New exhibition: San Francisco ballet and fairy tales
From its early years to the present day, fairy tale-inspired ballets continue to be a mainstay of San Francisco Ballet's repertory. In conjunction with San Francisco Ballet's productions of Helgi Tomasson’s Sleeping Beauty and John Neumeier's The Little Mermaid, the Museum of Performance + Design celebrates SFB’s past fairy tale ballets with a boutique exhibition featuring original costume designs, programs, video, and other original items from Willam Christensen's Hansel and Gretel, the first fairy tale ballet performed by SFB; Lew Christensen's Beauty and the Beast, which premiered as part of the SFB's Silver Anniversary season; and Lew Christensen and Michael Smuin's Cinderella, the last story ballet Lew choreographed.
The exhibition opens March 12 and is open free to the public Tuesdays-Fridays from 1pm-6pm and the first Saturday of each month from 1pm-5pm through June 1, 2019.
Corresponding displays curated by San Francisco Ballet will be on display on the third floor of the War Memorial Opera House for Tomasson's Sleeping Beauty (March 9-March 17) and for Neumeier's The Little Mermaid (April 19-April 28). Also on display in the lower level of the Opera House is MP+D’s and San Francisco Opera’s co-curated exhibition of original costume designs from various San Francisco Ballet and San Francisco Opera productions. Performance ticket required. Please call San Francisco Ballet Ticketing Office at 415-865-2000 or click here for ticket options.
MP+D is the official archive of San Francisco Ballet.
Image on homepage: Beauty and the Beast cover art, © San Francisco Ballet