PROGRAM 5’S HARMONY MARKS TOMASSON’S FINAL PREMIERE AS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, March 10, 2022—This April, San Francisco Ballet (SF Ballet) will present three world premieres: Artistic Director & Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson’s Harmony, Christopher Wheeldon’s Finale Finale, and Dwight Rhoden’s The Promised Land. Emerging from the twin pandemics of Covid-19 and the racial reckoning in the U.S., and celebrating the long career of Helgi Tomasson, these works continue SF Ballet’s tradition of cultivating new works and perspectives. They also mark Tomasson’s final premieres at SF Ballet, before his retirement at the end of the season following a robust career at the Company. In 37 seasons, he has created more than 50 works for SF Ballet, and has commissioned nearly 200 ballets from emerging and established choreographers since taking the helm in 1985.
“Throughout the years, I have aspired to develop a company of dancers who see themselves as part of the creative process, as collaborative partners in the creation of new work,” says Tomasson. “My new ballet, Harmony, was born from the pandemic and the joy that the Company felt from being able to dance together again. I was thrilled to invite Dwight Rhoden and Christopher Wheeldon back to our studios. They’ve created ballets that prompt moments of reflection and hope for a brighter future.”
Opening on April 2, Program 5 includes the world premiere of Tomasson’s Harmony, set to a keyboard suite by Jean-Philippe Rameau. This joyous ballet celebrates the return to live performance for both artists and audiences. Tomasson’s creative process for the piece began in the fall of 2020 when the Company’s dancers were rehearsing in “pods” during the Covid-19 pandemic. Working with a group of 12 dancers, Tomasson created Harmony to highlight each dancer’s strengths, a hallmark of his approach to choreography.
Program 5 also features Choreographer-in-Residence Yuri Possokhov’s Magrittomania, a nod to the work of surrealist artist Réné Magritte, and Tomasson’s The Fifth Season, originated in 2006, set to music by Karl Jenkins and considered to be one of his finest ballets.
Opening on April 6, Program 6 features the world premieres of Christopher Wheeldon’s Finale Finale, a tribute to Tomasson’s final season, and Dwight Rhoden’s The Promised Land.
The Promised Land explores society’s ongoing emergence from the Covid-19 pandemic and racial reckoning in the U.S. “I wanted to access the resiliency and perseverance of the human spirit, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually,” said Rhoden about his creation. “The essence of the piece is about how we recover, what we do to get through, how we meet the challenges day-to-day.” Set to music by a collection of composers including Philip Glass and Hans Zimmer, The Promised Land is an abstract piece involving what Rhoden calls a “wandering narrative.” The Promised Land is Rhoden’s third ballet created for SF Ballet, following LET’S BEGIN AT THE END, created during 2018 Unbound: A Festival of New Works, and his contributions to the dance film Dance of Dreams in 2020. Rhoden is co-founder of Complexions Contemporary Ballet with Desmond Richardson.
Finale Finale is Wheeldon’s 11th work set on SF Ballet and captures the festive spirit of its score by Darius Milhaud, Le Boeuf sur le toit (The Ox on the Roof). “Creating for San Francisco Ballet has always been an incredible experience for me, very joyful, very collaborative,” said Wheeldon. “I owe a lot to Helgi in so many ways: my development as a choreographer, having the opportunity to be here in a city that I love, working in this great theater, with this great company.” Planned as incidental music for a Charlie Chaplin film, Milhaud’s Le Boeuf sur le toit evolved into a ballet libretto by Jean Cocteau, which premiered in 1920. While Wheeldon has abandoned Cocteau’s libretto, he retains a “Chaplin-esque” solo and acrobatic elements in his new ballet. Wheeldon won two Tony Awards in 2015 for directing and choreographing Broadway’s An American in Paris. His first creation for SF Ballet, Sea Pictures, premiered in 2000.
