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Publication Date: Friday, May 27, 2005 Smuin Ballet's trifecta
Smuin Ballet's trifecta
(May 27, 2005) By Katie Vaughn
From Hawaiian to Latin to French, classical to modern to Broadway, Smuin Ballet's latest program is a mix of varied music, movements, emotions and styles.
A collection of three dances by artistic director Michael Smuin and a guest choreographer, "Frankie & Johnny" runs from June 1 to June 5 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.
"If people haven't seen Smuin Ballet, it's a fabulous introductory ballet," said Celia Fushille-Burke, associate director and a dancer. "Part of what Michael likes to do is have variety. That really makes it fun to watch."
The program's title work is a passionate tale of romance, vengeance and tragedy centering on the relationship between a naïve girl from the seaside and a city saloon owner. Frankie visits Johnnie at his bar, expecting to spend time with her new love, but instead, Johnnie lets his friends rape her. When Frankie returns to the bar, she finds Johnnie with another woman. She proceeds to get into a fight, grab the woman's gun and turn it on Johnny.
"It's a dramatic, fast-moving story, but the story is really clear," Fushille-Burke said.
However, due to the graphic nature of that particular ballet -- which runs as the last piece of the program -- Fushille-Burke suggests parents attending with children leave before it is performed.
Smuin created the work in 1996, with Fushille-Burke in mind as Frankie, and this year playing Johnny is new Smuin Ballet dancer James Strong. What makes this ballet particularly unique is that the pair and the other dancers perform a variety of Latin dance styles -- en pointe -- to 14 Latin standards by such artists as Tito Puente, Juan Luis Guerra, Perez Prado and Celia Cruz.
"It's all classically based, but Michael throws in some salsa and mambo styles," Fushille-Burke said.
Purely classical, in contrast, is "Chants d'Aubergne," a series of vignettes that evoke the joys and trials of living in the French countryside. Considered one of Smuin's loveliest ballets, the work is set to early French folksongs by Joseph Canteloube.
The songs' words, told in a Provencal dialect unintelligible to most modern French speakers, tell of such events as buying a cow or tending sheep. However, the large cast of dancers conveys a wide range of emotions, such as playful flirtations, lovers' jealousies and youthful joy.
Drastically different from both pieces is "Pacific Dances." And that's for good reason, as the ballet is Smuin's first from a choreographer outside its company. New York City choreographer Eliot Feld premiered the work in 2001, and for two years Smuin asked him for permission to perform it on the West Coast before his friend of 40 years conceded.
"Michael would say, 'Eliot, come on, let us do your ballet,'" Fushille-Burke said. "He thought it would be such a neat thing for Bay Area audiences to see."
The ballet is a suite for nine women dancing en pointe to Hawaiian slack-key guitar music. The dancers' movements are vaguely Hawaiian, but predominately athletic, fast and angular in nature.
The only swaying, hula-esque movements come from a huge drape of white silk manipulated by four operators on the corners of the stage. The billowing fabric is used in a variety of manners, sometimes set onstage to represent the sea, sometimes lifted high above the dancers to portray the sky.
"The dancers use the silk to create so many different images," Fushille-Burke said. "It's visually so stunning."
Fushille-Burke said the juxtaposition of the three diverse ballets provides a unique opportunity for the Smuin dancers, as well as for audience members.
"Even people who think they don't like ballet will find something they like," she said. "What we do isn't just about tutus and classical music."
Information:
What: "Frankie & Johnny," presented by Smuin Ballet
Where: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St.
When: June 1-5, with performances Wed.-Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sun. at 2 p.m.
Call: (650) 903-6000 or visit www.mvcpa.com.
Katie Vaughn can be reached at mvvoicearts@yahoo.com
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