When the San Francisco Balletbuilding opened in 1983, it was thecountry’s first building solely dedi-cated to a ballet company and school,and its services for dancers wereconsidered state of the art. However,nearly two decades later, the dancers’facilities were past prime. The exer-cise equipment was located in thedancers’ lounge and kitchen wherethe dancers relaxed during breaks.The cramped Pilates room was on aseparate floor. The physical therapyroom housed the Company’s medicaladministrator, whose desk was sepa-rated from the therapy area by acubicle wall that didn’t provide thesound barrier needed for discussingprivate health matters with dancersand doctors.

The building’s new Dancer WellnessCenter, added in 2004 when thebuilding underwent a major renova-tion and addition, centralizeseverything the dancers need into aspacious complex on the building’sthird floor, with exercise equipment,the whirlpool, and medical facilitiesseparate from the kitchen andlounge area, yet easily accessiblefrom the dancers’ locker rooms.

According to Floriana Alessandria,SF Ballet medical administrator,there are two primary reasons forthe Center: to make it easy on thedancers to maintain their health andprevent injury, and to save money oninjury-related expenses.

A dancer’s schedule is hectic. Duringthe season, dancers often rehearsefor six hours and then perform onstage six days a week. It would beunrealistic to expect dancers tospend their few hours of personaltime going to the gym to maintaintheir fitness, or running across townto have a doctor look at a mild achethat might preface an injury. Byoffering a gym and a medical teamat the workplace, the Centerprovides access to maintenance andprevention that fits into dancers’schedules. The more the dancers usethe facilities, the more likely theyare to avoid injury — a benefit thatkeeps them on stage for the audi-ence’s enjoyment and away fromsurgery. The popularity of the newCenter is noticeable and is provingthe old adage that an ounce ofprevention is worth a pound of cure.

Professional HealthcareDr. Richard Gibbs, a former dancerwith an acute understanding of theCompany’s needs, oversees themedical aspects of the DancerWellness Center. Twice weekly he isjoined by three doctors who offertheir services pro bono as theyexamine dancers who have, or maybe heading toward, an injury. Thedoctors also help out with occasionalseminars on important topics suchas nutrition and smoking cessation.

In addition to physicians, the Centerhas a physical therapist who worksCompany hours so that he is on site

Volume III, Number 2 Summer 2006

Staying Healthy at the Dancer Wellness Center

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Medical Administrator Floriana Alessandria helps Principal Dancer Kristin Long prepare for aday of dance.

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when needed, and two massage therapists who provides ten hours ofmassage to dancers each week. TheCenter’s many activities are managedby Alessandria, who directs Companymembers to the care they need,orders and distributes medicalsupplies, and completes a substantialamount of paperwork, includingworker’s compensation reports.

“Consolidating medical staff into the Center helps us keep an eye onthings,” Alessandria explains.“Because dancers make use of thefacilities and professional staff, we are able to notice problems as theydevelop. If a dancer has an ache, heor she can see the physical therapistor meet with a doctor before it turnsinto a real problem. Sometimesfollowing a simple prescription, like‘don’t plié deeply for a week, and ice the ankle at night,’ means thedifference between a short-termaggravation and a serious injury.”

While the Ballet strives to provide asmuch onsite care as possible, it is nota medical center. When dancers needtreatment beyond that available atthe Center, they can see their ownpersonal physicians, or be referred to

professionals – doctors, chiropractors,acupuncturists, nutritionists – whohave been identified by Center staffas experts with a keen knowledge ofdancers’ needs. In many cases, theBallet has worked out cost-savingarrangements with highly rankedpractitioners who enjoy the excite-ment and prestige of caring for SanFrancisco Ballet dancers. Thesearrangements, combined with thewonderful pro bono work of theCenter’s doctors, help the Ballet tominimize the expense of keepingdancers well.

