Smuin Contemporary Ballet | San Francisco’s Contemporary Ballet

The Christmas Ballet

Never Standing Still

Curated collaboratively by Artistic Director Amy Seiwert and Artistic Director Emerita Celia Fushille, our 24/25 Season honors the past with a masterpiece from our founder, Michael Smuin, while embracing the future. We continue to innovate with Company and world premieres from Jennifer Archibald, Trey McIntyre, Matthew Neenan, and Amy Seiwert. Remarkable storytellers, these choreographic visionaries inspire by continually pushing the boundaries of what contemporary ballet can be.

Single tickets now on sale

Digital Replay Christmas - Portrait Image

Digital Replay: The Christmas Ballet

December 20 - 31

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Smuin's The Christmas Ballet

November 23 - December 24

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Choreography Showcase

February 14-23

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Dance Series 2

April 25 - June 8

smuinballet

It’s a 2-show day at @ybca! Grab onto your loved

It’s a 2-show day at @ybca! Grab onto your loved ones and join us in the theater all week long for Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet, now until December 24! Tickets on sale now, link in bio.

Company Artists Brennan Wall and Cassidy Isaacson in Someday Soon, a world premiere choreographed by Rex Wheeler for Smuin’s the Christmas Ballet.
📸 Photos by Maximillian Tortoriello
💡 Light Design by Mike Oesch
🪡 Costuming by Sandra Woodall

Join us and become a part of the vibrant San Franc

Join us and become a part of the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area dance scene! Smuin Contemporary Ballet is now accepting applications for the 2025-26 season, under Artistic Director Amy Seiwert.

Presenting 60+ performances each season, Smuin’s repertory includes works by our founder Michael Smuin, as well as world-renowned choreographers such as Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Trey McIntrye, Jennifer Archibald, Val Caniparoli, Helen Pickett, and more. A creative hub, the company is committed to the exploration of contemporary work from a classical ballet base, with a mission to shatter preconceptions of what ballet is and can be.

Auditions are in person and by invitation only. Please, only serious candidates who are prepared to move to San Francisco should apply. For more information on our scheduled auditions in San Francisco and New York City, visit smuinballet.org/auditions

📸 Company Artists Tess Lane and Ricardo Dyer, photo by Chris Hardy.

The evening doesn’t end after the show! 🌟 Joi

The evening doesn’t end after the show! 🌟 Join us at the Afterparty! Dance the night away with members of the Imperial Council of San Francisco, Juanita More, and Lady Camden herself!

🏳️‍🌈 The Afterparty starts at 9:30pm immediately following the performance of Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet LGBTQ+ Night — just follow the music across the plaza!

🎟️ Tickets are $30 per person, includes drinks and snacks. Party is open to all ages, minors must be accompanied by an adult and all must present identification at the door. Tickets on sale now for the fabulous night of dance, art, and celebration! Link in bio!

Photo of Lady Camden by Maximillian Tortoriello.

Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet Ballet continues to

Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet Ballet continues tonight at @ybca in San Francisco! Spend your holidays with us and share the gift of dance with your friends and family! Tickets on sale now for performances December 13-24, link in bio!

Smuin Contemporary Ballet company artists on stage during Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet. Videography by @raptproductions. Cover photo of Marc LaPierre by @maxtphoto.

#smuin #smuinballet #ballet #dance #contemporaryballet #ContemporaryDance #dancephotography #BayAreaArts #thechristmasballet #amyseiwert #holidayseason #supportthearts #smuincontemporaryballet

There’s no place like home for the holidays! ❄

There’s no place like home for the holidays! ❄️ Performances of Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet continue this weekend at @ybca in San Francisco! Join us December 13-24 and share the gift of dance with your loved ones this holiday season! Ticket link in bio!

📸 Smuin Contemporary Ballet company artists in Home for the Holidays, choreographed by Amy Seiwert for Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet. Photos by Maximillian Tortoriello. Light Design by Mike Oesch. Costume Design by Sandra Woodall.

🌈Hosted by Lady Camden, fan favorite and first

🌈Hosted by Lady Camden, fan favorite and first runner-up on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14, Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet LGBTQ+ Night returns again with an especially queer one-night-only performance on Friday, December 20th at @ybca in San Francisco!

25% of the evening’s ticket sales are donated to our partner organizations, each of which are doing incredible work for the queer community. This year we are proud to join forces with Project Open Hand, The Imperial Council of San Francisco, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and the Queer Cultural Center.

