Onegin marks the first co-commission between SF Ballet and the Joffrey and features an original score
Additional details on SF Ballet’s 25/26 Season announced, including tours to Southern California
(SAN FRANCISCO, CA) February 24, 2025—Today, San Francisco Ballet (SF Ballet) and The Joffrey Ballet announced the world premiere commission of Yuri Possokhov’s Eugene Onegin, based on Alexander Pushkin’s classic novel and marking the first full-length co-production between the two renowned companies. The world premiere of Eugene Onegin will lead San Francisco Ballet’s 2026 repertory program at the War Memorial Opera House from January 23 to February 1, 2026, and close the Joffrey’s 2025–26 Season at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago, running from June 4–14, 2026.
SF Ballet’s full 25/26 Season will be revealed later this spring. Today, the organization also announced tours to the Hollywood Bowl in July 2025 as part of its annual Tchaikovsky Spectacular with music and performance excerpts from Swan Lake; and to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA in October 2025 with Frankenstein. Additional touring will be announced with the full season.
More information about the Joffrey’s 2025–26 season, also announced today, is available at https://joffrey.org/.
Considered a classic of Russian literature, Onegin and its protagonist have served as models for Russian literary heroes across time with a worldly and personal narrative style. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century Russian aristocracy, Onegin is a cautionary tale featuring richly realized characters exploring themes of idealism, regret, and the fragility of the human heart.
“We are thrilled to open San Francisco Ballet’s 2026 repertory program with a world premiere story ballet from the company’s resident choreographer Yuri Possokhov, and in partnership with the incredible Joffrey Ballet. Furthering our goal of contributing new work to the repertoire and with a shared commitment to excellence, coming together to bring Yuri’s vision to life has been an exciting endeavor that we look forward to sharing with audiences in San Francisco, Chicago, and beyond,” said SF Ballet Artistic Director Tamara Rojo. “The extraordinary talents of our company are not to be missed, and we are equally excited to kick off a robust touring schedule this summer.”
The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director of the Joffrey Ballet Ashley Wheater MBE said, “It is an honor to collaborate with SF Ballet in bringing Pushkin’s Onegin to the stage. This world premiere by Yuri Possokhov, a lifelong friend and cherished Joffrey choreographer, captures our vision of bold, innovative storytelling that speaks to today’s audiences while expanding the ballet canon. From its inception, The Joffrey Ballet has pushed artistic boundaries, and this co-production marks an exciting new chapter in that legacy. Onegin‘s themes of love, regret, and redemption remain as powerful as ever, offering a timeless, deeply moving exploration of the heart’s complexities.”
Possokhov was a principal dancer at SF Ballet for 12 years, and following his retirement, joined the company as Choreographer-in-Residence. Since then, he has created over 30 works for the world’s leading ballet companies, including 14 for SF Ballet—Eugene Onegin marks his first full-length for the company since 2003’s Don Quixote, co-choreographed with former artistic director Helgi Tomasson. Possokhov is a frequent guest choreographer at the Joffrey Ballet and will return following 2019’s highly successful full-length commission of Anna Karenina, a co-production of the Joffrey and the Australian Ballet, and the world premiere of Andante, an intimate work for three dancers, earlier this month.
Onegin marks Possokhov’s sixth collaboration with award-winning composer, performer, and conductor Ilya Demutsky, who will create a new and original score. The creative team for Eugene Onegin also includes librettist Valeriy Pecheykin, set designer Tom Pye, costume designer Tim Yip (an Oscar-winner in Art Direction for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), lighting designer Jim French, and projection designer Finn Ross.
SF Ballet’s 25/26 Season touring engagements announced today, with more to come, include:
- Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks
Hollywood Bowl | Los Angeles, CA | July 18–19, 2025
The charismatic Carlos Miguel Prieto leads the Hollywood Bowl’s annual Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks made extra spectacular this year by the presence of the stunning dancers of San Francisco Ballet. The evening features music from Swan Lake, Symphony No.3, Capriccio Italien, and, as always, the 1812 Overture featuring the USC Marching Band and the Bowl’s signature fireworks. - Frankenstein
Segerstrom Center for the Arts | Costa Mesa, CA | October 2–5, 2025
Based on Mary Shelley’s 19th-century novel-turned-pop culture classic, the captivating must-see production from Liam Scarlett features sensational choreography, cinematic design, costumes, special effects, pyrotechnics, and a haunting original score from Lowell Liebermann. Scarlett’s Frankenstein is a visceral portrayal of creation, ingenuity, and humanity.
About San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet, led by Artistic Director Tamara Rojo, is a world-leading ballet company and a trailblazing commissioner, collaborator, and presenter in dance. With a deep commitment to new and contemporary works and the classical repertoire, SF Ballet is a catalyst for the future of ballet, investing in commissions and acquisitions; presenting established and emerging choreographers with a breadth of viewpoints; uplifting dancers, artists, and creatives across disciplines; and cultivating the next generation of the world’s top dancers in its School.
About The Joffrey Ballet
The Joffrey Ballet is one of the premier dance companies in the world today, with a reputation for boundary-breaking performances for 70 years. The Joffrey repertoire is an extensive collection of all-time classics, modern masterpieces, and original works. Founded in 1956 by pioneers Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino, the Joffrey remains dedicated to artistic expression, innovation, and first-rate education and engagement programming. The Joffrey Ballet continues to thrive under The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director Ashley Wheater MBE and President and CEO Greg Cameron.
About Yuri Possokhov
Yuri Possokhov is among the most active and imaginative ballet choreographers currently working. He danced with the Bolshoi Ballet for ten years, rapidly advancing through the ranks to principal dancer. While performing, Possokhov studied choreography and ballet pedagogy at the State College of Theatrical Arts, completing the five-year course in 1990. He was a principal dancer for two years with the Royal Danish Ballet before joining the San Francisco Ballet (SFB) in 1994, where he was a principal dancer for twelve years. Following his retirement as a dancer from SFB, Possokhov was named SFB Choreographer-in-Residence in May 2006. He has choreographed 14 ballets for SFB, including: Damned, Don Quixote, Study in Motion, Reflections, Firebird, Fusion, Diving into the Lilacs, Classical Symphony, RAkU, Francesca da Rimini, The Rite of Spring, and Swimmer. One of Possokhov’s early works — Magrittomania received an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Choreography. He has created three full-length ballets for the Bolshoi Ballet: Cinderella, A Hero of Our Time, and Nureyev. For A Hero of Our Time and Nureyev, he received the prestigious Benois de la Danse Award, established by the International Dance Union. Possokhov is a frequent guest choreographer with The Joffrey Ballet. He has choreographed Bells, Adagio, Don Quixote, The Miraculous Mandarin, and Bluebeard’s Castle (with the Cleveland Orchestra). Please visit yuripossokhov.com for more information.
MEDIA CONTACTS
For San Francisco Ballet:
sfballet@resnicow.com
press@sfballet.org
To access press images, please contact press@sfballet.org
For The Joffrey Ballet:
Katy O’Malley, The Silverman Group, Inc.
Katy@silvermangroupchicago.com
(847) 814-1940