Audio Description & ASL for the 26/27 Season: Smuin in Frame

Smuin offers Audio Description, Haptic Access Tours, and ASL interpretation at select performances of all three mainstage productions in San Francisco. Jump to Audio Description. Jump to ASL interpretation. Jump to Orientation Event.

 

Audio Description

For audience members who are blind or visually impaired, Smuin Contemporary Ballet partners with Gravity Access Services to offer live audio description and haptic access tours for selected performances. Audio description is a live audio track spoken by a professional audio describer to audience members with visual impairments through a wireless headset system. It provides clear and engaging descriptions of the meaningful visual details of a performance. Haptic access tours (20-30 minutes) are a live pre-show tour that allows patrons to experience—through touch and their own movement— the space, performers, costumes and objects in addition to key movement elements in the performance. There will be Audio Description, as well as a pre-show Haptic Access Tour, at the following performances:

  • French Kiss: Saturday, October 17, at 2 pm. The performance will take place at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason, 2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94123.

About French Kiss: Fresh from a commission with the Paris Opera Ballet, My’Kal Stromile makes his West Coast debut with a world premiere. Amy Seiwert’s French Kiss, a color confection hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as a “sweet, chic dessert,” returns to delight audiences once more. As we mark twenty years since Michael Smuin’s passing, we honor his lasting influence with a revival of his moving Stabat Mater, returning to the stage for the first time since 2016.

  • The Christmas Ballet: Wednesday, December 23, at 2 pm. The performance will take place at the Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA at 700 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94103.

About The Christmas Ballet: Make spirits bright with the sugar and spice that is Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet. Our seasonal tradition is back for another year of holiday memory-making, with a new addition by Company Artist Maggie Carey alongside festive favorites.

  • What’s Going On: Sunday, May 16, at 2 pm. The performance will take place at the Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA at 700 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94103.

About What’s Going On: Our spring program features three Bay Area premieres by visionary choreographers who are shaping the future of contemporary ballet. Nicolo Fonte’s electrifying The Heart(s)pace pulses with a driving score by Ezio Bosso, while Val Caniparoli’s What’s Going On sets powerful protest songs in motion. Amy Seiwert returns with her 16th world premiere created exclusively for Smuin.

 

Gravity Access Service

The audio described performance is possible through a partnership with Gravity Access Services.

Your Gravity Audio Describer is

Ian Buchanan

 

Haptic Access Tour

Each Audio Described performance is preceded by a Haptic Access Tour that begins at 12:45 pm. Patrons are requested to gather in the lobby by 12:30 pm for a 15-minute live pre-show tour that allows patrons to experience—through touch and their own movement— the space, performers, costumes, and objects in addition to key movement elements in the performance.

Note to group organizers: We currently have a total of 20 headsets available. We recommend that you ask people to reserve them. To date we have not had more AD users than we could accommodate. If you believe that you will have more AD users than this (i.e. you are working with a school group or organization) please let us know ASAP. We can purchase more receivers and headsets, but it takes up to a week for us to receive shipment.

 

Dates and Times

French Kiss

With Audio Description only:  10/17/2026 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
With Haptic Access Tour and Audio Description:  10/17/2026 12:30 PM to 4:00 PM

The Christmas Ballet

With Audio Description only:  12/23/2026 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
With Haptic Access Tour and Audio Description:  12/23/2026 12:30 PM to 4:00 PM

What’s Going On

With Audio Description only:  5/16/2027 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
With Haptic Access Tour and Audio Description:  5/16/2027 12:30 PM to 4:00 PM

 

Purchase Tickets

To purchase tickets, reserve a headset for Audio Description, and/or reserve a place on the Haptic Access Tour, please call the Smuin Box Office at 415-912-1899 or send an email to boxoffice@smuinballet.org. Single tickets range from $25-$130. Subscriptions are also available at a 15% discount.

 

Audio Description Orientation Event

When: Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Come to the Smuin studios to enjoy an introduction to ballet, dance, and movement through the art of description. Audio Describer Ian Buchanan will lead a specialized movement and orientation workshop designed specifically for patrons who are blind or low vision. This event is an introduction to dance and performance terminology to help enrich the Audio Description experience. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet one of Smuin’s Company Artists, Margot Aknin.

This event is a wonderful way to connect with contemporary ballet through touch, movement, and spatial orientation—whether your community members plan to attend Smuin’s upcoming performance of French Kiss on October 17 or simply want to experience a workshop tailored to tactile/audio-described learning.

Cost: Anyone who has already purchased an Audio Described ticket to a Smuin performance receives a code to register for free. For those without a performance ticket, workshop registration is $5. Attendees will receive a $5 discount code toward any future Smuin show ticket after the workshop. Personal care assistants, guides, and companions attend at no cost.

To register for this workshop:

Email: classes@smuinballet.org

Call: 415-912-1899

 

ASL Interpretation

There will be ASL interpretation at the following performances:

  • French Kiss: Friday, October 16, at 7:30 pm. The performance will take place at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason, 2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94123.

About French Kiss: Fresh from a commission with the Paris Opera Ballet, My’Kal Stromile makes his West Coast debut with a world premiere. Amy Seiwert’s French Kiss, a color confection hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as a “sweet, chic dessert,” returns to delight audiences once more. As we mark twenty years since Michael Smuin’s passing, we honor his lasting influence with a revival of his moving Stabat Mater, returning to the stage for the first time since 2016.

  • The Christmas Ballet: Friday, December 11, at 7:30 pm. The performance will take place at the Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA at 700 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94103.

About The Christmas Ballet: Make spirits bright with the sugar and spice that is Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet. Our seasonal tradition is back for another year of holiday memory-making, with a new addition by Company Artist Maggie Carey alongside festive favorites.

  • What’s Going On: Friday, May 14, at 7:30 pm. The performance will take place at the Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA at 700 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94103.

About What’s Going On: Our spring program features three Bay Area premieres by visionary choreographers who are shaping the future of contemporary ballet. Nicolo Fonte’s electrifying The Heart(s)pace pulses with a driving score by Ezio Bosso, while Val Caniparoli’s What’s Going On sets powerful protest songs in motion. Amy Seiwert returns with her 16th world premiere created exclusively for Smuin.

 

Your ASL Interpreter(s) is/are

Pilar Marsh
Interpreter subject to change

 

Dates and Times

French Kiss

With ASL Interpretation:  10/16/2026 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

The Christmas Ballet

With ASL Interpretation:  12/11/2026 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

What’s Going On

With ASL Interpretation:  5/14/2027 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

 

Purchase Tickets

To purchase tickets, please call the Smuin Box Office at 415-912-1899 or send an email to boxoffice@smuinballet.org. Single tickets range from $25-$130. Subscriptions are also available at a 15% discount.

 

Contact

For more information, please contact the Smuin Box Office at 415-912-1899.