You probably first saw Madeline Woo on social media. She popped to the forefront of the digital dance consciousness in the early 2020s, when clips of her in class at Royal Swedish Ballet went viral. Now with San Francisco Ballet, Woo is a forward-looking force in ballet: a celebrated principal who prioritizes being relatable, an exacting technician with a focus on individuality, and a multidimensional artist whose influence extends far beyond the stage.

For 53 years, San Francisco Ballet audiences have watched Val Caniparoli disappear into a character, whether the eccentric Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker, the titular errant knight in Don Quixote, or the menacing Herod in Arthur Pita’s Salome. A dancer with the company since 1973 and a principal character dancer since 1985, he’s also a prolific […]

From a rare revival to beloved ballets to new works, here are five performances we have on our calendars this month.

In 2022, Lleyton Ho was at a crossroads. He’d just wrapped up his first full season as a corps de ballet member with San Francisco Ballet (the previous two seasons’ programming had been interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic), and he was eager to continue dancing with the company. Ho had completed his freshman year at […]

Closer Than Yesterday, directed by Lisa Le Lievre, follows San Francisco Ballet’s Carmela Mayo as she prepares for the 2022 Helsinki International Ballet Competition. The documentary shows Mayo, who had recently recovered from surgery, rehearsing competition variations with partner Esteban Cuadrado and coach Tiit Helimets. A series of twists and turns complicate the days leading […]

A shower of flowers and a sustained standing ovation marked the end of an era: Yuan Yuan Tan’s retirement from San Francisco Ballet after almost 30 years on February 14, her 48th birthday. A muse to choreographers, an inspiration to generations of dancers, and a deeply beloved audience favorite, Tan, known as YY to friends and colleagues, played a central role in the company’s success during Helgi Tomasson’s­ long tenure as artistic director.

For dancers, strengthening acting ability can enhance not only artistry and confidence but also storytelling onstage. After all, there is a lot of overlap between the two art forms. “Acting is mostly listening and being present,” says Isadora Wolfe, the associate artistic director of Sleep No More and a teacher of the Acting for Dancers class at The Juilliard School. “Dancers have those skills. That’s what we’re doing all the time: listening in a million different ways.”

The spring performance season is moving full steam ahead with literary-inspired ballets, a queer reimagining of Carmen, and premieres drawing from everything from the upcoming solar eclipse to contemporary American politics. Here’s what’s grabbing our attention.