Classical ballet is competitive but the true competition is with oneself. It’s about progressing towards your goals and always striving to be “Closer Than Yesterday”.

“Closer Than Yesterday" is an intimate documentary that offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the journey of two young San Francisco Ballet dancers as they prepare for the Helsinki International Ballet Competition. The film follows Carmela Mayo who has returned to dance after back surgery. The competition is a significant milestone for her comeback.

Coached by Principal Dancer Tiit Helimets, she partners with Esteban Cuadrado and their rigorous preparations commence. However, they encounter numerous challenges due to the pandemic, and their path takes unexpected twists even before they set foot on the competition stage.

CAST


  • Dancer

    Carmela started dancing at Inspire Dance Company in Las Vegas. She then attended San Francisco Ballet School and continued into the Trainee Program in 2016. She was named an apprentice in 2017, joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in 2018 and was promoted to soloist in 2024.

  • Dancer

    Born in La Habana, Cuba, Alexis trained at Escuela Nacional de Ballet Fernando Alonso, Academy of Arts, The HARID Conservatory and the San Francisco Ballet Trainee Program. He was named an apprentice in 2020 and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in 2022.

  • Producer and Coach

    Before joining San Francisco Ballet, Tiit was a Principal Dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Estonian National Ballet. Tiit made history in Estonia by being the youngest male dancer ever to perform the role of Siegfried in Swan Lake.

    In 2011 Tiit formed a touring company Helimets and Co, in 2012 he created a dance/music installation at the de Young Museum, and in 2013 he produced Estonian National Ballet’s San Francisco tour. He received an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Performance for his 2015 performances of Giselle and the Award for Outstanding Performance in Estonia for guest appearances in The Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet.

  • Dancer

    Esteban started dancing at his mother's dance school, Create Danse, in South of France, at the age of three. He joined Advance Ballet School and competed in ballet competitions from age seven until ten when he was scouted by the director of the Paris Opera Ballet School. He attended Paris Opéra School until the age of sixteen when he moved to San Francisco Ballet School.

    In 2017 he joined the San Francisco Ballet Trainee program and in 2018 was hired as an apprentice in the company. He officially joined the company as a member of the Corp de Ballet in 2019 where he danced for four years.

    He returned to Paris Opera Ballet as Surnuméraire for the 2023-2024 season and in 2024 he was cast as Core dancer for the Upcoming Primevideo Tv Série Étoile, which marks the beginning of his acting debut.

“I wanted to create a film that reflects the real experience of professional ballet dancers and dispels the myths and stereotypes surrounding this art form. What does it take to reach the highest levels of ballet?

— Lisa Le Lievre, Producer/Director

CREW


  • Producer and Coach

    Before joining San Francisco Ballet, Tiit was a Principal Dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Estonian National Ballet. Tiit made history in Estonia by being the youngest male dancer ever to perform the role of Siegfried in Swan Lake.

    In 2011 Tiit formed a touring company Helimets and Co, in 2012 he created a dance/music installation at the de Young Museum, and in 2013 he produced Estonian National Ballet’s San Francisco tour. He received an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Performance for his 2015 performances of Giselle and the Award for Outstanding Performance in Estonia for guest appearances in The Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet.

  • Producer / Director

    Lisa Le Lievre is an award-winning filmmaker best known for her short dance film "Sirens Tango.” She was introduced to film through a chance encounter and collaboration with two filmmakers while dancing at an artist residency in Italy. Here, she discovered how her passion for dance could be expressed through the film medium, and she has since worked on many films in the dance, narrative, and documentary genres.

    She was a producer on the award-winning short “Dancing with Nureyev” and editor of the award-winning comedy/horror short “He Knows”. She assisted with the documentary film series “Life on the Water” performing in various roles. This is her first time directing a documentary film and her first feature.

  • Director of Photography

    As a kid I was sure of one thing: when I was older I was going to be a Ghostbuster. I was going to haul my Proton Pack and Ghost Trap around in the Ecto-1, live in an old firehouse, and save my hometown from the tyranny of paranormal beings, three of my best buds in tow. When I came to learn that Ghostbusters weren’t real, but were instead fictional characters created for a movie, I did the rational thing and made my first and only career move into film making. The logic being, maybe I couldn’t be a Ghostbuster, but I could help make them…and hopefully meet one. Before attending film school I toured the country playing rowdy punk music with my non-Ghostbuster best buds. I gained a lot of experience on the road and through it accustomed myself to being exhausted, uncomfortable, and sometimes starving all the while chasing after creativity as fast as our beat-up van would go.

    I eventually made my way to San Francisco where I attended the Academy of Art University and studied cinematography. I again found myself in a state of lacking human comforts, but overflowing creatively. As a result of that experience and the connections I made within my program I was able to get myself onto set working as a First AC on numerous films, commercials, and music videos, leading me into my current role as a Director of Photography. As such, I practice technically adept filmmaking with a focus on igniting the imagination and pulling on the heart strings of my audience, the kind of film making that would make anyone want to be a Ghostbuster.

  • Composer

    Peter Cavallo is an award winning Australian composer with experience in orchestral scoring for film and TV. Peter is a true storyteller, meticulously weaving emotion into his work in a way that effortlessly marries with visuals and transports the listener into new realms. He has received plentiful recognition for his work including Winner for Best Television Theme for the Australian Screen Music Awards.

    He has completed documentaries and numerous film productions and is becoming a sought after composer with a unique ability to beautifully support an emotion in picture. Peter has recorded live orchestras in Prague, Budapest, South Africa and Australia and his music is enjoyed by many listeners worldwide.

The film screening is particularly relevant to San Francisco Ballet fans, but will likely fascinate all cinephiles. The film is a refreshingly non-sensationalized view of the art form’s more grueling aspects.

Datebook, San Francisco Chronicle

“Closer Than Yesterday” might well appeal most to dancers, but the movie, which also features former San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson, should grab you even if you have two left feet.”

Local News Matters, Bay Area