When Tamara Rojo was appointed artistic director of San Francisco Ballet in 2022, she became only the second person to lead the company in more than three decades—and the first woman to hold the position in its 90-year history. But Rojo is not alone in steering the company forward. Among the artists helping define this new chapter is Lorena Feijóo, the Cuban-American former principal dancer whose creative voice has become increasingly central to how the company thinks about programming, audience engagement, and the future of ballet itself.
From Principal Dancer to Creative Architect
Feijóo spent 18 years as a principal with San Francisco Ballet, retiring from the stage in 2017. During that time, she built a reputation for dramatic intensity and technical versatility, excelling in works as varied as Swan Lake, Christopher Wheeldon's Cinderella, and Mark Morris's Sylvia. Since stepping away from full-time performing, she has moved into choreography and artistic consulting, creating pieces that draw on her Cuban training while incorporating contemporary movement vocabularies and multimedia elements.
Her 2019 work Liaison, presented at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, merged live performance with projected visual art and an original electronic score. Reviews in Dance Magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle noted her willingness to let narrative take a backseat to sensory experience—a marked departure from the story-driven classics that dominated much of her performing career.
A Broader Definition of Ballet
In conversations with company leadership and in public appearances over the past two years, Feijóo has articulated a clear philosophy: ballet institutions must evolve or risk irrelevance. She has used the phrase "an arrow to the future" to describe what she believes San Francisco Ballet can become—a company that honors its classical foundation without being imprisoned by it.
That vision translates into several concrete priorities:
- Diversifying the repertoire. Feijóo has advocated for commissioning choreographers from outside the traditional European and American ballet networks, including artists from Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
- Expanding representation onstage. While she has not publicly cited specific demographic targets, she has repeatedly stressed the importance of building a company that reflects the Bay Area's population. San Francisco Ballet's 2023–24 roster included 12 dancers who identify as people of color out of 75 total dancers—progress from previous decades, but still a minority.
- Reimagining the audience experience. Feijóo has pushed for productions that integrate dance with visual art, live music, and immersive design, aiming to attract younger and more culturally diverse ticket buyers.
Beyond the Proscenium
Feijóo's influence extends into education and community programming. She has helped develop outreach partnerships with the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco and the Oakland Unified School District, bringing free movement workshops to neighborhoods where formal dance training is scarce. She has also taught master classes at the company's San Francisco Ballet School, emphasizing accessibility for adult beginners and recreational dancers—not just pre-professional students.
"She understands that a ballet company in 2024 has to be more than what happens at 8 p.m. on the War Memorial Opera House stage," said one company administrator, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss personnel matters publicly. "She's asking questions about who gets to participate, who gets to create, and who feels welcome in the building."
Respecting History, Resisting Nostalgia
Feijóo is careful to acknowledge the legacy she is helping steward. Helgi Tomasson, who directed the company from 1985 to 2022, built San Francisco Ballet into one of the most respected classical troupes in the United States. Under his leadership, the company developed a reputation for pristine technique and a deep commitment to full-length narrative ballets.
But Feijóo has also signaled that reverence for the past should not become an excuse for caution. In a 2023 panel discussion at the San Francisco Arts Commission, she noted that Tomasson himself had been a progressive force early in his tenure—expanding the company's contemporary repertoire and elevating women to principal roles at a faster pace than many peer institutions. "The tradition here is innovation," she said. "That is the tradition we have to protect."
What Comes Next
As San Francisco Ballet moves deeper into its post-Tomasson era, Feijóo's role appears likely to grow. Rojo has already programmed two works developed with Feijóo's input for the 2024–25 season, including a site-specific piece to be performed at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Whether Feijóo will take on a formal administrative title—artistic associate, resident choreographer, or something else—remains unconfirmed. What is clear is that her perspective, forged through nearly two decades on the company's
