Leadership & Staff
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.
Lori Laqua brings 30+ years of experience to her role as Managing Director of Smuin Contemporary Ballet. Laqua oversaw the renovation of Smuin Center for Dance, the organization’s permanent home, which joined the rehearsal studios and administrative offices under one roof for the first time. Laqua previously served as project manager for the design and construction of the ODC Dance Commons and the ODC Theater during her 20 years there. She is especially pleased to have kept Smuin dancing during the pandemic having utilized the CARES Act and grant programs to help retain employees and to present programming on new platforms. Laqua holds a PhD (ABD) and MArch in Architectural History from the University of Virginia, a MA in Art History from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a BA in History and Art History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Laqua joined Smuin in 2017.
Amy London received her training in her hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, from Karen Alwin and Shauna Bereska. She danced with Hartford Ballet, Diablo Ballet, and Smuin Ballet. Her favorite Smuin roles included: Eternal Idol, Q.a.V. and Hearts Suite. She has served on faculty for schools throughout the Bay Area and as Artistic Coordinator at Marin Ballet, where she has choreographed more than 20 works. As Smuin’s Ballet Master, she enjoys preserving Michael Smuin’s legacy, as well as collaborating with and being the caretaker of the works of Val Caniparoli, Trey McIntyre, Amy Seiwert, Ma Cong, Helen Pickett, Adam Hougland, Choo-San Goh, and Jiří Kylián. As the inaugural Education Program Director for Smuin Center for Dance, she oversees its successful community engagement, outreach and faculty development.
A former dancer with Smuin, Benjamin now has multiple roles behind the curtain. As Community Engagement Manager, he oversees the programming of Smuin Center for Dance. As Rehearsal Assistant, he teaches, stages, rehearses, and coaches the Company Artists. Benjamin teaches ballet around the city and in the East Bay, and acts as creative producer and art director on various projects outside of Smuin. Benjamin holds a M.A. in Arts Administration from Goucher College.
Alicia Tos rejoins Smuin after having served as Development Manager from March 2016-January 2020. Originally from Buffalo, NY, Alicia has a BA in Arts Management from Purchase College and focused in marketing and development for dance companies. She has worked with Garth Fagan Dance, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, and Ellen Jacobs Associates in New York City. She loves baking and soaking up the sunshine in Northern California’s wine country in her free time.
Mariana Carrillo, originally from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, graduated from the University of Southern California Kaufman School of Dance with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Business Entrepreneurship. Her professional dance experience includes dancing for Ballet RED, Barak Ballet, and Festival Ballet Theatre. Additionally, Mariana is a recognized founding artist of Gala de Danza Mexico, which started with performing annually since its inception in 2013 and ultimately progressed to being involved in the year-long planning, execution, and oversight of Gala de Danza. Prior to joining Smuin, Mariana also served as Director of Grant Programs for ASSE International Student Exchange Programs. Mariana is thrilled to join Smuin for its 30th anniversary season.
Originally from the Bay Area, Ellen Gaintner worked at Nashville Ballet and San Angelo Civic Ballet before joining Smuin in 2016. A classically trained ballet dancer, she was a member of Nashville Ballet 2 from 2008-2010.
A former dancer with Smuin, Benjamin now has multiple roles behind the curtain. As Community Engagement Manager, he oversees the programming of Smuin Center for Dance. As Rehearsal Assistant, he teaches, stages, rehearses, and coaches the Company Artists. Benjamin teaches ballet around the city and in the East Bay, and acts as creative producer and art director on various projects outside of Smuin. Benjamin holds a M.A. in Arts Administration from Goucher College.
Jason Hertenstein comes to Smuin after completing six seasons with the Oakland Athletics’ Box Office Department. Previously, in East Central Illinois, Jason had accumulated over 25 years of “customer first” sales experience in varying fields. Jason has also been a local volunteer with West Contra Costa School District, Boy Scouts of America, and briefly with YSA Tiny House Empowerment Village. In Jason’s free time you find him traveling, eating, and celebrating with his family four pack and friends.
