Ushering in San Francisco Ballet’s 90th Season

BY TERESA

SAN FRANCISCO’S SOCIETY WAS ABUZZ AT THE SAN FRANCISCO Ballet’s Gala. Joyful anticipation and guests wardrobed in lavish gowns and colorful tuxedos filled the gilded theater. The launch of the season was extra special because the San Francisco Ballet was celebrating its 90-year legacy with a non-traditional twist.

The program included excerpts from their next@90 festival, plus a world premiere by choreographer-in-residence Yuri Possokhov and danced by principal dancers Yuan Yuan Tan and Aaron Robison. The event marked artistic director Tamara Rojo’s first SFB Gala at the organization’s helm and featured other selections from the 2023 season.

Each exhilarating excerpt exhibited a delightful morsel of creativity and left the packed house wanting more. The lucky patrons’ exquisite evening continued at City Hall where they were treated to a festive feast and limitless libations. Many guests danced away the night with a live band performing crowd favorites of the seventies and eighties.

It was not all ball gowns and disco moves. Guests were also on a mission to support the ballet for another 90 years. The San Francisco Ballet Gala raised an impressive $2.75 million throughout the night.

Clockwise from top left: Elisabeth Smith, Louisa Basarrate, Betsy Linder, Holly Thier, Courtney Dallaire, Pam Preston, Rochelle Lacey, Jill McNay, Michelle Harris, Ali Sievers, Evie Simon, Irina Matijas, and Claire Kostic; Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi; Danielle St.Germain and Tamara Rojo; Yurie Pascarella, Jack Calhoun, and Yuan Yuan Tan; Krista Giovara, Lisa Zabelle, Roman Gronkowski, Barbara Brown, Chip Zecher, and Pam Preston