San Francisco Ballet
General information
Name	San Francisco Ballet
Previous names	San Francisco Opera Ballet
Year founded	1933; 91 years ago (1933)
Founders	Willam Christensen, Harold Christensen, Lew Christensen
Principal venue	War Memorial Opera House San Francisco
Website	www.sfballet.org
Artistic staff
Artistic Director	Tamara Rojo
Principal Conductor	Martin West
Other
Official school	San Francisco Ballet School http://school.sfballet.org

San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, and effective December 2022 under the direction of Tamara Rojo. It is among the world's leading dance companies, presenting more than 100 performances annually, with a repertoire that spans both classical and contemporary ballet. Along with American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet has been described as part of the "triumvirate of great classical companies defining the American style on the world stage today."^[1]

History

Founding: Christensen brothers

Willam Christensen, Harold Christensen, and Lew Christensen made up the famed trio of brothers considered by many to have done more than anyone else to establish ballet in the United States. Born into an artistic and musical family, the three brothers studied folk dance and ballet from early ages and went on to tour the famous vaudeville Orpheum Circuit during the 1920s and 1930s, exposing many Americans to ballet for the first time with their act "The Christ Brothers".^[2]

As vaudeville faded from American popular culture, Harold and Lew joined George Balanchine's new company, American Ballet, in 1935. In 1932, Willam formed a ballet school in Portland, Oregon; in 1937, he was engaged as principal male soloist by San Francisco Opera Ballet.^[3] He became the company's ballet master and choreographer in 1938. With his brother Harold, he purchased the company from the Opera in 1942, renaming it San Francisco Ballet.^[4] In 1951, Willam retired as director of SF Ballet and moved to Utah, where he started teaching ballet in the country's first university ballet department at the University of Utah. With a group of his students, he founded the Utah Civic Ballet (now known as Ballet West) in 1963; the company remained under Christensen's directorship until 1978.^[5]

Under Balanchine's tutelage at American Ballet, Lew Christensen became the first American-born danseur noble.^[4] The United States Army drafted Christensen to fight in World War II. After the war ended, he joined Balanchine's and Lincoln Kirstein's Ballet Society (soon to become New York City Ballet), eventually becoming ballet master; he served in the role from 1946 until 1950.^[6] In 1951, he joined his brother Willam as co-director of San Francisco Ballet. When Willam moved to Salt Lake City later that year, Lew took over as full director of SF Ballet; he held the position until 1976, when Michael Smuin joined him as co-director. Lew Christensen remained SF Ballet co-director until 1984, the year of his death.^[3]

After leaving the vaudeville circuit in 1935, Harold Christensen danced with American Ballet, San Francisco Opera Ballet, Kirstein's Ballet Caravan, and San Francisco Ballet until his retirement from the stage in 1946.^[7] In 1940, his brother Willam invited him to become director of the San Francisco Ballet School, and in 1942 he and Willam purchased the SF Ballet. Harold continued to serve as the school's director until his retirement in 1975.

Emmy Award winning choreographer and dancer James Starbuck was a principal dancer with the San Francisco Opera Ballet from 1935-1938; and left the company to become the first American man to dance with the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo.^[8]

1938–1950

In 1938, the company's first major production was Coppélia, choreographed by Willam Christensen.^[9] In 1940, it staged Swan Lake, the first time that the ballet was produced in its entirety by an American company. On Christmas Eve 1944, the company staged Nutcracker—the first complete production of Tchaikovsky's most popular piece ever danced in the United States.

In 1942, San Francisco Opera Ballet split into two independent companies, ballet and opera. The ballet half was sold to Willam and Harold Christensen. Willam became artistic director, while Harold took on the job of director of the San Francisco Ballet School.^[9] The San Francisco Ballet Guild was also formed as a support organization for San Francisco Ballet.^[10]

1951–1972

The year 1951 marked a significant shift in administration of San Francisco Ballet. Lew Christensen—premier danseur at the time—partnered with his brother Willam Christensen as co-directors. Then in 1952, Lew Christensen took over as sole director. Under his guidance, San Francisco Ballet began to travel and establish itself as a significant American ballet company. Until 1956, San Francisco Ballet had remained on the West Coast, but Christensen took the company to the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts. In 1957, it was the first American ballet company to tour the Far East, performing in 11 Asian nations.^[9] On New Year's Day 1965, ABC-TV televised a one-hour abridgement of the Lew Christensen-choreographed production of Nutcracker featuring San Francisco Ballet.

In 1972, San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House was named the official residence of San Francisco Ballet.

