Tamara Rojo is the first woman to serve as artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet in its history. Courtesy Karolina Kuras.

The San Francisco Ballet, the country’s oldest professional ballet company, will be artistically led by a woman for the first time in its history.

The company on Tuesday announced the hiring of Tamara Rojo to fill the seat held by outgoing artistic director Helgi Tomasson. Rojo, the first new artistic director in San Francisco in nearly 40 years, comes from London’s English National Ballet, where she has served as artistic director and lead principal for nine and a half years, garnering awards and accolades, and championing female choreographers.

The hiring came after a 10-month search led by SF Ballet leadership with input from dancers and musicians.

“I’ve long admired San Francisco Ballet as one of the most creative dance companies in America, offering so many different artistic voices the opportunity to create works for some of the best dancers in the world,” Rojo said in a prepared statement. “I’m excited to join SF Ballet to add to the innovative spirit of the company as we reassess what the future of ballet can and should look like, opening the best of what our art form can offer to the widest possible audience. And while internationally recognized both for its performances and training, SF Ballet has a deep, year-round commitment to San Francisco audiences and the community—a dynamic community that my family and I very much look forward to joining and exploring.”

The company praised Rojo for her career as a dancer, and her abilities as an innovator to take the art from from its traditional past into the future.

Her tenure at the English National Ballet has featured re-contextualized classics that address social issues—including Rojo’s upcoming “Raymonda,” set during the Crimean War, and her 2017 commission of a reimagined “Giselle” by Bangladeshi choreographer Akram Khan focusing on class inequality. She has overseen multiple programs featuring all-female choreographers. Her leadership in the expansion of ENB’s repertory won the company an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in 2017.

Rojo, who will join SF Ballet at the end of 2022, will follow Tomasson’s 37-year tenure.

“It has been deeply rewarding to help the San Francisco Ballet grow and evolve over the past four decades, and to witness the impact we’ve had on both San Francisco and the world of dance”Tomasson said in a news release. “I am very excited that a fellow dancer will lead the Company with bold vision and artistry, and I look forward to seeing the innovative ideas that Tamara will bring to SF Ballet. I am confident this company will continue to thrive under her leadership.”

Rojo was also a professional dancer for 30 years, at The Royal Ballet and ENB. She was born in Canada and raised in Madrid, receiving her bachelor’s degree in dance/choreography at the Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza Mariemma, and a master’s in theatrical arts and doctorate from the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid.

She has received Spain’s three highest honors: the Gold Medal of Fine Arts, Prince of Asturias Arts Award and Encomienda de Número Queen de Isabel La Católica, as well as the Kennedy Center Gold Medal for Fine Arts, the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for distinguished services to ballet and an Olivier Award, among other awards and honors.

“Tamara’s artistic leadership, her shepherding the creation of ENB’s new state-of-the-art home for its dancers, and her deep commitment to beloved classical ballets, alongside a demonstrated history of pushing boundaries with innovative contemporary works, particularly those by women, makes her a perfect fit for SF Ballet,” said Danielle St. Germain-Gordon, SF Ballet interim executive director.

Isaac Hernández, Rojo’s husband, was recently appointed as a principal dancer at SF Ballet. He previously danced with the company’s corps de ballet and as a soloist in 2010.