Every ticket sold means that these amazing organizations can continue to do their transformative work in supporting queer people. Tickets available today, link in bio!

📸 Photo of Lady Camden by Maximillian Tortoriello.

👠Thank you to our Mountain View audiences for a

👠Thank you to our Mountain View audiences for a fabulous weekend of performances at @mvcpa! We love sharing our holiday season with you!

Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet continues December 13-24 at @ybca in San Francisco! Tickets on sale now, link in bio!

Company Artist Cassidy Isaacson in Santa Baby, choreographed by Michael Smuin for The Christmas Ballet. Costuming by Sandra Woodall. Videography by @raptproductions.

❄️ Performances of Smuin’s The Christmas Bal

❄️ Performances of Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet continue all weekend long at @mvcpa! Share the gift of dance with your loved ones this holiday season! Tickets on sale today, link in bio!

Company Artists Dominic Barrett, Maggie Carey, and Julia Gundzik in Dona Nobis Pacem, a world premiere choreographed by Artistic Director Amy Seiwert for this years edition of Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet.
📸 Photos by Maximillian Tortoriello
💡 Light Design by Mike Oesch
🪡 Costuming by Sandra Woodall

Join us and become a part of the vibrant San Franc

Join us and become a part of the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area dance scene! Smuin Contemporary Ballet is now accepting applications for the 2025-26 season, under Artistic Director Amy Seiwert.

Presenting 60+ performances each season, Smuin's repertory includes works by our founder Michael Smuin, as well as world-renowned choreographers such as Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Trey McIntrye, Jennifer Archibald, Val Caniparoli, Helen Pickett, and more. A creative hub, the company is committed to the exploration of contemporary work from a classical ballet base, with a mission to shatter preconceptions of what ballet is and can be.

Auditions are in person and by invitation only. Please, only serious candidates who are prepared to move to San Francisco should apply. For more information on our scheduled auditions in San Francisco and New York City, visit the link in our bio! #smuinballet

📸 Company Artist Tessa Barbour, photo by Chris Hardy.

Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet continues tonight i

Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet continues tonight in Mountain View at the @mvcpa! Join us December 5-8 and share the gift of dance with your loved ones this holiday season. Tickets available today, link in bio.

Company Artists featured in Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet. Photos by Maximillian Tortoriello. Light Design by Mike Oesch. Costume Design by Sandra Woodall.

Join us this weekend in Mountain View at the @mvcp

Join us this weekend in Mountain View at the @mvcpa as we bring the magic of The Christmas Ballet to the South Bay! Tickets on sale today, link in bio!

Smuin Contemporary Ballet company artists Maggie Carey and Marc LaPierre in rehearsal for Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet — featured in Noel Nouvelet, choreographed by Artistic Director Amy Seiwert. Video by Ben Estabrook.

Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet travels to Mountain

Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet travels to Mountain View this weekend! Join us December 5-8 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts and share your holiday season with us!

🎈Company Artist Julia Gundzik in Please Come Home for Christmas, choreographed by Amy Seiwert for Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet. Video by @raptproductions. Lighting by Mike Oesch. #smuinballet

The holidays are here! Join us for Smuin’s The C

The holidays are here! Join us for Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet December 5-8 at the @mvcpa in Mountain View. Share the gift of dance with your loved ones this holiday season! Tickets on sale today, link in bio!

📸 Company Artist Cassidy Isaacson as Santa Baby in Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet. Photo by Maximillian Tortoriello. Choreography by Michael Smuin. Costumes by Sandra Woodall. Lighting by Michael Oesch.

🥧This holiday season, we are so thankful for ou

🥧This holiday season, we are so thankful for our artists on stage, our staff behind the scenes, and our audiences near and far!

Company Artists in ‘Home for the Holidays’, choreographed by Amy Seiwert for Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet. Photo by Maximillian Tortoriello. Costumes by Sandra Woodall. Lighting by Michael Oesch. #smuinballet

“The greatest joy was in the fine dancing of an

“The greatest joy was in the fine dancing of an 18-member company in its best form ever under artistic director Amy Seiwert, who took the reins last fall.” - Rachel Howard, @sfchronicle

Thank you to all who joined us for our opening weekend of Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet at the @leshercenter in Walnut Creek! We love sharing the holiday season with our Bay Area audiences!

Performances continue December 5-8 in Mountain View, and December 13-24 in San Francisco! Share the gift of dance this holiday season — tickets on sale today!

