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

SF Ballet History/Page 3
San F rancisco B allet h as a lso e njoyed f requent o verseas to urs, i ncluding engagements at
prestigious venues such a s th e f amed O péra d e P aris-Palais G arnier i n P aris ( 1994, 2001);
London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre (1999, 2004) and the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden
(2002); A thens’ M egaron T heatre ( 2002) and Herod Atticus Amphitheatre ( 2004); Tivoli in
Copenhagen (1998, 2 010), and t he E dinburgh I nternational F estival at t he E dinburgh
Playhouse (1997, 2003). In fall 2009, San Francisco Ballet made its first trip to the People’s
Republic of China, with performances in Shanghai and Beijing.
The Company’s extensive touring program has garnered numerous accolades and awards. In
2005, SF Ballet won its first Laurence Olivier Award, for its 2004 fall season at Sadler’s Wells
Theatre. Of t he en gagement, London’s Sunday Times p roclaimed, “Helgi T omasson’s
outstanding a rtistic d irection…has tra nsformed a re gional Am erican tro upe i nto o ne o f th e
world’s t op b allet co mpanies.” In 2 006, i n a r eaders’ p oll co nducted b y Dance Europe
magazine, San Francisco Ballet was the first non-European company to be voted “Company of
the Year” b y t he p ublication. In 2008, San F rancisco B allet received the J erome Ro bbins
Award for excellence in dance.
In D ecember 2011, the U nited S tates p remiere o f J ohn N eumeier’s The Little Mermaid,
performed b y S F B allet, was b roadcast i nternationally, as w ell as nat ionally o n P BS’s Great
Performances “Dance in America.” In 2012, SF Ballet embarks on an ambitious tour schedule
that i ncludes engagements i n London and Washington, D .C., as w ell as first ti me visits to
Hamburg, Moscow, and Sun Valley, Idaho.
The S an F rancisco B allet S chool, o verseen b y T omasson, attracts students from around the
world, training approximately 350 annually. In addition to filling the ranks of San Francisco
Ballet, graduates have gone on to join distinguished ballet companies throughout the world.
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