Ballet is the original escape. One night, one orchestra, and suddenly you’re in a royal court, an enchanted forest, or a Parisian gambling den.
This season San Francisco Ballet is making the case that ballet’s greatest power is its ability to transport you somewhere else.
Under artistic director Tamara Rojo, the 2026-27 Season moves between timeless masterpieces and new work never before seen in San Francisco. Rooted in a nearly 100-year-old legacy and San Francisco’s appetite for reinvention, it’s a mythic, romantic, and occasionally provocative season for longtime balletomanes and curious first-timers alike.
Start with the classics
The season opens where SF Ballet’s story began: Nutcracker (Dec 4-27) returns for the holidays from the company that staged America’s first full-length production in 1944.
Then comes the fairytale that inspired them all, The Sleeping Beauty (Jan 29-Feb 7), back in San Francisco for the first time since 2018. Helgi Tomasson’s staging, originally created for the ballet’s 100th birthday, sets Tchaikovsky’s iconic score against opulent costumes and an enormous cast of characters. For any ballerina, dancing Aurora is a career milestone; watching it unfold is a rare treat.
Three masters, one night
Titans of Choreography (Feb 16-21) puts three of Europe’s most celebrated choreographers in conversation on one stage. Hans van Manen’s Grosse Fuge, Christopher Wheeldon’s Within the Golden Hour (with original costumes by Zac Posen, fashion designer and executive vice president and creative director of Gap Inc.), and Akram Khan’s Dust offer three contrasting worlds and three distinct takes on contemporary ballet. Expect rigor, nerve, and range.
Gems and fairies
Fans of George Balanchine get a double feature beginning at the end of February when the complete Jewels (Feb 27-Mar 7) returns to the city for the first time in nearly two decades. Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds trace Balanchine’s influences from French Romanticism to Broadway jazz to Imperial Russia, all in Karinska’s dazzling costumes.
A few weeks later, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Mar 19-27) brings Shakespeare’s comedy of bewitched lovers and mischievous fairies to life. The first evening-length ballet Balanchine choreographed in America arrives in San Francisco with sets and costumes designed by Christian Lacroix for the Paris Opera Ballet. Bring the kids: It’s no doubt the best way to welcome spring.
The one everyone will talk about
Divine Creatures (Apr 8-14) channels the daring spirit of the Ballets Russes for today. The headliner is Two Elevens, a world premiere from Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber, two of the most in-demand choreographers working today, that’s set to a new score by seven-time Grammy-nominated composer and percussionist Andy Akiho. Sharing the bill is the West Coast premiere of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Faun, inspired by Nijinsky’s scandalous Afternoon of a Faun and Yuri Possokhov’s Violin Concerto to Stravinsky. If you want to see where ballet is heading next, start here.
End on heartbreak
The season closes with Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon (Apr 23-May 2), one of the most dramatic and devastating ballets ever made in which a young woman torn between love and luxury makes choices that still feel uncomfortably modern. It’s high drama, gorgeous period spectacle, and a feat of storytelling.
With its mix of beloved classics and bold new work, SF Ballet’s 2026-27 Season is one of those only-in-SF experiences that belongs on your calendar. Single tickets are on sale now at sfballet.org. Pro tip: get a peek behind the scenes on the SF Ballet's Instagram before you attend.
// War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave. (Civic Center), sfballet.org
