June 13 - 16 from 9am- 4:30pm
A summer intensive for pre-professionals
Come get ready for your summer training with this comprehensive program that helps you dive deeper into your artistry with all classes taught by Smuin Company Artists- come learn from the professionals! For pre-professional dance students ages 14-22 with intermediate/advanced dance training.
What to expect…
A morning fitness class will precede a 1.75 hr ballet technique class taught by professional dancers. Students will get 45 minutes for lunch. After lunch, students will have a Pointe class or learn Pointe variations. A repertoire class will follow, giving students the opportunity to learn company repertoire from company dancers that they can see on stage. This is a unique opportunity to learn real professional company repertoire from those that dance them! The repertoire class will alternate with a Jazz class. Each day will end with a Seminar focusing on a range of topics, from Dancer Health&Wellness, Pointe Shoe Care, Injury Prevention, and/or Audition Tips. The final day will have a small party to celebrate all of the student’s hard work! Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to get the real company experience!
Class Schedule
| Monday 6/13 | Tuesday 6/14 | Wednesday 6/15 | Thursday 6/16 | |
| 9:00-9:45am | Pilates | Yoga | Pilates | Yoga |
| 10:00-11:45am | Ballet Technique | Ballet Technique | Ballet Technique | Ballet Technique |
| 11:45-12:30pm | LUNCH | LUNCH | LUNCH | LUNCH |
| 12:30-1:30pm | Pointe/Men’s Class | Pointe/Variations | Pointe/Men’s Class | Pointe/Variations/td> |
| 1:45-3:00pm | Repertoire | Jazz | Repertoire | Jazz |
| 3:15-4:30pm | Seminar | Seminar | Seminar | Party!!! |
Summer Intensive Teachers
Terez Dean Orr - Photo by Chris Hardy
Valerie Harmon - Photo by Maximillian Tortoriello
Tess Lane - Photo by Maggie Carey
Cassidy Isaacson photo by Maggie Carey
Terez Dean Orr (she/her) teaches Intermediate/Advanced Ballet on Wednesdays. Originating from the Hudson Valley of NY, Terez has danced with Smuin Ballet for fourteen seasons, sharing her passion for dance with the audience and her students. Terez’s classes dive into the elements of neoclassical technique, focusing on dynamic footwork, musicality, and the expansiveness of movement. Approachable, positive, and built to work up a sweat, Terez will help each dancer improve their strength, balance, and grace, all with a smile!
Favorite San Francisco neighborhood: My vibrant neighborhood of the Castro: on any given day, you may find a cellist on her stoop, an Opera singer practicing in the park, or a colorful costume bestowing a queen. This area represents the artistic and eclectic beauty that makes up our unique city.
Thing that most inspires you: Traveling, discovering new architecture, food, and culture.
Best advice a teacher ever gave you: “Always feel as if you are draped in the finest of jewels when approaching class or rehearsal. Don’t dance like a frozen fish stick.”
Valerie Harmon (she/her) is from Lompoc, California, and danced with Smuin Ballet for three years before retiring from her performance career and completing her bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from San Francisco State University. Valerie loves blending her education with her love of dance through ballet classes with a strong technical foundation. Her stretch and strength classes combine functional movements with strengthening exercises to promote a greater sense of well-being and body awareness by the end of class! She believes that dance and movement are for any body, at any age, at any level, and enjoys sharing her love of dance and exercise with her students. In Valerie’s class you are sure to learn, sweat, and move your body!
Fave SF Spot: China Beach
Thing that most inspires me: Hiking in all of the beautiful places near San Francisco
Best advice a teacher ever gave me: Sometimes it takes corrections a bit of time to ‘sink in’ – be persistent and enjoy all of the little successes along the way!
Tess Lane (she/her) teaches Morning Yoga on Fridays and Saturday morning Beginning Ballet. Tess is originally from Redondo Beach and is in her fourth season dancing for Smuin Ballet. She completed her 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training in summer of 2021 and is currently working on her next level of certification. Both her yoga and ballet classes aim to explore movement with a balanced and anatomical approach, while having fun and working up a sweat! Tess finds both dance and yoga to be satisfying, investigative, and meditative practices, and she strives to create an environment where her students feel the same.
Favorite SF spot: Sutro Heights Park
Best advice a teacher ever gave you: “Even a 1º shift can take you to an entirely different destination.”
Fun fact: Tess is also an avid seamstress! She sews many of her own clothes, including her dance wear!
Cassidy Isaacson (she/her) is from Redmond WA and joined the Smuin family in 2019. Cassidy teaches Beginner/Intermediate Jazz and Contemporary on Monday nights. Start your Mondays off right with Cassidy’s high energy, fun, and fierce Jazz class. In her class you will work through all the classic Jazz steps one by one in order to learn a full combo over multiple weeks that you can show off as your favorite party trick.
Cassidy’s contemporary class will help you expand the classical line and push yourself to move out of your comfort zone and through your emotional connection to slower and more controlled movements. If you want to learn how to strut your stuff in your favorite heels (heels optional) then be on the look out for Cassidy’s Heels workshops! One of the reasons why Cassidy truly loves this art form is because it’s one of the only ways you can safely express any and all emotions without having to put them into words. It’s the perfect outlet to be 100% authenticity with yourself and grow as a person and as an artist.
Favorite SF spot: Sutro Baths
Thing that most inspires me: My co-workers and their constant dedication and love for this insanely difficult but rewarding art form.
Best advice I was ever given: “Never Stop Learning” and “there is always more you can improve on.”