Every work that choreographer Amy Seiwert creates starts with a love match at least musically speaking.
Smuin Ballet performs two of her ballets Feb. 24-27, one set to Patsy Cline songs and another inspired by an 80s rock song.
Smuin’s latest production is all about love
Keith Sutter/Special to the Town Crier
“Requiem for a Rose” is part of Smuin’s latest showcase.
Smuin Contemporary Ballet celebrates Valentine’s Day weekend with Long disDance Love,” a streaming showcase featuring the company’s signature fusion of classical and contemporary ballet.
Performances are scheduled Thursday through Sunday.
The production highlights playful and romantic-themed works by founder Michael Smuin – including the “Fever” solo to the tango from “The Blue Angel” and an excerpt from Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Requiem for a Rose.” In addition, there will be two pieces by company artist Cassidy Isaacson: “Chemistry,” a duet performed by married company artists Terez Dean Orr and John Speed Orr; and a world premiere solo danced by company artist Lauren Pschirrer. Popular songs from Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee and other music icons provide the soundtrack for the program.
Smuin s ‘Christmas Ballet’ closes Thursday Written by Los Altos Town Crier Report
The live performances are over, but recorded versions of Smuin’s first virtual edition of its annual “The Christmas Ballet” will be offered today and Thursday.
Featuring classical ballet and contemporary numbers, the online show highlights time-honored favorites and surprises set to holiday tunes, incorporating ballet, tap, jazz and swing.
Two programs
Programs A and B include a variety of livestreamed performances by different pods of Smuin artists dancing classic Christmas ballet works, along with premieres from company artists and Smuin alumni Amy Seiwert, Rex Wheeler and Ben Needham-Wood, an Emmy-winning choreographer.
Rachel Howard December 12, 2020Updated: December 14, 2020, 8:03 am
Cassidy Isaacson and Brandon Alexander perform in Smuin Contemporary Ballet’s first virtual presentation of “The Christmas Ballet.” Photo: Terez Dean Orr
Michael Smuin was a master at building dependable, durable, crowd-pleasing machines. Perhaps the ultimate proof of this can be seen now through Dec. 24 in the online stream of Smuin Contemporary Ballet’s “The Christmas Ballet.”
Created in 1995, a year after Smuin founded the San Francisco dance company, this spectacle was designed to sate all tastes (though you’re more likely to love it if you lean toward a Rockettes-style Broadway baby aesthetic). There’s a “Classical Christmas” opening half dressed in white and set to music including Bach’s “Magnificat,” and a “Cool Christmas” second half dressed in red and set to pop ditties such as “Santa Baby” and “Christmas in New Orleans.”