2. Yuan Yuan Tan , born in Shanghai, China, trained at Shanghai Dancing School and Stuttgart’s John Cranko School. She joined San Francisco Ballet as a soloist in 1995 and became a principal dancer in 1997. She has danced lead female roles in Tomasson’s Giselle , Swan Lake , Romeo and Juliet , Nutcracker ; Tomasson/Possokhov’s Don Quixote ; Morris’ Sylvia ; and Lubovitch’s Othello . She created roles in Tomasson’s T he Fifth Season , Chi-Lin , Silver Ladders , and 7 for Eight ; Possokhov’s Magrittomania , Damned , and Study in Motion ; Wheeldon’s Continuum and Quaternary ; and Welch’s Tu Tu . Her repertory includes Ashton’s Thaïs Pas de Deux ; Balanchine’s Symphony in C , Theme and Variations , Concerto Barocco , Prodigal Son , and Apollo ; Duato’s Without Words ; Robbins’ In the Night , Dances at a Gathering , and Dybbuk ; and Makarova’s Paquita .
3. Tan received a gold medal and the Nijinsky Award at the 1st Japan International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition (1993) and in the 5th International Ballet Competition in Paris (1992). A frequent guest artist, Ms. Tan headlined “ Yuan Yuan Tan and Eight Ballet Stars,” a gala in Nara, Japan (2003), and “ Yuan Yuan Tan and Friends” Gala in Shanghai in 2000. Additional honors include an invitation to the White House in 1999 and The Bud magazine City of Heart award in Shanghai in December 2007. She was featured in Vogue magazine in April 2003 and was named a “ Hero of Asia ” in the Asian edition of Time in October 2004. Recent guest appearances include a 2006 charity concert in Shanghai and a performance of the full-length ballet Magpie Bridge a benefit promoting harmony between China and Japan.
5. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Yuan Yuan Tan (Chinese 谭元元 ) is a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet . She was born in Shanghai in 1976, and entered Shanghai Dance School at the age of 11. Initially her father opposed. He wanted her to become a medical doctor. Her mother, however, was very supportive. Her fate was settled on a piece of coin. The coin landed on head, and Yuan Yuan Tan started her dancing career. [1] She won multiple international awards at early age, including a gold medal and the Nijinsky Award at the 1st Japan International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition (1993), a gold medal in the 5th International Ballet Competition in Paris (1992). At age 18, she became a soloist dancer with the San Francisco Ballet Company. Two years later, in 1997, at age 20, she was promoted to Principal Dancer, attaining the highest position for a ballet dancer, a very unusually rapid upward path. [2] She was at that time the youngest principal dancer ever in the history of the San Francisco Ballet company. Today, she is the marquee name for the company, while San Francisco Ballet Company itself has now been widely considered to be among the best in the world, and in the words of famed choreographer Mark Morris , "best company in North America." [3]
26. Yuan Yuan Tan in the title role and Tiit Helimets as Duke Albrecht in a performance of “Giselle” by the San Francisco Ballet at the Kennedy Center Opera House. By Erik Tommason 2008
37. With Damian Smith in the pas de deux from Wheeldon’s After the Rain, 2008
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39. Yuan Yuan Tan and Yuri Possokhov in Lubovitch's Othello. Photo-C Lloyd Englert
40. Yuan Yuan Tan and Yuri Possokhov in Lubovitch's Othello. Photo-C Marty Sohl
41. Yuan Yuan Tan and Anthony Spaulding dance in "Diving into the Lilacs." (Kurt Rogers / The Chronicle)
42. Yuan Yuan Tan and Anthony Spaulding's dancing in "Diving Into the Lilacs" was a highlight of the night, which returns on the 2010 Repetory Season's Program 4. (Kurt Rogers / The Chronicle)
44. Yuan Yuan Tan in Morris' Sylvia. Photo-C Chris Hardy
45. The San Francisco Ballet’s “Sylvia,” choreographed by Mark Morris and featuring Yuan Yuan Tan , right, will be performed as part of the Lincoln Center Festival. By Chris Hardy, July 2006
46. Yuan Yuan Tan and Ruben Martin in Welch's Naked. Photo: Erik Tomasson 2009
47. Famed Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith in Balanchine’s “Emeralds”(2009)
61. Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith in “Stravinsky Violin Concerto” (by Erik Tommason, 2009)
62. Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith in “Stravinsky Violin Concerto” (by Erik Tommason, 2009)
63. the PBS broadcast is hosted by Bay Area local Kristi Yamaguchi , YuanYuanTan as show queen and hosted by Kristi Yamaguchi . (2008)
64. Yuan Yuan Tan has been a guest principal dancer with the Hong Kong Ballet to perform in some modern pieces with the company.
65. Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith in Yuri Possokhov’s “Fusion”, by Erik Tommason 2008
66. STEALING THE SHOW AGAIN: Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith in "The Fifth Season." by Erik Tomasson
67. POWERFUL: Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith from The San Francisco Ballet performing "The Fifth Season."
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69. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout talks to China's most critically acclaimed ballet dancer, Tan Yuan Yuan about her rise to fame. (July 2008) http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/25/ta.yuanyaun/index.html Videos: Delicate and daring 9:02, Performance on Stage 7:13, Movement and Emotion 6:27 Tan Yuan Yuan Dancing 1:37 (all four pieces are connected with an advertisement at the very beginning)
70. Monday, October 4, 2004 By Laura A. Locke …… Tan's mix of professionalism and puckishness presents a charming picture to strangers, one that is no less beguiling to those who work with her every day. Even in a room full of talented, graceful young women, "she makes you want to look at her," says Damian Smith, Tan's lead dance partner. Yuan Yuan Tan China's Dancing Queen
71. . Magnetism is as good a word as any to describe Tan's allure, but it is insufficient to explain how at age 28 she has become one of the world's top ballerinas and the most critically acclaimed dancer ever to emerge from China. Native ability enabled the Shanghai-born Tan to win a gold medal in 1992 while competing for China at an international ballet competition in France—and to catch the eye of Helgi Tomasson, San Francisco Ballet's artistic director. Tan's determination helped her at age 21 to reach ballet's highest rank, that of principal ballerina, with the San Francisco troupe. Now in her prime, Tan's dedication keeps her focused amid the distractions of fame. She danced at the White House for President Bill Clinton and Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji in 1999, and presented a key to the city to then Chinese Vice President (now President) Hu Jintao during one of his visits to San Francisco. ……
72. …… ..Still, Tan works 13 hours a day, six days a week. "I always have to try harder," Tan says. "What the choreographer wants or the audience wants, it's like endless ... never enough. Never good enough." To audiences, Tan's performances come across as light, fluid and effortless. Most of the attendees do not know she has endured three stress fractures in her legs. "Maybe it looks easy on me, but it's not," she says. Not that Tan is thinking of giving it up. Absent career-shortening injury, she should be able to continue dancing for many years. In the future, she hopes to return to Shanghai and open her own ballet school, to pass along her knowledge to the next generation. Tan says she has never forgotten what a judge told her in Paris: that dancing is not all technique—to be a true artist, one must "dance from the heart." Says Tan : "You have to feel the room, feel the characters, and feel deep inside of yourself. I don't think I have achieved this goal yet. But I'm trying to reach that point, little by little."
81. S.F. Ballet production of ‘Nutcracker’ on PBS The Snow Queen ( Yuan Yuan Tan ) is projected on TV screens during recording of the San Francisco Ballet‘s “Nutcracker” 2007. (Michael Maloney / The Chronicle ）
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85. http://www.balletstargala.com/cn_2008.12.html (International Ballet Star Gala in Taibei) (first find Gala2008, then for actress Yuan-Yuan Tan, 20 photos) http://www.tanyuanyuan.com （ 谭元元 个人网站，其中 11 个精彩视频的专访和演出片段很值得一看！） http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v =2rdg1tIaxH4&feature=related (2007 春节联欢晚会上在“岁寒三友 -- 松，竹，梅”中的演出 ) http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v =MG6d9PN3Rz8&feature=related ( 与徐刚，吕思清，孔祥东同台） Pictures ， Videos and Introduction in Chinese
86. “ Lar Lubovitch's `Othello'” stars Desmond Richardson in the title role, with Yuan Yuan Tan as Desdemona. Taped at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House on March 2 and 3, 2002. http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v =Z-Rj8-vpgeM&feature=related (Othello “ 奥赛罗” , 非常精彩！ must see!) http://video.sina.com.cn/ent/j/2008-12-31/023031667.shtml 2009 年元旦期间， 谭元元 携手香港芭蕾舞团走进国家大剧院，再次演绎“芭蕾经典之经典”的《天鹅湖》（新浪访问） http://video.sina.com.cn/ent/j/2008-12-24/141831200.shtml （香港芭蕾舞团“天鹅湖”在国家大剧院上演片段） http://video.sina.com.cn/news/c/v/2008-07-23/153619339.shtml （视频：舞蹈艺术家 谭元元 ，上海东方卫视节目， 2008 ）
87. San Francisco Ballet’s Yuan Yuan Tan is hitting her stride By: Janos Gereben Special to The Examiner 01/31/09 8:00 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO — Top ballerinas all share skill, talent and athleticism, but each has something individual and distinctive. Among San Francisco Ballet stars in recent years, clear examples of that “something special” include Evelyn Cisneros’ dazzling smile, Joanna Berman’s uncanny rapport with the audience, Tina LeBlanc’s utterly natural presence and Lucia Lacarra’s verve and elegance. When it comes to Yuan Yuan Tan , the shorthand for what makes her unique is total focus and steely discipline. From her debut in San Francisco 14 years ago to the gala evening opening the 2009 season a couple weeks ago, she has stood ramrod straight, seemingly taller than her 5-foot, 4-inch height — stronger than anything one would expect from such a lithe body.
