America's Oldest Professional Ballet Company Honors Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson's 25th Anniversary With a Special Gala

SAN FRANCISCO, January 4 - On January 20, 2010 San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director & Principal
Choreographer Helgi Tomasson will be honored at the Ballet's Opening Night
Gala, Silver Celebration, on the occasion of his 25 years as artistic
director of SF Ballet, the oldest professional ballet company in America.

Tomasson — a native of Reykjavik, Iceland — was discovered by master
choreographer Jerome Robbins and began his illustrious performance career
with The Joffrey Ballet and other companies. As a principal dancer at New
York City Ballet, he was considered one of the finest classical dancers of
his era. In 1985, Tomasson became artistic director of SF Ballet, and under
his artistic leadership the Company has grown into a world-class ballet
company, known for its diverse repertory and dancers of incredible range and
skill. The New York Times has called Tomasson's tenure "one of the
spectacular success stories of the arts in America" and The Sunday Times (UK)
noted, "Tomasson's outstanding artistic direction … has transformed a
regional American dance troupe into one of the world's top ballet companies."

In addition to a steadfast commitment to touring, both nationally and
internationally, Tomasson has cultivated a vast and diverse body of
repertory, including numerous new works. Over the past 25 years, more than
100 world premiere works have been presented by SF Ballet, and in 2008, as
part of the Company's 75th anniversary, Tomasson oversaw the New Works
Festival of 10 world premieres by 10 diverse and renowned choreographers. A
choreographer himself, Tomasson has created over 40 works for the Company and
in 2008, his acclaimed production of Nutcracker was broadcast nationally on
Great Performances on PBS, in partnership with KQED Public Television in San
Francisco.

Among his numerous and prestigious awards, Tomasson was granted the rank
of Officier in the French Order of Arts and Letters in 2001, and has been
bestowed honorary degrees by institutions including New York's Juilliard
School. In 2005, Tomasson received SF Ballet's highest honor, the prestigious
Lew Christensen Medal, in honor of his 20th anniversary as artistic director.
In 2007, President of Iceland Olafur Ragnar Grimsson awarded Tomasson the
Grand Cross Star of the Order of the Falcon, the country's highest honor.
Under his leadership, the Company won its first Laurence Olivier Award in
2005; three years later, SF Ballet received the Jerome Robbins Award for
excellence in dance.

San Francisco Ballet 2010 Opening Night Gala: Silver Celebration

SF Ballet's Opening Night Gala, Silver Celebration, on January 20, 2010,
will honor Tomasson's 25 years of artistic leadership. The event includes
cocktails and four dinners for approximately 1,000 patrons in San Francisco's
City Hall, as well as a special, one-night only performance by the Company at
the city's historic War Memorial Opera House, which seats over 3,100. The
performance will include excerpts from a number of Tomasson's acclaimed
works, and the evening will culminate with a post-performance party at City
Hall. For more details, visit www.sfballet.org/gala.

Anniversary Exhibition

In conjunction with Tomasson's 25th anniversary, Photographer Erik
Tomasson also celebrates five years of photographing SF Ballet. His work –
which has been published locally, nationally, and internationally –
unfailingly captures the incredible breadth and diversity of the Company's
repertory, from classical and neoclassical, to contemporary works. From
January 12-March 6, a selection of Tomasson's images will be on display at
San Francisco's Museum of Performance & Design. Following the exhibition,
limited-edition prints will be available for sale. In addition, on January
12, an exhibition opening will be held as part of the ENCORE! 2010 Season
Kick-off Event. For more information, visit www.sfballet.org/encoreevents or
www.eriktomasson.com.

2010 Repertory Season

San Francisco Ballet's 2010 Repertory Season runs from January 23-May 9,
2010. For more information, visit www.sfballet.org.

Images for Download

To download images of SF Ballet Artistic Director & Principal
Choreographer Helgi Tomasson, visit www.sfballet.org/tomasson25.

San Francisco Ballet

As America's oldest professional ballet company and one of the three
largest ballet companies in the United States, San Francisco Ballet has
enjoyed a long and rich tradition of artistic "firsts" since its founding in
1933. It performed the first American productions of Swan Lake and
Nutcracker, as well as the first production of Coppelia choreographed by an
American choreographer. Guided in its early years by American dance pioneers
and brothers Lew, Willam, and Harold Christensen, San Francisco Ballet
currently presents more than 100 performances a year locally, nationally, and
abroad. Under the direction of Helgi Tomasson for 25 years, the Company has
achieved an international reputation as one of the preeminent ballet
companies in the world. 2010 marks the 25th anniversary of Helgi Tomasson's
artistic directorship of the Company.

Kyra Jablonsky, +1-415-865-6603, kjablonsky at sfballet.org, Meredith Nonnenberg, +1-415-865-6607, mnonnenberg at sfballet.org, both of the San Francisco Ballet