During the pandemic, San Diego Ballet dancers were filmed pirouetting on the rooftop of The San Diego Museum of Art, surrounded by bird’s-eye views of Balboa Park.
Throughout the years, the company artists have danced on the grass in the museum’s sculpture court or glided and twirled in the natural light that streams from gallery windows.
For its 2025-26 season, the San Diego Ballet is in residence with the museum, continuing a long history of collaboration between the two entities.
Performances overlap the museum’s Centennial Celebration next year, and the ballet will get the birthday party started early, with next weekend’s production of “Landscapes — Art of the Americas.”
“It made sense to start our season with looking at visual art through dance,” explains San Diego Ballet artistic director Javier Velasco.
“We have strong music and visual arts elements — a lot of things that have come together in a harmonious package.”
The package has advantages for ballet and art enthusiasts.
A ticket to the “Landscapes — Art of the Americas” ballet includes free, same-day admission to the museum.
The museum closes at 5 p.m., so, those who purchase a ticket to the ballet’s 7 p.m. show on Friday, for example, can arrive early to lunch at a Balboa Park restaurant, and visit the museum at no charge before the show.
The “Art of the Americas” exhibition opened in 2022 and showcases the works of artists including Nick Cave, George Bellows, Diego Rivera and others.
The museum describes the vast collection as having 20th- and 21st-century themes that “explore social awareness, identities, and spirituality.”
“Torrey Pines,” a 1925 oil on canvas by Nicolai Ivanovich Fechin, from the San Diego Museum of Art’s permanent collection. San Diego Ballet is presenting a new dance piece inspired by the painting. (Gift of Wilda B. Dunnicliffe, by exchange, 1998.87)
A canvas that caught Velasco’s eye for the upcoming show is titled “Torrey Pines,” by artist Nicolai (Ivanovich) Fechin, who depicted the rocky, sun-bleached cliffs of San Diego’s coastline against an azure sky, with spiky green cactus and agave plants in the foreground.
It’s one of a selection of images that will serve as a backdrop to the ballet, staged in the museum’s James S. Copley Auditorium.
The challenge of using one art form to elevate another is complex.
Velasco wanted to think beyond interpreting color and subject matter with choreography, which focuses on changing levels of direction, shapes and floor patterns.
The whole idea of landscapes opened up an expanse of ideas.
“As we were putting the show together, it seemed right that the first piece would be centered around the ‘Art of the Americas’ exhibit,” Velasco says.
“The jump-off point was that, to a lot of people, America means wide open spaces, and that’s how I started thinking about this whole idea of landscapes. A landscape to one person can mean hills or trees. But a landscape to another person can be a totally blue canvas. In dance and in modern art, you bring your own perspective to what is going on. It can be a space that is opening up in front of you — or a distant view. There’s a lot of different possibilities.”
Velasco chose the music of American composer Aaron Copland to accompany his choreography.
The company will dance to “Appalachian Spring” and “Three Latin American Sketches,” a piece Velasco said that he especially appreciates.
“This is a composer I respect,” Velasco says. “I love his work and at some point, Copeland was drawn to Latin American music, which is my heritage.”
The San Diego Museum of Art is a special place for Velasco.
As a child, it was the very first museum he visited and he was exposed to a wide range of artistic perspectives.
“I had a visceral reaction,” Velasco recalls. “I love going to art galleries and I have an extra fondness for the Renaissance masters, like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
Now, when I go to the museum, I like to linger in the Asian court, where the far Eastern art is — and I really like the traveling exhibitions. They put in a lot of effort and provide stories about what you are seeing.”
The museum’s official Centennial Celebration in 2026 is on February 28, with free admission, live music and extended museum hours.
Ballet productions will pay tribute to The San Diego Museum of Art’s 100-year birthday at a variety of venues.
The theme “Illusionism” has inspired San Diego Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” at The Magnolia theater in El Cajon on Dec. 20-21.
Next year’s season productions, including “Perspective – Celebrating 100 years @ SDMA” (Feb. 13-15) and “Impressionism – I Love Paris” (May 22-24), will be staged at the museum’s James S. Copley Auditorium in Balboa Park.
A dance film series in January at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park is titled “Intaglio,” with dates soon to be announced, and “Collage” (April 18-19) takes place at Dance Place in Liberty Station, San Diego Ballet’s headquarters.
“The whole idea of celebrating the Centennial is juicy for us,” says Velasco.
“And when we’re talking about American art, it can mean limitless possibilities.”
San Diego Ballet presents ‘Landscapes – Art of the Americas’
When: 7 p.m. Friday; 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m.Sunday
Where: San Diego Museum of Art, James S. Copley Auditorium, 1450 El Prado, San Diego
Tickets: $45-$67, includes free admission to the museum on the day of the show
Online: sandiegoballet.org