Acclaimed local dance group Smuin Ballet celebrates 30 years with Dance Series 1 in the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center For Arts & Culture. Soaring works and new commissions open Smuin Ballet’s 2023/2024 season. Dance Series 1 is a mixed repertoire program that pushes the envelope on contemporary ballet with an eclectic lineup of daring choreography and dance techniques.

The program revives James Kudelka‘s “The Man In Black,” a searing and emotional piece based on the legacy of country singer Johnny Cash with dancers in cowboy boots performing popular American dance styles, including line, square, and swing, punctuated with astonishing ballet movements.

Smuin collaborator Val Caniparoli’s playful “Tutto Eccetto il Lavandino (everything but the kitchen sink)” returns for Dance Series 1 2023. The world premier of “Salsa ’til Dawn” by ballet and Broadway choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie is set to to an original Cuban jazz score by composer Charles Fox.