The San Francisco Nutcracker Ballet is a family holiday tradition. The beauty of this is over the years they have carefully crafted children's programs for the ballet itself with less solos so the fidgety ones can remain rapt at the toys, the rat king, and of course the nutcracker on stage. We've attended children's performances where there was a post-ballet party with refreshments and opportunity for the kids to be photographed with the characters from the ballet.. What makes this so special for me and my family is their introductionto the arts. As children my girls looked forward to dressing up to attend this every year. Now, as adults, we continue the family tradition of attending as a family including my daughters spouses. Someday I will go with my daughters when they take their children to the Nutcracket Ballet as I once took them when they were little. My family looks forward to this every year, and every year we are delighted! Thank you to everyone at the SF Ballet for making this a memorable, meaningful, really special family tradition. Fiver, perfection. read more

WOW! They really know what they're doing, and I guess my expectations wouldn't be anything less for one of the top 3 companies in the country. We saw The Nutcracker and it was absolutely stunning. From the costume details to the set details. It's all there, but then throw in the precision from the ballet dancers l, plus the love orchestra, and you won't be able to look away. Can't wait to see another show! read more

San Francisco Ballet - Program - Performing Arts Near Me - San Francisco, California

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They refuse to provide a refund or an exchange for a different show for ANY circumstance. If you have covid (or flu or strep or.. even with a doctor's note and a positive test) your only option is to come to the show and infect everyone. So I bet a ton of sick people are there at any given point. They said they can provide an exchange for the same performance on a different date only, which is unhelpful when my tickets were for the last day of the performance. I would be happy to exchange for a future ballet with a fee but they refused. This cancellation policy is ridiculous and not a good way to treat your customers. At least have a way to purchase ticket protection upfront or charge a healthy cancellation fee that would still be better than forcing customers to lose many hundreds of dollars. This was my first purchase at SF Ballet and due to this policy I would never consider purchasing again. I also want to point out the horrible ticketing system. They force you to create an account to purchase a ticket. Then, they sign you up for a bunch of e-newsletters despite opting out. Then, when you click unsubscribe on the newsletter you are taken to a page that says "thank you for subscribing!" that then sends you more e-newsletters. Avoid! read more

Recently attended SF Ballet's La Sylphide. It was a short program, but I loved it! I think my favorite thing about attending the ballet besides the dancers, the choreography, the music, is the set designs. My favorite here is Act II where the beautiful Sylph (Scottish magical air spirit) is solo dancing in the misty magical woods. read more

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The night was spectacular! 1st time at the ballet for us and it was magical. Nutcracker 25 was amazing! Staff was friendly and helpful even with non ballet questions. The show was phenomenal! Definitely recommend attending a performance to anyone. read more

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The dress rehearsal of Don Quixote was absolutely stunning, simply far beyond what you might expect from a rehearsal. From the first moment, there was a sense of energy and polish that made it feel like a full performance rather than a run through.The dancing was vibrant and full of life. It honestly really captured the playful spirit and romance at the heart of the story. The lead performers brought incredible charisma to their roles, especially in the way they balanced each precise movement with genuine emotion. Every turn, leap, and gesture felt intentional and expressive, it was sooo astoundingly beautiful, and drawing the audience into the world of Kitri and Basilio. Visually, it was breathtaking. The costumes were rich and colorful, and the staging created a warm, lively feeling in the theater that transported you straight into a sunlit Spanish village. I especially loved the moody windmill scenes. Even in rehearsal mode, the attention to detail was clear, nothing felt raw. What stood out most was the joy. You could feel it from the dancers, the music, and the entire production. There was a contagious sense of excitement and passion that made the experience really memorable. If this was just the dress rehearsal, the official performance is going to be thrilling. read more

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Amazing amazing performance of The Nutcracker! The costume and set design is better than Broadway productions. The key dancers were amazing. The smaller Roles (Spanish Russian) weren't as good as past years but overall amazing Performance and very special. read more

Took my daughter to the Nutcracker for the holidays and it was spectacular! Compliments to the staff and dancers for a wonderful experience.