Maintaining FitnessStaying fit is the best way for adancer to avoid injury. Surprisingly,dance is more anaerobic thanaerobic. Company members seekingto maintain cardiovascular healthand general fitness need to work outjust like everyone else. The Centeroffers an elliptical trainer, treadmill,and two stationary bicycles thatprovide aerobic exercise with little orno impact, thus avoiding the incep-tion or aggravation of injuries. Freeweights are also available and aremost popular with the male dancers,who need to maintain upper-bodystrength to lift dancers on stage.

Pilates has for decades helped dancers maintain their technique and strengthen areas of weakness.The Center now employs two Pilatesinstructors who are much in demand,especially by female dancers. They areon site four days a week to provideprivate training on the equipment.

Beyond general health and strength,there is another important benefit of the Center’s fitness equipment:because dancers work in a turned out position, they tend to have weakinternal rotators. The parallel footingrequired on cardiovascular equipmentand the strengthening exercisesoffered by Pilates help to build thesemuscles and balance the body toreduce the risk of injury.

Regardless of these benefits and thedancers’ use of this equipment, theyare not the Center’s most popularitem. That honor belongs to thewhirlpool, which provides an excel-lent way to warm up prior to a day ofrehearsals, soothe sore muscles in theevening, or just relax while reading abook. When the whirlpool closes forcleaning, the Company grumbles.

No other ballet company in theUnited States offers as much preven-tative treatment free of cost todancers than San Francisco Ballet.

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Each year, dancers use almost six and one-half miles of 1” Coban tape, the tapefemale dancers prefer for protecting theirtoes.

Company members log about 3,000 hoursper year on the aerobic equipment.

Dr. Gibbs and his colleagues volunteerapproximately 480 hours per year at theCenter.

In December 2005, Blue Shield ofCalifornia donated the first gift designatedspecifically to support the Ballet’s DancerWellness Center.

The Wellness Center’s gym offers dancers access to a variety of fitness equipment.

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The Ballet firmly believes thatspending a bit of money on preven-tion saves a great deal of money ontreatment, and it keeps dancershealthy, happy, and on stage.Alessandria has observed that theCenter “absolutely, positively affects

injury.” Still, she says, the DancerWellness Center hopes to improve itsservices. “Keeping the Center vitalmeans communicating with dancersabout what they want. I know themen would like a lat machine, andthe women would like more time with

our Pilates instructors. There aremany things we would like to offer,but we have a limited budget. We tryto give dancers what they want, butin the meantime, we are happy thatwe can give them what they need.And we are happy with the results.”

After more than two decades with San Francisco Ballet, EvelynCisneros-Legate is returning toSouthern California to take on anew challenge as Academy Directorof Ballet Pacifica in Irvine. Inaddition, she will also serve as the Artistic Director of BalletPacifica’s December performancesof The Nutcracker.

During her years on stage at SanFrancisco Ballet, Cisneros-Legate

was renowned for both her radiantsmile and exquisite technique. Shearrived as an apprentice in 1976 andquickly rose to principal dancer. Tohonor her upon her retirement in1999, an endowed fund was createdin her name; the Evelyn CisnerosFund provides scholarship awards to Ballet School students.

Cisneros-Legate has transformed herrelationship with the Ballet, focusingon education and ultimately being

appointed Ballet EducationCoordinator in 2001. In thiscapacity, she has hosted FamilyConnection workshops, pre-perform-ance talks, Community Matinees,and other education and outreachprograms.

San Francisco Ballet wishes her wellin her new endeavors as she and herhusband, recently-retired PrincipalDancer Stephen Legate, begin theirnew life in Orange County.

Dr. Richard Gibbs, San FranciscoBallet’s supervising physician since1990, brings to his work at theDancer Wellness Center a personalunderstanding of dance that hashelped him relate with Companymembers.

