Skye Schmidt is a dancer and photographer hailing from Southern California. She trained in Vaganova method classical ballet at Southland Ballet Academy with Salwa Rizkalla from the age of 4 and furthered her practice at summer intensives, where she learned from incredible teachers including Alexei Ratmansky, Yuri Fateev, Vladimir Malakhov, Larissa Saveliev, Tatiana Legat, and many more. Skye danced professionally with Festival Ballet Theatre from 2012-2018, where she performed principal and soloist roles in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Alice in Wonderland, and Le Corsaire, in addition to contemporary works by Josie Walsh and Andrea Schermoly. During this time she also attended UC Irvine, where she earned the William J Gillespie Scholarship and was awarded for Excellence in Dance Performance. After earning her BFA in Dance Performance, Skye signed with Go 2 Talent Agency and began freelancing in Orange County and Los Angeles. 

Skye is a founding company dancer in Lillian Barbeito’s Ballare Carmel, featured in repertoire by Jennifer Archibald, Noelle Kayser, and Ihsan Rustem. She also dances with Benita Bike’s DanceArt in Los Angeles. Some of Skye’s favorite performances include: Florence + The Machine "Spectrum" music video, YAGP’s “Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow” tour, motion capture for Kena: Bridge of Spirits, and American Ballet Theatre’s The Sleeping Beauty. 

Skye actively works as a photographer, directing boutique private sessions for dancers, actors, restaurants, and small businesses. She has photographed for The Music Center of Los Angeles, Irvine Barclay Theatre, Laguna Dance Festival, BroadStage, The Veggie Grill, comedians Dane Cook and Max Amini, Dr. Sheila Nazarian, and more. Her photography mentors include Rose Eichenbaum, Dave Friedman, James Doyle, and Whitney Brown. Skye has put her photography, graphic design, and administrative skills into action as Media Master for Carmel Dance Festival, Creative Director + Social Media Manager for Fire Leaf Extracts, Director of Operations for HAVEN Global Sanctuary for Dance, and for BODYTRAFFIC’s Education + Outreach program.