Tiit Helimet was born in Viljandi, Estonia and trained at the Tallin Ballet School. After dancing with the Estonian National Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet he joined SF Ballet as principal dancer in 2005.
Helimet received an Award for Outstanding Performance for The Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet, Estonia, 2008. In 2015 he received an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Performance for Tomasson’s Giselle (Albrecht) .
Helimet has performed world-wide. He produced and performed in the dance film “Sequentia,” in April 2020 and performed Possokhov’s Firebird at Nevada Ballet Theatre, Las Vegas, 2019.
In 2015 he performed at the 50th Anniversary Gala at San Jose Dance Theatre, San Jose, California, and danced Black Swan Pas de Deux from Swan Lake with Frances Chung at Allen Civic Ballet Fête des Beaux Arts, Allen, Texas.
In 2012/13 Helimet organized an Estonian Festival and a tour of Estonian National Ballet to San Francisco and created an installation featuring world premieres of a dance work and musical score at the de Young Museum, San Francisco.
He choreographed AEG for Estonian National Ballet, Tallinn, Estonia, 2011, as well as directing, producing and performing in a tour to Estonia featuring San Francisco Ballet dancers.
In his own words:
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT AS A DANCER? WHY?
Dancing Romeo in Romeo and Juliet when I was 20 years old. That’s when I met my wife who was dancing my Juliet, and we have been living together for 19 years now.
IF I WEREN’T A DANCER, I’D BE…
An actor, painter, or opera singer.
I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO BECAUSE…
All of my dreams came true in this city.
WHEN YOU HAVE DOWNTIME FROM PRODUCTIONS, WHAT DO YOU DO TO RELAX?
I don’t, I am the kind of person who has to create or do something and that’s relaxing, although it might appear to others as hard work.