Helgi Tómasson (dancer)

In January 2021, it was announced that Tomasson will step down from the San Francisco Ballet the following year.

In 2012, Helgi Tomasson was named recipient of the Dance/USA Honor, acknowledging individuals’ contributions to dance in America and the role they play in the national dance community.

In 2010, the Ballet’s opening night gala, Silver Celebration, honored Tomasson’s 25 years as artistic director of San Francisco Ballet.

In 1995, Tomasson conceived the UNited We Dance International Festival to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter. During this event, twelve ballet companies from around the world joined San Francisco Ballet to present world premiere dances over a span of two weeks.

Following his retirement from New York City Ballet in 1985, Tomasson joined the San Francisco Ballet as artistic director. During his time with the company, he has staged many full-length ballets, including Swan Lake in 1988, The Sleeping Beauty in 1990, Romeo and Juliet in 1994, Giselle in 1999, Don Quixote (in collaboration with principal dancer Yuri Possokhov) in 2003, and Nutcracker in 2004.

In 1982, with the encouragement of Balanchine, Tomasson choreographed his first ballet for the School of American Ballet Workshop, Introduction, Theme with Variations Polonnaise, Op. 65, which was very well received and elicited encouragement for him to continue choreographing. In 1983, his Ballet d'Isoline, was taken into the repertory of the New York City Ballet.

The company's founding balletmasters George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins both created roles expressly for Tomasson. Balanchine created a solo for him in Divertimento from Le Baiser de la Fée for the 1972 Stravinsky Festival. Tomasson, at age 42, performed this piece in his January 1985 farewell performance at the New York State Theater with ballerina and longtime partner Patricia McBride.

In 1969, at age 27, Tomasson entered the First International Ballet Competition in Moscow, representing the United States. He was allowed by Jerome Robbins to dance a solo from Robbins' Dances at a Gathering and returned with the Silver Medal; the Gold Medal was awarded to Mikhail Baryshnikov. During the course of the competition, the great ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, who was on the jury, whispered to him, "I gave you all my votes."

Helgi Tomasson (born October 8, 1942) is an Icelandic artistic director and principal choreographer for San Francisco Ballet, and a former professional ballet dancer. Since assuming leadership of San Francisco Ballet, he has helped transform the company from a respected regional troupe to one of the world's great classical ballet companies. He is originally from Iceland.

Tomasson’s Nutcracker is notable for being the only uniquely San Francisco Nutcracker; it is set in San Francisco during the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Tony Award-winning designers Michael Yeargan and Martin Pakledinaz designed the sets and costumes, respectively. Upon its premiere, the New York Times called Tomasson’s Nutcracker “striking, elegant and beautiful.”