San Francisco Ballet continued to serve as the school's director until his retirement in 1975. In 1938, the company's first major production was "Coppélia", choreographed by Willam Christensen. In 1940, it staged "Swan Lake", the first time that the ballet was produced in its entirety by an American company. On Christmas Eve 1944, the company staged "Nutcracker"—the first complete production of Tchaikovsky's most popular piece ever danced in the United States. In 1942, San Francisco Opera Ballet split into two independent companies, ballet and opera. The ballet half was sold to Willam and Harold Christensen. Willam became artistic director, while Harold took on
Ballet San Jose Upon the closure of the company, the school is now its own entity, The New Ballet School. It is an American Ballet Theater Certified School run under the direction of former Cleveland San Jose Ballet dancer, executive director, Dalia Rawson. Ballet San Jose Ballet San Jose was a ballet company based in San Jose, California, US, operating from 1985 to 2016. The company was founded in 1985 as the "San Jose Cleveland Ballet," a co-venture with the ten-year-old Cleveland Ballet which offered to the dancers added performing exposure, and each city a ballet company for a moderate, shared investment. In