Woodminster Summer Musicals - "Carousel"

Woodminster Summer Musicals
Carousel
Woodminster Amphitheater, Oakland
July 11, 2026

In a region as climately temperate as the Bay Area, outdoor performance is a summer staple. Most years I take in one or two of these delightful al fresco experiences – at Stern Grove, Stanford’s Frost Amphitheater, Cal Shakes (RIP) or at Woodminster Amphitheater amongst the trees in the Oakland Hills. An East Bay institution, Woodminster Summer Musicals has over a half century of theatrical history. Since 1967, the group has been deeply committed to sharing a diverse collection of full-length musicals with local audiences during the summer months. Currently mid-way through its 59th season, this year’s offerings are an eclectic bunch, representing both contemporary and traditional musical theater stylings. And on Saturday evening, a good-sized house gathered to take in July’s show, Carousel, directed by Joel Schlader, choreographed by Sarah Pon and Blake Hennessy-York, with vocal direction from Debra Lambert. Over two delicious acts, the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein classic mined themes of youth, romance, consequence, disaster and reconciliation alongside a touch of magical realism.

Carousel’s narrative centers around the relationship between carnival hypeman Billy Bigelow and ingenue Julie Jordan, and the coastal community in which they live. Early on, they have a mutual attraction, and in (very) short course, wed. Married life is hardly a fairytale, and after a host of dark events and circumstances, tragedy eventually strikes. Life goes on, but is marred and marked by the past. And in the end, a chance is offered up which may provide some redemption and healing. Much action happens along the way amidst powerhouse vocal numbers and a beautiful ‘dream’ ballet.

Parts of the show will be tough for a 2026 viewer. Categorizing the narrative themes, conversational exchanges and gender dynamics as dated is a dramatic understatement. The show’s messaging about violence, specifically domestic violence, is both disturbing, and frankly, bizarre. And…Carousel was created in the 1940s, eight decades ago. As I watched Carousel on Saturday night, I was keenly struck by all these truths. Though I was also aware I was there to comment on this performance, by this cast, on this night and in this place and that is what follows.

The cast of Carousel
Photo Stephen Woo & Anna Chibisova

The Prologue Carousel Waltz transported its audience to the seaside town’s carnival, complete with a juggler, magician, stilt-artist, cotton candy and the titular carousel ride. It was colorful, dynamic and full of joy. The women’s and men’s ensemble featured many highly-trained, incredibly strong ballet dancers who delivered Pon and Hennessy-York’s movement phrases with technical proficiency, grace and confidence. It is no easy feat to choreograph interesting group sequences on a small-ish stage with a large cast, and here, there was elegance and flow to spare, and nothing looked overly fussy. Another standout dance moment came later in the Act, during the chorus’ “Hornpipe.” Celtic-inspired patterns met with percussive footwork which matched perfectly with the shanty-style music. Being a dance writer, I was mostly focused on the show’s physicality, but the strength of the leads must be mentioned. Cody Craven as Billy, Elise Walters as Julie, Ashley Garlick as Carrie, Michael Parrott as Enoch and Susan Himes-Powers as Nettie dazzled - vocally, in scenework and with undeniably commanding presence.

Dance-wise, Act II is all about the dream ballet where Billy gets to see his daughter Louise, now a teenager (danced by Pon). First comes a brief glimpse of her carefree side – long, stretchy arabesques and delicate, whimsical brisés. As characters from the town enter the picture, her posture and demeanor speak to gains in strength and confidence. But the ballet isn’t all lightness and breeze. As the score takes on a darker tonality, cancan dancers emerge from the carousel. There’s an ominous sense that the seemingly innocent carnival ride also breeds anger, temptation and danger, something Louise and her family are well versed in. 

The lengthier sequence was great and the leads were terrific, but the most important aspect of Carousel’s dream ballet is that it moves the story forward. It gives Billy a chance to learn about his daughter - her personality, her struggles, her dreams, who she is. And in the 1940s, dance as a story element was somewhat new in musical theater. Choreography as more than a celebration of movement or style. Choreography as a narrative contributor, a narrative force. A trip down dance history lane will point to a number of choreographic voices who contributed to this paradigm shift. Perhaps most notable is the iconic Agnes de Mille, creator of Oklahoma’s famed dream ballet in 1943. She did it again, two years later, as the original choreographer of Carousel. 

