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87-646: 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

174-597: 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." 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

261-524: A Gathering, Hummingbird, Don Quixote, Shostakovich Trilogy, Caprice, Swimmer, and Romeo & Juliet . 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

348-554: A ballet school in Portland, Oregon; in 1937, he was engaged as principal male soloist by San Francisco Opera Ballet. 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. 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

435-1029: 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

522-444: A rigorous search, Cordula Merks was appointed Concertmaster in 2016. As of February 2024, the musicians and staff included: Ballet company Ballet companies routinely make a loss at the box office and depend on external financial support of one kind or another. In Europe, most of this support comes in the form of government subsidies, though private donations are usually solicited as well. In North America, private donations are

609-444: A separate administrative staff that deals with marketing, accounts, personnel issues, logistics and so on. Larger companies employ a permanent staff of craftsmen and craftswomen such as prop makers and costume makers, and technical staff such as lighting technicians and stage managers. Smaller companies hire freelancers for these roles as and when required. Some companies also have physiotherapists , masseurs , and physical trainers on

696-400: 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

783-417: 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

870-540: A string of beautiful flowers perform a waltz. To conclude the night, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier perform a dance. A final waltz is performed by all the sweets, after which the Sugar Plum Fairy ushers Clara and the Prince down from their throne. He bows to her, she kisses Clara goodbye, and leads them to a reindeer-drawn sleigh. It takes off as they wave goodbye to all the subjects who wave back. In

957-428: Is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a ballet-féerie ; Russian: балет-феерия , romanized:  balet-feyeriya ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination. The plot is an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' 1844 short story The Nutcracker , itself a retelling of E. T. A. Hoffmann 's 1816 short story The Nutcracker and

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1044-435: Is called the artistic director . He or she is usually a retired dancer, and often they choreograph some of the company's productions themselves. In a large company, they will have one or more assistants. Day-to-day coaching of the dancers is the responsibility of one or more ballet masters and ballet mistresses . Some companies also employ répétiteurs and dance notators . There is often a resident choreographer . All but

1131-465: Is her doll's name. In the adaptation by Dumas on which Petipa based his libretto, her name is Marie Silberhaus. In still other productions, such as Balanchine's, Clara is Marie Stahlbaum rather than Clara Silberhaus. Scene 1: The Stahlbaum Home In Nuremberg, Germany on Christmas Eve in the 1820s, a family and their friends gather in the parlor to decorate the Christmas tree in preparation for

1218-402: Is often shared with an opera company resident in the same theatre or opera house. Smaller companies hire a local orchestra on a contract basis for each season of performances, or hire a scratch orchestra for specific performances, e.g. when they are on tour. During company classes and rehearsals, music is provided by one or more staff or freelance pianists. All but the smallest companies have

1305-400: Is transformed into a human prince. He leads Clara through the moonlit night to a pine forest in which the snowflakes dance around them, beckoning them on to his kingdom as the first act ends. The Land of Sweets Clara and the Prince travel to the beautiful Land of Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Prince's place until his return. He recounts for her how he had been saved from

1392-567: Is written for an orchestra with the following instrumentation. Woodwinds Brass Percussion Keyboard Voice Strings Titles of all of the numbers listed here come from Marius Petipa's original scenario as well as the original libretto and programs of the first production of 1892. All libretti and programs of works performed on the stages of the Imperial Theatres were titled in French, which

1479-566: The Christmas season . ) Tchaikovsky is said to have argued with a friend who wagered that the composer could not write a melody based on a one-octave scale in sequence. Tchaikovsky asked if it mattered whether the notes were in ascending or descending order and was assured it did not. This resulted in the Adagio from the Grand pas de deux , which, in the ballet, nearly always immediately follows

1566-845: 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. In 1978, San Francisco Ballet's Michael Smuin-directed production of Romeo and Juliet became

1653-653: The Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Although the libretto was by Marius Petipa , who exactly choreographed the first production has been debated. Petipa began work on the choreography in August 1892; however, illness removed him from its completion and his assistant of seven years, Lev Ivanov , was brought in. Although Ivanov is often credited as the choreographer, some contemporary accounts credit Petipa. The performance

