Arts Medallion Honoring San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson
The Board of the Museum of Performance + Design is pleased to announce that its Arts Medallion Reception and Ceremony honoring San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson will be held on October 21, 2021 at Saint Joseph’s Arts Society in San Francisco, featuring performances by San Francisco Ballet and San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. Originally scheduled to take place on April 23, 2020, the 2020 Arts Medallion honoring Tomasson was postponed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Event details:
2021 Arts Medallion Reception & Ceremony Honoring Helgi Tomasson
October 21, 2021, 5:30 pm, Saint Joseph’s Arts Society
1401 Howard Street, San Francisco
5:30 pm Reception
Sponsor tickets from $315 / Individual tickets at $195
Per San Francisco city guidelines, this event will require all attendees to show proof of vaccination to attend. Masks will be required at all times when not actively eating or drinking.
To purchase sponsor packages or tickets online visit https://www.mpdsf.org/store/arts-medallion-sponsors
Helgi Tomasson
Helgi Tomasson, one of the most venerated classical dancers of his generation, embarks on his final season with San Francisco Ballet in 2022, concluding his tenure as the longest-serving sole artistic director of a major ballet company. Born in Iceland, he danced with Harkness Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, and New York City Ballet, where he distinguished himself as a dancer of technical purity, musicality, and intelligence. Tomasson assumed leadership of SF Ballet in 1985. Under his direction, SF Ballet has become a company widely recognized as one of the finest in the world. Tomasson has balanced devotion to the classics with an emphasis on new works, cultivating frequent collaborations and commissions with choreographers such as William Forsythe, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, Cathy Marston, and Mark Morris, among many others. He has choreographed more than 50 works for the Company, including full-length productions of Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo & Juliet (taped for Lincoln Center at the Movies’ Great American Dance), Giselle, and Nutcracker (taped for PBS’s Great Performances). He conceptualized the 1995 UNited We Dance festival, in which SF Ballet hosted 12 international companies; the 2008 New Works Festival, which included 10 world premieres by 10 acclaimed choreographers; and the 2018 Unbound: A Festival of New Works. A loyal supporter of the Museum of Performance + Design (MP+D) through the years, Tomasson has also connected SF Ballet to the world, through co-commissions with American Ballet Theatre, The Royal Ballet, and Dutch National Ballet; and major tours to Paris, London, New York City, China, and his native Iceland.
“Helgi’s artistry and love for dance have been a tremendous gift to the city,” said MP+D Board President and Event Co-Chair Pattie Lawton, who co-chairs the event with Ken Fulk, founder of Saint Joseph’s Arts Society. “We are honored and thrilled to present Helgi with the Museum of Performance + Design’s Arts Medallion. We are also grateful that Jim and Cecilia Herbert will continue to serve as our Honorary Co-Chairs for the rescheduled event.”
“Helgi Tomasson is a visionary leader whose artistic genius has transformed San Francisco Ballet into one of the world’s most accomplished performing arts organizations,” said Jim and Cecilia Herbert. “For 36 years, Helgi’s inspired work has delighted audiences and elevated the entire arts community in the Bay Area. This well-deserved recognition expresses heartfelt appreciation for Helgi’s many contributions.”
PAST HONOREES
Stanlee Gatti (2005), Gordon Getty (2006), Diane B. Wilsey (2007), Mr. & Mrs. George F. Jewett, Jr. (2008), Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. (2009), Nancy Hellman Bechtle (2010), Delia F. Ehrlich (2011), Roselyne Chroman Swig (2012), John Goldman (2013), Frederica von Stade (2015), Robert Mailer Anderson & Nion McEvoy (2016), Carl & Yurie Pascarella (2017), Tony Taccone (2018), Michael Tilson Thomas (2019)
Honorary Committee
Jim and Cecilia Herbert, Honorary Co-Chairs
Jola & John Anderson
Robert Mailer Anderson & Nicola Miner
Patrick Armand
Richard C. Barker
Joachim & Nancy Hellman Bechtle
London N. Breed
Fang & Gary Bridge
Lisa Dolby Chadwick
Sunnie Evers
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
Ken Fulk
Richard & Tricia Gibbs
Marcia & John Goldman
Thomas E. Horn
Margaret Jenkins
Gretchen B. Kimball
Alonzo King
Kelsey & David Lamond
Mark Leno
Betsy Linder
Denise Littlefield Sobel
Muriel Maffre
Glenn McCoy
Barbro & Bernard Osher
John Osterweis & Barbara Ravizza
Yurie & Carl Pascarella
Speaker Nancy Pelosi & Paul Pelosi
Kathleen Scutchfield
Catherine Slavonia
Wendy Storch
Roselyne C. Swig
Yuan Yuan Tan
Martin West
Diane B. Wilsey
Sponsors
UNDERWRITERS:
William Eddelman
Sunnie Evers
First Republic Bank*
Richard & Tricia Gibbs
Gretchen B. Kimball
Kelsey Lamond
Betsy Linder
Mark Oliver & Robert Quon
John Osterweis & Barbara Ravizza
Yurie & Carl Pascarella
Lisa S. Pritzker
San Francisco Ballet
Catherine Slavonia
Stephanie Tanaka & Jay Plano
Diane B. Wilsey*
BENEFACTORS:
Richard C. Barker*
Fang & Gary Bridge*
Elyse Eng*
Marcia & John Goldman*
Pattie Lawton*
John & Amy Palmer
Bruce & Fran Walker
PATRONS:
Jola & John Anderson
Barbara Berkeley
Ms. Barbara Brown
James Culp
Carol Elbert
Thomas E. Horn*
Daru H. Kawalkowski
Herb Kennedy
Bernice Lindstrom
Jennifer Jordan McCall & Mike Hetherington
Jan & Bob Newman
Kate O’Sullivan & Kurt Bauer
Kathleen Scutchfield
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Gretchen Tenenbaum
Roselyne Chroman Swig*
Ken Wronkiewicz
Bob & Sharon Yoerg
*package sponsors
Photo credit: San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson // © Erik Tomasson