Program 6 also includes Tomasson’s Prism, created for New York City Ballet in 2000, danced to a score by Beethoven.
Calendar information:
Tickets to Programs 5 and 6 start at $29 and may be purchased online at sfballet.org or by calling 415-865-2000, Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm Pacific.
Press images for Programs 5 and 6 are available on the online press photos page. Please contact Kate McKinney at kmckinney@sfballet.org with all press inquiries.
Casting to be announced soon at https://www.sfballet.org/season/casting.
PROGRAM 5
The Fifth Season
Composer: Karl Jenkins
Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson
Scenic and Costume Design: Sandra Woodall
Lighting Design: Michael Mazzola
World Premiere: March 28, 2006—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Harmony (World Premiere)
Composer: Jean-Philippe Rameau
Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson
Scenic and Costume Design: Emma Kingsbury
Lighting Design: Jim French
World Premiere: April 2, 2022—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Magrittomania
Composer: Yuri Krasavin after Ludwig van Beethoven
Choreographer: Yuri Possokhov
Scenic and Costume Design: Thyra Hartshorn
Lighting Design: Kevin Connaughton
World Premiere: March 30, 2000—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Saturday, April 2 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, April 3 at 2: 00 pm
Tuesday, April 5 at 7:30 pm
Friday, April 8 at 8:00 pm
Wednesday, April 13 at 7:30 pm
Thursday, April 14 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 16 at 2:00 pm
Run time: 2 hours and 16 minutes with two intermissions
PROGRAM 6
Prism
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson
Costume Design: Martin Pakledinaz
Lighting Design: Mark Stanley
World Premiere: May 3, 2000—New York City Ballet, Diamond Project, New York State Theater; New York, New York
San Francisco Ballet Premiere: January 30, 2001—War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Finale Finale (World Premiere)
Composer: Darius Milhaud
Choreographer: Christopher Wheeldon
Costume Design: Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung
Lighting Design: Alexander V. Nichols
World Premiere: April 6, 2022—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Finale Finale© by Christopher Wheeldon. Produced by San Francisco Ballet in collaboration with the Impossible Festival, Mexico.
The Promised Land (World Premiere)
Composers: Rodrigo Sigal, Luke Howard, Philip Glass, Kirill Richter, Hans Zimmer
Choreographer: Dwight Rhoden
Costume Design: Christine Darch
Lighting Design: Michael Korsch
Assistant to the Choreographer: Clifford Williams
World Premiere: April 6, 2022—San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Wednesday, April 6 at 7:30 pm
Thursday, April 7 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 9 at 2:00 pm
Saturday, April 9 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, April 10 at 2:00 pm
Tuesday, April 12 at 7:30 pm
Friday, April 15 at 8:00 pm
Run time: 2 hours and 23 minutes with two intermissions
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET’S COVID-19 SAFETY POLICIES
SF Ballet requires all patrons to wear an N95, KN95, or KF94 face mask to enter the venue. SF Ballet will provide patrons upon entry a KN95 mask or equivalent for those who do not have access to the appropriate mask. SF Ballet will also require up-to-date vaccination, including booster shots for those eligible, for all attendees 12 and older. Patrons may view SF Ballet’s up-to-date safety policies on the website.
ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
San Francisco Ballet is one of the world’s leading ballet companies. As a commissioner, collaborator, and presenter, the Ballet performs locally, nationally, and internationally with the top choreographers, artists, and dancers while proudly celebrating its trailblazing role in dance. Since its founding in 1933 and as the oldest professional ballet company in the United States, the organization has been an innovator in dance and an originator of well-loved cultural traditions, from staging the first American production of Swan Lake to being the first company in the United States to present an annual holiday Nutcracker. In the progressive, innovative spirit of San Francisco, its mission is to share the beauty of classical and contemporary ballet, the joyful, transformative experience of live dance performance by artists working at the highest caliber, and to provide exceptional training opportunities for the next generation of professional dancers in its School.
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