Smuin Ballet Announces Their Spring Program

Smuin Ballet concludes its 2009/2010 season with an invigorating spring program consisting of three enthralling, high-energy ballets to be presented in San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Cupertino, and Carmel. The evening begins with a thrilling milestone for Smuin Ballet as it becomes the first Bay Area company to perform the extraordinary and stunning Petite Mort by the internationally renowned choreographer Jirí Kylián. Continuing the program is the World Premiere of the enticingly frenetic French Twist by rising star choreographer Ma Cong. The evening concludes with an enduring romance by the incomparable Michael Smuin, the passionate Songs of Mahler. These three unique acts offer a tempestuous examination of the fickle nature of love in an evening unprecedented, unforgettable, unmistakably Smuin Ballet. The program plays May 7, 2010 through June 5, 2010. Single tickets ($18, $41, and $56) are available through the respective theaters.

A significant collaboration for the company, Smuin Ballet will be the first professional Bay Area company to perform Petite Mort by European choreographer Jirí Kylián, one of the most inventive and daring choreographers at work today and for many years the driving force behind Nederlands Dans Theater. This breathtaking dance pairs six men and six women with six fencing foils, set to two of Mozart's most beautiful piano concertos. Petite Mort is a visual feast ornamented with symbolism, where men swish and parry with foils and seamlessly replace their weapons with female dancers. The second section continues with riveting examples of sensual partnering among the couples. This astonishing piece encompasses Kylian's trademark grace and inventiveness in a roundelay in which aggression, sexuality, vulnerability, tenderness, and harmony all play a part. Petite Mort enjoyed its World Premiere in Germany and was specifically created for the Salzburg Festival on the second centenary of Mozart's death in 1991.

Kylián began his dance training in 1947 at the age of nine at the Prague National Theatre ballet school. He studied at the Prague Conservatory at the age of fifteen and went to the Royal Ballet School in London in 1967. Kylián was soon introduced to contemporary dance in London and began exploring the world of choreography. From 1975 to 1999 he was responsible for much of Netherlands Dans Theater's artistic policy and has choreographed over 70 ballets for the company. His choreography has found international acclaim and his works have been performed by more than 80 companies and schools worldwide.

Continuing Smuin Ballet's spring program is rising star choreographer Ma Cong's World Premiere of the fast and flirtatious piece French Twist, set to five musical selections by French composer Hugues Le Bars. Cong created French Twist at the National Choreographers Initiative in the summer of 2008 where it caught the eye of Smuin Ballet Director Celia Fushille. As a result, Smuin Ballet will be the first professional company to perform French Twist. A quirky piece accented by angular arms and flexed feet, the music is at times reminiscent of a manic spider spinning its web, simultaneously fragile, sturdy, and exquisite. Cong's choreography utilizes every note of the peculiar tracks to its fullest capacity, where dancers slide across the floor through legs and around chairs to a sultry and mysterious waltz and manipulate each other like marionettes to an energetic cat-and-mouse caper.

Currently a resident choreographer and principal dancer at Tulsa Ballet, Cong studied at the Beijing Dance Academy, where he received a full scholarship and graduated with honors. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Silver Medal at the All China Dance Competition and was a finalist at the prestigious Paris International Dance Competition as well as the 2000 New York International Ballet Competition. In January 2006, Cong was named one of the "25 to Watch" by Dance Magazine for both dancing and choreography. As a choreographer, Cong has created many works for Tulsa Ballet as well as works for other companies such as Ballet Met Columbus, Ballet Florida, Ballet Nouveau, Richmond Ballet, Houston Ballet and many others.

Rounding out what promises to be a remarkable program is Michael Smuin's Songs of Mahler, a vivid ballet that flows through a range of moods from puckish to dramatic and passionate. Set to music from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" and "Songs of a Wayfarer" by Gustav Mahler, Songs of Mahler demands a mastery of classical ballet techniques and a keen comprehension of dramatic texture in what the New York Times called "a playful, lyrically romantic romp."

Debuting in San Francisco in 1994, Smuin Ballet immediately established itself as one of the Bay Area's most eagerly watched performing arts companies, as "one of this country's most entertaining, original ballet troupes" (Dance Magazine), and as a dance company of international acclaim, performing to sold-out houses on European tours. 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 and Executive Director Celia Fushille, whose vision includes maintaining and increasing the company's reputation for presenting accessible 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 to the Bay Area its first look at works by exciting choreographers from around the world, as well as developing world premieres by company members.

Performance Dates and Times:

San Francisco:
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street
(between Third and Fourth Streets)
Tickets: (415) 978-2787 or www.smuinballet.org
May 7- 16, 2010
8pm Tues-Fri, 2 & 8pm Sat, and 2pm Sun Plus 7pm Sunday May 9

Walnut Creek:
Lesher Center for the Arts
1601 Civic Drive (at Locust Street)
Tickets: (925) 943-7469 or www.smuinballet.org

May 21-22, 2010
8pm Fri, 2 & 8pm Sat

Cupertino:
Flint Center
21250 Stevens Creek Blvd
Tickets: (800) 745-3000
or www.smuinballet.org

May 29-30, 2010
8pm Sat & 2pm Sun

Carmel:
Sunset Center
San Carlos Street
(between 8th and 9th Streets)
Tickets: (831) 620-2048 or www.smuinballet.org

June 4-5, 2010

8pm Fri, 2 & 8pm Sat

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