artistic & production credits san francisco ballet london tour sadler's ...

Tomasson/Page 2
Times. In 2004, h is n ew p roduction o f Nutcracker, c reated i n c ollaboration w ith an
internationally recognized de sign t eam, debuted to e nthusiastic critic and audience r esponse.
The New York Times proclaimed, “This is a Nutcracker on a grand scale…striking, elegant and
beautiful.” On December 17, 2008, Tomasson’s Nutcracker was broadcast nationally on Great
Performances on PBS, in partnership with KQED Public Television in San Francisco.
The stro ng cl assical b ase i nstilled b y T omasson e nables th e dancers to effortlessly navigate a
myriad o f s tyles b y a r ange o f i nternationally d istinguished choreographers. T hose i nvited by
Tomasson to create works on the Company have included David Bintley, Val Caniparoli, Jorma
Elo, William F orsythe, J ames K udelka, La r Lu bovitch, Mark Mo rris, Yuri P ossokhov, A lexi
Ratmansky, Paul T aylor, S tanton W elch, and C hristopher Wheeldon. Tomasson ha s a lso
continued to expand SF Ballet’s repertory through acquiring works by renowned choreographers
such as Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, August Bournonville, Michel Fokine, Hans van
Manen, W ayne M cGregor, Sir K enneth Mc Millan, Agnes d e M ille, Nacho D uato, Flemming
Flindt, Roland Petit, Jerome Robbins, and Antony Tudor, among others. Tomasson’s own works
have been performed by New Yor k C ity B allet, Roy al D anish B allet, H ouston B allet, A lberta
Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Ballet Estable del Teatro Colón, and Asami
Maki Ballet. In Denmark, Tomasson’s 1993 staging of The Sleeping Beauty was the most lavish
production ever produced in the Royal Danish Ballet’s history and was filmed for Danish public
television in April 1995.
Under Tomasson’s direction, SF Ballet has toured the world, receiving praise for its purity and
verve. E ngagements i n China ( 2009), Copenhagen ( 1998, 201 0), London ( 1999, 2 001, 2 004),
Moscow ( 2012), New York City ( 1991, 1993, 1995, 1 998, 2002, 2006 , 2008 ), and P aris ( 1989,
1994, 2001, 2005) are among the highlights of the Company’s history. For the Company’s 2004
London engagement, SF B allet won t he p restigious L aurence Olivier Award, its first, in the
category o f Outstanding A chievement i n Dance. Of t he t our, The Guardian (UK) noted, “As
director of SF Ballet, Helgi Tomasson has started to acquire an aura of infallibility, his expertise
in laying down repertory, and in balancing great evenings of dance, is held in envy by the rest of
the profession.”
Tomasson’s vision, commitment, and dedication to the art of classical dance were demonstrated
when he conceived UNited We Dance: An International Festival, produced in San Francisco in
May 1 995. C reated t o c elebrate t he 5 0th a nniversary o f the si gning o f th e U nited N ations
Charter, it included 12 international companies of the highest caliber that Tomasson had invited
to present new works created by native choreographers. Never before had a dance event brought
together over 150 artists for an u nprecedented two weeks of creative exchange and inspiration.
In spring 2008, as part of its yearlong 75 th anniversary celebration, SF Ballet presented a New
Works F estival of 10 w orld pr emieres by 10 of t he dance world’s m ost d iverse and acclaimed
choreographers. The festival was called “ambitious and unprecedented” by The Washington Post
and the San Francisco Chronicle hailed it as a “daring onslaught of fresh work… this is what the
ballet world needs now.”
Tomasson’s achievements have garnered him nu merous aw ards and h onors, and h e h as
participated as a judge for ballet competitions in Italy, Russia, France, Finland, and Japan.
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