SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company and school in the country. This year it is celebrating its 90th anniversary and next week its students will take the stage for a very special presentation called the Spring Festival.
18-year-old trainee Jacey Gailliard has been preparing for the big presentation since the start of the school year in August.
She spends six days a week, nearly eight hours a day, perfecting her moves at the San Francisco Ballet School.
The Pennsylvania native said she dreamed of attending school since she was 12 after completing a summer program here.
When she turned 15, her mother finally agreed to let her make the move on her own.
“It’s really been a part of my life since I was three years old. I always knew I loved to dance and just wanted to be on stage,” Gailliard said. “I think a lot of people don’t realize how many sacrifices that requires.”
One of her biggest challenges is taking classes in the evening after a full day of ballet school and moving away from her parents.
This year, Gailliard applied to join the company as an apprentice, and she made it. Only half of the twelve trials were accepted.
“Ultimately, my dream is to inspire young girls — especially African-American ballet dancers, who aren’t as represented in the ballet world as other ethnic groups,” she said. “And just being able to dance as many works and styles as I can as long as my body allows me to.”
Gailliard is among dozens of SF Ballet School students whose year’s work culminates in this year’s 30th Spring Festival.
It will be the final performance for SF Ballet School and incoming program director Patrick Armand, who joined the company in 2010. In 2012 he became deputy director of the school.
“As an artist, I’ve always wanted people to be moved and then let themselves be carried away like we do on stage,” said Armand. “The Spring Festival is even more emotional because it’s younger people. They’re not adults yet, but they’re absolutely amazing dancers already.”
Armand aims to make the art form more inclusive and accessible.
One of his achievements was the development of a special dance program for people with Parkinson’s disease. Armand said his mother had Parkinson’s disease and that he wanted to create a space in the community in her honor.
“Ballet is for everyone. Ballet can be therapeutic, it can just be life-changing,” he said.
During his tenure, more than 70 percent of the school’s students became professional dancers with SF Ballet.
“I love the work of getting on stage and you can really feel the preparation and the blood, sweat and tears that these dancers went through to show you something really beautiful,” Gailliard said.
The Spring Festival will feature performances over three nights May 24-26 at the Blue Shield Theater at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
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Betty Yu
