San Francisco Ballet

San Francisco Ballet, founded in 1933, is the oldest professional ballet company in the United States and gave the country its first full-length productions of "Coppelia", "Swan Lake" and "The Nutcracker" — the last of which it premiered in America in 1944. Resident at the War Memorial Opera House, the company is celebrated for its athletic, contemporary sensibility and for an ambitious commissioning programme that has brought a wealth of new choreography to the stage, including its acclaimed Unbound festival of world premieres. With one of the finest schools in the country and a roster of international dancers, San Francisco Ballet stands among the leading companies in the world while retaining its pioneering West Coast character.