Barbara Banasikowski Smith performed professionally with the Milwaukee Ballet Company under the artistic direction of Jury Gottshalks, Lupe Serrano, Myron H. Nadel, choreographer in residence, the Operetta Carnival Ballet under the artistic direction of Zachary Solov and the Limon Dance Company in which she was soloist in “Concerto Grosso”.  She received a BFA degree in dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and her MA degree in dance from the University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana. She studied ballet at the Warsaw Ballet/Opera and Polish ethnic dances at the University of Maria Curie Sklodowski in Lublin, Poland. Her teaching positions have included the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Illinois, Michigan State University, Olivet College, Albion College and as artist in residence in Oslo, Norway.  During her eight-year tenure at Michigan State University she directed and choreographed for the MSU Repertory Dance Company; directed the Lecture Demonstration Team in Schools program; Dance Coordinator 1980-81 and 1982-83; and collaborator in developing the curriculum for the dance major program.

Ms. Smith was invited in June of 2006 to the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St.Petersburg, Russia to teach during the International Teachers’ Seminar and the Vaganova Grand Prix Competition.  Having accepted the invitation she was privileged to teach at the historical Vaganova Academy which is 268 years old.  This is the Academy where classical ballet technique and classical ballet repertory developed.  The Vaganova Academy auditions 3000 dancers each year and accepts 30 dancers into its program, which is an eight year program. Over the eight years, those 30 dancers will be weeded down to 6-8 dancers who will graduate. It has produced some of the greatest dancers in the world and many of the Vaganova Ballet students become performing members of the famous Kirov Ballet.  She received a document stating that she taught at the Vaganova Ballet Academy and the Academy awarded her with the Vaganova method teacher’s certificate.  She was the only non-Russian teacher to attend. She has been invited to teach at ballet schools in Lithuania, Estonia, Samara, Moscow and Uzbekistan.  Her expertise is not only in teaching the Vaganova ballet method but also modern dance and character dance.  She is considered the 3rd generation of modern dance descending directly from founders, Martha Graham, and Humphrey-Limon and having studied modern dance technique directly from dancers of the original Graham and Humphrey-Limon companies. Ms. Smith will be teaching at the Regional Dance America National Festival in Pittsburgh, PA this April.

She has established international relationships with dance artists by designing one of the first cross-cultural exchange programs.  She has designed and implemented three international dance exchanges.  Ms. Smith is the recipient of the Governor’s as well as the City of Lansing merit awards for outstanding commitment to culture and fine arts in the Lansing community.  She is listed in Who’s Who of Polonia, published in 1993 in Paris, France, Who’s Who of Polish Americans, published in 1996 in the USA and in Who’s Who of Polonia published in 2000 in Warsaw, Poland. In April 2000 she was awarded the prestigious Glen Taggart Award for Community Contribution to International Understanding by the MSU International Studies and Programs.  Former Lansing Mayor, David Hollister, nominated Ms. Smith for this award. Ms. Smith is the first Lansing artist to be awarded the Creative Artist grant during the FY2002 from ArtServe in Michigan in conjunction with the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs to choreograph her full length ballet, Earth’s Lament.  

As an award winning choreographer, many of her original choreographic works have been selected for performances in the Regional Dance America Mid-States festivals since 1995.  Ms. Smith’s choreography has been compared to Anthony Tudor’s choreography by bringing awareness to social issues. Ms. Smith’s choreography “Warsaw Uprising” was selected for the Gala Concert at the RDA Mid-States festival in Anderson, Indiana as well as the RDA National Festival in Pittsburgh this April.  In 2001 as Founding Artistic Director of GLBC, she planned and hosted the Regional Dance America Mid-States Festival which was held at MSU with concerts at the Wharton Center for 400 dance participants.  In September, 2005 Ms. Smith was the project designer and project director of the Multi-cultural Seasonal Dance, A Celebration of Diversity, concert collaborating with El ballet de Maria Luz Valdez, the Habibi Dancers, the African Masquerade Dancers and members of the Federated Polish Home. GLBC was honored to receive a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts for this artistic endeavor.