PRESS RELEASE

Sweeping refresh—including new website, logo, and advertising campaign—reflects the company’s continued innovation and commitment to reach a new generation of audiences

(SAN FRANCISCO, CA) November 3, 2025—San Francisco Ballet (SF Ballet) has launched a bold new brand with a citywide media blitz and overhauled digital platforms, including revitalized messaging, visuals, and logo, marking the company’s first major refresh in 15 years. Developed through a collaborative process with design agency Burnkit and advertising agency The Shipyard, the new brand reflects the visionary leadership of SF Ballet Artistic Director Tamara Rojo and Executive Director Branislav Henselmann, as well as the organization’s role as a catalyst for cultural transformation.  

“The new brand identity and positioning speak to San Francisco Ballet’s longstanding mission to shape ballet’s future, and our goal of shifting perspectives around dance,” said Henselmann. “As one of the world’s preeminent ballet companies and an ambassador for the spirit of innovation and creativity in San Francisco and across the West Coast, SF Ballet’s brand cements a new era for us and evokes the look and feel of experiencing live dance of the highest caliber: dynamic, transcendent, and endlessly inspiring.” 

“As we look to delight our dedicated audiences and engage new ones through our programming, our rebrand signals a similar desire to broaden our appeal, build excitement around SF Ballet, and connect with a wider range of local and global audiences,” said SF Ballet Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Poppen. “We set out to translate the power and emotion of SF Ballet’s performances, and partnering with these dynamic agency teams to bring this vision to life was an incredible and truly energizing journey.” 

 “Guided by the framework of “The Storied Pursuit,” this new positioning honors San Francisco Ballet’s legacy of storytelling through dance while signaling its relentless pursuit of what’s next. Supported by strategic market research, positioning, and media planning, our approach is about putting audiences at the center, not just through watching ballet but fully living its passion and wonder,” said The Shipyard’s VP Account Lead Amanda Moul. 

The new visual identity integrates an energized extended logo, clean yet expressive typography, and vibrant colorways, designed to stand out in both digital and physical spaces while reflecting the company’s commitment to classic traditions and boldly evolving for modern audiences.  

On the new photography anchoring the brand rollout, Burnkit’s Principal, Brand & Design Strategy Dylan Staniul adds: “We strove to create images that are powerful, dreamlike, and express the incredible movement of SF Ballet’s dancers. The photography of Kristian Schuller fit the brief perfectly, with his keen sensibility across art and fashion, and creation of images that are vivid, lush, and both romantic and challenging. Our multilayered approach combining analog and digital techniques accentuates the compelling movement of the dancers with moments of abstraction.” 

The striking new creative will run across a magnetic citywide ad campaign, spanning Union Square billboards, ferry takeovers, digital and TV placements during the Olympics and Warriors broadcasts, and radio promotions amplifying the excitement of San Francisco Ballet across every platform. The integrated rollout reflects a deliberate, strategic shift, positioning the Ballet as a modern and culturally relevant brand that meets curious new audiences where they are. 

The new brand launch supports the rollout of SF Ballet’s 2025-2026 season, curated by Tamara Rojo, which balances classics like Nutcracker, Don Quixote, and La Sylphide with innovative contemporary works such as William Forsythe’s The Blake Works and the return of the AI-inspired Mere Mortals. This season also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Grammy Award-winning SF Ballet Orchestra. 

About San Francisco Ballet 
San Francisco Ballet, led by Artistic Director Tamara Rojo, is a world-leading ballet company and a trailblazing commissioner, collaborator, and presenter in dance. With a deep commitment to new and contemporary works and the classical repertoire, SF Ballet is a catalyst for the future of ballet, investing in commissions and acquisitions; presenting established and emerging choreographers with a breadth of viewpoints; uplifting dancers, artists, and creatives across disciplines; and cultivating the next generation of the world’s top dancers in its School.