 At once an established name and a vital force in dance, Mr. Smuin has made the Bay Area his home since he was a Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet, which is also when he began choreographing. He then danced on Broadway, and toured internationally as a nightclub act with Paula Tracy, appearing on television and in films. He was then Principal Dancer and Resident Choreographer for American Ballet Theatre. He returned to San Francisco in 1973 as Director of SFB (serving until 1985), and was instrumental in raising that company's profile in the international arts community, including staging a performance at the White House and many "Dance in America" programs on PBS. Mr. Smuin directed American Ballet Theatre's 50th Anniversary Gala and choreographed the 1997 release of Return of the Jedi, Special Edition. He was co-chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts dance panel, 1979-1981.
Broadway credits include Sophisticated Ladies (Director/Choreographer: two Tony nominations), Anything Goes (Choreographer: Tony, Drama Desk and Fred Astaire Awards), Shogun (Director/Choreographer) and Canciones de mi Padre (Director/Choreographer).
Mr. Smuin's feature film credits include Rumble Fish, Cotton Club, Dracula, Fletch, Wolf, Angie, The Joy Luck Club, Golden Gate, A Walk in the Clouds, The Outsiders, and Return of the Jedi, Special Edition. Television credits include Ira Gershwin at 100: a Celebration at Carnegie Hall. He has won Emmy Awards for such pieces as Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, and A Song for Dead Warriors.
Mr. Smuin's ballets are currently in the repertories of major dance companies around the country.
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