Choreographer

1938–2007

Michael Smuin

Photo of Michael Smuin

Michael Smuin studied tap dancing as a child and became instantly enamored with ballet when his mother took him to see the Ballets Russes on tour at the University of Montana. At 15, he moved to Salt Lake City to study dance at the University of Utah. A few years later, San Francisco Ballet director Lew Christensen recruited Smuin for the San Francisco Ballet, where he danced for six years. He took a leave of absence from the company in 1962 to perform in Bob Fosse’s Little Me on Broadway. During this time, Smuin created a nightclub act with his then-wife and fellow dancer, Paula Tracy. They toured widely and were billed alongside such entertainers as Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee, and Frank Sinatra. Smuin joined American Ballet Theatre in 1965, where he choreographed Pulcinella Variations, The Catherine Wheel, Eternal Idol, and several other pieces for the company before returning to San Francisco in 1973. He spent 12 years as a choreographer and co-director of San Francisco Ballet, a period that coincided with his direction of Sophisticated Ladies on Broadway. Smuin served as artistic director of San Francisco Ballet until 1985 and was instrumental in raising the company’s profile. His ventures included serving as co-chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts dance panel (1979–81), staging a performance at the White House, and presenting his Romeo and Juliet and his Emmy Award-winning feature A Song for Dead Warriors for PBS’s Dance in America series. In 1988, Smuin received both a Tony and a Drama Desk Award for his choreography for Anything Goes

Smuin choreographed the Francis Ford Coppola films Rumble Fish, The Cotton Club, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. His choreography can also be seen in such films as A Walk in the Clouds, The Joy Luck Club, The Fantasticks, and Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (Special Edition). 

After founding Smuin Ballet in 1994, he created 40 new works for his company. His choreography is performed by major dance companies around the country.