Please note that every negative post about this venue has nothing to do with the actual ballet. This is a world class experience. Have NO DOUBT this is one of the premier ballets in the world. I drive to San Francisco from Santa Cruz, CA every performance. It is worth every mile of Bay Area traffic. Just do it, even if you think Mick Jagger is the best dancer you ever saw. read more

If you are into art and ballet, I highly recommend that you check out SF ballet. I recently went there for a Bday party. The performers of the night was Britannia . It was spectacular. We had a party of 5 and everyone loved it. I would definitely go back! read more

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12/13/25 (7 pm): I have seen the Nutcracker a few times in the past. A few years back, I read that they changed it up a little. I was disappointed last night because it was a show that didn't seem recognizable for the most part. The mini dance scenes were good but short. I wish they had brought the children to participate in the closing. That was sad for me to not have them be recognized. The dancing was good. Maybe, I am just remembering the old days, but I didn't feel like the routines were as jaw dropping as I remember. I do recall one dancer in a mini set that I thought "wow" in one of his moves. Also, after the show ended, we took a few pictures, went to the gift shop. After buying a few things, we went to the restroom. We had a toddler and an elderly person with us. An older man in the restaurant told us they were closed before we went into the restroom. We went in because you can't expect a four year old and senior to watch a show and not use a restroom before a 2 hour drive home. The man peeped his head into the entry and yelled at us that they were closed again! I would think that after you take a few pictures, shop, wait in line to buy gifts, that people would be afforded time to use the restroom before you leave. It was stunning. My adult daughter was mad and confronted him directly because she literally saw him. He denied it. I did mention that to a security guard. It was very inappropriate for a man to lean into the women's main bathroom entrance to yell as us that they are closed again as we were washing our hands. After $200 tickets, drinks, snacks, and purchased merchandise, we can be left alone to use the restroom. Its not like we were planning on a sleepover. Not, that it really matters, but I won't go to the show again until I read that it has been changed again. Change isn't always for the better. My daughter sees the show frequently and has decided to wait a few seasons before going back. read more

If you like your ballet well done, this is the company for you. SFB has the finest dancers and a wide range of choreographic styles to challenge both the dancers and the audience. read more

We watched The Nutcracker and my tiny dancer absolutely loved it! She clapped the entire time and was thrilled to see dancers (like herself) in such a big auditorium. Perfect date night/family night/mom and daughter night to kick off the Christmas season. Definitely add it to your bucket list! read more

If I had known that they used AI to create the Nutcracker promotional art and posters, my friend and I would not have bought tickets in the first place. I've had other friends who have supported the ballet over the years, and chose not to this year because of AI. The posters are ugly, and look more like they belong to some low-budget horror movie than for a magical classic Christmas ballet. But since the tickets aren't refundable, my friend and I went anyway. We had never seen the Nutcracker ballet before, and as two grown women, we decided to go together. For $26 for the cheapest seats, watching the ballet was a good deal. The dancers are wonderful, the costumes and sets are pure eye candy, the memorable and classic famed musical was great to listen to live, and we did enjoy watching it. We were also surprised by the diversity and representation in the cast. Great ballet, but for goodness sake, don't cut costs on art by outsourcing actual artists to artificial intelligence. I certainly won't continue supporting them in the future if they continue to do so. read more

