Smuin Dancers Create New Works for 2017 Choreography Showcase 3/10-11

Admired for their versatility on stage, Smuin dancers invite audiences to experience their talents as choreographers when Smuin presents its 2017 Choreography Showcase. This rare opportunity allows patrons to join Smuin dancers Tessa Barbour, Erica Felsch, Nicole Haskins, Dustin James, Robert Kretz, Ben Needham-Wood, Rex Wheeler, and Smuin alumnus Matthew Linzer in the intimate ODC Theater, to view a showcase of their own choreography set on fellow company members. Audiences will witness a bright and lively performance with a variety of works, often with a dash of humor. Patrons are invited to hear the dancers and choreographers discuss their artistic processes in a Q&A session following each performance. This seventh edition of Smuin's Choreography Showcase will be presented 7:30pm March 10, and 2pm & 7:30pm March 11 at ODC Theater, 3153 17th St., San Francisco. Tickets ($30-$45) and information are available at www.odcdance.org or by calling (415) 863-9834.

Smuin continues to develop significant choreographic voices from within its company. Former Smuin dancer Amy Seiwert is a noted choreographer who has her own company Imagery and whose works appear in the repertoires of Smuin as well as Ballet Austin, BalletMet, American Repertory Ballet, Washington Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Oakland Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Louisville Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and Robert Moses KIN. Smuin dancers Nicole Haskins, Ben Needham-Wood, and Rex Wheeler are also accomplished choreographers: Haskins has been awarded the Fellowship Grant at the New York Choreographic Institute, Needham-Wood won a local Emmy for his co-creation of the dance documentary short BaseBallet, and Wheeler's works are in the repertoires of Sacramento Ballet, Ballet Academy East, and Slovak National Ballet, among others. Haskins, Needham-Wood, and Wheeler have also had their works premiered on Smuin's mainstage to critical acclaim.

For more than 20 years, Smuin has pushed the boundaries of contemporary ballet within a distinctly American style, engaging and delighting audiences with uncommon physicality and expression. Founded in San Francisco in 1994 by Tony and Emmy award-winning choreographer Michael Smuin, the company is committed to creating work that merges the diverse vocabularies of classical ballet and contemporary dance. As Artistic Director since 2007, Celia Fushille has maintained Michael Smuin's legacy while enriching the company's impressive repertoire by collaborating with inventive choreographers from around the world, commissioning world premieres, and bringing new contemporary choreographic voices to the Smuin stage.

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