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Sasha De Sola and Luke Ingham in Wheeldon's Cinderella© // © Erik Tomasson

Press Release

Press Release

Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella Returns to San Francisco Ballet, March 31–APRIL 8

San Francisco Ballet celebrates the 10th anniversary of Cinderella’s U.S. Premiere in 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, March 21, 2023—San Francisco Ballet’s 90th Anniversary Season continues with Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella©, set to Sergei Prokofiev’s score, opening at the War Memorial Opera House on Friday, March 31 and running through April 8. A breathtaking take on the iconic fairytale, Wheeldon’s Cinderella offers no fairy godmother or clock striking midnight. Instead, Cinderella’s heroine is in control of her destiny, emerging from the death of her mother empowered by love. Inspired by the darker Brothers Grimm version of the tale, Cinderella includes set and costume designs by Tony Award-winning designer Julian Crouch and San Francisco-native puppeteer Basil Twist, who creates the tree that grows from Cinderella’s tears and directs the dazzling end of Act I, called a “triumph of fantasy” by The New York Times. The production includes a staggering 197 roles and 370 costumes, including Cinderella’s gold gown detailed with computer-printed feathers.

A co-production with Dutch National Ballet, Cinderella premiered in the U.S. with SF Ballet in 2013 and has been performed across the globe, including in Amsterdam, Munich, London, and New York City. The production marks Wheeldon’s first and only full-length ballet for SF Ballet and is one of 15 ballets by the choreographer in the Company’s repertory. Casting for Cinderella includes role debuts by Soloist Isabella DeVivo as Cinderella, and Principal Dancer Max Cauthorn as Prince Guillaume. Principal Dancer Isaac Hernández also performs as Prince Guillaume for the first time at SF Ballet, having performed the role at English National Ballet in 2019. Cinderella was last seen at SF Ballet in 2020.

SF Ballet’s Educators’ Appreciation Day returns on Friday, April 7 during the evening performance of Cinderella, welcoming teachers, paraprofessionals, school staff, administrators, and teaching artists from schools across the Bay Area into the War Memorial Opera House. Three Cinderella Family Dance-Along workshops, including one Sensory Friendly Dance-Along workshop, will be held on Sunday, April 2. The Cinderella Student Matinee, currently sold out, will be held on Thursday, April 6 at 11am, welcoming hundreds of schoolchildren into the Opera House for Act I of Cinderella.

Tickets start at $29 and may be purchased online at sfballet.org or by calling 415-865-2000, Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm Pacific. SF Ballet’s 90th anniversary season continues with Helgi Tomasson’s Romeo & Juliet (April 21 ̶ 30). Press images of Cinderella are available at this link.

CALENDAR
Friday, March 31, 2023 at 8 pm
Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 2 and 8 pm
Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 2 pm
Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Friday, April 7, 2023 at 8 pm
Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 2 and 8 pm

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Cinderella©
Choreographer: Christopher Wheeldon
Composer: Sergei Prokofiev
Assistant to the Choreographer: Jacquelin Barrett
Libretto: Craig Lucas

Scenic and Costume Design: Julian Crouch
Lighting Design: Natasha Katz
Tree and Carriage Sequence Direction/Design: Basil Twist
Projection Design: Daniel Brodie
Scenic Associate: Frank McCullough

Cinderella© by Christopher Wheeldon

World Premiere: December 13, 2012—Dutch National Ballet, Het Muziektheater; Amsterdam, Netherlands
U.S. Premiere: May 3, 2013—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California

Cinderella is a co-production of San Francisco Ballet and Dutch National Ballet.

ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
San Francisco Ballet is one of the world’s leading ballet companies. As a commissioner, collaborator, and presenter, the Ballet performs locally, nationally, and internationally with the top choreographers, artists, and dancers while proudly celebrating its trailblazing role in dance. Since its founding in 1933 and as the oldest professional ballet company in the United States, the organization has been an innovator in dance and an originator of well-loved cultural traditions, from staging the first American production of Swan Lake to being the first company in the United States to present an annual holiday Nutcracker. In the progressive, innovative spirit of San Francisco, its mission is to share the beauty of classical and contemporary ballet, the joyful, transformative experience of live dance performance by artists working at the highest caliber, and to provide exceptional training opportunities for the next generation of professional dancers in its School.

PRESS CONTACT
Kate McKinney, Senior Manager, PR
kmckinney@sfballet.org
415-865-6610

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