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My family is in town and my mom loves ballet so what better present than tickets to see The Nutcracker. From my 11-year old son to my parents, we all absolutely loved it. The venue is stunning, especially when decorated for Christmas. The music is fantastic, the orchestra fully honors Tchaikovsky's pieces and the storyline. The ballet dancers are masters of their craft, ensuring an absolutely beautiful production. Great work on the set pieces as well. Transitions between the different decors were so fast and leave you awestruck. The Nutcracker is not the typical start to finish ballet, it's more theatrical and very easy to follow along making it perfect to bring your kids too as well. So why 4 stars? Well, the break in between was a little stressful. The lines to the bar went as fast as they could but it's is still a big amount of people to serve in a short amount of time. The lady in front of me took forever to pick out which snacks she wanted (to be fair they had a lot of great options) and at this point they rang the bell thingy to go inside. Then one of us declares they need to go pee so we have to wait to go in and the bell thingy has now rung twice. We get our cans of soda and a cup and head inside, only to get stopped by the "lid police". A let's call him "grumpy man" singles me out from our group and yells a bunch of stuff at me, fervently pointing at my can. I pick up the words "lid" and "can" from his rant and piece together that I'm apparently not allowed to go in with the drinks they just handed me that way. I understand it's not grumpy man's fault that he has been put in charge of this unfortunate task, albeit he could have been nice in his approach instead of this yell rant he's giving me. Anyways, at this point my partner goes on a hunt for lids and another cup. I'm standing there with in one hand a cup and in another a can. I need to put the soda in the cup as per instructions but can't because hands are full so I put my can on the table in front of me which lo and behold belongs to grumpy man. Grumpy man now goes completely ballistic and starts yelling and mam'ing me some more. I can absolutely not open this can on his table or the world will end apparently. Now we've moved past the point of all reasonable requests so I look the grumpy man defiantly into his face, open the can and answer "not really" to him telling me "it will spill". The can was opened perfectly without even one drop coming out. I have never opened a can as satisfyingly perfect as I did in that moment. Grumpy man kept yelling stuff. I smiled at him, found my partner and walked inside whilst the grumpy man was still fuming. Bye sir. I then enjoyed the second fantastic part of the masterpiece. read more

San Francisco ballet is one of the top troupes in the US and it shows. Amazing standards of dance and shows ranging from the standards (Sean Lake, Nutcracker) to the up-and-coming choreographers. Lots of restaurants nearby and lovely shopping in Hayes Valley. Have a parking plan ahead of time. read more

My first time at any ballet and I'm glad it was the San Francisco Ballet. This review is for my visit from December 2021, but I still remember it like yesterday. I came for the Nutcracker and getting inside was a little hectic as there were many lines outside, with little signage/instructions. Eventually got to the front of the entrance and security checked purses/vax cards. At the time, everyone needed to be vaxed to enter the building. Everyone also needed to be masked during the entirety. Once inside, the race was on to find my seat. There were many ushers guiding guests. Restrooms are interestingly situated as the men's restroom and women's restroom are located on opposite sides of the floor of each other. A small concession stand is located on each floor and there was even a water station to the side! The Nutcracker was absolutely wonderful! There was not one empty seat in the house! Of course, this was on a Saturday night. This part of town doesn't include easy parking so best to take public transportation or be prepared to walk quite a few blocks. I hope to attend another ballet in the near future! #22/2022 read more

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I learned that if you're darker skin and don't know where you are that the staff will ask you to leave when you're separated from your group. Overall great if you're white and over 50 years old. read more

Very talented dancers and the new director presents a variety of choreographic and musical styles. However, Tamara Roja scheduled a week of extra performances of full length ballets for the last two seasons which were not well attented. Additionally, she blocked the balcony section so those less fortunate could not afford to attend. That was a huge financial loss for the company. The loss was reflected in a large increases in ticket costs this season. This season, subscription packages were not available till July ( 2 months later than Helgis schedule). Even worse, there are no longer free ticket exchanges for subscribers once the season begins, unless you have a full series. The exchange fee is $20 which is excessive. She should at least give subscribers 1 free ticket exchange as illness, job travel and family issues can prevent us from attending. Yuan Yuan Tan who danced longer with the company than any dancer was not given a special farewell performance, despite her extreme talent and popularity. Her fans sent a request to Tamara requesting a special performance for her ( as Helgi would have done) yet Tamara didn't honor our wishes. What did she do with the $60 million donation she received last year? Will she return to 8 programs and 3,5 and eight program subscriptions which we had before the pandemic? Hiring her was a mistake. Many long term ballet subscribers are upset and complaining ! read more

