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Article: Smuin Ballets/SF. (Center for the Arts Theater, Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco, California)
- Article from:
- Dance Magazine
- Article date:
- September 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Dance Magazine, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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During his twelve years as codirector of San Francisco Ballet, Michael Smuin was the lovable bad boy: he skidded across the art spectrum from pop to highbrow and usually came to a screeching halt in a flashy, emotionally accessible middle ground. His ouster by the ballet board a decade ago was bitter and nasty, and by the look of his new company, Smuin has neither forgotten nor forgiven.
The program, "Dances with Songs" (twenty-two of them), opened with a flash of ironic wit. The portentous first notes of Beethoven's Fifth sounded, then the company name was splashed in blocky Superman-style lettering across the backdrop. Next came a medley of love song fragments ...