Kirov Academy of Ballet serve more 1,800 people, including student performers, family members, children (including from underserved populations), and ballet aficionados of all ages. The Kirov’s most notable accomplishment is its ongoing ability to train ballet dancers, who have gone on to perform with such professional companies as American Ballet Theatre, The Royal Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, and the San Francisco Ballet, to name a few. Graduates of The Kirov Academy of Ballet include Sascha Radetsky, Rasta Thomas, Hee Seo, Michele Wiles, Danny Tidwell, Tyler Nelson, and Maria Bystrova. Kirov Academy of Ballet The Kirov Academy of Ballet (formerly the Universal Ballet Academy) is a
San Francisco Ballet the space of a single week in the UNited We Dance Festival. The 49-member orchestra accompanies SF Ballet throughout its winter and spring repertory seasons. It also performs apart from the Company; it debuted solely as an orchestra in 1979 at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco's War Memorial Veterans Building, playing a program that included works by Haydn, Ives, and Vivaldi. The SFBO is composed of 49 members and headed by Martin West, music director and conductor. As of October 2013, the musicians and staff included: The orchestra was led by Denis de Coteau from 1975 until 1998, when