My wife loved seeing the nutcracker. We bought balcony seats for a Friday night, and the stage was very clear to see from all sides. The drink line was a little long, probably didn't have enough bartenders working that night. read more

Did you know that San Francisco Ballet Company is the oldest in the country? That's pretty cool! I have been to a few performances over the years and seen Nutcracker and Swan Lake. It's a personal preference and I would put the Symphony and Opera over the Ballet but it's still a wonderful experience. read more

I would recommend coming here! This is a beautiful building, well maintained in a nice area by restaurants and bars. Went here to watch the Nutcracker and they did put on a great show. Looking forward to watching other shows in this venue. They have a bar on every floor just about also restrooms conveniently located. Looking forward to the next show! read more

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I haven't seen the nutcracker since I was 5 (ish) and I'm now 32, so it's been quite sometime. There is no need to talk or sing when you are able to express yourself and perform a whole story through dance. ALL the dancers are truly on point (excuse the pun) and everyone from the sugar plum fairy to the kids at the family get together were all amazing. The music is very addicting and you WILL be humming for probably a couple of days afterwards. It's hard to ignore. All the soloists are dressed in extravagant costumes and their confidence is vibrant. It was wonderful to see on a Saturday night. read more

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Went to the Opening Night Gala Wednesday, January 22, 2025. It was a big disappointment. In the middle of the program, there were no fewer than three pas de deux accompanied by piano only. This while 50 other musicians sat in a dark orchestra pit. I didn't know that the Music Director Martin West's job was part-time. After these three difficult to differentiate dances, the orchestra had to warmup again before continuing to play. The cheering coming from the upper reaches of the balcony indicated that the younger attendees enjoyed it all. Artistic Director Tamara Rojo had better consider the preferences of us older balletomanes if she wants to fill the seats at the Opera House. On the other hand, Ayesha Curry was a delight. read more

SF Ballet Nutcracker has been a longtime Christmas fixture in our family since our children were young, years ago. We never tire of this spectacular performance. The familiar hit scores , dancing children, colorful costumes, animated toys, twirly sweets and fantasy animals are all part of what makes it a fun winter tradition for the entire family. We love coming with multi generations as no matter what age, Nutcracker is enjoyed by all! World renown principal dancer Yuan Yuan Tan is breathtakingly beautiful and her perfect performance takes this magical holiday ballet to a surreal level with her role as Snow Queen. Every queen needs a fabulous ensemble! Her Snow Queen's show-stopping tutu is created with layers upon layers of customized fabric and rumored to take 80 hours to make. Brazilian born Vitor Luiz, engages and connects the audience with his classical techniques as Snow King so gracefully executed but also spirited in a way that is mesmerizing only he can do. Everyone loves this Snow King. Both Yuan Yuan and Vitor knows how to capture the audience with their story through their fantastic poetic dance moments . All the various characters and scenes through Claire's journey with her handsome nutcracker are exceptional! Bravo! Get your tickets next year...Love it, love it live it! read more

Love SF ballet! Recently went there for Don Quixote. There is affordable parking nearby at a city garage, I think $8 or $10? You do have to get there early now bc they do mandatory covid vax record checks. You also have to keep your masks on and they were enforcing that, so those of you concerned about covid can rest easy. The building is beautiful and historic. You must get there on time or you have to wait to be seated and won't be able to sit in your own seat until the first act is over. Went with my parents and hubby for Don Quixote which had beautiful costumes and amazing dancing. We bought cheaper seats and were able to see just fine. Great technique, choreography, etc. My husband was a former Oakland Ballet dancer and he said SF ballet dancers have great technique. We don't live in the bay or we'd have season tickets. We love SF Ballet and plan to go back many times. read more

