Smuin Contemporary Ballet Unveils SMUIN IN FRAME for 2026/27 Season

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The San Francisco company will feature world premieres by Val Caniparoli, Nicolo Fonte, and Amy Seiwert.

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Smuin Contemporary Ballet has announced its 33rd season – SMUIN IN FRAME – featuring regional and world premieres by Val Caniparoli, Nicolo Fonte, My'Kal Stromile, Amy Seiwert and more.

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Curated by Artistic Director Amy Seiwert, Smuin's next season features four programs: a triple bill titled French Kiss in the fall, followed by The Christmas Ballet, a Choreography Showcase in the winter featuring new works by Smuin artists, and a triple bill in the spring titled What's Going On.

Of special note is a new work commissioned from Boston-based choreographer Stromile in his West Coast debut. Smuin has a lengthy history as a cultural incubator, and Stromile follows in a distinguished line of dance makers who made their regional debut through Smuin, artists including Ma Cong, Osnel Delgado, Trey McIntyre , Darrell Grand Moultrie , Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Helen Pickett .

Smuin will present Stromile in the fall in a program including Seiwert's French Kiss (2023) and Michael Smuin 's Stabat Mater (2002). Highlights of Smuin's spring season include the Bay Area premiere of Fonte's The Heart(s)pace (2014), the West Coast premiere of Caniparoli's What's Going On (2022) and a world premiere by Seiwert.

In between the fall and spring programs are the company's beloved Christmas Ballet, an ever expanding platform bridging the old and new, and its biennial Choreography Showcare, a program designed to foster an essential pipeline of opportunity for emerging choreographers within the company.

“We are the legacy of our founder, Michael Smuin ,” said Seiwert. “His passion for creation shines through the works he created for us, and we honor his spirit of innovation by seeking new horizons for ballet. For our 26/27 Season, we present groundbreaking world and regional premieres. Works of joy, of hope, resistance and resilience. There is a unique power in the collective experience of a live performance, and these ballets are curated to ignite that sense of connection.”

The 2026/27 Season runs from September 11 through May 30 with performances in San Francisco, Walnut Creek and Mountain View. Subscriptions for a three-show package ($120 - $275) are on sale now. Single tickets will go on sale August 1. For more information, visit smuinballet.org/subscriber-info .

September 11 - 13: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts (500 Castro St., Mountain View)

September 18 - 19: Lesher Center for the Arts (1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek)

October 9 - 18: Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture (2 Marina Blvd., San Francisco)

Amy Seiwert, French Kiss (2023) My'Kal Stromile, I-SCRIT-AH-SCREE-TAH-SKRATT (world premiere)  Michael Smuin , Stabat Mater (2002)  Headlining Smuin's fall season is a world premiere by Boston-based choreographer My'Kal Stromile. Since graduating from Juilliard in 2018, Stromile has earned a reputation for elegantly constructed works of layered movement with commissions from Ailey II, Paris Opera Ballet and Vail Dance Festival, among others.

His collaboration with Smuin marks his West Coast debut. Titled I-SCRIT-AH-SCREE-TAH-SKRATT, his new work explores the mind as a shifting system of thoughts that fracture, multiply and reorganize into structure. Set to a score inspired by J. S. Bach, Stromile describes the work “as a cognitive map of his thinking in motion.”

French Kiss, choreographed by Seiwert, premiered in 2023. Commissioned by Smuin, the ballet translates 1960s-era cocktail songs as interpreted by Pink Martini into masterful spatial compositions and inventive partnering, the dancers outfitted in candy-colored costumes by former Smuin company dancer Susan Roemer.

Completing the fall season is Michael Smuin 's Stabat Mater, hailed at its premiere in 2002 as “a powerful response to a national tragedy, and one of the most beautiful ballets in this choreographer's remarkable career” (San Francisco Chronicle). “Stabat Mater is a ballet born from the collective grief of 9/11,” said Seiwert. “Its beauty is rooted in human resilience, the strength of community and hope. Next year will be the 20th anniversary of when we lost Michael, and we present this work in his honor.”

November 21 - 22: Lesher Center for the Arts

December 3 - 6: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts

December 10 - 24: Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA (700 Howard St, San Francisco)

Works by Michael Smuin , Amy Seiwert, Nicole Haskins , Ben Needham-Wood , Rex Wheeler & many others

World premiere by Maggie Carey

Smuin's joyful holiday tradition returns, spreading yuletide cheer with its signature showcase of classical and contemporary dances set to delightfully festive tunes. The Christmas Ballet offers something for everyone including an elegant first act presenting beautiful classical ballet set to beloved carols, followed by the red-hot second act with joyful contemporary numbers set to pop favorites. With the surprise unwrapping of new treats each year, this celebratory medley incorporates a variety of dance styles including ballet, tap, jazz, swing and more. Smuin's holiday spectacular is “sheer joy…the finest toast to the season” (San Francisco Chronicle).

The LGBTQ+ Night performance of Smuin's irrepressible holiday classic, featuring fun twists and special guest appearances in support of local nonprofits, returns December 22.

February 19 – 28: Smuin Center for Dance (1830 17th St., San Francisco)

Smuin's Choreography Showcase is a biennial program designed to foster an essential pipeline of opportunity for emerging choreographers. Open to all Smuin artists, the Showcase presents new work in an intimate studio setting. The Showcase alternates in off years with Spring Point, a commission-based platform culminating in fully produced works in a professional theater. Smuin is committed to supporting every stage of a dance maker's journey.

Next year's Choreography Showcase will take place at the Smuin Center for Dance. Approximately 10 - 12 artists are expected to participate, presenting short new works between five and ten minutes in length.

May 7 - 16: Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA  May 21 - 22: Lesher Center for the Arts  May 27 - 30: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts

Nicolo Fonte, The Heart(s)pace (Bay Area premiere) Val Caniparoli, What's Going On (West Coast premiere) Amy Seiwert, Untitled (world premiere)

Smuin concludes its 2026/27 season with What's Going On, a triple bill featuring regional premieres by Nicolo Fonte and longtime Smuin collaborator Val Caniparoli together with a world premiere by Amy Seiwert, her 16th ballet for the company.

Fonte's The Heart(s)pace, commissioned by Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, premiered in 2014. Under the pulse-quickening strains of Ezio Bosso's Symphony No. 2 and performed by a cast of eight, The Heart(s)pace delivers a captivating meditation on the ways of love.

Caniparoli's What's Going On, created for Richmond Ballet, premiered in 2022. Taking its title from Marvin Gaye 's classic anthem, What's Going On is set to a tapestry of protest songs by Bob Dylan , Creedence Clearwater Revival, Gaye and other artists. The ballet marks Smuin's fourth presentation of a work by Caniparoli, an early collaborator of Michael Smuin 's at San Francisco Ballet and a mentor to Seiwert supported by The Joyce Theater in New York.

Finally, Smuin's spring season will present a new work by Seiwert, with more information to follow early next year.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/san-francisco/article/Smuin-Contemporary-Ballet-Will-Present-SMUIN-IN-FRAME-for-202627-Season-20260504)._