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Helgi Tomasson and Yuri Possokhov's restaging of the 1869 Petipa classic brings a sunny smile to faces in San Francisco. 

The ballet culminates with fouettés, bravura leaps from the oversized ensemble and a rousing finish with all 44 dancers onstage. It was an exuberant end to an intelligent, satisfying production, both of thought and movement.

“Your love affair with ballet, your time with ballet, is short,” explains Welsh about his ballet Bespoke, “Eventually you lay down, and dance keeps moving. It’s a bittersweet thing.”

In Helgi Tomasson's production, Michael Yeargan’s scenic design and the late Martin Pakledinaz’ sumptuous costumes create a scene so charming, you just want to climb inside and stay in that world all evening and beyond.

An enjoyable evening of thematic dance but without any insights into the future of ballet. 

Most of the pieces were choreographed at a similarly demanding level, with speed, precision and immaculate timing as necessities.

Unbound by restrictions, they’ve been given free rein to create, implement and demonstrate to the world what contemporary ballet looks like. Hint: it looks great.

Set to Frank Moon’s moody, thematic score, the curtain rises on a foggy night scene as a shiny black stretch limousine glides onstage—the real deal, dazzling to behold, like a noir film come to life.

Resident choreographer Yuri Possokhov’s Optimistic Tragedy is dedicated “to those who sacrificed their lives for future generations.” 

A vast world of movement rose in celebration of the body’s athleticism and its subtle connection to emotions and personality. 

San Francisco Ballet opens Program 2 of the 2016 season with pieces by two cornerstone American choreographers, George Balanchine and Mark Morris, and a world première by British choreographer Liam Scarlett.

On the second night of San Francisco Ballet’s second visit to Beijing, the company treated their Chinese audience to a varied programme: Tomasson’s Caprice, Wheeldon’s Rush, van Manen’s Variations for Two Couples, and Balanchine’s Theme and Variations.

San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker delivers the perfect holiday diversion for children and adults alike, in a dazzling rendition you'll savor year after year.