SF Ballet also said that soloist Peter Brandenhoff would retire at the end of the season, after 13 years with the company. As previously reported, principal Stephen Legate, a 15-year veteran, will retire as well.

All three dancers will be the subject of a special, subscribers-only tribute on May 5. Tickets go on sale on April 24.

Possokhov was born in Ukraine and trained at the Moscow Ballet School. He appeared with the Royal Danish Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet before joining SF Ballet as a principal in 1994. He has danced the lead roles in such works as artistic director Helgi Tomasson's Giselle and Lar Lubovitch's Othello, and has created five dances for the company.

Brandenhoff was born in Denmark and trained at the schools of the Royal Danish Ballet and Boston Ballet before joining SF Ballet. He left the company in 1997 to dance with Hamburg Ballet, but returned a year later and was promoted to soloist in 2000.

SF Ballet also recently announced that corps de ballet members Megan Low and Amanda Schull would retire after nine and seven years, respectively, with the company.