Smuin Brings Vibrant DANCE SERIES 01 to Mountain View and Carmel

Smuin, having completed a record-setting run of its lauded annual tradition The Christmas Ballet that was hailed by critics as "sheer joy" (San Francisco Chronicle) and "delectable" (The Mercury News), returns in March with Dance Series 01. Continuing its 23rd season under its new identity of Smuin (formerly Smuin Ballet), the company presents this effervescent program in Mountain View and Carmel. Dance Series 01, which debuted in September 2016 in San Francisco and Walnut Creek, features three distinct works including a world premiere, a regional premiere, and a treasured work by Michael Smuin. Stanton Welch's Indigo examines the vagaries of romantic relationships as four couples come together, fall in love, fight, and exchange partners. Also on the program is Stabat Mater, Michael Smuin's powerful response to the events of 9/11 offering affirmation to the perseverance of the human spirit. Rounding out the bill is Madness, Rack, and Honey, a new work by acclaimed choreographer Garrett Ammon set to Mozart's "Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra." Tickets ($56-$73)* are available by calling the individual venues or visiting www.smuinballet.org.

This vibrant program kicks off with Stanton Welch's Indigo, a work that follows four couples through love, break-ups, and reconnections. Set to Antonio Vivaldi's Cello concerto in G minor, Indigo is a spectacular showcase for the technique, strength, and athleticism of Smuin's dancers. At its West Coast premiere with Smuin in fall 2016, The Mercury News noted the dancers "attacked its devilishly complex choreography with focus and precision." In July 2003, Australian Stanton Welch assumed leadership of Houston Ballet, America's fifth largest classical ballet company. Welch has created works for such prestigious international companies as Houston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Australian Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and The Royal Danish Ballet. Welch was born in Melbourne to Marilyn Jones, OBE, and Garth Welch, AM, two of Australia's most gifted dancers of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1989 he was a dancer with The Australian Ballet, where he rose to the rank of leading soloist, performing various principal roles. He has also worked with internationally acclaimed choreographers such as Ji?í Kylían, Nacho Duato, and Maurice Béjart. In 1995, Welch was named resident choreographer of The Australian Ballet. For his contributions to the world of dance, he was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in June 2015.

Stabat Mater also returns in Dance Series 01, Michael Smuin's authoritative response to the events of 9/11, which the San Francisco Chronicle called "the finest dance of his post-San Francisco Ballet career." Critical Dance also noted "Smuin's choreography couldn't better represent such powerful music, and the dancers carry it out spectacularly." The ballet is set to composer Antonín Dvo?ak's same-titled work, which was composed shortly after the death of his infant daughter and based on the sorrowful 13th century Catholic hymn "Stabat Mater Dolorosa." Smuin's ballet, which premiered in 2002, is comprised of ensemble work as well as duets that embody crippling loss and ultimately give affirmation to the perseverance of the human spirit.

Rounding out the program is a new work by Garrett Ammon titled Madness, Rack, and Honey. The piece was hailed "an infectious good time" by The Mercury News at its world premiere with Smuin in September 2016. Ammon is an acclaimed choreographer who began his tenure as Artistic Director of Wonderbound in 2007. He has been recognized for his work as an artist and leader through a Denver Mayor's Award for Excellence in Arts & Culture, a Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Livingston Fellowship, and a University of Denver Legends of Dance Award. Ammon has created nearly 70 dance works throughout 17 years and developed a trademark aesthetic that seamlessly blends tradition with adventurous new ideas. He is a serial collaborator who has worked with poets, visual and digital artists, musicians, actors, a perfumer, and an illusionist. As a dancer, he was a member of Houston Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Ballet Memphis, and Trey McIntyre Project, where he toured to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Vail International Dance Festival, Dance Salad, and Wolf Trap.

For more than 20 years, Smuin has pushed the boundaries of contemporary ballet within a distinctly American style, engaging and delighting audiences with uncommon physicality and expression. Founded in San Francisco in 1994 by Tony and Emmy award-winning choreographer Michael Smuin, the company is committed to creating work that merges the diverse vocabularies of classical ballet and contemporary dance. As Artistic Director since 2007, Celia Fushille has maintained Michael Smuin's legacy while enriching the company's impressive repertoire by collaborating with inventive choreographers from around the world, commissioning world premieres, and bringing new contemporary choreographic voices to the Smuin stage.

Photo credit: Chris Hardy

To post a comment, you must register and login.