1740-644: The Royal Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet . In recent years, revisionist productions, including those by Mark Morris , Matthew Bourne , and Mikhail Chemiakin have appeared; these depart radically from both the original 1892 libretto and Vainonen's revival, while Maurice Béjart 's version completely discards the original plot and characters. In addition to annual live stagings of the work, many productions have also been televised or released on home video. The following extrapolation of

1827-744: 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. Under Balanchine's tutelage at American Ballet, Lew Christensen became the first American-born danseur noble . 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

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1914-738: 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. 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

2001-531: The "Waltz of the Flowers". A story is also told that Tchaikovsky's sister Alexandra (9 January 1842 — 9 April 1891 ) had died shortly before he began composition of the ballet and that his sister's death influenced him to compose a melancholy, descending scale melody for the adagio of the Grand Pas de Deux. However, it is more naturally perceived as a dreams-come-true theme because of another celebrated scale use,

2088-1199: 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 ' ") and costumes created by, respectively, Michael Yeargan and Martin Pakledinaz, both repeat Tony Award -winning designers. Upon its premiere, The New York Times called Tomasson's Nutcracker "striking, elegant and beautiful". 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,

2175-602: The 19th century and early to mid-20th century the top female dancer was often recognized as the prima ballerina , but this practice has ceased. Male and female dancers were historically split into separate hierarchies (for more information see ballerina ). Today, many companies choose to use a gender-neutral hierarchy. Some companies (mainly in Russia and countries strongly influenced by Russian ballet ) employ specialist character dancers : unlike ballerinas female character dancers do not dance en pointe . The largest ballet company in

2262-630: 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

2349-609: 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,

2436-549: The Ballet's opening-night gala, Silver Celebration , honored Tomasson's 25 years as artistic director. 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

2523-511: The Christensen-founded Ballet West . The New York City Ballet gave its first annual performance of George Balanchine 's reworked staging of The Nutcracker in 1954. The performance of Maria Tallchief in the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy helped elevate the work from obscurity into an annual Christmas classic and the industry's most reliable box-office draw. Critic Walter Terry remarked that "Maria Tallchief, as

2610-523: The Company; it debuted solely as an orchestra in 1979 at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco's War Memorial Veterans Building, playing a program that included works by Haydn , Ives , and Vivaldi . The SFBO is composed of 49 members and headed by Martin West, music director and conductor. Founding Concertmaster and solo violinist Roy Malan retired in December, 2014, after serving for 40 years. After

2697-910: The European tradition, although some international companies also perform contemporary ballets that merge Western and Eastern themes and dance techniques. Algeria Egypt Tunisia South Africa Armenia Azerbaijan China Hong Kong Indonesia Iran Israel Japan Kazakhstan Mongolia Philippines Singapore South Korea Taiwan Thailand Uzbekistan Austria Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Greece Germany Hungary Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia Lithuania Moldova Monaco Netherlands The Nutcracker The Nutcracker ( Russian : Щелкунчик , romanized :  Shchelkunchik , pronounced [ɕːɪɫˈkunʲt͡ɕɪk] ), Op. 71,

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2784-770: 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. In January 2022, it was announced that Tamara Rojo will succeed Tomasson. San Francisco Ballet performs repertory from January through May at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. In addition, the company performs in July at the Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco, tours nationally in

2871-728: The Mouse King . The ballet's first choreographer was Marius Petipa , with whom Tchaikovsky had worked three years earlier on The Sleeping Beauty , assisted by Lev Ivanov . Although the complete and staged The Nutcracker ballet was not initially as successful as the 20-minute Nutcracker Suite that Tchaikovsky had premiered nine months earlier, it became popular in later years. Since the late 1960s, The Nutcracker has been danced by many ballet companies, especially in North America. Major American ballet companies generate around 40% of their annual ticket revenues from performances of

2958-560: The Mouse King ", by Alexandre Dumas called "The Story of a Nutcracker". The plot of Hoffmann's story (and Dumas' adaptation) was greatly simplified for the two-act ballet. Hoffmann's tale contains a long flashback story within its main plot titled "The Tale of the Hard Nut", which explains how the Prince was turned into the Nutcracker. This had to be excised for the ballet. Petipa gave Tchaikovsky extremely detailed instructions for

