By Steve Sucato

In addition to cancelled shows, the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted final performances for many retiring dancers. Pointe is giving several retiring principals and soloists a chance to reflect on their careers and offer advice to the next generation.

For 35-year-old Gabriel Gaffney Smith, retiring from BalletMet is more about switching focus than a bona fide farewell to dance. A modern-day Renaissance man, Smith is also a choreographer, composer and visual artist. His road to being a dancer began at age 12 at New York’s Saugerties Ballet Center. He then attended Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School before becoming a member of the main company in 2005.

In 2008, he joined BalletMet, where he has not only danced but has had opportunities to choreograph and compose music for the company. He has also collaborated with musicians and choreographers, composing works created for The Washington Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. As a visual artist, his woodcarvings have been shown at the Columbus Museum of Art and in galleries across the United States. (See samples of his artwork and music at GabrielGaffneySmith.com.) Smith, at home in Columbus, Ohio, with fiancée and fellow BalletMet dancer Carly Wheaton, reflected on his career and talked about why he’s shifting his attention toward his other artistic loves.

When did you decide that you wanted to make dance a career?

A game-changer for me was attending Miami City Ballet’s summer program as a young dancer. I was around amazing dancers at a high level that were training to be in ballet companies. There, I felt how incredible ballet was and how I could express myself in it.

What were some of the challenges you faced as a student?

There was a bit of bullying as a kid, but I never really let that bother me. For me the biggest challenge was starting a bit late, at 12, and trying to catch up. Those things were just fuel for my fire to prove I could make it.

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This article first appeared on PointeMagazine.com on June 9, 2020

Steve Sucato is a former dancer turned arts writer/critic. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Dance Critics Association and Associate Editor of ExploreDance.com.