SAN FRANCISCO BALLET

artistic director & principal choreographer, San Francisco Ballet School director Helgi Tomasson

executive director Glenn McCoy

corps de ballet

After more than 30 years, San Francisco ballet returns to Spoleto to show both the audience and critics the versatility, artistic qualities and athletic skills of this classic ballet company, internationally renowned as one of the most dynamic companies in the world.

composer Moritz Moszkowski

choreographer Alexei Ratmansky

costume designer Colleen Atwood

lighting designer Mark Stanley

world premiere March 1, 2013, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California.

The 2013 world premiere of From Foreign Lands was made possible by support from the Byron R. Meyer Choreographers Fund of the San Francisco Ballet Endowment Foundation.

Music Suite for Orchestra "From Foreign Lands" Op. 23 by Moritz Moszkowski. Costumes constructed by Seamless Costumes, Toronto, Ontario.

Through costumes and variations on national dances, From Foreign Lands - created by American Ballet Theatre Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky - takes audiences on "a lyrical tour through Europe." (New York Times)

Set to a joyful score by Moszkowski, the work incorporates steps that hint at traditional dances from Russia, Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland, and Hungary.

composers Benjamin Britten, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Stefan Kovács Tickmayer, Astor Piazzolla

choreographer Hans van Manen

staged by Rachel Beaujean

costume designer Keso Dekker

lighting designer Bert Dalhuysen

costumes constructed by Tiffany Amundson

world premiere February 15, 2012, Dutch National Ballet, Het Muziektheater; Amsterdam, Holland.

music Benjamin Britten Andante from String Quartet in F. Music used by arrangement with European American Music Distributors Company, U.S. and Canadian agent for Faber Music. Ltd., publisher and copyright owner. Einojuhani Rautavaara: Mvt. 2. "Kopsin Jonas" from Pelimannit (The Fiddlers), Op. 1 Music used by arrangement with Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes company, sole agent in the U.S., Canada and Mexico for Fennica Gehrman. J.S. Bach, arranged by Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer "Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen" from St. John Passion, BWV 245. Music used by arrangement with Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer, publisher and copyright owner. Astor Piazzolla, arranged by Bob Zimmerman: Melodia in la menor (Canto de Octubre). Music used by arrangement with Tonos Music oHG, publisher and copyright owner.

Variations for Two Couples by Hans van Manen, resident choreographer at Dutch National Ballet, made its American premiere on January 22, 2014 at SF Ballet’s opening night gala. Critic Rachel Howard described the work as a ballet with "shadowy lighting, stark costuming, and tense relationships playing out to challenging music."

composer Johann Strauss II

choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton

staged by Grant Coyle

costume designer Julia Trevelyan Oman

world premiere (for the opera Die Fledermaus) December 31, 1977, The Royal Opera, Royal Opera House; Covent Garden, London

Royal Ballet premiere April 2, 1981, Ambassador Auditorium; Los Angeles, California

San Francisco Ballet premiere January 19, 2012, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California.

music Johann Strauss II Frühlingsstimmen Waltzes, Op.410, written in 1883. Costumes constructed by Nancy Endy, Taisia Nikonishchenko, and Nina Parker.

Sir Frederick Ashton created his jubilant pas de deux Voices of Spring for a Royal Opera production of Die Fledermaus in 1977. Danced to a sparkling waltz by Johann Strauss, Voices of Spring is an elegant and often humorous sampling of Ashton’s unmatched musicality, as well as a showcase for two dancers of impeccable skill and grace.

composer Johann Sebastian Bach

choreographer Helgi Tomasson

costume designer Sandra Woodall

lighting designer David Finn

world premiere February 26, 2004, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California.

The 2004 world premiere of 7 for Eight was underwritten by Mr. Thomas J. Perkins and The Edward E. Hills Fund.

Music Concerto No. 5 BWV 1056 (2nd & 3rd movements) for keyboard, Concerto No. 4 BWV (1st and 2nd movements) for keyboard, Concerto BWV 1065 (2nd movement) arranged for two harpsichords, Concerto No. 1 BWV 1052 (2nd & 1st movements) for keyboard. Costumes constructed by Birgit Pfeffer, Palo Alto, California.

Helgi Tomasson’s elegant 7 for Eight has become a cornerstone of SF Ballet’s repertory since its debut in 2004. Upon its premiere, the San Francisco Chronicle proclaimed that 7 for Eight "establishes [Tomasson] at a new level of development where his two artistic faces—the classical and expressive— merge… his ballet overflowed with spare and resonant poetry."

Helgi Tomasson, now in his 30th season of artistic direction, has grown San Francisco Ballet into a world-class company, praised for its diversity and broad repertory. Tomasson was first discovered by Jerome Robbins in his native Iceland and was offered a dance scholarship to New York’s School of American Ballet. Subsequently, he performed with The Joffrey Ballet, The Harkness Ballet, and New York City Ballet, where he became one of the company’s most celebrated principal dancers.

Tomasson has choreographed over 40 works; his numerous awards include Officier in the French Order of Arts and Letters, an honorary degree from the Juilliard School, and the Grand Cross Star of the Order of the Falcon, Iceland’s most prestigious honor.

In 1995, Tomasson conceived UNited We Dance: An International Festival, produced in San Francisco, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter. In 2008, he led the Company through its 75th anniversary season, which included a New Works Festival of 10 world premieres by 10 acclaimed choreographers.

In 2012, Tomasson was presented the Dance USA Honor Award for extraordinary leadership in the dance field.

Tomasson is also the director of the San Francisco Ballet School.

As America’s oldest professional ballet company, San Francisco Ballet has enjoyed a long and rich tradition of artistic "firsts" since its founding in 1933, including performing the first American productions of Swan Lake and Nutcracker, as well as the first 20th-century American Coppélia. San Francisco Ballet is one of the three largest ballet companies in the United States. In 2005, San Francisco Ballet won the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award in the category of "Outstanding Achievement in Dance" and in 2006, it was the first non-European company elected "Company of the Year" in Dance Europe magazine’s annual readers’ poll. Recent highlights include the United States premiere of John Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid, which was broadcast internationally, as well as nationally on PBS’s Great Performances "Dance in America" in 2011. In 2012, SF Ballet’s ambitious tour schedule included London and Washington, D.C., plus first-time visits to Hamburg, Moscow, and Sun Valley, Idaho. In October 2013, the Company performed at New York’s David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, where The New York Times declared SF Ballet "a national treasure." The 2015 Repertory Season marks the 30th anniversary of Helgi Tomasson’s tenure as artistic director of San Francisco Ballet.