Program for Smuin's The Christmas Ballet - Flipbook - Page 16
CHOREOGRAPHER AND DESIGNER PROFILES
JULIA ADAM | CHOREOGRAPHER
Julia Adam began her dance training in her hometown of Ottawa, Ontario, going on to become a
principal dancer with San Francisco Ballet. An Isadora Duncan Award-winner for Choreography
with over 100 works to her name, Adam has choreographed for companies including San Francisco
Ballet, Houston Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, and The Joffrey Ballet. In 2014, she cofounded Julia Adam Dance with her partner and husband, Aaron Lucich, a project that reflects
their passions for art, community, food, and the natural world. In 2022, she became Performance
Director and Resident Choreographer at Marin Ballet. Adam continues to choreograph across the
country, earning critical acclaim while also teaching and mentoring the next generation of dancers.
VAL CANIPAROLI | CHOREOGRAPHER
Val Caniparoli’s versatility has made him one of the most sought-after American choreographers
internationally. Although he is most closely associated with San Francisco Ballet, his artististic home
for more than 51 years, Caniparoli has contributed to the repertories of more than 60 companies. He
has also choreographed for the Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Metropolitan Opera,
San Francisco Symphony, and American Conservatory Theater. Lambarena, one of his signature
works, was featured on Sesame Street and was nominated for the Prix Benois de la Danse in 1997
for Best Choreography. His full evening-length ballets include Lady of the Camellias, five different
productions of The Nutcracker, Jekyll & Hyde for Finnish National Ballet, and Val Caniparoli’s A
Cinderella Story, to music by Richard Rodgers, for Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
NICOLE HASKINS | CHOREOGRAPHER
Nicole Haskins danced professionally with Sacramento Ballet, The Washington Ballet, and Smuin
Contemporary Ballet. She also cultivated a vibrant choreographic career with commissions at Smuin
Contemporary Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Dayton Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre and Sacramento
Ballet where she co-choreographed their new production of The Nutcracker. She has been the
resident choreographer at Mid-Columbia Ballet and the inaugural Trainee Program Director at Ballet
Idaho before becoming the Artistic Director at San Jose Dance Theatre, where she choreographed
The Wizard of Oz and their 60th Anniversary Production of The Nutcracker.
BEN NEEDHAM-WOOD | CHOREOGRAPHER
Former Smuin artist Ben Needham-Wood is an Emmy Award-winning choreographer and filmmaker
who currently serves as the Artistic Director of Boulder Ballet. His works have been performed
at festivals, concerts, and galas across the U.S. and Canada by companies such as Amy Seiwert’s
Imagery, Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, and the Boulder, Kansas City, Louisville, and Smuin
Contemporary Ballets. Ben is the first appointed Artistic Fellow of Amy Seiwert’s Imagery. He and
his wife, Sadie, recently launched the Professional Dance Residency of Marin in Marin, CA.
MYLES THATCHER | CHOREOGRAPHER
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Myles Thatcher trained in classical ballet with Margo Clifford Ging, The
Harid Conservatory, the Edward Ellison Professional Training Program, and San Francisco Ballet
School. He joined the San Francisco Ballet in 2009, where he continues to work as a soloist dancer.
In 2025 he was appointed SF Ballet’s Creation House Associate Choreographer. Thatcher has
choreographed stage and film work on an array of companies such as San Francisco Ballet, New
York City Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Scottish Ballet, and others.
16 • THE CHRISTM A S BALLET • 2025
