Smuin Ballet's Choreography Showcase Set for This Weekend

Admired for their versatility on stage, Smuin Ballet dancers will be taking off their dance shoes and inviting audiences to experience their talents as choreographers and more when Smuin Ballet presents Undiscovered: Choreography Showcase.

In an inventive evening of original works, Smuin dancers Erica Felsch, Nicole Haskins, Kevin James, Weston Krukow, Robert Moore, Ben Needham-Wood, Jonathan Powell, Susan Roemer, Erin Yarbrough, and former Smuin dancer Darren Anderson will showcase their own choreography set on fellow company members. Original works are set to a wide range of music and also feature lighting and costumes designed by the dancer-choreographers.

This fifth edition of Smuin Ballet's Choreography Showcase, including a Q&A after the show, will be presented 7:30pm tonight, February 27, and 2pm & 7:30pm February 28 at ODC Theater, 3153 17th St., San Francisco (Evening performances will have a post-show reception with artists of the company). Tickets ($30) and information are available at www.odcdance.org or by calling (415) 863-9834.

Debuting in San Francisco in 1994, Smuin Ballet immediately established itself as one of the Bay Area's most eagerly watched performing arts companies, as "one of this country's most entertaining, original ballet troupes" (Dance Magazine), and as a dance company of international acclaim, performing to sold-out houses on European tours. Michael Smuin's singular philosophy to create pieces which merge the diverse vocabularies of classical ballet and contemporary dance has served as the company's touchstone since its beginning.

Now at the helm of Smuin Ballet is Artistic Director Celia Fushille, whose vision includes maintaining and increasing the company's reputation for presenting compelling and innovative repertoire, attracting new audiences of all ages to the medium. The company has continued to highlight works created by Smuin, both for his own and for other ballet companies. Fushille also enriches its impressive repertoire with newer choreographic voices, bringing the Bay Area its first look at works by exciting choreographers from around the world, as well as developing world premieres by company members. Four works by Smuin dancers debuted during the 2014 holiday program "The Christmas Ballet, Uncorked!"

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