''Swimmer'' is a ballet choreographed by Yuri Possokhov, to commissioned music by

Shinji Eshima Shinji Takane Eshima (born August 4, 1956) is a Japanese-American musician, composer, and teacher. Early life On August 4, 1956, Eshima was born in Berkeley, California, Berkeley, California. As a child, Eshima took piano lessons. At nine years ...

, along with music by

Kathleen Brennan Kathleen Patricia Brennan (born 1955) is an Irish-American musician, songwriter, record producer, and artist. She is known for her work as a co-writer, producer, and influence on the work of her husband Tom Waits. Biography Brennan was born in ...

Gavin Bryars Richard Gavin Bryars (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer and double bassist. He has worked in jazz, free improvisation, minimalism, Musical historicism, historicism, Avant-garde music, avant-garde, and experimental music. Early lif ...

and

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

. The ballet is inspired by the short story of the same name by

John Cheever John William Cheever (May 27, 1912 – June 18, 1982) was an American short story writer and novelist. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs". His fiction is mostly set on the Upper East Side of Manhattan; the Westchester suburbs ...

. The ballet was created for the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

premiered on April 10, 2015 at the

War Memorial Opera House The War Memorial Opera House is an opera house in San Francisco, California, United States, located on the western side of Van Ness Avenue across from the west side/rear facade of the San Francisco City Hall. It is part of the San Francisco W ...

Synopsis

After attending a party, an unnamed man decide to go home by swimming in various pools, only to discover his home is gone. At the end of the ballet, a projection shows a man in the ocean.

Production

choreographer in residence Yuri Possokhov's ''Swimmer'' is based on the short story of the same name by

. The ballet is inspired by 1960s United States from Soviet-born Possokhov's point of view, and has various cultural references, such as

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov ( ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian and American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Rus ...

's novel ''

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The protagonist and narrator is a French literature professor who moves to New England and writes under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert. He details his obsession ...

'',

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger ( ; January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel '' The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger published several short stories in '' Story'' magazine in 1940, before serving in World Wa ...

's novel ''

The Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is the only novel by American author J. D. Salinger. It was partially published in serial form in 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its theme ...

'',

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

's novel ''

Martin Eden ''Martin Eden'' is a 1909 novel by American author Jack London about a young proletarian autodidact struggling to become a writer. It was first serialized in '' The Pacific Monthly'' magazine from September 1908 to September 1909 and then publis ...

'',

Edward Hopper Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realism painter and printmaker. He is one of America's most renowned artists and known for his skill in depicting modern American life and landscapes. Born in Nyack, New York, to a ...

's painting '' Nighthawks'', and

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theatre director and comedian. He worked across a range of genres and had an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of ...

's film ''

The Graduate ''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American independent romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novella by Charles Webb. It stars Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddoc ...

''. The ballet uses a commissioned score by San Francisco Ballet Orchestra member

, and other music by

and

. The sets, costumes, lighting and video were designed by Alexander V. Nichols, Mark Zappone, David Finn and Kate Duhamel respectively. Throughout the ballet, the swimming pools are shown on stage through animations. Possokhov himself appeared in the final projection.

Original cast

The original cast consists of: *

Taras Domitro San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Franc ...

Maria Kochetkova Maria Olegovna Kochetkova (; born 1984) is a Russian ballet dancer. She was a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet between 2007 and 2018, and with the American Ballet Theatre between 2015 and 2017. After that, she became a freelance da ...

Lorena Feijoo Lorena may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lorena (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Liza Lorena (born 1949), Filipino actress * Lorena (footballer), Brazilian footballer * Lorena Gómez ...

Yuan Yuan Tan Yuan Yuan Tan (; born February 14, 1976) is a Chinese ballet dancer who was principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet. Biography She entered Shanghai Dance School at the age of 11. Initially her father opposed this, as he wanted her to ...

* Tiit Helimets * Vitor Luiz

References

{{Reflist

External links

About Possokhov's ''Swimmer''
on San Francisco Ballet's website 2015 ballets