SAN FRANCISCO BALLET CELEBRATES WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH AND CHILDREN’S BOOK BY CHELSEA CLINTON SHE PERSISTED AROUND THE WORLD: 13 WOMEN WHO CHANGED HISTORYFEATURING SF BALLET PRINCIPAL DANCER YUAN YUAN TAN

Breakfast at Fairmont hotel on March 2 in support of girls’ scholarships and financial aid programs at San Francisco Ballet School

Yuan Yuan Tan, Chelsea Clinton, and illustrator Alexandra Boiger to speak at event
 

SAN FRANCISCO, February 13, 2019—Celebrating Women’s History Month in March and the worldwide success of Chelsea Clinton’s new book She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History, San Francisco Ballet (SFB) hosts an intimate breakfast, book signing, and conversation with Chelsea Clinton on Saturday, March 2 at 9:30 am. Special guests include SF Ballet Principal Dancer Yuan Yuan Tan, who is featured in the book; and the book’s illustrator Alexandra Boiger. Proceeds from the March 2 event will support girls’ scholarships and financial aid programs at San Francisco Ballet School. SFB awards more than $1.2 million in scholarships and financial aid each year.

Perfect for tiny activists, mini feminists and little kids who are ready to take on the world, She Persisted Around the World celebrates 13 women who have used their voices and determination to create change and shape history through science, the arts, sports, education and activism. Women in the book include Marie Curie, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Viola Desmond, Sissi Lima do Amor, Leymah Gbowee, Caroline Herschel, Wangari Maathai, Aisha Rateb, J.K. Rowling, Kate Sheppard, Yuan Yuan Tan, Mary Verghese, and Malala Yousafzai. “She Persisted Around the World celebrates thirteen women who overcame adversity to change the course of history across the globe,” said Chelsea Clinton. “Inspired by the overwhelming response from young readers to the stories of the thirteen American women shared in She Persisted, I decided to write She Persisted Around the World and hope these incredible women's stories further empower kids to use their voices and dreams to positively shape the world around them and our shared future.”

Schedule of Events

Fairmont San Francisco; 950 Mason Street

Saturday, March 2, 2019

9:00 am: VIP meet-and-greet
9:30 am: Breakfast
11:30 am: Event concludes

Email SF Ballet Director of Communications You You Xia at yxia@sfballet.org with press inquiries.

Proceeds from this event support girls’ scholarships and financial aid programs
at San Francisco Ballet School.

Ticketing Information
PARENT/GRANDPARENT AND CHILD VIP PACKAGE
Includes valet parking, VIP mimosa meet-and-greet and breakfast with premium seating for one adult and one child (21 and under), signed book, and photo with featured guests. Tickets: $2,500

VIP TICKET

Includes valet parking, VIP mimosa meet-and-greet and breakfast with premium seating, signed book, and photo with featured guests for one person. Tickets: $1,500

PATRON TICKET

Includes breakfast and signed book for one person. Tickets: $300

About the Guests

Chelsea Clinton is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling picture book She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World, which was praised in a starred review by Publishers Weekly as a “lovely, moving work of children's literature [and a] polished introduction to a diverse and accomplished group of women." She is also the author of The New York Times bestselling It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going!; Start Now! You Can Make a Difference and, with Devi Sridhar,Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why? Chelsea Clinton is the Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, where she works on many initiatives including those that help to empower the next generation of leaders. She lives in New York City with her husband, Marc, their daughter, Charlotte, their son, Aidan, and their dog, Soren.

Alexandra Boiger grew up in Munich, Germany, and studied graphic design before working in feature animation in England and then at Dreamworks SKG in the United States. She is the author and illustrator of the Max and Marla books, and the illustrator of more than twenty picture books including the Tallulah series, When Jackie Saved Grand Central, and She Persisted. She has received the Parents’ Choice Award and has been featured on numerous state reading lists.

Alexandra lives in California with her husband, Andrea, daughter, Vanessa, and two cats, Luiso and Winter.

Yuan Yuan Tan has danced major roles in Tomasson’s Giselle (Giselle), Nutcracker(Sugar Plum Fairy, Grand Pas de Deux Ballerina), Romeo & Juliet (Juliet), The Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), and Swan Lake (Odette/Odile); Tomasson/Possokhov’s Don Quixote(Kitri); Cranko’s Onegin (Tatiana); Lubovitch’s Othello (Desdemona); Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid (Mermaid); and Wheeldon’s Cinderella (Cinderella). She created principal roles in Tomasson’s 7 for Eight, Caprice, Chi-Lin, The Fifth Season, and Silver Ladders; Forsythe’s Pas/Parts 2016; Kudelka’s The Ruins Proclaim the Building Was Beautiful; Liang’s The Infinite Ocean and Symphonic Dances; Morris’ Sylvia (Sylvia); Possokhov’s Damned, Diving into the Lilacs, Firebird, Fusion, Magrittomania, RAkU, Study in Motion, and Swimmer; Scarlett’s Fearful Symmetries and Hummingbird; Welch’s Tu Tu and Naked; and Wheeldon’s Bound To, Continuum, Ghosts, Number Nine, and Quaternary.

Her extensive repertory includes Balanchine’s Agon, Concerto Barocco, Diamonds, Prodigal Son,Serenade, Symphony in C, and Theme and Variations; Forsythe’s Artifact Suite; Liang’s Letting Go; Lifar’sSuite en Blanc; MacMillan’s Winter Dreams; McGregor’s Chroma; Millepied’s The Chairman Dances—Quartet for Two; Possokhov’s Optimistic Tragedy; Ratmansky’s Shostakovich Trilogy; Robbins’ The Cageand Dances at a Gathering; and Wheeldon’s After the Rain Pas de Deux.

Yuan Yuan danced Queen of the Snow in Tomasson’s Nutcracker on PBS’ Great Performances. She was named a “Hero of Asia” by Time (Asian edition) and one of the world’s most influential Chinese by Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV. Her awards include an Isadora Duncan Award for her 2014–15 SF Ballet season and the 2014 Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for her performances in Possokhov’s RAkU.

About San Francisco Ballet 
San Francisco Ballet, long recognized for pushing boundaries in dance, has a history of making history. The Company has enjoyed a long and rich tradition of artistic “firsts” since its founding in 1933, including performing the first American productions of Swan Lake and Nutcracker, as well as the first 20th-century American Coppélia. SF Ballet is one of the three largest ballet companies in the United States and currently presents more than 100 performances annually, both locally and internationally. The mission of SF Ballet is to share its joy of dance with the widest possible audience—in its community and worldwide—and to provide the highest caliber of dance training in its School. Under the direction of Helgi Tomasson, the Company has achieved an international reputation as one of the preeminent ballet companies in the world. For more information, visit sfballet.org.

* * * *