{"id":106730,"date":"2023-10-03T18:47:51","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T01:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=106730"},"modified":"2023-10-03T19:07:58","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T02:07:58","slug":"smuin-ballets-30th-season-offers-salsa-cowboys-flawless-synchronization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/smuin-ballets-30th-season-offers-salsa-cowboys-flawless-synchronization\/","title":{"rendered":"Smuin ballet’s 30th season offers salsa, cowboys, flawless synchronization"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Val Caniparoli’s “Tutto Eccetto Il Lavandino” is a highlight of Smuin’s “Dance Series 1” onstage in San Francisco through Oct. 7. (Courtesy Chris Hardy)<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When you think of dance, you often think of feet, but\u00a0Smuin Contemporary Ballet\u2019s latest production, marking its 30th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary, showcases many splendored hand and arm movements.<\/p>\n

They come during the first of three pieces in the show:\u00a0\u201c<\/em>Tutto Eccetto il Lavandino\u201d in Italian, or \u201c(everything but the kitchen sink).\u201d<\/p>\n

The ballet,\u00a0created by choreographer Val Caniparoli for Smuin in 2014 to Vivaldi\u2019s sprightly music, takes what might ordinarily be perceived as jerky gestures, even arms that flap like chicken wings, and turns them into flawless, synchronized art.<\/p>\n

The variety of lithe, smooth and magical movements in the presentation (as well as countless twists and turns) is equaled only by the variety of dancer combinations (from solos to duets, including man on man, to a cluster of seven, then a group of five couples).<\/p>\n

Noteworthy, too, is the athleticism of all 16 dancers in the company.<\/p>\n

The 11-part modern ballet is not all straight-ahead. There are more than a few moments of silliness, including a round of hand-covered open mouths spouting \u201coh\u201d and an unexpected object that glides to center stage at the end of the piece.<\/p>\n

Celia Fushille, the troupe\u2019s artistic director who will retire at the end of the 2023-24 season after three decades with the company, says the piece \u201cexplores a range of emotions, while pushing the dancers\u2019 technical strength, precision and artistry.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the program, she says that the ballet, which has been performed by other companies across the country, \u201creminds us of the place we hold as an incubator of new work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Smuin dancer Terez Dean Orr steps through (L-R) Jo\u00e3o Sampaio, Brandon Alexander and Ian Buchanan in James Kudelka\u2019s Johnny Cash tribute, \u201cThe Man in Black.\u201d (Courtesy Chris Hardy)<\/em><\/p>\n

James Kudelka\u2019s \u201cThe Man in Black,\u201d the middle act of \u201cDance Series 1,\u201d is based on Johnny Cash\u2019s covers of tunes by the likes of Gordon Lightfoot, Bruce Springsteen and John Lennon and Paul McCartney.<\/p>\n

Like \u201cTutto Eccetto il Lavandino,\u201d it\u2019s a revival; the debut was in 2010. One woman and three men, all clad in cowboy boots, jeans and phlegmatic facial expressions, stomp noisily and incorporate popular county-and-western styles such as step-dancing, square dancing and swing \u2014 with some extraordinary syncopation. The quartet works unbelievably hard. When the men forcefully shake their arms, torrents of sweat coat the stage.<\/p>\n

\"\"Douglas Melini\u2019s artwork is featured in the premiere of Darrell Grand Moultrie\u2019s \u201cSalsa \u2019til Dawn\u201d in Smuin\u2019s \u201cDance Series 1.\u201d (Courtesy Chris Hardy)<\/em><\/p>\n

The third dance, the six-part \u201cSalsa \u2018Til Dawn,\u201d a world premiere with choreography by Darrell Grand Moultrie set to the Cuban jazz rhythms of Grammy-winner Charles Fox, doesn\u2019t get fascinating (unless you\u2019re thrilled by women dancing in heels rather than ballet shoes) until the finale, when the full company bounces and slithers in front of a backdrop of three huge pieces of colorful art by Douglas Melini.<\/p>\n

During intermission, Fushille accurately suggested to an audience member in the front row that watching it would be like being at a salsa party. Moments earlier, she admitted to another dance enthusiast in that row that a first-time\u00a0experiment in which narrated auditory devices\u00a0aimed at helping sight-impaired patrons understand what was happening on stage didn\u2019t work as well as expected.<\/p>\n

Virtually everything else did, though.<\/p>\n

Smuin\u2019s \u201cDance Series 1\u201d continues through Oct. 7 at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Blvd., San Francisco. Tickets are $25 to $89 at (415) 912-1899\u00a0or\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>smuinballet.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

This story was first published on<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>LocalNewsMatters.org<\/a>, a nonprofit site supported by Bay City News\u00a0Foundation<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>http:\/\/www.baycitynews.org\/contact\/<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Woody Weingarten, a longtime member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle, can be contacted by email at\u00a0voodee@sbcglobal.net<\/a>\u00a0or on his websites,\u00a0https:\/\/woodyweingarten.com<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0https:\/\/vitality press.com<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Val Caniparoli’s “Tutto Eccetto Il Lavandino” is a highlight of Smuin’s “Dance Series 1” onstage in San Francisco through Oct. 7. (Courtesy Chris Hardy)   When you think of dance,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-106730","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"