Smuin Contemporary Ballet will close its 29th season with a program for the lovers! From Amy Seiwert’s playful world premiere set to French music, to an evocative Michael Smuin work returning to the stage after two decades, Dance Series 2 is packed with fun, flirtatiousness, and joie de vivre. Don’t miss this smashing season finale, performing May 5–14 at the Blue Shield of California Theater in San Francisco.
French Kiss is the latest work from Seiwert, and is set to a collection of eclectic French tracks by Pink Martini, the world’s most iconic cross-genre group. Blurring the boundaries of modern pop, jazz, baroque, pop, and classical music, Pink Martini’s tunes are the perfect backdrop for this striking new ballet. Featured songs include cabaret star Meow Meow’s aching torch song, “Mon homme marié,” from the album Hotel Amour, a collaboration with Pink Martini founder and bandleader Thomas Lauderdale.
Seiwert will also set a section of French Kiss to “La premier bonheur du jour,” recorded with Sofia, Melanie, Amanda, and August von Trapp. This song is taken from the hit collaborative studio album recorded by Pink Martini with the great-grandchildren of Baron and Maria von Trapp, the family made famous by the Broadway musical and subsequent blockbuster film, The Sound of Music.
Music phenom Jimmie Herrod, who rose to fame on America’s Got Talent, is also featured in “Que tout recommence,” a haunting tune from the French production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical, Jesus Christ Superstar. After wowing Sofia Vergara during his AGT audition in season 16, the rising star began touring worldwide with Pink Martini.
Another notable track is “Ma solitude” featuring vocals by internationally acclaimed Egyptian-French singer-songwriter Georges Moustaki, who recorded with Pink Martini shortly before his death in 2013. French Kiss will also feature movement set to Pink Martini’s popular “Où est ma tête?” and the jazzy “Dansez-vous,” plus “Autrefois,” which mixes piano with an unexpectedly funky beat, and “Fini la Musique,” an anthemic lament written for legendary French actress Isabelle Huppert to sing in her film, Souvenir.
Seiwert was mentored as a choreographer by Michael Smuin for eight of her nine years as a dancer at the company, with Artistic Director Celia Fushille naming her Smuin’s first Choreographer-in-Residence in 2008. She was recently appointed the company’s new Associate Artistic Director, a role she will assume next season.
Dance Series 2 will also feature the company premiere of Kate Skarpetowska’s Sextette, a whimsical work set to Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor.” Michael Smuin’s romantic Dream, created for Smuin Artistic Director (then dancer) Celia Fushille and dancer Easton Smith, makes its long-awaited return to the stage. A pas de deux set to “Romanza” from Chopin’s “Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11,” the piece was originally commissioned as an anniversary gift by a devoted Smuin patron in 1999.
Finally, Val Caniparoli returns to Smuin with Swipe, a masterfully crafted piece for four men and three women set to a remix of “String Quartet No. 2” by Gabriel Prokofiev, grandson of Sergei Prokofiev. A classically trained composer known for electronic and hip-hop music, Prokofiev has music that complements the vibrant energy of Caniparoli’s blend of classical and contemporary movement.
Smuin’s Dance Series 2 will perform May 5–14 at the Blue Shield of California Theater at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (700 Howard Street, San Francisco). Tickets and information are available by calling 415-912-1899 or at https://www.smuinballet.org/
Arts & Entertainment
Published on May 4, 2023
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