1973–1985

In 1973, Michael Smuin became co-artistic director of San Francisco Ballet with Lew Christensen; Smuin had danced with the Company from 1953 to 1961.^[11] Under his direction, the national and international profile of SF Ballet was raised significantly by the broad success of productions such as 1977's Romeo and Juliet, which aired on the PBS series Great Performances: Dance in America in 1978.^[12] This televised performance marked the first time that a West Coast ballet company, and a full-length ballet, was shown on the PBS TV series.^[13] PBS televised three more of Smuin's SF Ballet productions, and his productions of The Tempest and A Song for Dead Warriors went on to win Emmy Awards. Smuin led the company until 1985.

1985–present

Helgi Tomasson's 1985 arrival as artistic director marked the beginning of a new era for San Francisco Ballet. Under Tomasson's direction,^[14] San Francisco Ballet has been recognized as one of the most innovative ballet companies in the world due to its early and frequent commissioning of new works by aspiring choreographers around the globe,^[15] the breadth of its repertory—spanning classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and contemporary ballet—and the diversity of its company members.^[16] The Financial Times noted in 2012, "Tomasson ... helped shatter the distinction between the US top companies and so-called 'regional companies'".^[17]

Over a span of more than 25 years, Tomasson has staged acclaimed full-length productions of classics including Swan Lake (1988, 2009); The Sleeping Beauty (1990); Romeo and Juliet (1994); Giselle (1999); Don Quixote, co-staged with former principal dancer and current choreographer in residence Yuri Possokhov (2003); and Nutcracker (2004). Tomasson's Nutcracker, set in San Francisco during the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, is notable for being the only uniquely San Francisco Nutcracker. It features sets (including "a backdrop of San Francisco's Victorian houses known as 'painted ladies'")^[18] and costumes created by, respectively, Michael Yeargan and Martin Pakledinaz, both repeat Tony Award-winning designers.^[19] Upon its premiere, The New York Times called Tomasson's Nutcracker "striking, elegant and beautiful".^[18]

Today, San Francisco Ballet presents approximately 100 performances each year. The company's diverse repertory includes works by Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, David Bintley, August Bournonville, Val Caniparoli, Lew Christensen, Nacho Duato, Jorma Elo, William Forsythe, James Kudelka, Jirí Kylián, Serge Lifar, Lar Lubovitch, Wayne McGregor, Agnes de Mille, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Hans van Manen, Peter Martins, Mark Morris, Rudolf Nureyev, Marius Petipa, Roland Petit, Yuri Possokhov, Alexei Ratmansky, Jerome Robbins, Liam Scarlett, Paul Taylor, Helgi Tomasson, Antony Tudor, and Christopher Wheeldon.

In 2010, the Ballet's opening-night gala, Silver Celebration, honored Tomasson's 25 years as artistic director.^[20]

The Gala Opening of San Francisco Ballet's 80th Season included Tarantella pas de deux, L'Arlesienne solo, Flower Festival at Genzano pas de deux, In the Passerine's Clutch, Raymonda’s Act II solo, Trio second movement, Don Quixote grand pas de deux, Onegin Act 1 pas de deux, Stars and Stripes pas de deux, After the Rain pas de deux, and excerpts from Suite en Blanc.^[21]

San Francisco Ballet's 2013 season included Trio, Ghost and Borderlands^[22] as well as Suite en blanc, In the night, Nijinsky, The Rite of Spring, Onegin, Raymonda Act III and Cinderella.^[23]

The 2014 season included Giselle, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Tears, Borderlands, From Foreign Lands, Firebird, Ghosts, The Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadère, Cinderella, Shostakovich Trilogy, Caprice, Maelstrom, The Rite of Spring, Hummingbird, The Fifth Season, Suite en Blanc, Agon, Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, and Glass Pieces.^[24]

The 2015 season included Serenade, RAkU, Lambarena, Giselle, The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Variations for Two Couples, Manifesto, The Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadère, Act II, Dances at a Gathering, Hummingbird, Don Quixote, Shostakovich Trilogy, Caprice, Swimmer, and Romeo & Juliet.^[25][26]

The 2017 season included "Haffner Symphony," "Fragile Vessels," "In the Countenance of Kings," "Seven Sonatas," "Optimistic Tragedy," "Pas/Parts 2016," "Frankenstein," "Stravinsky Violin Concerto," "Prodigal Son," "Diamonds," "Fusion," "Salome," "Fearful Symmetries," "Swan Lake," "Trio," "Ghost in the Machine," "Within the Golden Hour," and "Cinderella."