After studying at the Joffrey School,Dr. Gibbs spent 14 years as a profes-sional dancer, touring with theRoyal Winnipeg Ballet, theHamburg Ballet, and First ChamberDance Company, and dancingleading roles by choreographers suchas Jerome Robbins and Agnes DeMille. He taught ballet at the Schoolof the Royal Winnipeg Ballet,Pacific Northwest Ballet, BostonRepertory Ballet, Summer dancelabs in Washington State, HarvardUniversity, and San Francisco BalletSchool. In 1999, he founded AllegroTheater Company, which hasfeatured new works by PrincipalCharacter Dancer Val Caniparoli,former Principal Dancer Julia

Adam, former Corps de Balletmember Corinne Blum, and Dr.Gibbs himself. A program of newworks, Choreographers and Friends -2006, will return to the CowellTheater this June.

When Dr. Gibbs retired from full-time performing, he returned toschool, earning a degree in Englishfrom Harvard and an MD from Yale.Together with his wife Dr. TriciaHellman Gibbs, a former U.S. SkiTeam member, he founded and stillstaffs the San Francisco Free Clinic.The Clinic was honored this year bythe Berkeley School of PublicHealth, which named it theOrganizational Hero of 2006 inPublic Health.

Dr. Gibbs is pleased to merge hisdance career with his newer career asa doctor. “Most of my life has beenin professional dance. It is where Ifeel at home. So how perfect it wasfor me when the Ballet asked my

wife and me to help revise itsapproach to dancer healthcare.”Under his guidance during the past16 years, the Ballet has improvedand increased the dancers’ access tohealth care and reduced the highcosts related to dancer injuries.

Profile: Dr. Richard Gibbs

Update: Evelyn Cisneros

Richard Gibbs works with two young dancersin rehearsal for an Allegro Theater Companyproduction.

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Each year, the Ballet’s endowmentgrows increasingly important to thedaily operations of the entire organi-zation. Its annual distribution helpsmeet the costs of running an inter-nationally renowned company. Asthe endowment’s assets increasethrough appreciation and earnings,as well as from new gifts, so too canthe annual amount transferred to theorganization.

Every spring, the SF BalletEndowment Foundation transfersassets to cover a portion of theBallet’s annual budget. The transfer is equal to five percent of the averagevalue of the endowment as deter-mined on March 31 of the previousthree years. The recent transfer to the Ballet’s 2006 fiscal year was $2.78million – approximately 8.2 percent of the year’s operating budget.

It is important to note that the prin-cipal value of gifts donated to theendowment is not touched. Rather,the amount transferred to the Balleteach year is taken only from theincome and appreciation that thosegifts have earned through wiseinvesting.

The Ballet’s long range plan projectsthat the endowment’s assets willreach three times the amount of the

operating budget by the close of the2008 fiscal year, the Ballet’s 75th

anniversary. This will enable theendowment transfer to cover tenpercent of the Ballet’s annual oper-ating expenses. Much of this growthwill come from gifts to our currentendowment campaign, Performing atthe Pinnacle, which aims to raise $35million over a five year period. Todate, almost $27 million has beencommitted toward this goal.

The Ballet Endowment: Making a Difference Today

The following calculation shows how San Francisco Ballet determines the annual amount tobe transferred from the endowment:

Endowment assets as of March 31, 2003: $43,374,175Endowment assets as of March 31, 2004: $58,654,873Endowment assets as of March 31, 2005: $65,011,205

$167,040,253

Three-year average: $55,680,084Five percent of average value, transferred to SF Ballet in March 2006: $2,784,004

During the past ten fiscal years, the Endowment Foundation has transferred more than $17 million to San Francisco Ballet’s annual operatingbudget, covering an increasing portion of that budget: from 3.6 percent in 1997 to 8.2 percent in 2006.

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

$3,000,000

$2,500,000

$2,000,000

$1,500,000

$1,000,000

$500,000

3.6%

4.4%

5.6%4.9%

7.0%6.1%

6.9%

7.0%

7.4%

8.2%

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The Dancer Wellness Center hashelped San Francisco Ballet movetoward the future, enabling ourdancers to enjoy long careers andoffer exceptional performances to ouraudiences. We invite you to providefor the Company’s continued well-being and success when you plan foryour own future. As you considerwills, living trusts, and other estatematters important to you and yourfamily, there are many ways yourplanning can make a difference tothe Ballet. One estate planning ideaparticularly relevant to the Bay Areais a gift of real estate.