San Francisco Ballet - "Mere Mortals"

San Francisco Ballet
Mere Mortals
War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
May 3rd, 2026

This past Sunday, Bay Area dance audiences marked a moment in time as San Francisco Ballet danced the final performance of its current season. What a way to say goodbye! Or I guess more accurately, ‘see you later’ as they will be back in the Opera House before we know it. For this last program, Artistic Director Tamara Rojo programmed 2024’s Mere Mortals. Choreographed by Aszure Barton to an original score by Floating Points, the one-act, hour-plus performance was completely hypnotic, potent and mesmerizing. And though this was not the first time the work has graced the War Memorial stage, this was the first time I had seen it.

As Mere Mortals commenced, electronic music rumbled from the orchestra pit. Dry ice filtered onto the stage, alit with glowing red tones. Wei Wang took center stage in a slick black unitard (costumes by Michelle Jank). Hamill Industries’ celestial projections abounded. Everything about Mere Mortals was decidedly futuristic and you could hear a pin drop in the theater as viewers took it all in.

Mere Mortals has a narrative foundation, with its source material found in the Greek myth of Pandora’s box. Pandora is tempted by a jar that she is not to open. And when she gives into that temptation, havoc is released. Over the course of sixty-seven minutes, you could see that story arc and its characters, relationships, confrontations and consequences. There was emotion. There was desire. And plenty of manipulation at play.

San Francisco Ballet in
Aszure Barton & Floating Points'
Mere Mortals
Photo Lindsey Rallo

While I too saw the story unfolding, for me, Mere Mortals was most impressive as a conceptual science fiction adventure. Like a dance experience launching the viewer into an otherworldly atmosphere, introducing the inhabitants of a new land, a new place. With an eclectic mix of choreographic language, Wang (as Hope) welcomed us aboard this journey. His solo was peppered with flexed feet and superpassé, but also very classical developpés and mid-air rotations.

Then came the full cast; an army of dancers aggressively taking the space. They moved with urgency, their pulsing motions mirroring the score. Led by Joseph Walsh as Prometheus, stylized pedestrianism and pounding fists suggested militaristic robots, though it didn’t necessarily read as nefarious. More just the intense power that can be found in a committed collective. Nikisha Fogo’s Pandora emerged from the group, rising above and orbiting around them. Coordinating arms gave a decidedly reptilian tone; quizzical heads also suggesting other species. And Fogo’s series of promenade to passé reinforced themes of control and measuredness.

Mere Mortals had fantastic visual effects, though audience members who suffer from motion sickness may have had to look away during the lengthy, moving projection sequence mid-way through.

Now clad in lamé gold, Wang’s character reappeared in the last third of the piece, like he was bookending the experience. The ensemble, also now in gold, joined him, and the stage looked like a glowing sun. Earlier choreography for Wang and the corps returned, but the mood and tone was quite different. There was a peacefulness and calm, even in Barton’s staccato movements. And a slow rise in sixth position appeared to signal a new chapter, the beginning of another day or perhaps the conclusion of our journey to the land of Mere Mortals. 

San Francisco Ballet in Aszure Barton & Floating Points' Mere Mortals
Photo Lindsey Rallo

Smuin Contemporary Ballet - "Future Forward"

Smuin Contemporary Ballet
Future Forward
Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek
May 1st, 2026

In just a matter of weeks, Smuin Contemporary Ballet’s 2025/2026 season will reach its conclusion. And what a year it has been! Mixed repertory programs, premiere works, a holiday extravaganza and the launch of their new choreographic platform, Spring Point. Before heading to Mountain View, the final bill of the year, Future Forward, ran for a weekend at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek. It was terrific. Ahead of curtain, Artistic Director Amy Seiwert shared that the four ballets we were about to see were incredibly different, and that was not an exaggeration. Future Forward gave us storytelling. Topically urgent narratives. Embodied grace. And it highlighted the link between choreographic and musical form. It was a great night of concert dance and certainly had this viewer (and I’m sure others) anxious to see what Smuin has in store as it looks ahead to its future.