3045-485: The Mouse King by Clara and transformed back into himself. In honor of the young heroine, a celebration of sweets from around the world is produced: chocolate from Spain, coffee from Arabia, tea from China, and candy canes from Russia all dance for their amusement; Marzipan shepherdesses perform on their flutes; Mother Ginger has her children, the Polichinelles , emerge from under her enormous hoop skirt to dance;

3132-466: The Rain pas de deux, and excerpts from Suite en Blanc . San Francisco Ballet's 2013 season included Trio , Ghost and Borderlands as well as Suite en blanc , In the night , Nijinsky , The Rite of Spring , Onegin , Raymonda Act III and Cinderella . The 2014 season included Giselle , A Midsummer Night's Dream , Tears , Borderlands , From Foreign Lands , Firebird , Ghosts , The Kingdom of

3219-875: The San Francisco Bay Area, including The Royal Ballet , the Royal Danish Ballet , Stuttgart Ballet , Hamburg Ballet ,the Bolshoi Ballet , Paul Taylor Dance Company , American Ballet Theatre , and the Paris Opéra Ballet . In 1995, the orchestra took on the remarkable task of accompanying 13 international dance companies over the space of a single week in the UNited We Dance Festival. The 49-member orchestra accompanies SF Ballet throughout its winter and spring repertory seasons. It also performs apart from

3306-481: 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 . 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

3393-537: The Sugar Plum Fairy, and Jocelyn Vollmar as the Snow Queen. After the enormous success of this production, San Francisco Ballet has presented Nutcracker every Christmas Eve and throughout the winter season, debuting new productions in 1944, 1954, 1967, and 2004. The original Christensen version continues in Salt Lake City , where Christensen relocated in 1948. It has been performed every year since 1963 by

3480-527: The Sugar Plum Fairy, is herself a creature of magic, dancing the seemingly impossible with effortless beauty of movement, electrifying us with her brilliance, enchanting us with her radiance of being. Does she have any equals anywhere, inside or outside of fairyland? While watching her in The Nutcracker, one is tempted to doubt it." Since Gorsky, Vainonen and Balanchine's productions, many other choreographers have made their own versions. Some institute

3567-610: The U.K. The Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School San Francisco Ballet School San Francisco Ballet School , San Francisco Ballet's official school, is America's oldest ballet school. The program includes classes in technique, pointe work , pas de deux , men's technique, contemporary dance, floor barre /conditioning, and character dance. Male and female students are placed in divisions according to age, experience, and ability. More than 50 percent of current San Francisco Ballet dancers received some training at San Francisco Ballet School. The school

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3654-484: 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. The San Francisco Ballet Guild was also formed as a support organization for San Francisco Ballet. The year 1951 marked

3741-467: 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". As vaudeville faded from American popular culture, Harold and Lew joined George Balanchine 's new company, American Ballet , in 1935. In 1932, Willam formed

3828-609: 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

3915-536: The ascending one in the Barcarolle from The Seasons . Tchaikovsky was less satisfied with The Nutcracker than with The Sleeping Beauty . (In the film Fantasia , commentator Deems Taylor observes that he "really detested" the score.) Tchaikovsky accepted the commission from Vsevolozhsky but did not particularly want to write the ballet (though he did write to a friend while composing it, "I am daily becoming more and more attuned to my task"). The music

4002-544: The ballerina did not dance until the Grand Pas de Deux near the end of the second act (which did not occur until nearly midnight during the program). Some found the transition between the mundane world of the first scene and the fantasy world of the second act too abrupt. Reception was better for Tchaikovsky's score. Some critics called it "astonishingly rich in detailed inspiration" and "from beginning to end, beautiful, melodious, original, and characteristic". But this also

4089-622: The ballet have been staged there since 1952. Another abridged version of the ballet, performed by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo , was staged in New York City in 1940, Alexandra Fedorova – again, after Petipa's version. The ballet's first complete United States performance was on 24 December 1944 by the San Francisco Ballet , staged by its artistic director, Willam Christensen , and starring Gisella Caccialanza as

