Smuin Contemporary Ballet
The Christmas Ballet
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
December 13th, 2024
Friday night marked an important milestone in the Bay Area holiday dance calendar: the San Francisco opening of Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet. The company has been touring the famed production for the past few weeks, but landing at home in San Francisco, where it has been a mainstay for the last three decades, must feel particularly special. The revue-style program, created by Founder Michael Smuin, offers wide-ranging choreographic genres - like pointe, clogging, jazz, Irish step, contemporary – and equally varied festive musical selections. The Christmas Ballet has appeared on Pointe Magazine’s list of alternate holiday dance shows, and opening night’s dazzling offering indicates why. Together, Act I’s Classical Christmas and Act II’s Cool Christmas mirror the blend of tradition and newness that is the holiday season!
Artistic Director Amy Seiwert shared in her welcoming remarks that over the years, there have been 115 different dances crafted for The Christmas Ballet, and what that means for Smuin’s patrons is that no year is ever quite the same. Yes, there are pieces that often appear on the program, but they are joined by many other works, old and new, including three world premieres this year. For 2024, fifteen dances were choreographed by Michael Smuin, Seiwert contributed six, with the remainder created by talented artists in the Smuin Ballet family.
Smuin in Seiwert's Dona Nobis Pacem Photo Maximillian Tortorielo Photography |
Favorite scenes peppered Act I. Zither Carol’s quiet peacefulness and delicate intricacy. Nicole Haskins’ Fantasia, with its playful exuberance and partnered Italian changement. The pedestrian elegance of Veni, Veni, Emmanuel; the sky-high lifts in For Unto Us a Child is Born; The Gloucestershire Wassail’s graceful beats and courtly demeanor. Haskins’ Joy to the World brings epic fanfare, every move that the company made felt a punctuation of the brass instruments in the score. New moments greeted the audience as well. Framed by a banner of snowflakes, the debut of Seiwert’s Dona Nobis Pacem gave tones and qualities of a gentle snowfall; swirling arms and vignette changes evoking a light flurry.
AL Abraham in Wall's Last Christmas Photo Maximillian Tortoriello Photography |
Onto Act II’s Cool Christmas. Standouts included Rex Wheeler’s Silver Bells, a nostalgic, cozy romp, complete with swinging postures resembling merry bells. And Seiwert’s duet River with its stunning spins that seem to defy the laws of gravity and physics. Company artist Brennan Wall choreographed the second world premiere on the bill, Last Christmas, to the 1984 Wham hit recording. Primarily a solo, performed superbly Friday night by AL Abraham, it oozed an eighties vibe. Old school jazz was everywhere – pas de boureés leading into parallel turns, dive jumps, fouettés and axel spins. Most of the dancer pairings in The Christmas Ballet tend to be heteronormative, but Wheeler’s Someday Soon (premiere) brought another story to the stage. The duet for two women (Gabrielle Collins and Julia Gundzik) conveyed a narrative of yearning, longing, hoping and eventually, the realization of love and affection. It was beautiful.
Any commentary on The Christmas Ballet must acknowledge the incredible feat that Smuin’s artists accomplish with every performance. They navigate close to thirty different dances! The footwear changes alone throughout the production (ballet flats plus pointe, character, jazz, saddle and tap shoes) are absolutely astounding.