SAN FRANCISCO BALLET'S EVELYN CISNEROS RETIRES.

SAN FRANCISCO--After twenty-two years, Evelyn Cisneros, San Francisco Ballet's senior ballerina, will retire at the end of the current season. On May 9 a performance will honor her tenure at SFB. The program is scheduled to include her solo Confidencias, the first piece Helgi Tomasson choreographed on her in 1986. Cisneros will also be performing the leading roles in "Rubies" and the third act of Sleeping Beauty.

Born in Long Beach, California, and trained at the School of American Ballet and San Francisco Ballet School, Cisneros was seventeen when she joined SFB, then still under the artistic directorship of Lew Christensen, in 1977. She danced roles in many of his ballets, including Beauty in his Beauty and the Beast. During that period SFB co-artistic director Michael Smuin also created roles on her for his 1980 The Tempest (as Miranda), and the 1979 A Song for Dead Warriors, both of which were broadcast on PBS's Dance in America series. In recent years Cisneros has frequently staged Smuin ballets on other American companies.

After Tomasson came to SFB in 1985, Cisneros achieved new prominence as a radiant exponent of the classical style in the newly refined company. Her performances as both Princess Aurora and Odette/Odile garnered widespread critical acclaim and a loyal following among SFB audiences. In addition to Confidencias, Tomasson created roles on her in Valses Poeticos (1990), Quartette (1994), Le Quattro Stagioni (1992), and the most recent Two Bits (1998).

A versatile and adventurous performer, Cisneros has played an important role in SFB's commissioned repertoire. She has danced in every one of Mark Morris's ballets and has created roles for choreographers as diverse as Redha (La Pavane Rouge), Lila York (El Grito), and James Kudelka (Terra Firma). She has been a particular favorite of SFB resident choreographer Val Caniparoli, who has created leading roles for her in five of his ballets. Among them is the lead in the African dance--flavored Lambarena (1995), which in recent years has become something of a signature piece for her.

Audiences from a wide variety of backgrounds have loved Cisneros for the warmth of her presence onstage and the integrity and enthusiasm that she brings to her parts. A link to the past as well as a vital part of the present, she will be missed by dancers and ballet lovers alike. Widely honored (including honorary doctorates from Mills College and the California State University at Monterey Bay) as a dancer and a member of the Hispanic community, she plans to continue her educational and outreach activities both outside and from within SFB.