Sofiane Sylve and Tiit Helimets to Appear in Orchestra Kentucky's CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR

SOFIANE SYLVE and TIIT HELIMETS, principal dancers of the San Francisco Ballet, will appear as guest artists in Orchestra Kentucky's Christmas Spectacular dancing The Nutcracker Pas de Deux on December 16, 2017 at the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

SOFIANE SYLVE was born in Nice, France, where she studied at the Académie de Dance. She danced with Germany's Karlsruhe Stadttheater, Dutch National Ballet, and New York City Ballet prior to performing with San Francisco Ballet as a guest artist in 2007. She joined the Company as a principal dancer in 2008.

Sofiane has danced such major roles as Myrtha in Helgi Tomasson's Giselle, Sugar Plum Fairy and Grand Pas de Deux Ballerina in Tomasson's Nutcracker; Lady Capulet in Tomasson's Romeo & Juliet; Odette/Odile in Tomasson's Swan Lake, Mercedes in Helgi Tomasson/Yuri Possokhov's Don Quixote; and Prayer in Balanchine's Coppélia. She created principal roles in Jiri Bubení?ek's Fragile Vessels, William Forsythe's Pas/Parts 2016, Edwaard Liang's Symphonic Dances, Wayne McGregor's Borderlands, Alexei Ratmansky's From Foreign Lands, Liam Scarlett's Fearful Symmetries, Christopher Wheeldon's Ghosts, and Renato Zanella's Underskin, among others.

She has danced principal roles in George Balanchine's Agon, Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (4th movement), Diamonds, Emeralds, The Four Temperaments, Prodigal Son, Rubies, Serenade, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, and Symphony in C (4th movement and finale); Val Caniparoli's Ibsen's House; Forsythe's Artifact Suite, in the middle, somewhat elevated, and The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude; Serge Lifar's Suite en Blanc; Kenneth MacMillan's Winter Dreams; Hans van Manen's Two Pieces for Het (For Rachel) and Variations for Two Couples; McGregor's Chroma and Eden/Eden; Mark Morris' Sandpaper Ballet; Possokhov's Swimmer (Nighthawks pas de deux); Ratmansky's Le Carnaval des Animaux, Russian Seasons, Seven Sonatas, and Shostakovich Trilogy (Piano Concerto #1); Jerome Robbins' Dances at a Gathering (Green), Glass Pieces (pas de deux), and In the Night; Tomasson's The Fifth Season and Prism; Taylor's Company B; Tudor's Jardin aux Lilas; and Wheeldon's Continuum and Pas de Deux from There Where She Loved. Prior to joining the Company, Sofiane danced a wide range of full-length ballets as well as works by Balanchine, Elo, Forsythe, van Manen, McGregor, Ratmansky, Robbins, Tetley, and Wheeldon.

Sofiane danced the role of Lady Capulet in the 2015 film of Tomasson's Romeo & Juliet as part of the inaugural season of Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance. As a guest artist she has danced with numerous international companies. In June 2015 she danced at the Premio Danza&Danza Gala in Brescia, Italy, and in 2012 she performed with former SF Ballet principal dancer Vito Mazzeo at Chicago Dancing Festival and The Australian Ballet's 50th Anniversary Gala in Sidney. She dancEd Forsythe's in the middle, somewhat elevated for Dutch National Ballet's 50th anniversary. She has taught as a principal guest faculty member at San Francisco Ballet School for seven years, and at the Alvin Ailey Extension summer program and Ballet Society Vancouver. In 2015 she served as teacher/coach at Indianapolis International Ballet Competition in Indianapolis, Indiana.

TIIT HELIMETS was born in Viljandi, Estonia and received his ballet training at the Tallinn Ballet School.

In 1996 Mr. Helimets joined the Estonian National Ballet as a soloist, and was appointed a principal dancer, within six months, that same year. Mr. Helimets' repertoire included Prince Desire and Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty, Albrecht in Giselle, Siegfried in Swan Lake, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, and Daphnis in Daphnis and Chloe.

