Mr. Tomasson March 2, 2008
I admit, I feel like I’ve been hard on Helgi Tomasson, artistic director of San Francisco Ballet. So far on this blog, I have only spoken of his choreography, which I find limiting. But reading Rachel Howard’s in-depth article on him really opened my eyes to more of him.
After all, he is the director of my favorite ballet company, which says a lot. One of my favorite things about him is that he has a great eye for a diversity of dancers, of picking dancers ranging in size (from tiny Tina LeBlanc to the recently retired towering Muriel Maffre) and styles (from spitfire Lorena Feijoo to demure Maria Kochetkova). He also has a great knack for showing off the best features of his dancers, from his extravagant galas to the pieces he picks and even choreographs. (For example, his “7 to Eight” wasn’t the most interesting, but it showcased Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun and its other dancers so well that my friends enjoyed this piece the most in Program 1 this year.) Another thing that I respect about him is what happened during an open Q&A before a performance last year. An audience member asked about his thoughts in dancers and eating disorder issues and the ballet standard for having thin and unhealthy dancers. This is always slippery territory for an artistic director of a ballet company to defend to the general public, but I was impressed at how he he handled the question with care and thought. He even mentioned that the San Francisco Ballet dancers have actually been lauded as one of the healthier dance companies, and this is refreshingly true.
Here’s my nod to Helgi Tomasson. He has been integral in pushing San Francisco Ballet to where it is today, and the future looks even brighter from here.
The SFB’s season feels like it’s almost over because of the New Works Festival and the extra program with the guest artists from the visiting companies (National Ballet of Canada, NYCB, and Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo). These special programs are great additions, but it feels like it cuts the season a bit shorter than usual, and I’m missing some of SFB’s usual fare, such as Mark Morris’ charming Sandpaper Ballet. SFB presents its “A Tribute to Jerome Robbins” starting later this week.
SF Ballet’s A Tribute to Jerome Robbins: Program 5
in my very limited knowledge of ballet directors, i would tentatively vote Tomasson and Peter Boal as one of the better directors out there in the U.S.. Only if Tomasson didn’t chroegraph
but he seems to be really promoting (for the most part) people deserving, and allowing the corps members to shine in some pivotal solo roles. And bringing in such exciting talent! (Sofiane Sylve, Nutnarnee, Maria Kochetkova, and all those new corps members).