San Francisco Ballet Announces Major Company Changes for 2021 Season
While the worldwide dance community has been on hold during the pandemic, San Francisco Ballet has been busy making major changes in the Company lineup for the 2021 season. Effective July 1, Soloists Wona Park and Max Cauthorn will be promoted to Principal Dancer, and Corps de Ballet dancers Ellen Rose Hummel, Diego Cruz, Lucas Erni, and Myles Thatcher will be promoted to Soloist. Also, San Francisco Ballet apprentices SunMin Lee, Tyla Steinbach, Rubén Cítores, Lleyton Ho, and Adrian Zeisel are being promoted to the Corps de Ballet. Each of the eleven promoted dancers received their training at San Francisco Ballet School.
New additions to the Company include Nikisha Fogo, First Soloist with the Vienna State Ballet, who joins the Company as a Principal Dancer. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Fogo trained at the Kungliga Svenska Balettskolan and at the Royal Ballet School in London. She joined the Vienna State Ballet in 2012, and was promoted to Demi-soloist in 2015 and then to Soloist in 2016. In 2018 she was promoted to First Soloist. Her experience includes an extensive repertory. In 2010 she received first prize at the Stora Daldansen competition in Falun, Sweden, and the Ballet Competition in Grasse, France.
Joining the Company's Corps de Ballet is Luca Ferrò. A native of Italy, Ferrò is a student at the Princess Grace Academy in Monte Carlo.
New apprentices starting in the 2021 season include Alexis Aiudi, Olivia Brothers, Pemberley Ann Olson, Andris Kundzins, Gregory Myles, and Alexis Valdes of San Francisco Ballet School.
"It is a joy to announce the Company roster for the 2021 Season. This is a Company that I am very proud of, from the dancers' remarkable artistry to their dedication as we navigate these extraordinary times. These are some of the world's best dancers," says Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson. "I am particularly pleased to bring in new principal dancer Nikisha Fogo. From the moment she first took class with our Company, I could see that that she is an exceptional talent and would be a wonderful fit for San Francisco Ballet. She has everything I look for in a principal dancer—strong and versatile technique to excel in the classical and contemporary repertory, beautiful musicality, and a profound desire to dance. I'm delighted she will be joining us in San Francisco."