As the real estate market hasboomed, many people find thattheir net worth has increaseddramatically. They may own prop-erty that they and their children donot use, but that would result insubstantial capital gains tax ifsold. If you own appreciated prop-erty – whether it is your primaryhome, a vacation house, or invest-ment property – you can supportthe Ballet’s future and also receivecurrent tax benefits rather thantax penalties. Each person’s situation is unique, but here aresome examples of the available

options and how you might benefit:

•You can donate your home to theBallet, retain the right to live in itduring your lifetime, and receive animmediate income tax charitablededuction.

•If you are moving out of yourhome or have another piece of realestate you don’t use and you wouldlike to receive income from theasset’s value, you can donate it to a charitable remainder trust,which will pay you income for life,allow you to claim an immediateincome tax charitable deduction,and ultimately distribute funds to the Ballet.

•You can retain ownership of yourhome during your lifetime andbequeath it to the Ballet in yourwill or living trust.

Whatever option you choose, yourgift will allow the Ballet to continueits mission of presenting superbballet, training young dancers, andsharing the joy of the art form withchildren and new audiences in thecommunity. For information on realestate gifts and on The LegacyCircle (San Francisco Ballet’ssociety to acknowledge plannedgiving donors), contact AllisonGroves, planned giving manager,at 415.864.4784 oragroves@sfballet.org.

San Francisco Ballet gratefullyaccepts gifts of stock to the AnnualFund and the EndowmentFoundation. Many donors supportthe Ballet by giving shares of stockthat have grown in value and thatthey have owned for more than oneyear. Donations of appreciated stockcan allow a donor to make a generousgift and claim a charitable deduction

for the fair market value of thestock, without paying any capitalgains tax on the appreciation.

Gifts of stock can be electronicallytransferred to our account at SutterSecurities using the followinginstructions:Pershing LLC, DTC #0443For further credit to the account of

San Francisco Ballet Association,A/C AOY #001703

It is important to contact AllisonGroves, planned giving manger, at415.865.4784 or agroves@sfballet.orgprior to the transfer so that the giftcan be properly identified andacknowledged for tax purposes.

Planning for the Ballet’s Future

Elizabeth Miner and Pierre-François Villanoba in Mark Morris’ Sylvia. The April 21performance of Sylvia at the War Memorial Opera House was made possible in part by theLewis and Emily Callaghan Fund of the San Francisco Ballet Endowment Foundation.

An Important Update About Gifts of Stock

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SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ENDOWMENT FOUNDATIONBOARD OF DIRECTORS

John S. OsterweisPresident

George W. RoweVice-President

Richard C. BarkerSusan S. BriggsJ. Stuart Francis

Thomas E. HornTreasurer

Chris HellmanGeorge B. JamesJames D. Marver

Patricia A. TeRollerSecretary

Carole ObleyRobert M. Smelick

Non ProfitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 6787

San Francisco, CA

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET455 Franklin StreetSan Francisco,CA 94102

New York City LincolnCenter EngagementJuly 25 – July 30Join SF Ballet on tour with a package of specialevents including a receptionwith Company members;premium seating for theOpening Night performance;

a backstage tour of the New York State Theater;and more. Tickets are $1,000per person ($650 of which is tax deductible) and $350for children 21 and under.Contact Kristi DeCaminadaat 415.865.4711 or kdecaminada@sfballet.org.

Upcoming Events at San Francisco Ballet

Company members performLubovitch’s Elemental Brubeck.

Legacy News OnlineTo learn more aboutsupporting the Balletthrough your estate planor to read Legacy Newsonline, visit our website atsfballet.org/support/bequests©

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