4176-417: The ballet. Its score has been used in several film adaptations of Hoffmann's story. Tchaikovsky's score has become one of his most famous compositions. Among other things, the score is noted for its use of the celesta , an instrument the composer had already employed in his much lesser known symphonic ballad The Voyevoda (1891). After the success of The Sleeping Beauty in 1890, Ivan Vsevolozhsky ,

4263-503: 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." 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

4350-528: The changes made by Gorsky and Vainonen while others, like Balanchine, utilize the original libretto. Some notable productions include Rudolf Nureyev 's 1963 production for the Royal Ballet , Yury Grigorovich for the Bolshoi Ballet , Mikhail Baryshnikov for the American Ballet Theatre , Fernand Nault for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens starting in 1964, Kent Stowell for Pacific Northwest Ballet starting in 1983, and Peter Wright for

4437-405: The characters (in order of appearance) is drawn from an examination of the stage directions in the score. Below is a synopsis based on the original 1892 libretto by Marius Petipa. The story varies from production to production, though most follow the basic outline. The names of the characters also vary. In the original Hoffmann story, the young heroine is called Marie Stahlbaum and Clara (Klärchen)

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4524-460: The choreography of the battle scene as confusing: "One can not understand anything. Disorderly pushing about from corner to corner and running backwards and forwards – quite amateurish." The libretto was criticized as "lopsided" and for not being faithful to the Hoffmann tale. Much of the criticism focused on the featuring of children so prominently in the ballet, and many bemoaned the fact that

4611-553: The composition of each number, down to the tempo and number of bars. The completion of the work was interrupted for a short time when Tchaikovsky visited the United States for twenty-five days to conduct concerts for the opening of Carnegie Hall . Tchaikovsky composed parts of The Nutcracker in Rouen , France. The first performance of the ballet was held as a double premiere together with Tchaikovsky's last opera, Iolanta , on 18 December [ O.S. 6 December] 1892, at

4698-596: The concert stage, and was excerpted in Disney 's Fantasia , omitting the two movements prior to the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The outline below represents the selection and sequence of the Nutcracker Suite made by the composer: The Paraphrase on Tchaikovsky's Flower Waltz is a successful piano arrangement from one of the movements from The Nutcracker by the pianist and composer Percy Grainger . The pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev adapted some of

4785-415: The delight of all. He then has them put away for safekeeping. Clara and her brother Fritz are sad to see the dolls being taken away, but Drosselmeyer has yet another toy for them: a wooden nutcracker doll , which the other children ignore. Clara immediately takes a liking to it, but Fritz accidentally breaks it. Clara is heartbroken, but Drosselmeyer fixes the nutcracker, much to everyone's relief. During

4872-406: The director of the Imperial Theatres, commissioned Tchaikovsky to compose a double-bill program featuring both an opera and a ballet. The opera would be Iolanta . For the ballet, Tchaikovsky would again join forces with Marius Petipa, with whom he had collaborated on The Sleeping Beauty. The material Vsevolozhsky chose was an adaptation of E. T. A. Hoffmann 's story " The Nutcracker and

4959-432: The first American man to dance with the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo . In 1938, the company's first major production was Coppélia , choreographed by Willam Christensen. 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

5046-642: 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. 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. The fruitful relationship between PBS and SF Ballet continues to this day, with regular broadcasts of

5133-603: The first time that a West Coast ballet company, and a full-length ballet, was shown on the PBS TV series. 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. Helgi Tomasson's 1985 arrival as artistic director marked the beginning of a new era for San Francisco Ballet. Under Tomasson's direction, San Francisco Ballet has been recognized as one of

5220-405: The main source of external funding. Many ballet companies have an associated school which trains dancers. Traditionally the school would provide almost all of the company's dancers, something which helped to create clear distinctions in style between companies, but 21st-century ballet has open hiring practices, and many ballet companies have a very international staff. The head of a ballet company

5307-409: The mice, led by their king. The nutcracker appears to lead the gingerbread men, who are joined by tin soldiers, and by dolls who serve as doctors to carry away the wounded. As the seven-headed Mouse King advances on the still-wounded nutcracker, Clara throws her slipper at him, distracting him long enough for the nutcracker to stab him. Scene 2: A Pine Forest The mice retreat and the nutcracker