In January 2021, Tomasson announced that he will retire from the company at the end of 2022.^[27] In January 2022, it was announced that Tamara Rojo will succeed Tomasson.^[28]

Programming

San Francisco Ballet performs repertory from January through May at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco.^[29] In addition, the company performs in July at the Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco,^[30] tours nationally in the summer and fall, and presents Nutcracker in December at the War Memorial Opera House.^[29]

Festivals and touring

In 1991, San Francisco Ballet performed in New York City for the first time in 26 years, returning in 1993, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2008, and 2013. Following the initial tour, The New York Times proclaimed, "Mr. Tomasson has accomplished the unprecedented: He has pulled a so-called regional company into the national ranks, and he has done so by honing the dancers into a classical style of astonishing verve and purity. San Francisco Ballet under Helgi Tomasson's leadership is one of the spectacular success stories of the arts in America."^[16]

In May 1995, San Francisco Ballet hosted 12 ballet companies from around the world for UNited We Dance: An International Festival. The festival commemorated the 50th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter, which took place at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center.

In fall 2008, as part of the company's 75th anniversary celebration, San Francisco Ballet embarked on a critically acclaimed four-city American tour with engagements at Chicago's Harris Theater for Music and Dance, New York City Center, Southern California's Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The year culminated in a New Works Festival of world premieres by 10 of the dance world's most acclaimed choreographers—Julia Adam, Val Caniparoli, Jorma Elo, Margaret Jenkins, James Kudelka, Mark Morris, Yuri Possokhov, Paul Taylor, Stanton Welch, and Christopher Wheeldon. Other anniversary initiatives included a commemorative book, San Francisco Ballet at Seventy-Five, and the broadcast of Tomasson's Nutcracker in December 2008 on the Great Performances: Dance in America series on PBS, produced in partnership with KQED Public Television in San Francisco.

San Francisco Ballet also performed in frequent overseas tours, including engagements at prestigious venues such as the famed Opéra de Paris-Palais Garnier in Paris (1994, 2001); London's Sadler's Wells Theatre (1999, 2004, 2012) and Royal Opera House in Covent Garden (2002); Athens' Megaron Theatre (2002) and Herod Atticus Amphitheatre (2004); Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens (1998, 2010); and the Edinburgh International Festival at the Edinburgh Playhouse (1997, 2003). In fall 2009, San Francisco Ballet made its first trip to the People's Republic of China, with performances in Shanghai and Beijing.

In 2012, San Francisco Ballet embarked on the longest tour in the company's history, with engagements in London and Washington, DC, as well as first-time visits to Hamburg, Germany; Moscow; and Sun Valley, Idaho.

Broadcast and media projects

In 1978, San Francisco Ballet's Michael Smuin-directed production of Romeo and Juliet became the first production by a West Coast ballet company, and the first full-length ballet, to be aired by the PBS Great Performances: Dance in America television series.^[13] Under the direction of Smuin, the ballet's 1981 production of The Tempest became the first ballet to be broadcast live (on PBS) from the War Memorial Opera House. Three years later, the 1984 PBS broadcast of the Ballet's performance of A Song for Dead Warriors earned Smuin an Emmy.^[11]

The fruitful relationship between PBS and SF Ballet continues to this day, with regular broadcasts of the Ballet's 2007 production of Nutcracker, choreographed by Helgi Tomasson. I Also in 2007, the Company had its first theatrical release with Nutcracker, shown in limited theaters in Canada, Australia, and the U.S. In 2011, theatrical distributor IndieNetFilms arranged for additional screenings throughout the U.S. and Canada.

In December 2011, the U.S. premiere of John Neumeier's The Little Mermaid, performed by San Francisco Ballet, was broadcast nationally on PBS's Great Performances: Dance in America, and also internationally. DVDs of the Nutcracker and The Little Mermaid performances were released in 2008 and 2011, respectively. CD recordings of the complete score of Nutcracker and Shinji Eshima's RAkU were released in 2010 and 2012, respectively.

Accolades and awards

The company has garnered numerous accolades and awards. In 2005, San Francisco Ballet won its first Laurence Olivier Award, in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Dance, for its 2004 fall season at Sadler's Wells Theatre. Of the engagement, London's The Sunday Times proclaimed, "Helgi Tomasson's outstanding artistic direction ... has transformed a regional American troupe into one of the world's top ballet companies."^[1] In 2006, in a readers' poll conducted by Dance Europe magazine, San Francisco Ballet was the first non-European company to be voted "Company of the Year". In 2008, San Francisco Ballet received the Jerome Robbins Award for excellence in dance.