Was on hold about 1 hr to purchase tickets through the phone. I wanted to actually call on the phone to ask rep about seating if children 6- 9 would be able to see from where I wanted to purchase tickets. I was double assured by the rep. When we sat down the Kids could barely see show even sitting on chair riser. The woman's restrooms reeked of strong urine smell 2 x we went in in different locations. There was urine in toilets from where our our family members went in too. My Grandkids stepping on urine they said. There was no employees freshening restrooms or cleaning service during shows so at intermission patrons can use clean restrooms. This 1st time experience not worth $500 total I paid for our tickets. Beyond ridiculous. We will not return to experience this expensive ballet with these bad smelling restrooms. Not worth this kind of price. read more

Excellent show and I really like this area of the city here. City Hall is around the cornea, I really enjoy the playground and area in front of City Hall. We saw a few of coupon getting married and it's lovely to watch these blessing couples. The San Francisco Symphony within walking distance which makes it a nice walk for us in this area. Will visit this part of City soon to explore more. read more

The experience is 4/5 but the way they treat customers deserves a star docked. Bought a ticket ($49) then bought another ticket ($120) that was 2x cost and wanted to refund the first one. This all happened on the same day. Refused to refund a $14 "service fee" which is bogus and was told I should have known to call to get it exchanged. This was not explicitly stated anywhere in the purchasing process. Was told I was getting an "exception" for even getting a refund on my previous ticket, felt like it was pulling tooth to even get a refund. This is 2023, not acceptable to treat customers this way. It's a matter of principle. read more

Back in the day, I was a San Francisco Ballet subscriber / season ticket holder. So I'm familiar with the SF Ballet that existed over a decade ago. Luckily for me, my girlfriend won tickets to the ballet and asked me to join. We saw ROBBINS: BALLET & BROADWAY on Wednesday, March 21st at 7:30pm. There were four pieces in the program: Opus 19 / The Dreamer, The Cage, Other Dances, and Fancy Free. I adored The Cage. And one of my favorite dancers from years ago, Yuan Yuan Tan was in it. I had no idea she was still dancing, but I just love watching her perform. She makes everything look so effortless and light. I've seen Fancy Free many times and it's just a fun ballet. Who doesn't love a sailor on leave? So happy I was able to revisit the ballet. Though my enthusiasm isn't what it used to be (I adored watching Amanda Schull as I am a huge Center Stage fan), I still love watching the SF Ballet. So happy there's such a wonderful company in my city. read more

San Francisco Ballet - Program - Performing Arts Near Me - San Francisco, California

Highly do NOT recommend getting upper level seating. Watched Swan Lake this past weekend and *SPOILER ALERT* the end scene where the swan princess Odette jumps off the cliff into the lake was COMPLETELY cut off from our view. The only reason I knew this was supposed to happen was because I saw it in the movie Black Swan, and then went home to look at recordings of past performances to confirm that was indeed a part of the routine. Was looking forward to seeing the famous leap in person, but the way the stage was set up was not designed to be viewed from the upper level. You would at least think that during rehearsals they would make sure that no one's view would be cut off, especially for the grand finale. But I guess you get what you pay for. Just sucks we had to miss such an iconic part because we only had access to upper level seating. Aside from that disappointment, the show itself was timely and the ushers were efficient. I actually appreciate their requirement for full vaccination, as the theater seating is very narrow and it's hard to avoid getting in each other's personal space. Pro tip: come early to find parking as the lot nearby tends to fill up quickly. Good thing about it though is the flat rate $20 fee on performance dates, and their lot is open until 1am. read more

Horrible technique, timing, and attention to detail. Have never seen a worse professional ballet company. Wish I could get my money back. Friend who attended with me and has never seen a ballet asked at intermission if this was a "lower tier ballet company" before I even noted all of the mistakes. I replied "It seems so." read more

Excellent dancing, and the new repertoire brought in by the new AD is wonderful, new, inspiring and compelling.