In 1999 Mr. Helimets joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet and was promoted to principal dancer in 2002. Notable for being an elegant classical dancer and superb partner, Mr. Helimets has expanded his repertoire to include such classical roles as Albrecht in David Bintley's production of Giselle, the Prince in Peter Wright's production of The Nutcracker, the Prince and the Bluebird in Wright's production of The Sleeping Beauty, Franz in Wright's production of Coppelia, Siegfried in Wright's production of Swan Lake as well as showing a more dramatic side as Romeo in David Bintley's Shakespeare Suite, and a keen comic bent as Fred Beenstock in Bintley's Hobson's Choice. He has also danced the role of Lancelot in Bintley's Arthur, William Boldwood in Bintley's Far From The Madding Crowd, The Young Man in Frederick Ashton's The Two Pigeons, Colas in Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardee, Franz in Peter Wright's production of Coppelia, the Beast in Bintley's Beauty and the Beast, and Apollo in Bintley's The Orpheus Suite.

Mr. Helimets has also danced roles in ballets by contemporary choreographers including the title role in George Balanchine's Apollo, principal roles in George Balanchine's Western Symphony, Ashton's Voices of Spring, Dante Sonata, Enigma Variations, The Walk to the Paradise Garden, Scenes de Ballet, Bintley's Carmina Burana, Flowers of the Forest, Concert Fantasy, Les Petits Riens, and Sons of Horus, Twyla Tharp's In The Upper Room, Kenneth MacMillan's Elite Syncopations, John Cranko's Brouillards, Michael Kopinski's Saturn from The Planets, Hans van Manen's Five Tangos, and Stanton Welch's Powder. He also created Summer in Bintley's The Seasons, and a principal role in Nahid Siddiqui's Krishna.

In 2005 Mr. Helimets joined the San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer. Mr. Helimets has expanded his repertoire to include Prince Siegfried and Von Rothbart in Helgi Tomasson's production of Swan Lake, the King of the Snow and Grand Pas de Deux in Tomasson's production of The Nutcracker, the Prince in Tomasson's production of The Sleeping Beauty, Basilio in the Helgi Tomasson/Yuri Possokhov production of Don Quixote, the Prince in Yuri Possokhov's Firebird, the Tortoise in Tomasson's Chi-Lin, the Lilac/Prince in Julia Adam's A Rose By Any Other Name, the Prince in John Neumeier's The Little Mermaid, the Prince in Christopher Wheeldon's Cinderella, Vershinin in Kenneth MacMillan's Winter Dreams, Jean de Brienne in Rudolf Nureyev's production of Raymonda Act III, Prince Gremin in John Cranko's Onegin, the Summer Section of Christopher Wheeldon's Quarternary, principal roles in Balanchine's Allegro Brillante, Symphony in C (Second Movement), the Diamonds Act of Jewels, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Serenade, The Four Temperaments, Scotch Symphony, Agon, Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, and Divertimento No. 15, David Bintley's The Dance House, William Forsythe's In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated, Wayne McGregor's Eden/Eden, Chroma, and Borderlands, Serge Lifar's Suite en Blanc, Stanton Welch's Falling and Naked, Julia Adam's Night, Tomasson's On Common Ground, 7 For Eight, Prism, On A Theme of Paganini, and Caprice, Matjash Mrozewski's Concordia, Possokhov's Magrittomania and Swimmer, Jerome Robbins' In The Night, and Glass Pieces, Alexei Ratmansky's Russian Seasons, Symphony No. 9, Seven Sonatas, and Piano Concerto No. 1, Frederick Ashton's Symphonic Variations, Jiri Bubenicek's Gentle Memories, and created roles in Tomasson's The Fifth Season and Trio, Val Caniparoli's Ibsen's House, Double Stop and Tears, Christopher Wheeldon's Ghosts, and Continuum, Edwaard Liang's Symphonic Dances, Hans van Manen's Variations for Two Couples, and the role of The King in Julia Adam's A Rose By Any Other Name.

In 1999 Mr. Helimets received an award from the Arts Council of Estonia for his performances in The Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet.

In 2008 Mr. Helimets appeared as a guest artist with the National Ballet of Canada dancing one of the principal roles in George Balanchine's Symphony in C, and in 2010 Mr. Helimets appeared as a guest artist with Ballet San Jose dancing the role of Albrecht in Giselle. In 2012 Mr. Helimets appeared as a guest artist with the Hamburg Ballet dancing the role of the Prince in John Neumeier's The Little Mermaid.

He also performed in the International Ballet Star Gala in Taipei, and danced the title role in Balanchine's Apollo as a guest artist with the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

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