Breaking Pointe: San Francisco Ballet’s Tamara Rojo with Her Bold Vision for a Vibrant Future

In this episode of Breaking Precedent, host Leah Solivan talks with Tamara Rojo, a trailblazing ballerina, choreographer, and artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet. Tamara shares her extraordinary journey from humble beginnings in Madrid to becoming one of the most celebrated dancers of her generation. Leah and Tamara touch on Tamara’s innovative approach to leadership, redefining classic stories like Carmen, and the importance of accessibility and diversity in the arts.

Guest Bio and Links:

Tamara Rojo is one of the most celebrated ballerinas of her generation. Born in Montreal and raised in Madrid, Tamara broke barriers as an outsider in the ballet world, becoming the first female Artistic Director of the English National Ballet and, more recently, the San Francisco Ballet. Known for her emotional depth, technical brilliance, and innovative leadership, she continues to push the art form forward by commissioning bold new works and amplifying diverse voices in ballet.

Listeners can learn more about Tamara at her website, and on IG @rojotamara

Show Notes: 

• (0:00) Intro
• (0:30) Leah introduces guest, Spanish ballet dancer, Tamara Rojo 
• (4:30) Tamara on growing up in Madrid
• (13:00) Tamara’s initial thoughts on ballet
• (19:00) Joining the Scottish Ballet and classical training
• (20:30) The evolution and influence of ballet
• (27:30) The emotional connection in ballet performance
• (28:00)  ”You need to be a master of your craft because you can only lose yourself in the emotion of the character if you're not worried about whether or not you can finish your pirouette.”
• (30:45) Overcoming dance limitations
• (32:30) Reimagining Carmen
• (36:00) Creating 'Mere Mortals'
• (47:00) Vision for San Fransisco ballet
• (54:00) Supporting dancers' well-being

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Leah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.

Connect with Leah:

Website: breakingprecedent.com/ 

Instagram: @labunleashed

X: @labunleashed