Smuin Ballet is a touring ballet company based in San Francisco, California. Smuin Ballet performs its season in multiple venues: the Dean Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, The Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, in Mountain View, the Sunset Center in Carmel, and at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
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Founding
When Smuin Ballet was founded in 1994, Michael Smuin set out to build "An American ballet company with a distinctly American accent." He was wildly creative, with skills ranging from dancing and choreography to directing. Over the course of his life, Michael was a principal dancer of companies such as American Ballet Theatre, a choreographer for Dance Theatre of Harlem, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Milwaukee Ballet, and ballet master as well as artistic director at San Francisco Ballet. Smuin wanted to, in his words, “… infuse ballet with the rhythm, speed, and syncopation of American popular culture.” He succeeded, and his vision for Smuin Ballet has continued after his sudden death in 2007.
Michael Smuin, a former dancer, choreographer and director with the San Francisco Ballet and an award-winning choreographer, founded Smuin Ballet in 1994. He created about 40 ballets, which were performed by the company. After his passing in 2007, founding member and longtime "muse and mainstay" Celia Fushille was named Executive and Artistic Director of Smuin Ballet. As a founding member of the company, Celia was long Michael's muse and mainstay, creating roles in some of his most memorable ballets, from the romantic Roxane in Cyrano to the lusty Lola-Lola in The Blue Angel. Celia’s vision for the Company, beyond the role of conservator and prime presenter of Michael’s ballets, is to bring to the stage new works by both world-renowned and fast emerging choreographers. It is her vision for both audience and dancers. Celia believes dancers need new and challenging choreography in order to grow artistically. With her finger on the pulse of what’s hot in the international dance world, she is ever on the lookout for works that challenge. [1]
Founding
When Smuin Ballet was founded in 1994, Michael Smuin set out to build "An American ballet company with a distinctly American accent." He was wildly creative, with skills ranging from dancing and choreography to directing. Over the course of his life, Michael was a principal dancer of companies such as American Ballet Theatre, a choreographer for Dance Theatre of Harlem, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Milwaukee Ballet, and ballet master as well as artistic director at San Francisco Ballet. Smuin wanted to, in his words, “… infuse ballet with the rhythm, speed, and syncopation of American popular culture.” He succeeded, and his vision for Smuin Ballet has continued after his sudden death in 2007.
Michael Smuin, a former dancer, choreographer and director with the San Francisco Ballet and an award-winning choreographer, founded Smuin Ballet in 1994. He created about 40 ballets, which were performed by the company. After his passing in 2007, founding member and longtime "muse and mainstay" Celia Fushille was named Executive and Artistic Director of Smuin Ballet. As a founding member of the company, Celia was long Michael's muse and mainstay, creating roles in some of his most memorable ballets, from the romantic Roxane in Cyrano to the lusty Lola-Lola in The Blue Angel. Celia’s vision for the Company, beyond the role of conservator and prime presenter of Michael’s ballets, is to bring to the stage new works by both world renowned and fast emerging choreographers. It is her vision for both audience and dancers. Celia believes dancers need new and challenging choreography in order to grow artistically. With her finger on the pulse of what’s hot in the international dance world, she is ever on the lookout for works that challenge. [2]
Artistic Director
Ballet Mistress
Choreographer in Residence
Principal Dancers
Touring and Performing
Smuin Ballet performs over seventy performances per season in theatres throughout San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Mountain View, and Carmel. Although they are a San Francisco Bay Area based company, the also tour across the country-including the Joyce Theater in New York, and Montana, Michael's home state-as well as throughout Europe.
Smuin Ballet works to perform free performances for students and the community, performing for over 35,000 people annually. They have launched over fifty new works into the American dance repertoire-a vast majority, forty works, choreographed by Michael Smuin, as well as over ten ballets created by Amy Seiwert, their Choreographer in Residence [3]. Many choreographers such as: Helen Pickett, Adam Houghland, Trey McIntyre, Ma Cong, Jiří Kylián, Val Caniparoli and Twyla Tharp have chosen Smuin Ballet to premiere their works, proving the company's great reputation. Many of the choreographers have given them the rights to their works to further exemplify the company's artistic credibility [4].