The Christmas Ballet

“In 1994, Michael Smuin set out to “infuse ballet with the rhythm, speed, and syncopation of American popular culture.”

In 1994, Michael Smuin set out to “infuse ballet with the rhythm, speed, and syncopation of American popular culture,” and Smuin Contemporary Ballet (née Smuin Ballets/SF, or more recently, Smuin Ballet) was born. Michael Smuin’s vision lives on following his sudden passing in 2007, and the Company continues to push the boundaries of contemporary ballet within a distinctly modern style, combining classical ballet training, technique, and artistry with uncommon physicality and expression.

Company Founder Michael Smuin was born on October 13, 1938, in Missoula, Montana. Smuin studied tap dancing as a child and became instantly enamoured with ballet when his mother took him to see the Ballet Russe on tour at the University of Montana. At the age of 15, Smuin moved to Salt Lake City to study dance on scholarship at the University of Utah. A few years later, San Francisco Ballet director Lew Christensen recruited Smuin for San Francisco Ballet, where he danced for six years. Smuin took a leave of absence from the company in 1962 to relocate to New York, where he performed in Bob Fosse’s Little Me on Broadway. During this time, Smuin created a nightclub act with his then-wife and fellow dancer Paula Tracy. Their “well-disguised ballet,” as Smuin would call it, toured widely and was billed alongside such entertainers as Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee, and Frank Sinatra. The act later appeared on television on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Hollywood Palace, and Bell Telephone Hour, among others. Smuin joined American Ballet Theatre in 1965, where he choreographed Pulcinella Variations, The Catherine Wheel, Eternal Idol and several other pieces for the company before returning to San Francisco in 1973. During his years in New York he also worked with Leonard Bernstein, choreographing Candide.

Smuin spent 12 years as a choreographer and co-director of San Francisco Ballet, a period that coincided with his direction of Sophisticated Ladies on Broadway. Smuin served as Artistic Director of San Francisco Ballet until 1985, and was instrumental in raising the company’s profile in the international arts community. His ventures included serving as co-chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts dance panel (1979-1981), staging a performance at the White House, and presenting his Romeo and Juliet and his Emmy Award-winning feature A Song for Dead Warriors for PBS’s Dance in America program. In 1988, Smuin received both a Tony and a Drama Desk Award for his choreography for Anything Goes.

Outside of ballet and Broadway, Smuin choreographed several Francis Ford Coppola films, some of which include Rumble Fish, The Cotton Club and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. His choreography can also be seen in such films as A Walk in the Clouds, The Joy Luck Club, The Fantastiks, and Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (Special Edition).

Michael Smuin’s ballets are currently in the repertories of major dance companies around the country. Since founding Smuin Contemporary American Ballet in 1994, he created 40 new works for his company alone. His creations range from classical, as seen in his acclaimed September 11th tribute, Stabat Mater (2002), and Carmina Burana (1997), to the innovative Bluegrass/Slyde with its revolving-pole set, to one-act story ballets like Pinocchio (1999) and  Zorro (2003). Many of Smuin’s ballet’s boast a touch of Broadway flair, such as the wildly popular Dancin’ With Gershwin (2001) and Fly Me to the Moon (2004).

Smuin passed away suddenly on April 23, 2007, surrounded by his dancers while teaching company class. His vision, style, and energy remain with the Company to this day.

Amy Seiwert enjoyed a nineteen-year performing career dancing with Smuin, Los Angeles Chamber, and Sacramento Ballets. As a dancer with Smuin, she became involved with the “Protégé Program,” where Michael Smuin was her mentor. She retired as a dancer from Smuin in 2008. That same year, Celia Fushille named her Choreographer in Residence, a position she held for a decade. She is the recipient of numerous choreographic awards, including a “Goldie” award from the San Francisco Bay Guardian in 2010, which described Seiwert as the Bay Area’s most original dance thinker, “taking what some consider a dead language and using it with a 21st-century lingo to tell us something about who we are.” 

In 2017 Seiwert’s first full-evening work, “Wandering,” set to Schubert’s Winterreise, was commissioned by the Joyce Theater in New York. The NEA and Kennedy Center have also supported Seiwert’s works. A former Artist in Residence at ODC Theater, she has also served on the Artist Faculty for Jacob’s Pillow’s Contemporary Ballet program. Her creations are in the repertory of Smuin, ODC/Dance, BalletX, Ballet Austin, and AXIS Dance, as well as Washington, Atlanta, Oakland, Kansas City, Colorado, Louisville, Cincinnati, Oklahoma City, American Repertory, and Milwaukee Ballets.

Maggie Carey (she/her), of Dayton, Ohio, received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance Performance from Butler University, where she performed works by George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, and Paul Taylor. Upon graduating, Carey performed as an artist with Dayton Ballet as well as Cincinnati Ballet’s second company before joining Smuin Contemporary Ballet. While at Smuin, Carey has performed works by Amy Seiwert, Michael Smuin, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Trey McIntyre, Matthew Neenan, Rex Wheeler, Val Caniparoli and Justin Peck. She has also choreographed nearly 10 works on her peers, created work for Smuin’s inaugural Spring Point program, and has had choreography presented at the Fire Island Dance Festival. Carey joined Smuin in 2018.

