San Francisco Ballet the broad success of productions such as 1977's "Romeo and Juliet", which aired on the PBS series "Great Performances: Dance in America" in 1978. This televised performance marked the first time that a West Coast ballet company, and a full-length ballet, was shown on the PBS TV series. PBS televised three more of Smuin's SF Ballet productions, and his productions of "The Tempest" and "A Song for Dead Warriors" went on to win Emmy Awards. Smuin led the company until 1985. Helgi Tomasson's 1985 arrival as artistic director marked the beginning of a new era for San Francisco Ballet. Under
San Francisco Ballet end of 1975 with "Nutcracker" and has met with both audience and critical acclaim ever since, becoming known by the 1990s as one of the world's finest ballet orchestras. SFBO toured with the SF Ballet's touring company from 1978 until 1984. It has accompanied many prestigious international ballet companies that have toured to the San Francisco Bay Area, including The Royal Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Hamburg Ballet,the Bolshoi Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, American Ballet Theatre, and the Paris Opéra Ballet. In 1995, the orchestra took on the remarkable task of accompanying 13 international dance companies over