Sonja is a Berkeley native with a background in contemporary and classical ballet. She danced professionally in the Bay Area and New York from 2016 to 2023, dancing for some wonderful companies, including Sharp and Fine, Liss Fain Dance, and The Mark Foehringer Dance Project. She got her first job in marketing in 2021, and is now thrilled to be putting her marketing talents to use for Smuin Contemporary Ballet.
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Ben Estabrook specializes in translating dance to the screen. He has directed and shot dance films that have screened at Cinedans, Dance on Camera, Dance Camera West, and other festivals across the globe. His collaborations with Amy Seiwert include the dance films Organized Hope, Just So, and Veronica & Vincent. During the pandemic, he brought ballet to the screens of dance lovers as the digital content producer at San Francisco Ballet.
He has taught screendance at UC Berkeley, Saint Mary’s College, and the University of Utah, and has given guest lectures and workshops at Stanford University, Young Artist Platform of Dance in Beijing, Southwest University in Chongqing, Mills College, and Brigham Young University. As co-founder of the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, he also serves as its technical director.
His interest in screendance led him to the University of Utah, where he studied under Ellen Bromberg and graduated with an MFA in Film & Media Arts and a Graduate Certificate in Screendance in 2014. He is thrilled to once again be living in San Francisco where he cheers on the Warriors with his wife and immerses himself in VR in his spare time.
Annika Presley, originally from the Netherlands, has over 18 years of experience in non-profit arts administration. She has been a crucial member of the senior leadership teams of esteemed companies such as AXIS Dance Company, Noorani Dance, and Amy Seiwert’s Imagery.
With an M.A. in Sign Language Linguistics and ten years of experience bringing dance to people with disabilities, Presley brings a deep commitment to accessibility to the organization. As Operations Manager, she is responsible for the day-to-day operations and serves as a bridge between the artistic and administrative side of Smuin, allowing her to combine her passion for management and coaching to build a work environment and company culture where everyone can thrive.
Coral is a self-proclaimed CRM whisperer with a love for clean data and well-organized spreadsheets. As Development Operations Manager, she manages the team’s tech stack, streamlines workflows, and makes sure donor engagement isn’t just efficient but meaningful. With a background in fundraising, communications, and nonprofit technology, she’s worked in the nonprofit space since 2014 for organizations like the Junior League of Dallas and Educational First Steps, handling everything from major fundraising events to behind-the-scenes systems that keep nonprofits thriving.
When she’s not crunching numbers at Smuin, she volunteers her expertise to help other nonprofits get their data, systems, and donor outreach in top shape. She firmly believes that a little organization (and a lot of tea) can make the nonprofit world go round.
She holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Texas at Arlington and is a native of the Rio Grande Valley area in Texas.
KT Graham joined Smuin Ballet in 1997 after working as Production Stage Manager and Lighting Designer for Lewitzky Dance Company in Los Angeles, as well as Technical & Lighting Director for Washington Ballet in Washington, D.C. with whom she toured extensively both nationally and internationally. She also engages in freelance projects and has particularly enjoyed serving as Production Stage Manager for Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, Dances from the Heart benefits for The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation, and for the National Dance USA showcase in 2012.
Michael is a professional lighting designer for dance, theatre, operas, and musicals. Since joining Smuin Ballet in 2004, he has designed the lighting for The Christmas Ballet, The Turntable, Be Here Now, If I Were a Sushi Roll, Tutto Ecceto il Lavandino, Oh, Inverted World, and Fly Me to the Moon, as well as many other Smuin productions. He also designs lighting for other performance companies throughout the Bay area, where his designs have won a Theatre Bay Area award and a Shelly Award. His past designs have also been nominated for an Isadora Duncan Award and BATCC Awards. www.Michaeloesch.com
Over the past 20 years, Vincent has worked with Bay Area companies including Berkeley Opera, Lines Contemporary Ballet, ODC, Oakland Ballet, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, and serving as Wardrobe Master for Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for eight years. He has worked internationally for Opera Zuid in The Netherlands and Animazing at Chateau de Belcastel in France. His number one priority the last 20 years has been Smuin Ballet, and he prides himself on helping to create a family-like atmosphere within the company. Often asked, “What do you do for fun?” His response is always, “THIS is what I do for fun . . .”