South Bay audiences should jump at the chance to see Smuin Ballet’s vibrant final program of the season, “Dance Series 2: P.S. Forever Smuin,” this week in Mountain View.
The show debuted in San Francisco last month and comes to the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts for five performances Thursday through Sunday.
The show has something for everyone, from fans of classical ballet to those who have never sought out professional dance.
The program begins with Tessa Barbour’s “Vignettes,” a neoclassical ballet featuring three couples, with the women dancing en pointe. The setless, plotless ballet beckons to the mid-century works of George Balanchine, right down to the use of music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and the costumery (created by dancer Tess Lane). Longtime Smuin dancer Terez Dean Orr shines in the work that very much relies on the strong classical technique of its dancers, seemingly effortlessly offering the perfect balance of strength and grace.
The energy of the program ramps up with Brennan Wall’s “Untwine,” led by Cassidy Isaacson and Brandon Alexander in a dark, brooding pas de deux supported by three other couples. Isaacson does not hold back one bit as she fearlessly travels across the stage and flies to the floor – a lot more daring than one would expect from a piece en pointe. Alexander supports Isaacson’s bold movement, but his talent does not get lost in the pas de deux as can sometimes happen to men in male/female duets. Alexander demonstrates a measured composure in the duet and his solo work, and he exudes a sort of soft masculinity in his solo that is not often represented onstage or in media.
Val Caniparoli’s vivacious “Confessions” changed titles since its premiere as “If I Were a Sushi Roll” in 2018, a wise choice that brings attention to the piece’s weightier themes of longing, regret and hope in the digital age rather than its very apparent quirks. With cartoonish cutouts of Jane Fonda and fish alongside quirky truisms projected on the backdrop used as the piece’s primary set design, “Confessions” does verge on silliness at times. However, the way each dancer creates depth in his or her character saves it from leaning too far into eccentricity.
Divided in nine parts, “Confessions” uses nearly every dancer in the company in its cast. The opening number demonstrates the power of Smuin as a small, rankless dance company. Unlike large dance companies that keep dancers around to be reliable corps members, Smuin appears to place value in its dancers as individual artists, which makes it incredibly powerful when they all share the stage.
Amy Seiwert’s “Renaissance” serves as the mature, empowering culmination of the show. Again using nearly the entire cast of dancers, “Renaissance” is timeless and placeless, not so much in that it feels otherworldly, but rather that it could take place anywhere on Earth at several different points in time. The result is a piece that feels distinctly human and ultimately hopeful about the human condition.
Shows are scheduled 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. The Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts is located at 500 Castro St.
Tickets are $25-$79. The show also will be offered as an on-demand streaming option beginning in late May and running for several weeks.
For tickets and more information, call (650) 903-6000 or visit smuinballet.org.
