Smuin Ballet to Tour the Bay Area with UNTAMED Dance Series

Smuin Ballet will continue its 21st Season with the Bay Area tour of its acclaimed Untamed Dance Series. The program features Serenade for Strings by Wonderbound Artistic Director and choreographer Garrett Ammon, set to Tchaikovsky's breathtaking score. Also on the Untamed bill is Objects of Curiosity, an evocative ballet by Choreographer-in-Residence Amy Seiwert, set to a sprightly score by Philip Glass and Foday Musa Suso. Crowning the evening is Michael Smuin's tempestuous story ballet Frankie & Johnny, a vivid, colorful work in which a gangster's moll gets revenge, dedicated to legendary dancer/choreography Gene Kelly (NOTE: this ballet contains material that is intended for mature audiences.) The Untamed Dance Series begins its tour with shows in Walnut Creek (March 13-14), continuing in Mountain View (March 19-22), and concluding in Carmel (March 27-28). Tickets ($52-$73) are available by calling the individual venues or visiting www.smuinballet.org

Serenade for Strings opens the Untamed Dance Series. Premiered by Ballet Nouveau Colorado in 2013 as part of a collaborative evening entitled Perpetual Beauty, Serenade for Strings uses movement to reflect the intensity and precision evident in Tchaikovsky's composition. The San Francisco Chronicle called Serenade for Strings "a playful interpretation" when it made its West Coast debut in October. A prolific dance maker, serial collaborator, and self-professed tech geek, Ammon has created more than 40 dance works over the past fourteen years. He has conspired with artists across an array of disciplines and developed a trademark aesthetic that blends tradition with adventurous new ideas. Ammon's works include collaborations with poet Michael J. Henry, painter/sculptor Mark Allen Henderson, singer/songwriter Jesse Manley, textile artist Theresa Clowes, and cellist James Bailey. He also worked closely with director Chip Walton to create Curious Theatre Company's award-winning production of Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice (2009). Most recently, Ammon worked with digital artist Kristopher Collins to create the multimedia experience Love in the Digital Age (2012); Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado to produce A Dangerous Liaison (2012); and Central City Opera, The Colorado Symphony, Newman Center Presents, Mizel Arts & Culture Center and composer Ofer Ben-Amots to produce A Journey of the Human Spirit (2013).

World Premiered in 2007 by Smuin Ballet, Objects of Curiosity examines the tensions between desire and restraint, mirroring the tension of the music in an exploration of shape and form. The San Francisco Chronicle called the piece "the entrancing centerpiece of this program" and "one of Seiwert's best works." Born in Gambia in 1950, Foday Musa Suso, the score's composer, is a traditional West African Griot or Jali (an oral historian, storyteller and musician) and a master of the kora, the 21-string traditional African harp. He relocated to Chicago in 1977 and has since collaborated with dozens of musicians including Philip Glass, creating dreamy tuneful works. A former Smuin dancer, Seiwert has been choreographing since 1999 and has won numerous awards and critical accolades. Bay Area Reporter declares her to be "the most talented and prolific young choreographer working from a ballet base around here" and the San Francisco Chronicle has called her "sharply innovative" and "one of the country's most exciting young dance makers." Her work is in the repertory of Smuin Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, and Carolina Ballet, as well as, Robert Moses KIN and Ballet Austin.

For this series, Smuin Ballet brings back the passionate story ballet Frankie & Johnny. In this sinister saga re-set in Cuba, Michael Smuin combined authentic Mambo with traditional ballet to tell the passionate story of Frankie and her faithless lover Johnny in an unabashed tribute to legendary dancer/choreographer Gene Kelly (who died in 1996, the year this ballet debuted). Called "a ton of fun" by Critical Dance, this piece is accompanied by music from some of the biggest names in Latin and Mambo music. In a pulse-racing dance that melds American Jazz idiom and Smuin's trademark storytelling, a strutting gangster recklessly ruins and then betrays his innocent moll, Frankie, until she exacts her deadly revenge - all set against set against Douglas Schmidt's out-sized Noir-esque scenery. The San Francisco Chronicle praised Smuin Artistic Director Celia Fushille for including this revival: "She is doing a stellar job of increasing the technical polish of the dancers and the sophistication of the repertory, while keeping founder Michael Smuin's legacy of unabashed showmanship alive ... showing off Smuin's character-building skills," also noting "Erin Yarbrough and Eduardo Permuy rocked the Mambo violence. Jo-Ann Sundermeier made a fearsome other woman."(NOTE: this ballet contains material that is intended for mature audiences.)

Debuting in San Francisco in March 1994, Smuin Ballet immediately established itself as "one of this country's most entertaining, original ballet troupes" (Dance Magazine), and as a dance company of international acclaim. Michael Smuin's singular philosophy to create pieces which merge the diverse vocabularies of classical ballet and contemporary dance has served as the company's touchstone since its beginning.

Now at the helm of Smuin Ballet is Artistic Director Celia Fushille, whose vision includes maintaining and increasing the company's reputation for presenting compelling and innovative repertoire, attracting new audiences of all ages to the medium. The company has continued to highlight works created by Smuin, both for his own and for other ballet companies, but Fushille also enriches its impressive repertoire with newer choreographic voices, bringing the Bay Area its first look at works by exciting choreographers from around the world, as well as developing world premieres by company members.

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