SAN FRANCISCO BALLET PRESENTS STARRY NIGHTS: SF BALLET’S RETURN TO THE STAGE, AUGUST 13–14 AT FROST AMPHITHEATER

Programming includes George Balanchine’s Serenade and Tarantella, Danielle Rowe’s For Pixie, and Helgi Tomasson’s The Fifth Season

Tickets will go on sale on July 10 at 12 pm PDT via Stanford Live

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, June 30, 2021—San Francisco Ballet, one of the largest and most celebrated ballet companies in the U.S. and the country’s first arts organization to cease performance due to the Covid-19 pandemic, returns to live performance on August 13 and 14 with Starry Nights: SF Ballet’s Return to the Stage at Frost Amphitheater, in partnership with Stanford Live. After seventeen months of digital programming, the Company turns to the peninsula, making its debut at Frost Amphitheater and presenting for the first time at Stanford University in over half a century. “We are thrilled to perform at Frost Amphitheater after many months of on-screen dance,” says SF Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson. “Starry Nights is a celebration of our dancers’ resilience and a symbol of gratitude to the community that has ushered us through this remarkable time. It is time for us to be back on stage, under the stars, doing what we do best.”  

Starry Nights: SF Ballet’s Return to the Stage includes George Balanchine’s Serenade and Tarantella, as well as Danielle Rowe’s For Pixie and Helgi Tomasson’s The Fifth Season, with music performed by members of San Francisco Ballet Orchestra under the direction of Martin West. An additional pas de deux, as well as casting, will be announced at a later date.
Tickets to Starry Nights: SF Ballet’s Return to the Stage range from $50–$225 and may be purchased via Stanford Live’s webpage beginning July 10 at 12 pm PDT. Tiered presale access begins on July 7 at 12 pm PDT for select donors and subscribers. Contact Ticket Services at 415-865-2000 or via email at tickets@sfballet.org, Monday–Saturday, 10 am–5 pm PDT, for more information. Starry Nights will be held August 13–14 at 7:30 pm PDT at Frost Amphitheater, located at 351 Lasuen Street on the Stanford University campus. 

Starry Nights: SF Ballet’s Return to the Stage is made possible by Sponsors Sue and John Diekman, Nancy Kukacka, and Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang.  

Serenade
Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreographer: George Balanchine
Staged by: Sandra Jennings
Costume Design: after Karinska
Original Lighting Design: Ronald Bates 

World Premiere: March 1, 1935—American Ballet, Adelphi Theater; New York, New York

San Francisco Ballet Premiere: April 18, 1952—War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California 

© The George Balanchine Trust

Tarantella
Composer: Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Reconstructed and orchestrated by Hershy Kay
Choreographer: George Balanchine
Staged by: Helgi Tomasson
Costume Design: after Karinska 

World Premiere: January 7, 1964—New York City Ballet, City Center of Music and Drama; New York, New York

San Francisco Ballet Premiere: August 3, 1986—Stern Grove Festival; San Francisco, California

© The George Balanchine Trust

For Pixie
Music: Nina Simone
Choreographer: Danielle Rowe
Costume Design: Lauren Strongin
Lighting Design: Jim French 

World Premiere: June 22, 2017—SFDanceworks, ODC Theater; San Francisco, California

San Francisco Ballet Premiere: January 16, 2020—San Francisco Ballet 87^th Anniversary Gala, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California

The Fifth Season
Composer: Karl Jenkins
Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson
Scenic and Costume Design: Sandra Woodall
Lighting Design: Michael Mazzola

World Premiere: March 28, 2006—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California