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Arts & Entertainment

Corte Madera Woman Takes Ballet To Heart

Julie Begley stars offstage as she promotes the San Francisco Ballet's new season.

If you are at all aware of San Francisco Ballet these days — and how could you not be, what with all the colorful banners you see around the City — then Julie Begley is doing her job. Or actually, doing just one of her many jobs as director of marketing and communications for San Francisco’s venerable ballet company.

Under artistic director Helgi Tomasson, San Francisco Ballet has been in rare form for many years. His splendid troupe can dance anything, from the most beloved classical ballets (Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty) to stellar dances by masters such as George Balanchine (“Symphony in C”) to highly contemporary works. No less an authority than the esteemed Mark Morris considers S.F. Ballet the best company in North America. Morris' own beloved Mark Morris Dance Group performs modern dance. When Morris feels like creating a ballet, he mostly does so for the San Francisco troupe, as do other renowned choreographers.

So in one sense — tooting the horn for an extremely well-regarded company — Begley’s job is easy. Otherwise, maybe not so much. Begley, who lives in Corte Madera, oversees all “institutional branding,” advertising, direct marketing, website and social media, public relations, publications (such as program books and season guides), ticket and patron services— she’s even in charge of retail operations online and in the impressive little shop on the mezzanine of the War Memorial Opera House. That’s where, after three weeks of Nutcracker in December and the gala opening night, S.F. Ballet performs eight repertory programs each year from late January through early May.

Right now, Begley’s in the midst of excitement over Coppélia, a delightful story ballet choreographed by Balanchine and former Ballet Russes dancer Alexandra Danilova in the 1970s, when Tomasson danced with Balanchine’s famed New York City Ballet.

The tale centers on Franz and Swanilda, whose courtship hits a bump when Franz becomes infatuated with a beautiful lifelike doll, Coppélia. Although Tomasson was Balanchine’s first Franz, this is the first time we’ve seen this version of Coppélia in San Francisco. With colorful new fairy-tale sets and costumes by Italian designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno, it is a co-production with Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet, and a centerpiece of the current season.

In addition to offering full-length ballets (the season ends with The Little Mermaid, a rather harrowing contemporary work by John Neumeier), Tomasson always plans several programs of shorter, generally more abstract works. Next up is Program Six, which includes, “Ghosts,” created by Christopher Wheeldon for this company, which had its world premiere here last year; “7 for Eight,” choreographed by Tomasson to Bach keyboard concertos; and “Chroma,” by British choreographer Wayne McGregor, to music by Joby Talbot and Jack White—yes, that Jack White (you know, formerly of the White Stripes).

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Begley is loving all of it. “I grew up on the Peninsula, took lessons in tap, ballet,
and acrobatics, was a competitive gymnast, performed in high school and college
musicals, and studied modern dance in college. I knew dance would always
be part of my life,” she says. “I became a subscriber to the ballet right out of
college.”

In fact, she and her team have been gearing up for April’s subscription-renewal
campaign (“The best time to get people to renew for next season is while they’re
loving the ballet”), then she’ll begin focusing on next season’s offerings and
prepare for the summer’s big Nutcracker push.

Begley began working with S.F. Ballet, as group sales manager, in 1987. Six years later, she left to work at a nonprofit educational company, then returned in 1999 to become associate marketing director. Begley has been in her current position for about seven years and doesn’t sound as if she ever wants to leave again.

Coppélia, March 22-27; Program Six, April 7-20, San Francisco Ballet, War
Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, 415.865.2000; sfballet.org

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