Bleeding past form: Choreographer Josie Walsh explores contemporary ballet at SMC

Choreographer Josie Walsh leads a masterclass for Santa Monica College (SMC) dance students Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh’s contemporary ballet masterclass emphasized alignment, groundedness, fluidity, and contemporary movement pathways while integrating floorwork and artistic expression with traditional technique. It was the second Masters of Dance workshop organized by the SMC Dance Department. (Guillermo De La Barreda | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) dance student Calen Sotebeer smiles as she claps during a masterclass by choreographer Josie Walsh on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh’s contemporary ballet masterclass emphasized alignment, groundedness, fluidity, and contemporary movement pathways while integrating floorwork and artistic expression with traditional technique. It was the second Masters of Dance workshop organized by the SMC Dance Department. (Guillermo De La Barreda | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) dance students Venice West Gonzalez (center, back) and Mayu Oishi (centre, front) practice a movement during a masterclass by choreographer Josie Walsh on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh’s contemporary ballet masterclass emphasized alignment, groundedness, fluidity, and contemporary movement pathways while integrating floorwork and artistic expression with traditional technique. It was the second Masters of Dance workshop organized by the SMC Dance Department. (Guillermo De La Barreda | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) dance students paractice a movemendt during a masterclass by choreographer Josie Walsh on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh’s contemporary ballet masterclass emphasized alignment, groundedness, fluidity, and contemporary movement pathways while integrating floorwork and artistic expression with traditional technique. It was the second Masters of Dance workshop organized by the SMC Dance Department. (Guillermo De La Barreda | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) dance students paractice a movemendt during a masterclass by choreographer Josie Walsh on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh’s contemporary ballet masterclass emphasized alignment, groundedness, fluidity, and contemporary movement pathways while integrating floorwork and artistic expression with traditional technique. It was the second Masters of Dance workshop organized by the SMC Dance Department. (Guillermo De La Barreda | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) dance students attend a masterclass by choreographer Josie Walsh on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh’s contemporary ballet masterclass emphasized alignment, groundedness, fluidity, and contemporary movement pathways while integrating floorwork and artistic expression with traditional technique. It was the second Masters of Dance workshop organized by the SMC Dance Department. (Guillermo De La Barreda | The Corsair)

Choreographer Josie Walsh leads a masterclass for Santa Monica College (SMC) dance students Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh’s contemporary ballet masterclass emphasized alignment, groundedness, fluidity, and contemporary movement pathways while integrating floorwork and artistic expression with traditional technique. It was the second Masters of Dance workshop organized by the SMC Dance Department. (Guillermo De La Barreda | The Corsair)

Choreographer Josie Walsh leads a masterclass for Santa Monica College (SMC) dance students Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh’s contemporary ballet masterclass emphasized alignment, groundedness, fluidity, and contemporary movement pathways while integrating floorwork and artistic expression with traditional technique. It was the second Masters of Dance workshop organized by the SMC Dance Department. (Guillermo De La Barreda | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) dance students perform an excercise duiring a masterclass by choreographer Josie Walsh on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh’s contemporary ballet masterclass emphasized alignment, groundedness, fluidity, and contemporary movement pathways while integrating floorwork and artistic expression with traditional technique. It was the second Masters of Dance workshop organized by the SMC Dance Department. (Guillermo De La Barreda | The Corsair)

Choreographer Josie Walsh leads a masterclass for Santa Monica College (SMC) dance students Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh’s contemporary ballet masterclass emphasized alignment, groundedness, fluidity, and contemporary movement pathways while integrating floorwork and artistic expression with traditional technique. It was the second Masters of Dance workshop organized by the SMC Dance Department. (Guillermo De La Barreda | The Corsair)

_DeLaBarreda_Guillermo_ART_MastersOfDanceJosieWalsh_8368.jpg

Choreographer Josie Walsh leads a masterclass for Santa Monica College (SMC) dance students Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh’s contemporary ballet masterclass emphasized alignment, groundedness, fluidity, and contemporary movement pathways while integrating floorwork and artistic expression with traditional technique. It was the second Masters of Dance workshop organized by the SMC Dance Department. (Guillermo De La Barreda | The Corsair)

_DeLaBarreda_Guillermo_ART_MastersOfDanceJosieWalsh_8794.jpg

Santa Monica College (SMC) dance students perform an excercise duiring a masterclass by choreographer Josie Walsh on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh’s contemporary ballet masterclass emphasized alignment, groundedness, fluidity, and contemporary movement pathways while integrating floorwork and artistic expression with traditional technique. It was the second Masters of Dance workshop organized by the SMC Dance Department. (Guillermo De La Barreda | The Corsair)

_DeLaBarreda_Guillermo_ART_MastersOfDanceJosieWalsh_9097.jpg

Choreographer Josie Walsh leads a masterclass for Santa Monica College (SMC) dance students Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh’s contemporary ballet masterclass emphasized alignment, groundedness, fluidity, and contemporary movement pathways while integrating floorwork and artistic expression with traditional technique. It was the second Masters of Dance workshop organized by the SMC Dance Department. (Guillermo De La Barreda | The Corsair)

Choreographer Josie Walsh led Santa Monica College dance students through a contemporary ballet masterclass on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at SMC’s Core Performance Center, combining classical technique with fluid movement, floorwork and creative expression.

Organized by the SMC Dance Department as part of its “Masters of Dance” program, the workshop brought together students of varying skill levels for exercises focused on alignment, groundedness and movement pathways. Walsh and the students also created short pieces of choreography. The workshop concluded with breathing and grounding exercises.

“I think a contemporary ballet is almost like a watercolor. You've got your form, and then you're bleeding past the form, blending different colors and designs,” Walsh said. “That's how I see contemporary ballet stretching that classical form, but it's not and/or. It's and and.”

Walsh, the artistic director and choreographer of BalletRED, emphasized the relationship between classical ballet's structure and contemporary dance's exploratory movement.

The master class featured original music composed by Walsh’s husband, Paul Rivera. Her daughter, Avalon, also participated in the masterclass as a dancer. The family typically performs together.

Later this month, BalletRED has a commission at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo at the end of the month, with music by Paul and vocals by Avalon.

Walsh is also artistic director of the Joffrey Ballet School's West Coast Summer Programs. She previously danced with the Joffrey Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre and Zurich Ballet.

Calen Sotebeer, an SMC dance major preparing to transfer to a four-year university, said the workshop offered a welcome change from the demands of traditional ballet training.

“I'm used to doing technical and classical ballet, so it was nice to get to release and breathe in this class,” Sotebeer said. “I usually don’t breathe during ballet. I’m just squeezing super tight.”

Walsh encouraged students to relax into their movements rather than maintain the tension often associated with classical technique, Sotebeer said. Exploring unfamiliar movement patterns challenged the students to find their balance in new ways.

“She doesn't use everything quite in exact alignment, like normal ballet, so it was weird to, like, fall off your leg a little bit, but then find it again,” Sotebeer said. “I thought that was good practice.”

For Sotebeer, the class also provided an introduction to Walsh's work, which she said she planned to explore further.

SMC Dance Department will host one more “Masters of Dance” event this fall: Ariel Kasha: “Sacred Movement: An Introduction to the Art and Culture of Belly Dance” on Nov. 18.