Love the Ballet, Swan Lake Classic , the Attendant's , was Friendly & accommodating . Easy to obtain tickets @ Will Call , took the Ferry to SF than a Lift , Easy transits & Friendly immediate service. Close restaurants walking distance , you have to try "Baia" Good Organic , Vegan Eats, local Farm to Table. Bummer, the Bar was out of a lot of Alcohol brands , was not prepare for two venue's Ballet & Symphony. Plan to see a Contemporary Ballet , So yes I will be back! read more

After many years of attending the San Francisco opening night galas this year the gala has been formatted differently. The price jumped for the starting benefactor ticket from )1500 to $2000 per ticket. I have many friends who are not going because of the price of the ticket and also minimizing the encore attendee size. I won't be going in the figure and neither will many of my friends in the future. San Francisco is never going to get off the ground with their continued Covid thinking. Took a long time to get a call back as well read more

I really wanted to be with the kiddoes and watch a traditional Nutcracker performance together, as we did for so many years. However, any even-average single seat with the SF Ballet for this production is now nearly $300, and there's little alternative in the SF Bay area, since all other productions are woke, and have new politically-correct music and casting and choreography. We encountered one such last year in SJose, and it was such a great disappointment. We will probably watch one of the several _sublime_ performances on HD on YT as I also did last year. On a large screen, the experience of letting the music especially, wash over you, is memorable. A great composer!! read more

Amazing performance of swan lake. The dancing was incredible. Great orchestra, brought tears to the eye.

Our recent trip to Sleeping Beauty was excruciating. The sets and costumes were stunning. The choreography was pleasing, but it did not expect much from the female dancers. Perhaps this was a good idea, as it appeared that a small group of female dancers (both chorus and principals) were suffering injuries. This was very hard to watch. Yes, many in the chorus (both female and male), and one female principal were adequate, and two male principals were beautiful dancers. Sadly the problems overshadowed the good. I realize Matinees do not feature a companies premier dancers, but such obvious problems are sad, and point to larger problems. Our girls only noticed the stumbles, and not the inability to achieve proper position, but we still had to discuss the possibility of physical injury with a 10 and 7 year old. I sincerely hope these dancers did not worsen their physical issues during the performance. read more

San Francisco Ballet - DGD's made our trip to the Nutcracker a 3 generation affair! - Performing Arts Near Me - San Francisco, California

I've always wanted to see the Nutcracker. So I was completely ecstatic when their tickets ended up on Travelzoo on discount. We were sitting a bit high so we rented 'opera glasses' ($5) which ended up being small binoculars (which I already had at home-bummers). There is a gift store on the Mezzanine level with all sorts of nutcrackers, ballerinas, and gifts to purchase. We had a 15% discount coupon that came with our tickets. You can even preorder your intermission drinks ahead of time to beat the crowd. The seats are very narrow and walking up some of the steps could leave you with a bit of vertigo. The production was perfect. The storyline was great and easy to follow and the performances were amazing. The scene with the Snow King and Queen dancing with the other ballerinas with all the snow falling is just breathtaking. It's really hard to believe that these dancers are on their tippie-toes, fluttering around, making it look so breezy and easy. I'm so glad I went to see the show. It was a great way to spend during the holidays and I'm really happy I was able to experience such a breathtaking production. read more

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It's been years since I've been to the SF ballet. Moving out of the city, having children and rising ticket prices made an evening at the ballet easily $500 for dinner, tickets, childcare and parking. I prefer opera, which can be even more expensive in SF. My friend invited me to a Sunday evening performance. She was given the tickets and Sunday evening the headlining dancers did not perform. We saw Copellia, a Balanchine choreographed dance-off. Compared to opera, the plot is even thinner, but the dancing was ravishing in the final act. Great music, amazingly beautiful dancing, historic setting and the company of a wonderful friend made this a lovely evening. Instead of driving in the pouring rain, I took BART from Millbrae. My friend took BART from the East Bay. We met on the train platform. Worked well. Civic Center Station has homeless sleeping in station and pan handling on the platform where i waited 20 minutes for the train. Also a homeless man on the train became upset when an unleashed, unattended dog went under his seat and started gnawing some chicken bones he left. Dog went back to his owners and homeless man yelled a little but he did not look like a good match for the younger bigger dog owners. read more

San Francisco Ballet - Art Deco chandelier - Performing Arts Near Me - San Francisco, California