Tiit Helimets, a former principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet, has taken over as artistic director of Sacramento Ballet this month, succeeding Anthony Krutzkamp. The appointment caps what Helimets describes as more than ten years of deliberate preparation for the role.

"It's been more than a decade in the making," Helimets says.

His path to leadership began in 2011, when he organized a tour to his native Estonia under the name "Tiit Helimets and Co.," planning the international project from California while still dancing with SFB. The experience hooked him.

"I realized it brought me a lot of pleasure in working under pressure, making fast decisions, choosing repertory and dancers," Helimets says. "Ever since that year I have been consciously making sure that I understand as much as I can on leadership, reading all the books I can find, to one day be an artistic director."

Helimets danced with San Francisco Ballet for 18 years before retiring in 2023. During his career he worked with Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Cathy Marston, Dani Rowe, and Wayne McGregor. Beyond learning choreography, he observed how each dancemaker contributed to the technical standards of a company.

Since retiring, he has built his network as a stager for Yuri Possokhov. "In this work, I cultivate relationships with directors, knowing that one day I will be able to use this as a resource," he says. He cites Mikko Nissinen and Roy Kaiser as regular mentors and names José Martinez and Kevin O'Hare as directors who have particularly influenced him.

He also spent the past seven years as donor relations manager for the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, honing fundraising skills. He says he has read almost all of leadership author John C. Maxwell's dozens of books.

Helimets applied for directorships and became a finalist with three other companies before landing the Sacramento post. "I was very happy when this happened with Sacramento Ballet," he says.

When the appointment was announced in March, Sacramento Ballet executive director Kiera Anderson told The Sacramento Bee: "He is coming in with fresh ideas, fresh perspective, with incredible relationships in the dance world, and he has a real respect for the traditions and legacy that exist at Sacramento Ballet."

That legacy dates to 1954, when Barbara and Deane Crockett founded the company. Ron Cunningham co-directed the troupe with his wife, Carinne Binda, for three decades starting in 1988, creating much of its current repertory, including his versions of Nutcracker, Carmina Burana, Bolero, and The Rite of Spring. Their tenure added ballets by Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Agnes de Mille, and Trey McIntyre, plus commissions from Dwight Rhoden, Bobbi Jene Smith, Septime Webre, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Amy Seiwert led the company from 2018 to 2020, followed by Krutzkamp, who served as both artistic and executive director.

Although Sacramento sits 90 miles from San Francisco, Helimets had no previous relationship with the company, given the demands of his career as a principal dancer. The hiring process changed that. "Sacramento Ballet is an extremely friendly company; the people are genuinely excited about ballet," he says. "The dancers are truly committed, hard workers, and good artists."

Rehearsal directors Stefan Calka and Elise Elliott planned the 2026–27 season with Anderson and the board while the search was underway. Helimets will program the 2027–28 season, and he wants choreographers committed to ballet's technical roots.

"I am curious to know what's next for ballet," he says. "I'm using choreographers that still use pointe shoes, complicated partnering, and acting."

He also wants Sacramento Ballet to become a byword for technical rigor. "I would like it to be the company where if the dancers are looking to be challenged by ballet technique, they think of Sacramento Ballet," he says.

Helimets is realistic about the scope of the job, which extends well beyond the studio to fundraising, community partnerships, and opportunities for young dancers. "I'm really excited to choreograph and bring new ballets to the company, and to create new opportunities for the audiences and the dancers," he says. "I'm excited to really steer my own ship for the first time ever. To share my vision of where the ballet should head."

His first full test arrives with the 2027–28 season, the first program he will shape from scratch.