📸 Company Artists in ‘Dona Nobis Pacem’, a world premiere choreographed by Amy Seiwert for Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet. Photo by Maximillian Tortoriello. Lighting Design by Mike Oesch.

Our company artists have been busy in the studios

Our company artists have been busy in the studios in preparation for Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet, and we are so excited share our holiday season with you! Join us for our opening weekend, November 23 & 24 at the @leshercenter in Walnut Creek! Tickets available today, link in bio.

Can’t make it to the East Bay? We will also be at @mvcpa in Mountain View (December 5-8), and at @ybca in San Francisco (December 13-24)!

🎥 Smuin Contemporary Ballet Company Artists in rehearsal for Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet, video by Ben Estabrook.

🩰Did you know: Every season during the Christma

🩰Did you know: Every season during the Christmas Ballet, the women of Smuin trade in their pink pointe shoes for white pointe shoes! ‘Tis the season!

We are just 3 days away from our opening of Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet at the @leshercenter in Walnut Creek! 📸 Photos by Maggie Carey (@grainy_bits)

#smuinballet #ballet #dancephotography #pointeshoes #freedoflondon #backstage #bts #bayareaartist #bayareaarts #thechristmasballet #balletphoto #smuincontemporaryballet

Tis the season! Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet ope

Tis the season! Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet opens this weekend, November 23 & 24 at the @leshercenter in Walnut Creek! Join us in the theater this holiday season and share the gift of dance with your friends and family!

Tickets on sale today for performances in Walnut Creek, Mountain View and San Francisco — November 23-December 24! Link in bio! #smuinballet

🎥 Company Artists #inthesmuinstudios rehearsing ‘Christmastime in New Orleans’, choreographed by Michael Smuin for The Christmas Ballet. Video by Ben Estabrook.

Wishing a very happy birthday to the exquisitely v

Wishing a very happy birthday to the exquisitely virtuosic and exceptionally kind João Sampaio!

João trained in classical ballet in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, under Ana Palmieri and Romulo Ramos. He is the winner of both the Youth America Grand Prix and the World Ballet Competition, and has danced for Tulsa Ballet and Festival Ballet Providence. João joined Smuin Contemporary Ballet in 2019, but was sadly sidelined by an injury earlier this year. Catch João’s triumphant return to the stage 💪 in Smuin’s “The Christmas Ballet”, performing in Walnut Creek, Mountain View, and San Francisco, November 23 - December 24th. Link for tickets in our bio. See you there! 🎄

📷 1. João in Smuin’s “The Christmas Ballet.”
📷 2. João performing alongside Terez Dean Orr, Brandon Alexander, and Ian Buchanan in James Kudelka’s “Man in Black”.
📷 3. João in Darrell Grand Moultrie’s “Salsa ‘til Dawn”.
📷 4. João and Tessa Barbour rehearsing Osnel Delgado’s “The Turntable”.

All photos by Chris Hardy.

Wishing a very, very happy birthday to powerhouse

Wishing a very, very happy birthday to powerhouse performer, choreographer, and Company Artist Brennan Wall ( @brenniewall )

Brennan trained with Los Angeles Ballet Academy before joining Silicon Valley Ballet (previously Ballet San Jose) as a trainee, and continuing on to dance with The New Ballet’s Studio Company. In 2017, Wall joined Ballet de Monterrey under director José Manuel Carreño. She performed in Luis Serrano’s La Bayadere, Swan Lake, and Don Quijote, and danced soloist roles in The Nutcracker, Alberto Méndez’s Phantom of the Opera, and Diego Landin’s Shorthand of Emotion. She has been dancing for Smuin since 2019.
Catch Brennan in Smuin’s “The Christmas Ballet” This holiday season. Click on the link in our bio for tickets. 🎟️ 🎄 🎁

📷 1. Brennan and Smuin Company Artists in Seiwert’s “French Kiss”. Photo by Chris Hardy ( @chrishardyphotos )
📷 2. Brennan choreographing on Smuin Company Artists. Photo by Chris Hardy
📷 3. Brennan and Ricardo Dyer in Smuin’s “Starshadows”. Photo by Chris Hardy
📷 4. Brennan rehearsing for Rex Wheeler’s “Someday Soon” for “The Christmas Ballet”. Photo by David DeSilva ( @david_desilva24 )

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We thank all our generous sponsors for their support. Sponsored in part by SF Grants for the Arts, General Fund Portion of the San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund and National Endowment for the Arts.

Foulke Correa

Beverly M. Folger Foundation

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