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