San Francisco Ballet Closes Season With ROMEO & JULET Next Week

Next week, San Francisco Ballet (SF Ballet) closes its 90th anniversary season with Helgi Tomasson's Romeo & Juliet, including 10 performances from Friday, April 21 through April 30. Set to Sergei Prokofiev's lush and evocative score performed live by the Grammy Award-winning SF Ballet Orchestra, the Shakespearian tale of ill-fated lovers returns to San Francisco for the first time since 2015. SF Ballet last performed Romeo & Juliet at The Royal Danish Opera House in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2019, and it has remained one of SF Ballet's most frequently toured productions since its premiere in 1994, reflecting SF Ballet's deeply held commitment to the classics.

SF Ballet Soloist Jasmine Jimison will make her debut in the title role on opening night, April 21, marking the first time in the production's 29-year history that a soloist has danced opening night in a principal role. Jimison is a Bay Area native, who trained exclusively with San Francisco Ballet School since the age of 12. Principal Dancers Nikisha Fogo and Isaac Hernández will also make their debuts in the title roles in SF Ballet's production of the classic tale. Principal Dancer Misa Kuranaga, who previously danced Juliet during SF Ballet's 2019 tour to Copenhagen, will dance her first stateside performances on April 22 and 25. Principal Dancer Yuan Yuan Tan will close the run on April 30. Tan debuted the title role in 2002, bringing more than 20 years of stage authority to the story ballet. More casting is included here.

Romeo & Juliet features lighting design by Thomas R. Skelton and "opulent" (Los Angeles Times) Italian Renaissance designs by Jens-Jacob Worsaae, and sword-fighting scenes choreographed by actor, teacher, and movie stuntman Martino Pistone. A video capture of Romeo & Juliet inaugurated Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance in 2015, when it was shown at cinemas nationwide, and the ballet has also been performed live at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Bolshoi Theatre (balcony pas de deux), and Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

To post a comment, you must register and login.