New Off-Site & Online Exhibit - Celebrating 90 Years of San Francisco Ballet

The Museum of Performance + Design joins San Francisco Ballet, the oldest professional ballet company in the United States, in celebrating the Company’s historic 90th anniversary. Since it was founded as the San Francisco Opera Ballet in 1933, SF Ballet has been a pioneer for ballet in America, making history by staging the first full-length American productions of Coppélia (1938), Swan Lake (1940), and Nutcracker (1944).

To commemorate this anniversary, in partnership with SF Ballet, a rotating photo installation is available to view at the War Memorial Opera House during the 2023 Repertory Season (Performance ticket required. Visit SF Ballet’s website for more information). The exhibit highlights various aspects of SF Ballet's vast history, from the early SF Opera Ballet days to the present, demonstrating how the Company continues to innovate and evolve. In conjunction, MP+D is offering a correlating free online exhibit.

The various rotations are on display at the War Memorial Opera House (North Side, Grand Tier Level) and will be updated as follows:

Rotation 1: Jan 20 – Feb 11 during the next@90 festival 

Rotation 2: Feb 24 – Mar 5 during Giselle 

Rotation 3: Mar 14 – Mar 19 during The Colors of Dance 

Rotation 4: Mar 31 – Apr 8 during Cinderella  

Rotation 5: Apr 21 – Apr 30 during Romeo & Juliet  

MP+D’s online exhibition offers additional archival photographs and context, highlighting various chapters of SF Ballet's history. The online exhibit will be updated on the first day of each new rotation. Please click here for detailed information.

This exhibit is sponsored in part by a grant from Grants for the Arts. MP+D is the official archive of SF Ballet

Cover Image Left: Members of San Francisco Ballet at the Golden Gate Bridge, 1957 // Courtesy of Museum of Performance + Design; Right: Members of San Francisco Ballet at the Golden Gate Bridge, 2012 // © Erik Tomasson, Courtesy of San Francisco Ballet