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5394-507: The most innovative ballet companies in the world due to its early and frequent commissioning of new works by aspiring choreographers around the globe, the breadth of its repertory—spanning classical ballet , neoclassical ballet , and contemporary ballet —and the diversity of its company members. The Financial Times noted in 2012, "Tomasson ... helped shatter the distinction between the US top companies and so-called 'regional companies ' ". Over

5481-421: 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." 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

5568-440: The night, after everyone else has gone to bed, Clara returns to the parlor to check on the nutcracker. As she reaches the small bed, the clock strikes midnight and she looks up to see Drosselmeyer perched atop it. Suddenly, mice begin to fill the room and the Christmas tree begins to grow to dizzying heights. The nutcracker also grows to life size. Clara finds herself in the midst of a battle between an army of gingerbread soldiers and

5655-626: The original libretto, the ballet's apotheosis "represents a large beehive with flying bees, closely guarding their riches". Just like Swan Lake , there have been various alternative endings created in productions subsequent to the original. The Nutcracker is one of the composer's most popular compositions. The music belongs to the Romantic period and contains some of his most memorable melodies, several of which are frequently used in television and film. (They are often heard in TV commercials shown during

5742-410: The party. Once the tree is finished, the children are summoned. When the party begins, presents are given out to the children. When the owl-topped grandfather clock strikes eight, a mysterious figure enters the room. It is Drosselmeyer— a councilman, magician, and Clara's godfather. He is also a talented toymaker who has brought with him gifts for the children, including four lifelike dolls who dance to

5829-568: The piano reduction score by Sergei Taneyev (1892), both published by P. Jurgenson in Moscow, and the Soviet collected edition of the composer's works, as reprinted Melville, New York: Belwin Mills [n.d.] Tchaikovsky made a selection of eight of the numbers from the ballet before the ballet's December 1892 première, forming The Nutcracker Suite , Op. 71a, intended for concert performance. The suite

5916-433: The rare position of being one of three major orchestras in a single city. The orchestra debuted at the end of 1975 with Nutcracker and has met with both audience and critical acclaim ever since, becoming known by the 1990s as one of the world's finest ballet orchestras. SFBO toured with the SF Ballet's touring company from 1978 until 1984. It has accompanied many prestigious international ballet companies that have toured to

6003-1112: The repertory season. The school also runs a pre-ballet program for children ages 4–7; after completing the program, students of age who wish to continue study must audition in order to continue at the school. The faculty of the San Francisco Ballet School has long been known for its excellence and diversity of background. As of January 2017, it is led by the Artistic Director Helgi Tómasson and Director Patrick Armand. The illustrious faculty includes Patrick Armand, Cecelia Beam, Sandrine Cassini, Kristi DeCaminada, Karen Gabay, Jeffrey Lyons, Rubén Martín Cintas, Ilona McHugh, Pascal Molat (Trainee Program Assistant), Anne-Sophie Rodriguez, Jaime Diaz (Strengthening), Dexandro "D" Montalvo (Contemporary), Brian Fisher (Contemporary), Dana Genshaft (Contemporary dance and conditioning), Henry Berg (Conditioning), Leonid Shagalov (Character), Jamie Narushchen (Music), and Daniel Sullivan (Music). The guest faculty for 2017 includes Sofiane Sylve (Principal Guest). Founded in 1975 to serve as San Francisco Ballet's official permanent orchestra, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra (SFBO) holds

6090-573: The role from 1946 until 1950. 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. 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

6177-422: The role. Admission into the school is by audition only. Students may apply for financial aid and merit-based scholarships. Advanced students may be invited to join the SFBS Trainee Program, a one- to two-year pre-professional program established in 2004. Up to 150 students are chosen by audition to dance in the yearly SF Ballet production of Nutcracker . The most advanced students may also dance with SF Ballet in

6264-479: The school from 1975 to 1985; he oversaw the move to its current state-of-the-art facilities on Franklin Street in 1983. In 1985, new SF Ballet artistic director Helgi Tomasson appointed Nancy Johnson as school head. Lola de Avila joined as associate director from 1993 to 1999, followed by Gloria Govrin beginning in 1999. In 2006, de Avila returned to serve as associate director until 2012, when Patrick Armand stepped into

