San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
S.F. Ballet to welcome high-profile guest stars
One of the ballet world’s most famous dancers and two widely acclaimed rising talents have been announced to dance with San Francisco Ballet in a shift from the company’s long-standing emphasis on developing dancers from within to a casting strategy that hopes to draw new audiences with star power.
Natalia Osipova, Daniel Camargo and Jacopo Tissi are scheduled to appear with the San Francisco Ballet during its encore performances of “Swan Lake,” the company announced Monday, March 4. The highprofile guest appearances, set for April 30 through May 5, are part of a new programming strategy under Artistic Director Tamara Rojo, who assumed the top leadership post at the Ballet in 2022.
Osipova, 37, is a former Bolshoi Ballet principal known for her powerful technique and passionate, insightful acting. Currently a principal with Britain’s Royal Ballet, she toured the world last year in a show she produced titled “Force of Nature.”
Born in Brazil and trained at Ballet Stuttgart’s John Cranko School, Camargo, 32, rose to principal at Stuttgart and then joined the Dutch National Ballet in 2016. He has guest starred widely, including with the Royal Ballet, the Mariinsky and American Ballet Theatre, where he is now a principal dancer after a breakout season in 2022 that drew acclaim for his charismatic warmth and exuberant stage presence.
Tissi, 29, trained at the La Scala Opera Theater’s school in Italy and left Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet shortly after his promotion to principal there, prompted by his objections to the war in Ukraine. After returning to La Scala and guest starring widely, he is now a principal dancer at the Dutch National Ballet. He has participated in galas benefiting
Courtesy of Sebastien Galtier Ukrainian refugees and is known for his pristine virtuoso technique.
The three guest stars are expected to partner with San Francisco Ballet principal dancers in Helgi Tomasson’s production of “Swan Lake,” which recently concluded its initial 11-performance run at the War
Royal Ballet
Memorial Opera House.
Although guest artists appeared at the Ballet under Tomasson. the former artistic director who retired at the end of the 2021 season, such casting was rare during his tenure.
Yuan Yuan Tan, who recently retired from the company after nearly 30 years, was hired permanently
Brontë Wittpenn/The Chronicle
April 30-May 5. $29-$475. War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., S.F. 415-865-2000. www.sfballet.org