SF Ballet 2022 Season Returns to Opera House, Celebrates Helgi

05/14/2021

San Francisco Ballet is readying plans to return to live performances in the 2022 Season at the War Memorial Opera House and to celebrate Helgi Tomasson's 37 years as the Company's Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer.

Helgi Tomasson. © Erik Tomasson
Helgi Tomasson. © Erik Tomasson

In January Tomasson announced he would be stepping down from his position at the end of the 2022 season. He joined the Company in 1985 when he left New York City Ballet as a principal dancer. Tomasson has "programmed" the 2022 season as a "love letter" to the Company and the community. The season program has been planned to highlight and honor Tomasson's legacy with six world and San Francisco Ballet premieres.

Nikisha Fogo and Julian MacKay rehearsing Tomasson's Harmony. © Erik Tomasson
Nikisha Fogo and Julian MacKay rehearsing Tomasson's Harmony. © Erik Tomasson

Tomasson's featured choreography in the program includes the world premiere of Harmony; reprises of Trio, Caprice, The Fifth Season, Prism; and the full-length story ballets Don Quixote and Swan Lake. Other highlights of the 2022 Repertory Season will include the world premiere of Mrs. Robinson by Cathy Marston, world premieres by Dwight Rhoden and Christopher Wheeldon, San Francisco Ballet premieres of Blake Works I by William Forsythe and The Seasons by Alexei Ratmansky, and also audience favorites George Balanchine's Symphony in C, In The Night by Jerome Robbins, and La Sylphide by August Bournonville.

San Francisco Ballet in Balanchine's Symphony In C. Choreography by George Balanchine © The Balanchine Trust; Photo © Erik Tomasson
San Francisco Ballet in Balanchine's Symphony In C. Choreography by George Balanchine © The Balanchine Trust; Photo © Erik Tomasson

The 2022 Season Opening Night Gala, held on January 27, will include a black-tie dinner held at San Francisco City Hall and a performance by San Francisco Ballet at the War Memorial Opera House.

In response to the authorities' easing of pandemic restrictions the Nutcracker and all seven programs from February 1 through May 8 will be performed live at the War Memorial Opera House. The Company is working to ensure that the return to in-person performances will conform to health and safety requirements set by medical officers and city leaders. The ventilation and air handling systems of the Opera House have been tested and upgraded to comply with CDC protocols that were put in place during the pandemic. In addition, protocols are being established for staff, artists, and audiences that might be necessary when it is safe to reopen for in-person events. Visit sfballet.org/safety for the most up to date information on COVID-19 protocols.

The Company's last online performance of the 2021 digital season is an archival capture from 2016 of Helgi Tomasson's Swan Lake, scheduled from May 20 to June 9.

For more information visit sfballet.org.

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