A Bay Area Dance Resource

Who's Dancing What, When, and Where Around San Francisco Bay

Smuin's Dance Series 2: From Playful to Spellbinding

May 30, 2025—Last night Smuin Contemporary Ballet opened at the third venue of their Dance Series 2 performances with an impressive and stirring array of outstanding choreography and dance. Although Dance Series 2 includes works by four prominent choreographers, the most impressive and stirring was Amy Seiwert's premiere work "I Remember Now". Dance Series 2, which opened April 25 at Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, opened last night at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts to a warm audience reception. But it was Seiwert's premiere work that stole the show.

Set in seven movements to music by varius composers, "I Remember Now" is Seiwert's first World Premiere as Artistic Director of the Company. In a video, Seiwert explains her approach to "I Remember Now" uses ballet technique and language "in a way that most people don't expect to see. A lot of that means how these people are connecting in the piece. It's not just the steps they're doing; they show their vulnerability and how they connect to one another. And in doing so, I think there's a degree of honesty that I'm asking for in the dancers that is different from a lot of my older works."

That honesty is revealed as the seven movements unfold. In the first movement, under a black sun the full Company in unbuttoned, flowing red shirts carry out rapid circular and angular changes. In following movements the dancers shed the red shirts to more serene music. A solo by Joao Sampaio, pas de deux by Brennan Wall and Ricardo Dyer, and pas de trois with Tessa Barbour, Dominic Barrett, and Yuri Rogers lead to more peaceful moves and a feeling of hopefulness with the full Company under a red sun. The complexity of "I Remember Now" is difficult to describe. It is to be experienced, not explained. The affect was transporting in a way I have very rarely experienced in seeing dance performed. Seiwert has achieved an exceptional work of art with the power to entrance and spellbind.

The program opened with choreographer Rex Wheeler's "Sinfonietta", set to Tchakovsky's score of the same name. A graceful, romantic piece that featured pas de dexux by Maggie Carey and Yuri Rogers in beautiful pirouettes, arabesques, and lifts, "Sinfonietta" begins a bit melancholy, but becomes more playful and ends joyful and vibrant. This is a memorable work, peformed beautifully.

"The Eternal Idol", a classic by the late Michael Smuin, was danced by Tessa Barbour and Ricardo Dyer, emulating the Auguste Rodin statue. The sculpture shows a man and woman on a rock, with the man leaning his head on the chest of the seated woman. Set to piano by Chopin, Tessa Barbour and Ricardo Dyer, in flesh-toned tights, arose from a rock to dance a sensual pas de deux of turns and lifts, concluding by returning to their original positions. It is a beautiful piece and an audience favorite.

Lastly, the Bay Area premiere of Trey McIntyre's playful work "Wild Sweet Love" closed the evening with Cassidy Isaacson in the lead accompanied by women dressed as brides and men in shorts and bowties. Set to various music ranging from The Zombies to Mendelsohn's "Wedding March", Isaacson twists and gyres in a slightly mad fashion accompanied by other dancers. Notable were the pas de deux by Brennan Wall and Marc LaPierre set to "I Think I love You" by The Patridge Family, and Maggie Carey with Marc Lapierre and Dominic Barrett dancing comically to the Mexican song of harship and nostalgia "Camino de Guanajuato." "Wild Sweet Love" lives up to McIntyre's reputation for playful and imaginative works.

Dance Series 2 runs at the Mountain View Center for Performing Arts through June 1st and at Carmel's Sunset Center on June 7 - 8. For more information see www.smuinballet.org.

Diablo Ballet Closes Season With Enchanting Alice in Wonderland

May 19, 2025—Diablo Ballet has closed their 31st season with two very different and engaging premieres at the Lesher Center. On Sunday afternoon the program opened with the romantic neoclassical ballet Reflections by choreographer Gerald Arpino. It is a lovely piece, set to Tchaikovsky's “Variations on a Rococo Theme for Violoncello and Orchestra, op. 33." The Arpino Foundation accurately describes Reflections as a "pure dance ballet and a perfect example of the Arpino style—high lifts, a flying pace, and classic beauty." The movements are well set on Tchaikovsky's score. The white, airy costumes of leotards and tulles, by Diablo dancer Amanda Farris, were expressive of the grace and vitality of this piece. Seven women enter the stage performing classical movements. They are joined by three men, one at a time, in pas de deux. The dancing is impressive, with distinguishing performances by Elijah Harley and Alison Ramoran. Although Reflections was premiered by Joffrey Ballet in 1971, this is Diablo's premiere staging of it, and I hope it isn't their last.

Alice in Wonderland is choreographer Brian Enos' interpretation of the Lewis Carroll classic. Although this work is set to classical music by Sergei Prokofiev and Dimitri Shostakovich, Enos, from San Francisco, has a reputation for pushing the boundaries of ballet. Enos makes generous use of modern and classical dance styles, including a little jazz and tango, as well as occasional spins and shuffles. Fans of classical ballet might be disappointed by the departure from ballet movements, but the variety imparts a surprising energy to the story. Most of the classical movements are performed by the real-world characters in street dresses before Alice descends into Wonderland. From there on, it's pretty much anything goes.

Animatied projections, by former Pixar/DreamWorks artist Luis Grane, on the rear of the stage enliven and inform. At times the animations are reminiscent of 1960s psychodelic. At other times they add text, such as Alice's instructions to "Eat me" and "Drink me".

The imaginative costumes, directed by Patricia Barker, also depart from the illustrations by John Tenniel in the Lewis Carroll classic. For example, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, danced by Lizzie Devanney and Astrid Arvelo (filling in for Amanda Farris) were spendidly colorful and jovially lively, rather than the dull sourpusses in the story. (Quibblers might point out that these two characters are not in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but rather in his sequel Through the Looking Glass. But never mind.)

Lucas Tischler as the White Rabbit frolicked and cavorted with boundless energy. Jackie McConnell's Cheshire Cat, though grinless, added a certain panache, and Nicole Ciapponi as the Queen of Hearts was delightfully domineering. What is curious and curiouser about Enos' production is which audience is it intended for? At an hour and seven minutes it's too long to hold the attention of young children, and there were plenty of them at the Saturday matinee. And it is at times maybe too zany for some adults. The tea party scene is itself too long, and more straitlaced parents might take offense as the partygoers get visibly tipsy. Others will find it a nod to adult humor.

Diablo Ballet opens their 32nd season with The Nutcracker Suite on November 7, 2025.

Classic Interviews

• Odwa Lindokuhle Makando and Lwando Dutyulwa, November 2017

• Edward Stegge, dancer, April 2010

• Frederick Wiseman, film director, December 2009

• Robert Heindel, painter, January 2003

• Jamie Bell, actor, and Stephen Daldry, film director, September 200