一年半后，譚元元提升為首席演員，參與了舊金山芭蕾舞團的大量演出，并在多出經典芭蕾舞劇中擔當主角，包括《天鵝湖》中的白天鵝及黑天鵝、《羅密歐與朱麗葉》中的朱麗葉、《睡美人》中的奧蘿拉公主,、《奧賽羅》中的臺絲蒙娜、《吉賽爾》中的吉賽爾、《胡桃夾子》中的糖果仙女《堂吉訶德》中的吉特麗等。

A year and a half later, Tan Yuanyuan was promoted to chief actor, participated in a large number of performances of the San Francisco Ballet, and played a leading role in many classic ballet, including white and black swans in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and Princess Aurora in sleeping beauty, In addition, desmona in Othello, Giselle in Giselle, candy fairy in nutcracker and kitty in Don Quixote.

除了在舞團的演出中擔當主角外，譚元元也應邀參加了大量國際性演出。

In addition to playing a leading role in the performances of the dance troupe, Tan Yuanyuan was also invited to participate in a large number of international performances.

在2006年春節聯歡晚會上，譚元元與劉巖、楊麗萍聯袂共舞《歲寒三友——松、竹、梅》，整個舞蹈分成3個段落：芭蕾出身的譚元元是“松”，以民族舞成名的楊麗萍是“竹”，而中國舞見長的劉巖則是“梅”。

At the Spring Festival Gala in 2006, Tan Yuanyuan, Liu Yan and Yang Liping jointly danced "three friends in winter -- pine, bamboo and plum". The whole dance was divided into three sections: Tan Yuanyuan, who was born in ballet, was "song", Yang Liping, who was famous for national dance, was "bamboo", while Liu Yan, who was good at Chinese dance, was "Mei".