Yuri Rogers and Maggie Carey in
Skarpetowska’s Sextette 
Photo Maximillian Tortoriello

Katarzyna Skarpetowska’s Sextette (2021) took the first leg of the evening’s ballet tour. And it was a brilliant journey into compositional structure. The suite for six dancers (four women, two men) beautifully mirrors its Baroque score by J.S. Bach. A long era in music history (1600-1750, depending on who you ask), the Baroque style is known for certain characteristics. One is how voices exist as simultaneously independent and interdependent. Individual musical lines are strong in their own right, and at the same time, enter a conversation with others. Like in an invention or a fugue. That conversation continues and develops until the piece in question reaches its finale. 

So, with Sextette. It was an ongoing exchange between the classical and contemporary worlds. The music, of course, was classical. The white shorts and crop tops (costuming by Susan Roemer), contemporary. A courtly atmosphere. Pointe shoes. And this dialogue was especially pronounced in Skarpetowska’s choreography. Classical petit allegro was contrasted with parallel stances. Textbook arabesques cascaded into bird arms. Russian pas de chats and temps de cuisse were followed by inventive interpretations on the classic fish dive.

More or less, we stayed in the same historical era for Michael Smuin and Raquel Bitton’s Hearts Suite, a dramatic, theatrical duet that delves into the commedia dell-arte and operatic spaces. Here we experienced ballet as storytelling. Danced (compellingly) at this performance by Tess Lane and Dominic Barrett, Hearts Suite is unrequited love. Through its solo and shared moments, it conveys yearning, longing and desire, and as the pas de deux ends, the resolution is somewhat unclear. And I think that’s on purpose.

Having premiered on San Francisco Ballet in 1986, Hearts Suite is forty. The three other works in Future Forward are from the current decade. Programming something from somewhere in the middle might have been an idea to consider. But regardless of its age, Hearts Suite served as a reminder of how incredibly intricate Michael Smuin’s choreography was and is. It looks lyrical and easeful, but at its core, it is both technically intricate and deeply layered.

Andi Schermoly’s Jane Doe opened with a non-descript egalitarian quality. Six couples, costumed by Christopher Dunn, in black; charcoal chairs dotting the space. Each woman stared ahead stoically, with dread, and immediately, I was concerned for them. As the world premiere continued, it was clear that the concern was well-founded. An urgent narrative was unfolding – the treatment of women by men. Their limbs were manipulated by their partners. Palms were violently grabbed. Dancers were aggressively dragged across the floor. Hands clasped over mouths. It felt perilous. And then a potent shift. In a physical statement of defiance and strength, the six women came together in a determined, grounded variation, complete with staccato, body percussion. Jane Doe’s first two-thirds confronted the audience, and it was powerful.

As Jane Doe went on, it ventured a little into the Dance Theater realm – adding elements like additional costuming, music, props, scenework and intentional absurdity. But dipping into that genre for a short time doesn’t always read, and in this case, Jane Doe’s thread got a bit lost. 

Eleanor Prince & Dominic Barrett in
Seiwert's Still Falling
Photo Maximillian Tortoriello

Future Forward closed with another world premiere, Seiwert’s Still Falling. Set against Jim French’s ombré cyclorama, Still Falling was a multi-chaptered suite where elegance reigned supreme. Whether in solo, duets, trios, quintets or full cast expressions, every movement, every moment, was polished and refined. And it featured Seiwert’s singular way of exploring the possibilities that ballet vocabulary and technique have. Elegance was certainly the throughline, but there were plenty of moods and tones at play. Some chapters were sweeping and expansive, others delicate and soft. A broad dynamic spectrum was on full display. Smooth, legato variations against sprightly, precise gestures. Still Falling was ravishing and I cannot wait to see it again.