{{Short description|Chinese ballet dancer}} {{Family name hatnote|Tan|lang=Chinese}} {{Infobox dancer |name = Yuan Yuan Tan |image = Yuan yuan b w.jpg |birth_name=Tan Yuanyuan |birth_date={{birth date and age|1976|2|14}} |birth_place = Shanghai, China |current_group = San Francisco Ballet }} '''Yuan Yuan Tan''' ({{zh|s=谭元元|t=譚元元|p=Tán Yuányuán}}; born February 14, 1976) is a retired Chinese ballet dancer who was a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet.
== Biography == She entered Shanghai Dance School at the age of 11. Initially her father opposed this, as he wanted her to become a medical doctor. Her mother, however, was very supportive. Her fate was settled by a coin toss – the coin landed on heads and Yuan Yuan Tan started her dancing career.<ref name="CNN_interview">[https://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/25/ta.yuanyaun/index.html "The Perfect Poise of Tan Yuan Yuan"] CNN, June 25, 2008.</ref>
She won multiple international awards at an early age; including a gold medal and the Nijinsky Award at the 1st Japan International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition (1993) and a gold medal in the 5th International Ballet Competition in Paris (1992). At age 18, she became a soloist dancer with the San Francisco Ballet. Two years later, in 1997, at age 20, she was promoted to principal dancer, attaining the highest position for a ballet dancer, an unusually rapid upward path.<ref name="SF_Ballet">[https://www.sfballet.org/artist/yuan-yuan-tan/ "SF Ballet"] SF Ballet Dancer Page.</ref> She was at that time the youngest principal dancer ever in the history of the San Francisco Ballet. Today, she is a marquee name for the company, while San Francisco Ballet itself is widely considered to be among the best in the world and in the words of choreographer Mark Morris, the "best company in North America".<ref>{{cite news|author=Rachel Howard|url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-BALLET-OPENING-GALA-Dance-vets-2735131.php|title=SAN FRANCISCO BALLET OPENING GALA Dance vets, wee pupils give their all at Ballet gala|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=January 8, 2005|access-date=December 23, 2019}}</ref>
She has danced lead female roles in Helgi Tomasson's ''Giselle'', ''Swan Lake'', ''Romeo and Juliet'', ''Nutcracker'', Tomasson/Possokhov's ''Don Quixote'', Morris' ''Sylvia'', and Lubovitch's ''Othello''. She created roles in Tomasson's ''The Fifth Season'', ''Chi-Lin'', ''Silver Ladders'' and ''7 for Eight''; Possokhov's ''Magrittomania'', ''Damned'' and ''Study in Motion''; Wheeldon's ''Continuum and Quaternary'' and Welch's ''Tu Tu''. Her repertory includes Ashton's ''Thaïs Pas de Deux''; Balanchine's ''Symphony in C'', ''Theme and Variations'', ''Concerto Barocco'', ''Prodigal Son'' and ''Apollo''; Duato's ''Without Words'', Robbins' ''In the Night'', ''Dances at a Gathering'' and ''Dybbuk''; and Makarova's ''Paquita''.<ref>[https://www.hkballet.com/en/meet-hkb/artistic-leadership-and-dancers/guest-artist/tan-yuan-yuan "Yuanyuan Tan"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223194452/https://www.hkballet.com/en/meet-hkb/artistic-leadership-and-dancers/guest-artist/tan-yuan-yuan |date=2019-12-23 }} HK Ballet Guest Principal Dancer.</ref>
She has been featured in the Chinese versions of ''Vogue'', ''Esquire'', and ''Tatler''. Currently she is also a brand ambassador for Van Cleef & Arpels and Rolex.<ref>{{cite news|author=Roslyn Sulcas|author-link=Roslyn Sulcas|author2=Michael Cooper|title=Ballet Dancers as Brands|work=The New York Times|date=November 21, 2013|page=C1}}</ref>
On October 16, 2013, Tan had appeared in Christopher Wheeldon's ''Ghosts'' and ''Cinderella'' at the David H. Koch Theater and the same year appeared in Edwaard Liang's ''Symphonic Dances''.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Vanessa Lawrence|url=https://www.wmagazine.com/story/yuan-yuan-tan-ballerina-style|title=Yuan Yuan Tan Loves Audrey Hepburn, Loathes Exaggeration|magazine=W|date=October 14, 2013}}</ref>
In 2020, after 7 months off stage since March 2020 due to COVID-19, [https://web.archive.org/web/20201204152901/https://www.asiaone.com/lifestyle/dance-smash-brings-top-dancers-together Tan appeared in the second season of Dance Smash], a Chinese talent show produced by Hunan Satellite TV that features the technology to capture diverse dance styles in motion.
In January 2024, Tan announced her retirement from the San Francisco Ballet company, her final performance was as Marguerite in Frederic Ashton's ''Marguerite and Armand'' on February 14, 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Howard |first=Rachel |date=2024-01-12 |title=Yuan Yuan Tan, S.F. Ballet’s longest-dancing principal, to retire this year |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/sf-ballet-yuan-yuan-tan-18602768.php |access-date=2024-10-15 |work=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref>
== Award == She received in 2025 a Carnegie Corporation of New York Great Immigrant Award<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-26 |title=Carnegie honors 20 'Great Immigrants,' including composer Tania León, for 20th anniversary |url=https://apnews.com/article/carnegie-corp-great-immigrants-great-americans-tania-leon-fde162cd204af3d998575a6fa39fccea |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>
== Personal life == Tan married biotech worker Michael Tung on April 8, 2023.<ref>https://www.nobhillgazette.com/people/choreographing-a-life-together-yuan-yuan-tan-and-michael-tung/article_34f64728-03e0-11ee-8f62-abe2e5a4b31b.html</ref> She filed for divorce on January 22, 2025. As of April 2026, the case is ongoing.<ref>https://trellis.law/case/fdi25800844/yuan-yuan-tan-vs-michael-tung</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== *{{Sinaweibo|1917723005|谭元元的围脖}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20041012092620/http://www.time.com/time/asia/2004/heroes/hyuan_yuan_tan.html Time Magazine, Asia's Heroes 2004] *[http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/38731567.html San Francisco Examiner article]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} *[http://www.danzaballet.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3474 Ms. Yuan Yuan Tan in DanzaBallet: interview with Yukihiko Yoshida] *[https://suzhouballettheatre.com/Subadynamics/detail/ff8080818a07290e018bae0f32bb03bf] *[https://wd.sta.edu.cn/d1/3b/c424a119099/page.htm]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Yuan Yuan}} Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:Chinese ballerinas Category:20th-century Chinese ballet dancers Category:21st-century Chinese ballet dancers Category:People from Shanghai Category:San Francisco Ballet principal dancers Category:Prima ballerinas Category:Members of the Committee of 100