William Smith began his ballet training at the Post School of Ballet in Roanoke, Virginia before attending New York’s Joffrey Ballet School.

Smith joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 2000 and moved to Europe after DTH laid off its dancers in 2004. He performed with the Scottish Ballet until the company hired a new director; Smith then returned to Roanoke to begin his career as a ballet instructor.

Smith’s repertory with DTH included Arthur Mitchell’s South African Suite and Michael Smuin’s St. Louis Woman: A Blues Ballet, among others. He appeared in Antonia Franceschi’s 2002 piece Up from the Waste.

With Scottish Ballet, Smith performed the principal role of Escamillo in Carmen and as The King of Hearts in Alice as well as roles in A Streetcar Named Desire, Martin Lawrance’s Run For It, William Forsythe’s Workwithinwork, and The Nutcracker.

Sources:

A Dance Diaspora, The New York Times
Dance Theatre of Harlem’s ‘Apollo Show’, Backstage
In time to stage ‘Cinderella,’ RBT welcomes dancer homes, The Roanoke Times
Antonia Franceschi: Up From the Waste, Sanjoy Roy: Writing on Dance
Dance Theatre of Harlem – The Four Temperaments, St. Louis Woman (World Premiere)
Scottish Ballet: Carmen and Cheating, Lying, Stealing, Glasgow Times

See also:

Photo of Smith as The King of Hearts
Photo of Smith in A Streetcar Named Desire
Dance Review—The Nutcracker, All Edinburgh Theatre