Smuin Ballet Flies to the Moon With Spirited Zorro! and Sinatra Ballet
March 1, 2024—The New York Post dance critic Clive Barnes once said of Michael Smuin that, "he dares with an imagination that runs happily from Maryinsky to Las Vegas." Last night Michael Smuin's imagination ran very happily from Zorro to Frank Sinatra on the opening night of Smuin Contemporary Ballet's 30th anniversary production "Celebrating Michael Smuin." This specially added program celebrating the company's late founder features Zorro!, not performed since 2006, and Fly Me To The Moon, now in its 20th year.
Smuin's Zorro! is a story of heroic sword duels daydreamed by a Mittyesque theater usher juxtaposed with Fly Me to the Moon, a set of classic, romantic Frank Sinatra tunes, all danced with upbeat attitude. What's not to like? As Michael Smuin himself said in a 2004 interview with current Artistic Director Celia Fushille, "When Sinatra sings, you naturally want to dance." Last night, the Smuin dancers danced to the moon and back in a fitting tribute to Michael Smuin's signature style of ballet meets Broadway.
Michael Smuin's credits and accomplishments across the dance world are literally too numerous to mention. The recipient of multiple awards for choreography in ballet and Broadway as well as film and TV, Artistic Director of San Francisco Ballet, resident choreographer of American Ballet Theatre, and respected director of his own successful company, Smuin's influence remains in the repertoires of dance companies across the country. Known for extending the vocabulary and definition of ballet, yet retaining classical movements, Zorro! and Fly Me to the Moon are fitting tributes to his talent.
Zorro! is a real crowd pleaser, yet it has not been performed since 2006, possibly because of the many scene changes. It is performed in eleven scenes whose sets change with magical skill and speed as the story moves from movie theater to church to house and back again. The sword duels, choreographed by fencing master Richard Lane, are convincingly real, yet not violent or threatening. Sword fights break out not only between Zorro and the soldiers, but erupt in melees that include no fewer than three Zorros, the theater usher, and Terez Dean Orr in a period costume dress wielding a saber with the best of them. Zorro! is very entertaining, with flashing swords, pirouettes, and cartwheels. The stirring score by 2004 Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee Charles Fox is well suited to the action.
Fly Me to the Moon is danced against a backdrop of twinkling stars piercing a night sky. Featured are nine romantic Sinatra tunes, including Fly Me to the Moon, The Way You Look Tonight, and That's Life. The costumes, by Ann Beck, are spot on for these lighthearted, romantic numbers, with women in sheer pastel dresses, men in pastel vests with neckties and hats. I Won't Dance is a humorous piece with Ricardo Dyer stubbornly refusing to dance, while his partner dances up a storm around him, occasionally sneaking in a few steps when her back is turned. The Way You Look Tonight is an endearing piece that shows off the Smuin dancers' tap dancing skills.
In the 2004 interview with Celia Fushille, Michael Smuin said that younger audiences would still appreciate Sinatra's music because it is passed down from generation to generation. That may no longer be true, as evidenced by last night's predominantly grey audience. The four young people sitting in my row didn't return after Zorro! Theirs is a generation of short attention spans glued to earbuds tuned to instant celebrities with a short shelf life. When the singer Michael Bublé was asked why his renditions of Sinatra's songs should be recorded when there was already Frank Sinatra, Bublé replied, "Frank Sinatra is dead. Don't let the music die with him." Time will tell whether Fly Me To The Moon will resonate with coming generations. But for now, it's great romantic fun.
Celebrating Michael Smuin runs through March 3rd. For more information see smuinballet.org.