Join the Wharton Club and Smuin Ballet for a special performance and celebrate the Company's 15th Anniversary Season. Also presenting a WCNC-only post-performance reception and discussion with Smuin Director Celia Fushille, the choreographers and Smuin Ballet dancers! (Discounted tickets for WCNC members.)

Enjoy the excitement of three powerful productions:

• The evening begins with the ballet that started it all - Dances with Songs. This signature Smuin work, a marvelous and colorful medley set to songs by your favorite singers, is as fresh and appealing today as it was when it debuted in 1994.
• Robert Sund, former San Francisco Ballet principal, has created his steamy, sexy Carmen to the music of Miles Davis' "Sketches of Spain" - a jazzy interpretation of the classic story of romantic competition.
• Amy Seiwert, Smuin Ballet dancer and choreographer, will debut her 7th new work for the Company! Called “a rising star” by Michael Smuin, Ms. Seiwert has been recognized by Dance Magazine as “a choreographer to watch.” Her 2007-2008 work Objects of Curiosity was a hit with critics and audiences
• And . . . a special Wharton Club-only post-performance reception with Smuin Director Celia Fushille-Burke and several of the evening's Smuin dancers!

Register online
(Note: If you plan to attend, reserve your tickets early--these tickets are regularly $55, and we have only a limited number available for us.)

Date: Saturday, October 25, 2008
Time: 7:30pm check-in. 8:00pm performance.
10:00pm post-performance reception with Smuin Director Celia Fushille-Burke and several of the evening's choreographers and Smuin dancers!
Location: Palace of Fine Arts Theatre 3301 Lyon Street, San Francisco
Registration: WCNC Members and their accompanied guests: $35 per person. Members of affiliate clubs and their accompanied guests: $35 per person. Non-member alumni and other guests: $55 per person. Refunds for tickets purchased after 5:00pm Thursday, October 23rd are at the discretion of the Wharton Club.

You might be asking yourself, "What is Smuin Ballet?"

Michael Smuin was a remarkable figure in the history of ballet. He was a major force in the San Francisco dance world and one of the region's most prominent and audacious showmen. Known for the vibrant, expressive and brassy works he created for his own company, for various regional companies, on Broadway and in Hollywood, Smuin was co-artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet (SFB) from 1973 to 1985. He was instrumental in raising the company's profile in the international arts community with his staging of a performance at the White House, and was co-chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts dance panel. He danced with SFB from 1953 to 1961 and later with the American Ballet Theatre, where he was both a principal dancer and choreographer. Michael passed away on April 23, 2007, leaving behind a powerful legacy and vision for the company that is carried forward today.

Celia Fushille is currently Director of Smuin Ballet and has been with the Company since its inception. Michael created a number of roles for Celia: Frankie in Frankie and Johnny, Roxanne in Cyrano, Lola-Lola in The Blue Angel, and Santa Baby from The Christmas Ballet. Fushille-Burke was Associate Director from 1998 until 2007 when she became the Smuin's Artistic Director.