Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Join us for a panel discussion on San Francisco Ballet’s 1990 production of "Krazy Kat" in conjunction with the special exhibition "Wayne Thiebaud: Art Comes from Art." This conversation will feature the ballet’s choreographer and ODC Artistic Director, Brenda Way, and original SF Ballet cast member Grace Holmes, currently Director of SF Ballet School. This lecture-demonstration will highlight the stage production, which was designed by Thiebaud, as well as the choreography of the work. The panel discussion will be moderated by Emily Beeny, chief curator of the Legion of Honor and Barbara A. Wolfe Curator in Charge of European Paintings.
About the speakers
Emily Beeny is the chief curator of the Legion of Honor and Barbara A. Wolfe Curator in Charge of European Paintings. She holds a PhD from Columbia University and is a specialist in French paintings and drawings of the 17th through 19th centuries. She joined the Museums from the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Grace Maduell Holmes was promoted to a company position in San Francisco Ballet in 1983 and danced with the company as a soloist until 1995. She then was a senior soloist with Birmingham Royal Ballet. Her repertoire includes over 100 ballets and has performed at major theaters internationally. She was Academy Director for Tapestry Dance Company in Austin, Texas, was a Professor of Dance at University of Texas, and was the School Director of Kansas City Ballet for nine years.
Brenda Way received her early training at The School of American Ballet and Ballet Arts in New York City. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of ODC/Dance and creator of the ODC Theater and ODC Dance Commons, community performance and training venues in San Francisco’s Mission District. Way was instrumental in forming an inter-arts department at Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music in the late 1960’s before relocating to the Bay Area in 1976. She has choreographed more than 100 pieces over the last 53 years.
About SF Ballet
San Francisco Ballet, long recognized for pushing boundaries in dance, has a history of making history. Founded in 1933, the company staged the first full-length American productions of Coppélia (1938) and Swan Lake (1940) and, in 1944, launched an annual holiday tradition by staging the first full-length production of Nutcracker in the US.
The Company is led by Artistic Director, Tamara Rojo. SF Ballet is accompanied by its own orchestra and operates one of the country’s most prestigious schools of ballet. Today SF Ballet builds on their heritage by commissioning groundbreaking dance from today’s top choreographers, by uncovering new choreographic talent, and by staging modern classics and the works that make up the canon of classical ballet. Their approach defines ballet in the 21st century, and it makes San Francisco Ballet the essential place to see the most adventurous dance in America.
About SF Ballet: sfballet.org
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Don’t miss our upcoming programs! Sign up for our newsletter: https://dey.ng/newsletter
Join us for a panel discussion on San Francisco Ballet’s 1990 production of "Krazy Kat" in conjunction with the special exhibition "Wayne Thiebaud: Art Comes from Art." This conversation will feature the ballet’s choreographer and ODC Artistic Director, Brenda Way, and original SF Ballet cast member Grace Holmes, currently Director of SF Ballet School. This lecture-demonstration will highlight the stage production, which was designed by Thiebaud, as well as the choreography of the work. The panel discussion will be moderated by Emily Beeny, chief curator of the Legion of Honor and Barbara A. Wolfe Curator in Charge of European Paintings.
About the speakers
Emily Beeny is the chief curator of the Legion of Honor and Barbara A. Wolfe Curator in Charge of European Paintings. She holds a PhD from Columbia University and is a specialist in French paintings and drawings of the 17th through 19th centuries. She joined the Museums from the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Grace Maduell Holmes was promoted to a company position in San Francisco Ballet in 1983 and danced with the company as a soloist until 1995. She then was a senior soloist with Birmingham Royal Ballet. Her repertoire includes over 100 ballets and has performed at major theaters internationally. She was Academy Director for Tapestry Dance Company in Austin, Texas, was a Professor of Dance at University of Texas, and was the School Director of Kansas City Ballet for nine years.
Brenda Way received her early training at The School of American Ballet and Ballet Arts in New York City. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of ODC/Dance and creator of the ODC Theater and ODC Dance Commons, community performance and training venues in San Francisco’s Mission District. Way was instrumental in forming an inter-arts department at Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music in the late 1960’s before relocating to the Bay Area in 1976. She has choreographed more than 100 pieces over the last 53 years.
About SF Ballet
San Francisco Ballet, long recognized for pushing boundaries in dance, has a history of making history. Founded in 1933, the company staged the first full-length American productions of Coppélia (1938) and Swan Lake (1940) and, in 1944, launched an annual holiday tradition by staging the first full-length production of Nutcracker in the US.
The Company is led by Artistic Director, Tamara Rojo. SF Ballet is accompanied by its own orchestra and operates one of the country’s most prestigious schools of ballet. Today SF Ballet builds on their heritage by commissioning groundbreaking dance from today’s top choreographers, by uncovering new choreographic talent, and by staging modern classics and the works that make up the canon of classical ballet. Their approach defines ballet in the 21st century, and it makes San Francisco Ballet the essential place to see the most adventurous dance in America.
About SF Ballet: sfballet.org
Subscribe to our channel: https://dey.ng/our-channel
Don’t miss our upcoming programs! Sign up for our newsletter: https://dey.ng/newsletter
