San Francisco Ballet illustrious faculty includes Patrick Armand, Kristi DeCaminada, Karen Gabay, Yuko Katsumi, Tina LeBlanc, Jeffrey Lyons, Rubén Martín Cintas, Ilona McHugh, Pascal Molat, Wendy Van Dyck (Trainee Program Assistant), Jaime Diaz (Strengthening), Brian Fisher (Contemporary), Dana Genshaft (Contemporary dance and conditioning), Henry Berg (Conditioning), Leonid Shagalov (Character), Jamie Narushchen (Music), and Daniel Sullivan (Music). The guest faculty for 2017 includes Sofiane Sylve (Principal Guest). Founded in 1975 to serve as San Francisco Ballet's official permanent orchestra, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra (SFBO) holds the rare position of being one of three major orchestras in a single city. The orchestra debuted at the
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