Julia Feldman received her training under Pamela Hayes of Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet and began her professional career with the Sacramento Ballet in 2011, where she is currently a Company Artist. She discovered her passion for choreography through the company’s annual choreographic showcase program, creating a new work each year since 2012.

In 2015, Feldman co-founded Capital Dance Project (CDP), a collective of professional dancers based in Sacramento dedicated to creating world premiere works in collaboration with local visual artists and musicians. Feldman has created ten works for CDP to date, and has played an integral role in shaping the organization’s mission, management, and collaborative vision behind its annual Behind the Barre and Digital Series productions.

In 2019, she was selected for the National Choreographer’s Initiative in Irvine, California, under the direction of Molly Lynch. In 2021, Feldman was one of three choreographers commissioned to co-create a new Nutcracker for the Sacramento Ballet, led by Artistic Director Anthony Krutzkamp. The following year, she was selected for the New York Choreographic Institute’s Spring Session, directed by Adrian Danchig-Waring.

She has since premiered three full works for the Sacramento Ballet: Hearts (April 2022), Pockets of Light (March 2025), and All I See Sometimes (October 2025). Feldman is thrilled to be creating a new work for Smuin Contemporary Ballet’s Spring Point, under the direction of Amy Seiwert.

Photo by Rachel Seva.

Originally from London, Rex Wheeler is a multi-faceted drag performer, actor, producer and choreographer. Having trained in the UK at the Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst, Rex danced with the Slovak National Ballet, Sacramento Ballet and Smuin Contemporary Ballet before becoming a working choreographer here in the US. Rex simultaneously embarked on a career in drag, creating his alter-ego Lady Camden and became the runner up of Season 14 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. He has since performed all over the world, starring in solo shows, performing in world tours, producing music as well as continuing to choreograph and produce shows here in San Francisco. Rex recently starred in a new documentary, “Lady Like,” directed by Luke Willis which has been featured in many film festivals around the world, and continues to perform, choreograph, and produce performances and events throughout the year as both Rex and Lady Camden.

Photo by Maximillian Tortoriello

Nicole Haskins, originally from Venice Beach, California, danced professionally for over two decades with Sacramento Ballet, The Washington Ballet, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, Kansas City Ballet, and Smuin Contemporary Ballet, where she retired in 2019. She is now the Artistic Director of San Jose Dance Theatre.

Alongside her performing career, Haskins cultivated a vibrant choreographic career with commissions at Smuin Contemporary Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Dayton Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre and Sacramento Ballet where she co-choreographed their new production of The Nutcracker alongside Colby Damon and Julia Feldman.

Since retiring from the stage, Haskins has dedicated herself to nurturing the next generation of dancers, serving as the Resident Choreographer for Mid-Columbia Ballet and the inaugural Trainee Program Director at Ballet Idaho. In her current role as Artistic Director of San Jose Dance Theatre, she choreographed the world premiere of The Wizard of Oz and proudly leads the company into its 60th Anniversary production of The Nutcracker.

“Art is Risk made Visible.”

Val Caniparoli’s versatility has made him one of the most sought-after American choreographers internationally. He is most closely associated with San Francisco Ballet, his artistic home for more than 50 years, where he also served as Resident Choreographer and Ballet Master. Caniparoli has contributed to the repertoires of more than 60 companies, including Joffrey Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Scottish Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Smuin Ballet, Boston Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Ballet West (resident choreographer 1993-97), Washington Ballet, Israel Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Louisville Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Singapore Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, State Theatre Ballet of South Africa, and Tulsa Ballet (resident choreographer 2001-06). He has also choreographed for the Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, and The Metropolitan Opera and several occasions with the San Francisco Symphony. Choreography for the esteemed American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), include A Christmas Carol, A Doll’s House, A Little Night Music, Arcadia, and the creation, with Carey Perloff, of a new movement-theater piece, Tosca Cafe. One of his most popular ballets, Lambarena, was nominated for the Prix Benois de la Danse in 1997 for Best Choreography and was also featured on Sesame Street. In 2015, Caniparoli co-choreographed, with Helgi Tomasson, a commercial for the 50th Anniversary Super Bowl with dancers from San Francisco Ballet.

Caniparoli’s full evening-length ballets include Lady of the Camellias, five different productions of The Nutcracker for Royal New Zealand Ballet, Louisville Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet and Tulsa Ballet (co-created with Ma Cong), Jekyll & Hyde for Finnish National Ballet and Val Caniparoli’s, A Cinderella Story choreographed to music of Richard Rodgers for Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Born in Renton, Washington, Caniparoli opted for a professional dance career after studying music and theatre at Washington State University. He received a Ford Foundation Scholarship to attend San Francisco Ballet School. He performed with San Francisco Opera Ballet before joining San Francisco Ballet in 1973, where he continues to perform as a Principal Character Dancer.

Former Smuin artist Ben Needham-Wood is an Emmy Award-winning choreographer and filmmaker who currently serves as the Artistic Director of Boulder Ballet. His works have been performed at festivals, concerts, and galas across the U.S. and Canada by companies such as Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, and the Boulder, Kansas City, Louisville, and Smuin Contemporary Ballets. Ben is the first appointed Artistic Fellow of Amy Seiwert’s Imagery. He and his wife, Sadie, recently launched the Professional Dance Residency of Marin in Marin, CA.

Photo Credit: Amanda Tipton, Courtesy of Boulder Ballet