88. Others at 34 either retire or prepare for the inevitable in the butterfly-length life of dancers; Tan seems very much at midcareer, her strength undiminished. Starting ballet “late” — at age 11 as a winner of auditions in her native Shanghai, among a handful selected from thousands of applicants — Tan exploded onto the international scene at age 15. She won contests in Finland and Japan, became the only female winner of a Nijinsky Award in Poland and went on to win a gold medal in Paris, where she first caught the eye of San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson. Tan was already a student with John Cranko’s Stuttgart Ballet when Tomasson invited her to participate in the 1995 gala in The City. She stayed on as a soloist, and two years later she was promoted to the highest rank in the company, becoming its first Chinese principal dancer. In China, which she visits five to six times a year (including attendance at the Beijing Olympics), she is famous, a big name in a country where ballet is somewhat of a national mania. Along with Roger Federer, Placido Domingo and Yo-Yo Ma, Tan is a Rolex “testimonee,” meaning that her image is used in the luxury watch company’s advertisements. But about another commercial possibility — rumored at one point — that she would own a chain of ballet studios in China, Tan’s answer
89. is an unequivocal “no,” because she doesn’t want her name used unless she can take responsibility for running the schools. Tan has received accolades in the title role of “Giselle,” as Kitri in “Don Quixote,” in numerous works by Yuri Possokhov (her favorite is “Magrittomania”), in George Balanchine ballets, classical and contemporary works, always presenting a combination of strength and grace. At first, she had both fans and detractors (who found her too rigid, effort showing), and one of her Black Swan reviews spoke of a “smile that’s painted on, peeling off too often.” But soon, having proved herself night after night, she became an all-around audience favorite. Whether cause or effect, Tan’s body language and facial expressions also loosened up. As with most dancers, Tan has had multiple injuries through the years — including stress fractures in both legs — but she always came back quickly, and resumed work in full. In the season that just started, Tan will dance major roles in many programs, in good health, at the height of considerable powers.
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95. In the News: Tommason’s new “Swan Lake” it was principal dancer Yuan Yuan Tan who carried the show (the Tommason’s new “Swan Lake”). Her performance as the cursed Odette-Odile, Swan Queen, could move even the non-ballet enthusiast to tears. To say that it looked like she had no bones in her body would of course be a cliché, but also one of the only ways to accurately describe her graceful back bends, fluttering swan arms and water-like fluidity. In short, she was breathtaking. (By Jennifer Pollock in “Yuan Yuan Carries New Swan Lake”, Feb 2009) Tiit Helimets and Yuan Yuan Tan were especially touching in it Saturday. …… Tan is now equally first rate as Odette and her evil stand-in, Odile, lavishing a fluid back and time-stopping balances upon both roles. (By Rachel Howard, Chronicle Dance Correspondent February 23, 2009)
96. In the News…. Command Performance of International Ballet adds modern dance to the mix ……… For a gala touting its ballet credentials but still wanting to push the envelope, Christopher Wheeldon's quasi-ballet After the Rain fit the bill. San Francisco Ballet principals Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith moved like metronomes, swaying sideways to Arvo Pärt's clock-ticking music, drawing us in to its mesmerizing folds.
97. WASHINGTON — Watching four performances of San Francisco Ballet’s “ Giselle ” at the Kennedy Center Opera House this weekend, I marveled more than ever at what a haven of classical style this company has become under its artistic director, Helgi Tomasson. …… Yuan Yuan Tan (who danced on Saturday night) is widely admired as the company’s leading dramatic ballerina. With her long feet and often drooping hands, her dancing seems more mannerist than suits “Giselle.” But her immersion in the action is admirable, and she maintained a steady rapport with Tiit Helimets (Albrecht). In Act II both interacted vividly with Sofiane Sylve (Myrtha). (By Alastair Macaulay, Dec 2008)
