Bobbi Jene Smith

Bobbi Jene Smith (born November 7, 1983) is an American dancer, teacher and choreographer, known for being the subject of Elvira Lind's 2017 documentary Bobbi Jene.^[1][2]

Bobbi Jene Smith
Born	(1983-11-07) November 7, 1983 (age 41) Ames, Iowa, United States
Education	Juilliard School (didn't graduate)
Occupations	Dancer teacher choreographer
Known for	Subject of 2017 documentary Bobbi Jene
Partner	Or Schraiber

Early life and education

Bobbi Jene Smith was born in 1983 in Ames, Iowa.^[1] Smith was educated at the North Carolina School of the Arts and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.^[3] Smith attended the dance division at Juilliard School but didn't graduate.^[4]

Career

From 2005–2014, Smith was a member of the Batsheva Dance Company, where she mentored by Ohad Naharin.^[3][2]

In 2012 Smith choreographed the dance piece Arrowed which she performed with actor Oscar Isaac. Isaac's girlfriend Elvira Lind was in the audience and she began a correspondence with Smith, eventually persuading Smith to let Lind film her for a documentary. The resulting film, Bobbi Jene, premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and depicts Smith's decision to leave the Batsheva Dance Company to try to choreograph her own pieces in America.^[5]

Subsequently, Smith choreographed the eerie "dance" scene at the climax of Alex Garland's 2018 science fiction film, Annihilation, which also stars Isaac (although he is not involved in the choreographed scene, which features Natalie Portman and Sonoya Mizuno).^[6]

Smith made her feature film debut in the 2012 Israeli film Yossi in a small supporting role. She also appeared in Georgia Parris's 2018 dance-drama Mari, where she played the lead role of a woman mourning the loss of her mother.^[7]

In 2021, Smith co-starred with Or Schraiber in the accompanying film for the album Green to Gold by American indie rock band the Antlers, which involves the highs and lows of a relationship being portrayed entirely through interpretive dance.^[8]

Alongside her partner, the dancer Or Schraiber, Smith founded the American Modern Opera Company.^[9][10] Both Smith and Schraiber are artists-in-residence at the L.A. Dance Project.^[3][10]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2015	Mr. Gaga	Self
2017	Bobbi Jean	Self		[11]
2018	Mari	Charlotte		[12][13]
2018	Annihilation		Choreographer	[14]
2020	Aviva	Eden	Also producer	[15][16]
2020	Asaf Avidan: Anagnorisis [MV]	Dancer		[17]
2024	Life Hacks for Lovers	Roberta		[18]