SHE’S GOT CLASS Pauli Magierek puts her hands in the air.
A company as grand and established as the San Francisco Ballet presents quite an imposing edifice. The West Coast troupe, which employs 73 dancers, is the oldest American ballet company in existence. SFB is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a national tour, kicking off in Chicago at the Harris Theater Tuesday 16. But even massive institutions are made up of individual humans. One of those is soloist Pauli Magierek, a born-and-bred Chicagoan who went to Ogden Elementary and trained at the Ruth Page Foundation and the Chicago Acadamy for the Arts. Magierek spoke to us last week by phone and gave us an insider’s view of the company.
Time Out Chicago: How long have you been dancing with SFB?
Pauli Magierek: Since 1997, eleven years.
TOC: What has kept you there?
Pauli Magierek: It’s one of the best companies in the world. We have amazing dancers who are from all over, great facilities, we tour—also we have a really good rep [repertory of dances]. Lots of really interesting ballets by awesome choreographers. You don’t get bored. Also, the city is not too bad!
TOC: Tell us more about the setup in SF.
Pauli Magierek: We perform in a wonderful opera house, and right across the street are our studios. We’ve got dressing rooms, a Pilates center, a massage room. Especially when I go to other places, I realize that we have it pretty well.
TOC: SFB’s artistic director, Helgi Tomasson, is very well respected in the ballet world. What kind of a boss is he?
Pauli Magierek: He’s not your best buddy; he keeps his professional reserve. He comes in a lot to watch classes and rehearsals, even ones he’s not directly involved in. When he comes in the room, you know you have to give 100 percent. He doesn’t let us slack off. He makes us stay on top of ourselves.
TOC: What about your fellow dancers? Is there anyone who’s really inspiring you these days?
Pauli Magierek: There’s a new dancer who just joined us from New York City Ballet, Sofiane Sylve. She’s amazing to watch. There’s something about the way she moves. She’s a very powerful dancer.
TOC: Why should Chicagoans check you guys out?
Pauli Magierek: All of the ballets we’re performing, no one has seen outside of San Francisco. It’s brand-new stuff that no one else will have seen yet, not even New York. Chicago is the first stop on our tour. It’s also not typical ballet. I’m excited about performing in Double Evil, choreographed by Jorma Elo. We wear jeweled tutus, and our hair is all up, but it’s not what you would think. The first section is a beautiful adagio, and then the lights come up and the music is this really exciting Philip Glass piece. We’re in pointe shoes and we’re pointing our feet, but the movement is all hip-hoppy and moderny.
TOC: Anything else you’d like to tell us?
Pauli Magierek: For me to come home and perform for my family and my teachers, it’s really exciting.
Pauli Magierek and San Francisco Ballet come home to the Harris Theater Tuesday 16–September 21.