6351-567: 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

6438-563: The smallest companies divide their dancers into at least three grades. The most common names for the two higher grades in English are principal and soloist and the junior dancers form the corps de ballet . Some companies (especially in North America) have trainees or apprentices, who rank below the corps de ballet and may be unpaid. Some companies further subdivide these grades, and the terminology used varies from company to company. In

6525-527: The staff. The term " ballet " is sometimes used to refer to dance styles in any culture's classical tradition, mainly about classical styles of dance performed in parts of Asia. Classical Ramayana Hindu ballet is often performed in Indonesia . The Royal Ballet of Cambodia is an example of a ballet company in the Eastern tradition. The companies listed below are ballet companies that perform according to

6612-635: The stage in 1946. 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

6699-468: The summer and fall, and presents Nutcracker in December at the War Memorial Opera House. 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

6786-607: The world is the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, which employs over 240 dancers, as of 2010. The largest companies in Western Europe and North America employ around one hundred. Many companies have a music director , generally a conductor by profession, though this is often a part-time position. The music director has a lower status in ballet than they have in opera, where they are the head of the company. Freelance conductors are hired to conduct specific productions as and when required. Large companies have their own orchestra , which

6873-522: 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. The company has garnered numerous accolades and awards. In 2005, San Francisco Ballet won its first Laurence Olivier Award , in

6960-668: Was conducted by Italian composer Riccardo Drigo , with Antonietta Dell'Era as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Pavel Gerdt as Prince Coqueluche, Stanislava Belinskaya as Clara, Sergei Legat as the Nutcracker-Prince, and Timofey Stukolkin as Drosselmeyer. Unlike in many later productions, the children's roles were performed by real children – students of the Imperial Ballet School in Saint Petersburg , with Belinskaya as Clara, and Vassily Stukolkin as Fritz – rather than adults. The first performance of The Nutcracker

7047-669: Was first performed outside Russia in Budapest (Royal Opera House) in 1927, with choreography by Ede Brada. In 1934, choreographer Vasili Vainonen staged a version of the work that addressed many of the criticisms of the original 1892 production by casting adult dancers in the roles of Clara and the Prince, as Gorsky had. The Vainonen version influenced several later productions. The first complete performance outside Russia took place in England in 1934, staged by Nicholas Sergeyev after Petipa's original choreography. Annual performances of

7134-540: Was first performed, under the composer's direction, on 19 March 1892 at an assembly of the Saint Petersburg branch of the Musical Society. The suite became instantly popular, with almost every number encored at its premiere, while the complete ballet did not begin to achieve its great popularity until after the George Balanchine staging became a hit in New York City. The suite became very popular on

7221-617: Was founded in 1933 as part of the San Francisco Operatic and Ballet School when Gaetano Merola , the founder of the San Francisco Opera , perceived a need for an institution where dancers could be trained to perform in opera productions. The school was under the direction of ballet director Adolph Bolm from 1933 to 1938. Willam Christensen became director from 1938 to 1940, followed by his brother Harold Christensen from 1942 until 1975. Richard L. Cammack directed

7308-542: Was named the official residence of San Francisco Ballet. 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. 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. This televised performance marked

7395-475: Was not deemed a success. The reaction to the dancers themselves was ambivalent. Although some critics praised Dell'Era on her pointework as the Sugar Plum Fairy (she allegedly received five curtain-calls), one critic called her "corpulent" and "podgy". Olga Preobrajenskaya as the Columbine doll was panned by one critic as "completely insipid" and praised as "charming" by another. Alexandre Benois described

7482-530: Was not unanimous, as some critics found the party scene "ponderous" and the Grand Pas de Deux "insipid". In 1919, choreographer Alexander Gorsky staged a production which eliminated the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier and gave their dances to Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, who were played by adults instead of children. This was the first production to do so. An abridged version of the ballet

7569-487: Was the official language of the Imperial Court, as well as the language from which balletic terminology is derived. Casse-Noisette . Ballet-féerie in two acts and three tableaux with apotheosis. Act I Act II List of acts, scenes (tableaux) and musical numbers, along with tempo indications . Numbers are given according to the original Russian and French titles of the first edition score (1892),

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