San Francisco Ballet to Return to Jacob's Pillow for First Time in 70 Years

The San Francisco Ballet will return to Jacob's Pillow this summer for the first time in seven decades, bringing pieces by Hans van Manen, Helgi Tómasson, Tamara Rojo, George Balanchine, Akram Khan, and William Forsythe to the Ted Shawn Theatre Wednesday, August 5 through Sunday, August 9. Deemed “strikingly modern [and] technically stunning” (Daily Californian), the nation's longest-running professional ballet company will return to the site of its heralded East Coast debut in 1956. The company is currently led by Artistic Director Tamara Rojo, formerly the Artistic Director of London's English National Ballet.

In an expansive two-stage engagement, San Francisco Ballet will also perform on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage in the same week. The company will perform different programs on the outdoor and indoor stages. The outdoor program will include pieces by Ben Stevenson, Hans van Manen, Liam Scarlett, Marius Petipa, and Sir Frederick Ashton. Audiences interested in attending both programs—in either order—will be able to do so in one visit with staggered showtimes.

In an exciting collaboration, the Albany Symphony will provide live accompaniment by their 22 person orchestra for select works of San Francisco Ballet's engagement in the Ted Shawn Theatre. The Grammy Award-winning Albany Symphony is one of the Northeast's most revered music and cultural institutions, receiving numerous national accolades for its concert programming, recording projects, composer residencies, and educational efforts. As the premier professional orchestra based in the Capital Region, the Albany Symphony enriches a broad and diverse regional community in upstate New York, Western Massachusetts, and Southern Vermont.

In the Doris Duke Theatre from Wednesday, August 5 through Sunday, August 9, Ephrat Asherie Dance will perform Shadow Cities, a piece originally created in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning pianist and composer Arturo O'Farrill. Performed by seven dancers and four musicians, Shadow Cities is a contemplative, raucous, celebratory reflection on the unexpected ways we encounter our most enlivened selves. Ephrat Asherie Dance is committed to celebrating and bringing awareness to street and club dance culture by creating and sharing innovative performance works, teaching workshops and classes, and creating platforms for dialogue across the field.

During Festival Week 7, visitors are also invited to join a PillowTalk with Tamara Rojo, the Artistic Director of San Francisco Ballet, on Saturday, August 8 at 4pm. Rojo will discuss her experiences since becoming Artistic Director in December 2022 and her dance career leading up to that moment. 

“Festival Week 7 celebrates dance as both a living tradition and a force for reinvention,” said Jacob's Pillow Executive and Artistic Director Pamela Tatge. “This week at Jacob's Pillow, we host the long-awaited return of San Francisco Ballet, a remarkable homecoming of a company born in 1933,  the same year we were. Their rigorous and graceful program will be paired with live performance by the Albany Symphony. While we honor ballet's extraordinary lineage in the Shawn and on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage, we welcome back Ephrat Asherie, an artist for whom we have been an artistic home since they made their debut here in 2013. This company continues to reimagine the art form and explore the interplay between dance and music. Originally created in collaboration with composer Arturo O'Farrill, Asherie's piece Shadow Cities  is an exhilarating and deeply musical work that explores belonging, joy, and the unexpected ways we discover ourselves in community. Together, these artists demonstrate the incredible breadth of dance today.” 

Pre-Show Talks with Pillow Scholars will be offered 30 minutes before show time for all performances in the Ted Shawn Theatre and Doris Duke Theatre, and Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday on the Henry J. Leir Stage. San Francisco Ballet's talks will be led by Scholar-In-Residence Janine Parker, and Ephrat Asherie's will be led by Scholar-In-Residence Ahtoy Juliana. Post-Show Talks with the artists will be held onstage following Friday afternoon performances in the Ted Shawn Theatre, Thursday evening performances in the Doris Duke Theatre, and Friday evening on the Henry J. Leir Stage.

All performances are now on sale. Tickets to San Francisco Ballet (Indoor) begin at $71.50 in the Ted Shawn Theatre. Tickets to Ephrat Asherie Dance begin at $61.60 in the Doris Duke Theatre. All tickets for San Francisco Ballet (Outdoor) on the Henry J. Leir Stage are Rain or Shine, allowing ticket holders access to an indoor venue at Jacob's Pillow in the event of inclement weather. Rain or Shine tickets are priced at $68.50 for this engagement. For more information for tickets and reservations, visit jacobspillow.org.

ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO BALLET

Since its founding in 1933, the same year Jacob's Pillow was founded, San Francisco Ballet has been an innovator in the art form and an originator of beloved cultural traditions. From staging the first American production of Swan Lake to bringing an annual holiday Nutcracker to U.S. audiences, San Francisco ballet's impact runs deep. With a commitment to new and contemporary works and the classical repertoire, San Francisco Ballet invests in commissions and acquisitions, presents established and emerging choreographers, uplifts creatives across disciplines, and cultivates the next generation of the world's top dancers in its San Francisco Ballet School.

ABOUT EPHRAT ASHERIE DANCE

New York City-based director, choreographer, performer, and b-girl Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie always finds a dynamic groove at Jacob's Pillow. From her company's Festival performances in 2013, to the extraordinary Pillow premiere of ODEON in 2018, to her crowd-pleasing collaboration with Michelle Dorrance last summer, Asherie creates work that is aesthetically innovative, physically rigorous, and unceasingly curious. Her dynamic company Ephrat Asherie Dance is dedicated to honoring the ethos of the underground club community, rooted in Black and Latine vernacular dances including breaking, hip-hop, house, and waacking.

A Bessie Award winner and recipient of two National Dance Project Awards, Asherie has been presented on stages nationally and internationally with commissions from Fall for Dance at New York City Center, Works & Process at the Guggenheim, the Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences, Vail Dance Festival, PHILADANCO!, Parsons Dance, Malpaso, and more. 

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Performances

San Francisco Ballet (Indoor)

August 5-9
Ted Shawn Theatre

• Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets start at $71.50.

A free livestream will also be available. Advance registration is required.

Ephrat Asherie Dance: Shadow Cities

August 5-9
Doris Duke Theatre

• Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday at 8:00 p.m.
• Friday, Saturday & Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets start at $61.50.

San Francisco Ballet (Outdoor)

August 5-9
Henry J. Leir Stage

• Wednesday through Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

Rain-or-shine tickets start at $68.50.

Morning Classes

June 24-August 28
Wednesdays-Fridays | 9:00-10:00 a.m.
Sommers Studio

Open to ages 16 and up of all experience levels.

• Wednesday: Modern/Contemporary
• Thursday: West African Dance & Spiritual Well-Being
• Friday: Ballet

$15 per class or $60 for a five-class pass.

PillowTalk

Tamara Rojo in Conversation with Pillow Scholar Janine Parker

Saturday, August 8 | 4:00 p.m.
Blake's Barn

Free

San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director Tamara Rojo discusses leading the company since 2022 and reflects on her international career.

Pre-Show Talks

Fifteen-minute talks led by Pillow Scholars precede performances in the Ted Shawn Theatre, Doris Duke Theatre, and Henry J. Leir Stage.

Free

Post-Show Talks

Artists participate in discussions immediately following select performances.

Free with performance admission

Workshop with San Francisco Ballet

Sunday, August 9
10:00-11:30 a.m.
Perles Family Studio

$25 per participant.

Family Music and Dance

Sunday, August 9
11:00 a.m.-Noon
Sommers Studio

Led by educator Sandy Russell.

$30 per family.

In-Studio Observation

June 24-August 22
Wednesdays-Saturdays

• 10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
• 2:30-4:00 p.m.

Perles Family Studio

Free.

Festival Exhibits & Archives

Martha Graham: Call to Action

Blake's Barn

A multimedia exhibition exploring the early career and legacy of Martha Graham.

Parable of Portals: The Acorn Archives

Doris Duke Theatre Gallery

A multimedia installation by d. Sabela grimes and Meena Murugesan inspired by Octavia E. Butler's Parable series.

Illuminating the American Experience: Groundbreaking U.S. Women in Dance

Ted Shawn Theatre Lobby

An exhibition celebrating influential women in American dance, including Pearl Primus, Rokafella, Emily Johnson, Chea Samy, and others.

Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive

An online exhibition featuring archival performance videos, essays, photographs, and multimedia content spanning the festival's history.

Jacob's Pillow Archives / Norton Owen Reading Room

Blake's Barn

Visitors can explore archival collections, photographs, videos, books, and special exhibitions throughout the festival.

Ticket Information

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