Yuan Yuan Tan

Yuan Yuan Tan received her training at the Shanghai Dance School and the John Cranko Schule in Stuttgart. She joined the San Francisco Ballet in 1995 as a soloist and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1997, making her the youngest dancer to achieve this rank in the Company’s history and the first-ever Chinese prima ballerina in the United States

Tan’s repertoire at SF Ballet is extensive. She originated principal roles in many of former Artistic Director & Principal Choreographer Helgi Tómasson’s ballets, including 7 for Eight, Caprice, Chi-Lin, The Fifth Season, Pandora Dance, and Silver Ladders. Visiting choreographers who created roles for Tan include Edwaard Liang, Mark Morris, Yuri Possokhov, Liam Scarlett, Stanton Welch, and Christopher Wheeldon.

Tan has guested at the world’s top companies, galas, competitions, and festivals. She also has organized tours performing to sold out audiences abroad. She was featured in PBS’ Great Performances broadcasts of both Tomasson’s Nutcracker, in which she danced the role of the Queen of Snow, and John Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid, in which she danced the starring role.

Throughout her 29-year career at SF Ballet, Tan has garnered many awards and accolades, including being named one of Time’s “20 people under 40” considered heroes from Asia, and receiving the Shanghai Magnolia Silver Award, the Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement, the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Female Performance, and an award from Dance Magazine.

In 2018, Tan’s inspiring story of perseverance was featured in Chelsea Clinton’s bestselling children’s book She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History.

In November 2022, Tan took on the role of Artistic Director for a reimagined production of the classic Chinese tale White Snake, presented by the Shanghai Grand Theatre. She also assumed the leading role. The production, which features international stage creators and dancers, has been praised for its striking visual design, innovative choreography, and powerful storytelling. Under Tan’s direction, the characters in White Snake embody a journey of love, courage, and determination, and her performance in the leading role is one destined to be remembered for years to come.

Photo credit: Chen Yuqiao