-a-Sparkling-Program-of-Contemporary-Dance-20200213|title=BWW Review: Classical (Re)Vision at San Francisco Ballet Offers a Sparkling Program of Contemporary Dance|work=BroadwayWorld|last=Munson|first=Jim|date=February 13, 2020}}</ref> and "Sandpaper Ballet", from which the title of the ballet is taken, is not featured.<ref name=SFChron>{{cite news|url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/dont-discount-leroy-andersons-undervalued-musical-gems|title=Don’t discount Leroy Anderson’s undervalued musical gems|work=San Francisco Chronicles|last=Kosman|first=Joshua|date=February 5, 2020}}</ref> It was Morris' first piece with a full orchestra,<ref name=Houston/> and he called the music "little gems; one-liners that really show off the band."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/the-music-man|title=The Music Man|work=Playbill|last=Robertson|first=Allen|date=June 1, 2005}}</ref>

===Designs=== Isaac Mizrahi designed the costumes, with the dancers in blue and white tops, lime green unitards and gloves, plus skirts for women.<ref name=SFGate/><ref name=BWW/> James F. Ingalls designed the lighting.<ref name=SFGate>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Morris-Sandpaper-A-Giddy-Diversion-S-F-2933847.php|title=Morris' 'Sandpaper' A Giddy Diversion / S.F. Ballet at ease in world premiere|work=SFGate|last=Roca|first=Octavio|date=April 29, 1999}}</ref>

==Performances== ''Sandpaper Ballet'' had its premiere on April 27, 1999<ref name=Morris/> at the War Memorial Opera House, conducted by Emil de Cou.<ref name=SFGate/> The company had since revived the ballet, most recently in 2020.<ref name=BWW/> The company will release a video recording of the full ballet online in 2021 as a part of their digital season, which will be held in lieu of the premiere of a new Morris ballet and the 2021 repertory season, both of which had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/dance/s-f-ballet-announces-a-full-digital-dance-season-for-2021|title=S.F. Ballet announces a full digital dance season for 2021|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|last=Kosman|first=Joshua|date=October 27, 2020}}</ref>

The Houston Ballet performed the ballet in 2005, staged by Fehlandt, and Morris completed the final touches.<ref name=Houston/>

==Original cast== The ballet is performed by 25 dancers. The original cast includes:<ref name=SFGate/> *Evelyn Cisneros *Stephen Legate *Julia Adam *Julie Diana *Joanna Berman *Yuri Possokhov

==Music== All the music used in ''Sandpaper Ballet'' were composed by Leroy Anderson, including:<ref name=Morris/> {{columns-list|colwidth=30em| *"Sleigh Ride" *"The Typewriter" *"A Trumpeter's Lullaby" *"Saraband" *"Balladette" *"Jazz Pizzicato" *"Jazz Legato" *"Fiddle-Faddle" *"The Girl in Satin" *"Song of the Bells" *"The Syncopated Clock" }}

==Critical reception== Following the premiere, Octavio Roca of ''SFGate'' called ''Sandpaper Ballet'' "the hit of the evening," and commented, "Morris giddily ignores the lines between principal dancer and corps, and he has designed dance patterns that make each dancer look his or her best."<ref name=SFGate/> In 2002, Anna Kisselgoff of the ''New York Times'' commented, "It looks funny, but its geometric formations are choreographed with dead seriousness [...] The steps look occasionally messy in the solos and trios but the formations look great, especially when someone is inevitably out of line."<ref name=NYT/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.sfballet.org/about-mark-morris-sandpaper-ballet/ About ''Sandpaper Ballet''] on San Francisco Ballet's website *[https://markmorrisdancegroup.org/work/sandpaper-ballet/ ''Sandpaper Ballet''] on Mark Morris Dance Group's website

Category:1999 ballets Category:Ballets by Mark Morris