旧金山芭蕾舞团将不雇佣任何新的革命制度党ncipal dancers or soloists for its 2023-24 season, but plans to increase its entry-level corps de ballet after the company’s first open call for auditions in nearly four decades concludes next month, the company announced Monday, May 22.

The new roster, showing the first slate of dancers chosen entirely byTamara Rojo, who became artistic director last year, includes 79 company members and six apprentices, who just graduated from the San Francisco Ballet School.

But while the lineup total is comparable to recent seasons, there are five high-level departures.

Soloist Lucas Erni, just entering the prime of his career, has left the company, for unannounced reasons, as has soloist Hansuke Yamamoto, who is retiring after 22 years with the company. The two join previously announced principals Dores André and Max Cauthorn, who left to join Ballett Zürich in Switzerland.

Mathilde Froustey, a Paris Opera Ballet-trained principal, has also left to join the Ballet of the Opéra National de Bordeaux in her native France. She had been highly visible in San Francisco since joining the Ballet in 2013 but did not perform this past season after recovering from injury.

Yuan Yuan Tan, an audience favorite who joined the Ballet more than 28 years ago, has remained in the company for the upcoming season. Also among the principals, Frances Chung plans to return to the stage after giving birth to her second child.

In addition to five of last season’s apprentices promoted to corps (the sixth apprentice, Parker Garrison, was promoted to corps during last season), the new hires include Katharine Lee, formerly a member of England’s Northern Ballet; Hui-Wen Peng, a silver medalist at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition and formerly a member of Atlanta Ballet II; and Simone Pompignoli, formerly a member of Tulsa Ballet.

The company expects to add two or three additional corps members after completing its open call for auditions, which began May 15. New dancers are expected to be announced in July.

In other changes, the principal character dancer rank has been renamed character artist to reflect the acting roles such members perform, and now includes recently retired principalTiit Helimets, along with Joanna Berman and Kristi DeCaminada.Val Caniparoli, who marked his 50th season onstage with the company last spring, will return to perform character roles.

Though rehearsal director and character dancer Anita Paciotti retired last month after 55 years with the company, the artistic staff otherwise remains consistent with Felipe Diaz as executive rehearsal director, and Berman, Ricardo Bustamante, Tina LeBlanc and Katita Waldo — all former company dancers with long histories at the Ballet — as rehearsal staff.

Yuri Possokhov remains choreographer in residence.

The country’s oldest professional ballet company and its second-largest, the acclaimed troupe is in the midst of a historic change in leadership followingHelgi Tomasson’s retirementas artistic director after a 37-year tenure. The company has a new interim executive director, Arturo Jacobs, afterDanielle St.Germain resignedabruptly in April after just 13 months on the job to become chief philanthropy officer at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.

Rojo’s first fully curated seasonopens in January with the Ballet’s first evening-length commission from a female choreographer, Aszure Barton.

Whether the company’s open call for corps members marks a change in relationship with the San Francisco Ballet School is still uncertain. Over the last 13 years, school director Patrick Armand has worked to increase the number of company members trained there. But Armand recently stepped down from his role, citing a desire to spend more time with family in Europe, according to Ballet spokesperson Kate McKinney.

教员凯蒂西风已经选定了一个s interim School director, beginning her post in August while the Ballet conducts an international search for a permanent School director. McKinney said Wester intends to continue the strong association with the company, with more than 70% of the current dancers trained by the School.

In the meantime, the school’s students will give graduating performances at their Spring Festival on Wednesday through Friday, May 24-26, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

The Ballet is also scheduled to perform at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts in Wyoming in July for the first time, followed by two outdoor performances at Stanford University’s Frost Amphitheater in August.

Rachel Howard is a freelance writer.