SAN FRANCISCO, CA, APRIL 13, 2023—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.
A synopsis of Romeo & Juliet can be found here. 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 Standard Time. Press images for Romeo & Juliet are available in the online press photo database.
ROMEO & JULIET PERFORMANCE DATES
| DAY | DATE | TIME |
| Friday | April 21 | 8 pm |
| Saturday | April 22 | 2 pm |
| Saturday | April 22 | 8 pm |
| Sunday | April 23 | 2 pm |
| Tuesday | April 25 | 7:30 pm |
| Wednesday | April 26 | 7:30 pm |
| Thursday | April 27 | 7:30 pm |
| Saturday | April 29 | 2 pm |
ROMEO & JULIET PRODUCTION CREDITS
Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson
Music: Sergei Prokofiev
Scenery and Costume Design: Jens-Jacob Worsaae
Lighting Design: Thomas R. Skelton
Fight Scene Choreography: Martino Pistone in collaboration with Helgi Tomasson
World Premiere: March 8, 1994—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Music: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 used by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc., publisher and copyright owner. Fight Director, Martino Pistone; Assistant to the Fight Director, Dexter Fidler. Costume Supervisor, Anna Watkins, London, England; Fabric printing and dyeing, Mathilde Sandberg; Costume construction, Edith and Henrietta Webb, Sue Smith, Barbara Jane, Margaret Lamb, Fran Bristow, Nigel West, Ba Higgins, Jane Johnson, Lal d’Abo; Jewelry and Headdresses, Jean Gates; Hats, Mark Wheeler; Masks, Naomi Jefferies; Embroidery, Camée Broderie; Beading, James Hunting and Karen Spurgin. Additional costumes constructed by San Francisco Opera Costume Shop. Boots by Pluma, Inc. Scenic construction and painting by San Francisco Ballet Carpentry and Scenic Departments.
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 as the first 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 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.