Smuin Ballet Announces Spring Works by Goh, Seiwert, and Smuin

Concluding its 2010-2011 season, Smuin Ballet presents a dynamic spring program featuring three masterful works. Included in the program is the distinctive ballet Momentum by the internationally celebrated choreographer Choo-San Goh. Set to a lively piano concerto by Sergei Prokofiev, Momentum is renowned for its clean sculptural lines and streamlined partnering. The program also unveils the world premiere of Requiem by Choreographer in Residence Amy Seiwert set to the haunting, powerful music of Mozart's Requiem Mass. Rounding out the bill is Michael Smuin's To The Beatles, a celebration of the most influential group in the history of rock'n'roll. Smuin's spring program will play in San Francisco, Walnut Creek, San Mateo, and Carmel May 6, 2011 through June 4, 2011. Single tickets ($20-$62) are available through the respective theaters.

Smuin Ballet is delighted to bring to the Bay Area Momentum by the late choreographer Choo-San Goh. This sleek but lyrical neo-classical piece thrust Goh into the international spotlight for his iconic mixture of modern and classical ballet that defined the 1980's dance scene. Set to the lush score of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Flat Op. 10, the dance has no narrative, though unfolding relationships lend it a romantic ambiance. Critics have praised Goh for vividly translating into motion the mass choral effect, driving rhythms, and pronounced leaps of Prokofiev's score. In 1983, Goh received the choreographic award in the International Ballet competition in Varna, Bulgaria for his pas de deux from Momentum.

After an auspicious career as a soloist with the Dutch National Ballet, Singapore-born Goh served  as the resident choreographer for Washington Ballet from the company's inception in 1976 to his death in 1987, propelling the company to international recognition with his work. A prolific choreographer, he received many commissions to create or stage his works from companies such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Royal Danish Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Hong Kong Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, and Royal Swedish Ballet, among others. Goh's life was cut short by illness and he passed away at the young age of 39. "Like the important work of Smuin Ballet in keeping alive Michael's legacy," says Artistic and Executive Director Celia Fushille, "it is important to me to help keep alive the work of this talented choreographer."

Also included in the spring program is the world premiere of Requiem by Choreographer in Resident Amy Seiwert, named for and set to Mozart's unfinished, and arguably most enigmatic, work. In interpreting Mozart's Requiem Mass, Seiwert referred to her studies of the grieving process she undertook in college, as well as Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's famous book On Death and Dying, known for establishing the Kubler-Ross model, commonly referred to as the five stages of grief. For the dance, Seiwert has selected the arrangement of Richard Maunder, a distinguished Mozart scholar, instead of Franz Xaver Sussmayr, Mozart's student and the one who originally completed the Requiem after Mozart's death. A former dancer with Smuin Ballet, Seiwert has been choreographing since 1999 and has won numerous awards and critical accolades. The San Francisco Bay Guardian declares, "[Seiwert] has one of the Bay Area's most intriguing voices. . . fresh, mysterious, and mesmerizing" and the San Francisco Chronicle calls 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 Ballet Nouveau Colorado, Robert Moses KIN and Ballet Austin. Collaborating with Seiwert on Requiem are set and lighting designer Alexander Nichols (American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Magic Theatre, National Theater of Taiwan) and costume designer Christine Darch (San Francisco Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Marin Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, the Broadway production of Annie Get Your Gun, Manhattan Transfer).

Originally created in 1984 by Michael Smuin, To The Beatles was called a "sassy, affectionate diversion" by the San Francisco Chronicle. This playful homage to the Fab Four explores and celebrates the many moods of the famous band, from dreamy and philosophical to quirky, boyish, and irreverent. Beatlemaniacs and dance fans can revel in a variety of styles, from a boisterous tap dance set to the cheery tune "Penny Lane" to the quiet romantic interlude of "And I Love Her.". Mixing meticulous pointe work and exceptional acrobatics, this Liverpudlian suite features ten original recordings, including "Help!" "Day Tripper," "Sgt. Pepper," "Michelle," and "Come Together."

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