In 2012, Helgi Tomasson was named recipient of the Dance/USA Honor, acknowledging individuals' contributions to dance in America and the role they play in the national dance community. Most recently, San Francisco Ballet was nominated in the category of Outstanding Company by the 2014 National Dance Awards, based in the U.K.

Company

Artistic Director

• Tamara Rojo

Ballet Masters & Assistants to the Artistic Director

• Ricardo Bustamante
• Felipe Diaz

Ballet Masters

• Tina LeBlanc
• Anita Paciotti
• Katita Waldo

Choreographer In Residence

• Yuri Possokhov

Company teachers

• Helgi Tomasson
• Patrick Armand
• Ricardo Bustamante
• Felipe Diaz

Principal dancers

Name	Nationality	Training	Joined SFB	Promoted to Principal	Other Companies
Frances Chung	Canada	Goh Ballet Academy	2001	2009
Sasha De Sola	United States	Kirov Academy of Ballet	2007	2017
Nikisha Fogo	Sweden	Royal Swedish Ballet School The Royal Ballet School	2020	N/A, Joined as Principal	Vienna State Ballet
Angelo Greco	Italy	Il Balletto La Scala Ballet School	2016	2017	La Scala Ballet
Esteban Hernandez	Mexico	The Rock School for Dance Education The Royal Ballet School	2013	2018
Isaac Hernandez		The Rock School for Dance Education	2008	2022	Dutch National Ballet English National Ballet
Jasmine Jimison	United States	Bay Area Dance School Menlo Park Academy of Dance San Francisco Ballet School	2018	2024
Misa Kuranaga	Japan	Jinushi Kaoru Ballet School School of American Ballet	2001	2019	Boston Ballet
Wona Park	South Korea	Sunhwa Arts School San Francisco Ballet School	2017	2020
Aaron Robison	United Kingdom	Institut del Teatre The Royal Ballet School	2016, 2018	N/A, Joined as Principal	English National Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet Corella Ballet Houston Ballet
Jennifer Stahl	United States	Maria Lazar's Classical Ballet Academy San Francisco Ballet School	2006	2017
Joseph Walsh		Walnut Hill School of the Arts Houston Ballet's Ben Stevenson Academy	2014	2014	Houston Ballet
Wei Wang	China	Beijing Dance Academy, San Francisco Ballet School	2013	2018
WanTing Zhao		Beijing Dance Academy The Rock School for Dance Education San Francisco Ballet School	2011	2019

Principal character dancers

Soloists

Name	Nationality	Training	Joined SFB	Promoted to Soloist	Other Companies
Katherine Barkman	United States	Private Training with Nadia Pavlenko	2022	N/A, Joined as Soloist	Manila Ballet The Washington Ballet
Cavan Conley		The Harid Conservatory Nutmeg Conservatory	2018	2019	Tulsa Ballet Tulsa Ballet II
Diego Cruz	Spain	Emilia Bailo Dance School Escuela Municipal de Danza Estudio de Danza de Maria de Avila San Francisco Ballet School	2006	2020
Daniel Deivison-Oliveira	Brazil	Cia Brasileira de Ballet Ballet da Cidade de Niteroi Escola de Danças Maria Olenewa Petite Danse School San Francisco Ballet School	2005	2011	Cia Brasileira de Ballet Ballet de Cidade de Niteroi
Isabella DeVivo	United States	School of American Ballet San Francisco Ballet School	2013	2017
Ellen Rose Hummel		North Carolina Dance Theatre San Francisco Ballet School	2012	2020
Norika Matsuyama	Japan	Yuki Miho Ballet Palos Verdes Ballet Lauridsen Ballet Centre San Francisco Ballet School	2014	2021
Steven Morse	United States	Maple Conservatory of Dance Laurisden Dance Centre Long Beach Ballet Arts Center San Francisco Ballet School	2009	2017
Sasha Mukhamedov	United Kingdom	Elmhurst School for Dance The Royal Ballet School Arts Educational School	2019	N/A, Joined as Soloist	Dutch National Ballet
Elizabeth Powell	United States	Boston Ballet School San Francisco Ballet School	2012	2018
Julia Rowe		Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet San Francisco Ballet School	2013	2016	Oregon Ballet Theatre
Myles Thatcher		Margo Clifford Ging The Harid Conservatory Edward Ellison Professional Training Program San Francisco Ballet School	2010	2020
Lonnie Weeks		Faubourg School of Ballet Ruth Page Center for the Arts Texas Ballet Theater School	2010	2018	Texas Ballet Theater

Corps de ballet