Smuin Ballet

What happened to the SMUIN CHRISTMAS BALLET? I’ve been several times, but this year was very UNDERwhelming for the most part. Nothing like it used to be! Maybe it’s a new, younger cast? My dancer friends and I agreed that fewer numbers than before were good. «Baby it’s cold outside» was danced beautifully, by both dancers. «Jingle Bells Mambo» was fun and a nice addition. «Blue Christmas» was good because ‘Elvis’ was so good. Otherwise, nothing really notable. «Sugar Rum Cherry» used to be sexy and fun but the (new?) dancers just seemed like they couldn’t act sexy and didn’t flirt with the audience the way that piece has been in the past. I kept thinking «deer in the headlights» as I watched their faces. Plus, who or where was «Frosty the Snowman?» Didn’t get that costume at all and that and «Drummer Boy», «Please Come Home», «Pretty Ribbon» and «Home for the HOlidays» could all use some reworking. For the price we paid, we expected a lot more. C’mon, SMUIN, we know you can do better, because we’ve seen it !!!

Hubby and I have attended this performance more than once, so this year we decided to take our teenagers. They have outgrown the Nutcracker and have seen it many times. This was thoroughly enjoyable! Our teenage son actually stayed awake throughout the performance and our daughter was delighted as well. They both appreciated the classical music and traditional ballet of act one. Act two is full of costume changes and humor. The performance includes not only Traditional Christmas songs, but also Jewish arrangements and Irish step dance.

Made an error online in booking two $ 73 tickets to the Christmas show. Called to change to the matinée performance on Dec 20 — same day. Tickets same price — seats not as good and they charged an additional $ 5 per ticket to make the change. NOT happy ~ a little bit of fleecing going on

I went into this not knowing what to expect other than a Christmas ballet. I love dance but I just couldn’t really get into it. The beginning was quite traditional with very traditional Christmas white people music (please don’t kill me). There were very few costume changes and the choreos didn’t feel very exciting to me (but what can you do with the music :(
The latter half was a little more exciting and modern, and even the dancing was a little better (technique wise? maybe they were less nervous). However, it felt like it was aimed at kids or maybe families.
Overall I thought it’d be spicier and more interesting. I fell asleep many times but I was pretty sleep deprived. Overall I think the dancers were great and showed some interesting moves, but the choreo and music/​costumes did not do them justice. They would begin some interesting movements at the ends of choreos to move off the stage, felt a bit like a tease. I don’t understand the Unilocal koolaid.

Came here because my parents were visiting from out of town. I wanted them to have good time, so we bought tickets to the ballet!!! Ant the performance was beautiful! My family had such a great time!!! They toured downtown San Francisco, had a great dinner and finished it with a ballet!!! Would highly recommend this show ’

This was my first visit to the Smuin Ballet and I was there to see «Uncorked» during the 2014 Christmas holiday season. This was a really fun dance program with a nice mix of traditional and modern music put together with fun and imaginative choreography. I saw the show after Christmas and the tickets were discounted for those of you who are thrift-​minded. The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is a comfortable venue and I look forward to seeing this show again next year!

This year’s «Uncorked» was the second time I saw Smuin Ballet within a year (which says a lot as I don’t have a lot of time).) I thoroughly enjoyed the performances which displayed an array of classic witticism to be appreciated by all ages. The dancers have incredible skills. choreography was well-​thought out and the sets were creative. This is one company I would not mind seeing again.

When I sat down for a performance of Uncorked, Smuin Ballet’s The Christmas Ballet, I had no idea what to expect. One friend had seen their annual show once or twice before but the rest of us were newbies to this experience.
There are two parts to the performance. The first half contains traditional ballet numbers while the second half contains modern and fun (and funny) dance numbers set to traditional holiday songs and Christmas carols. There is one intermission. Even those that don’t traditionally enjoy dance performances will have a good time at The Christmas Ballet. This would be a good event for families, children and groups. Performances are in the afternoon and evening and held in various locations around the Bay Area.
This performance was staged at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. We sat in the upper section of seats, which provided a good view of the stage. One benefit was the absence of «snow» on our heads and shoulders! Tickets were purchased through Goldstar and given what we saw, it was a fantastic deal. I would have happily paid full price for a ticket to the performance. The seats were comfortable and we did not have any issues with with sight lines to the stage. Food and drinks sold at the event can be enjoyed in the theater.
Smuin Ballet is a local dance company and I’m happy to support high quality local arts groups.
I look forward to attending other Smuin Ballet performances.

For his birthday, I took one of my best friends in San Francisco to the Smuin Ballet.
The performance was held at the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts museum in San Francisco. As a first time visitor, I will say that signage at night to find the appropriate place to park and enter was a bit lacking at this venue… but I digress! I think Smuin performs at other area venues as well, so I am not sure how relevant the venue is.
The dancers were wonderful, and I had the pleasure of meeting the art director prior to the performance. It is obvious that the people of Smuin Ballet are passionate about their work, and it shows in the quality of the program.
The performance consisted of 3 separate programs. The first was classical ballet, the second was post-​modern ballet, and the third was theatrical latin ballroom ballet! I won’t give away too much in case you are going to see this same program, but it was pure delight. I actually laughed out loud a few times, as did the rest of the audience. I will say some might consider Smuin an avant-​garde ballet company, but I will say it is more accessible and less pretentious ballet than traditional /​«main stream» ballet companies.
I highly recommend and would definitely go again! Bravo!

jazz, tap, ballet, swing, tango; Smuin Ballet’s XXmas show has got you covered! Smuin ballet is a mixing pot of so many different types of dance all choreographed beautifully into one show and man those dancers are talented! Support the Art’s and give it a go!

This weekend marked our 2^nd XXMas Ballet event & our 3^rd time seeing these amazing performers at Smuin Ballet
Dividing up the show into «Classical» & «Cool» acts, we’re treated to traditional ballet numbers celebrating the holiday season to those swing & pop songs we all know & hold a special place in our hearts for…
The troupe is extremely well-​choreographed & coordinated, in the sense that they all seem to move as one unit
We all have seen shows where each dancer seems to be doing their own thing & it really detracts from the performance… not here!
These dancers are so graceful, fluid & no matter how many are on the stage, there seems to be a sense of 1 ebb & flow & that takes talent!
Fun costumes ranging from the all-​white-​with-​a-​bit-​of-​sparkle to the colorfully-all-sequined-and-bejewled…you’ll find yourself completely awed & wishing you could see them immediately all over again

I always enjoy going to their ballet shows! They never fail to amaze me with their graceful dancing. I just wish that spotlight time was more equal to each of the dancers.

Tickets off of Goldstar were $ 106.50 for three silver-​level seats (there’s three types of seating, gold, silver and bronze) and the ballet was at the Palace of Fine Arts. We picked up the tickets at the will-​call window. There was plenty of parking if you got there early. There were five different acts (separate pieces performed), three short and two long with two intermissions in between. I’d highly recommend this to everyone, including guys that think watching ballet is boring. It was eclectic in terms of the music and one of the longer acts was like watching a muted opera — very strong non-​verbal dancing and acting with lots of drama! Their fall feature was a bit too American Apparel-​esque and high schoolish, but the other acts were great (especially the first romantic piece with the three couples).
Highly recommended!

The Smuin Ballet is a winsome local troupe, and justifiably commands the loyalty and admiration of many Bay Area folks. The dancers are all classically trained, but the style itself is a meld of classic ballet and modern dance.
The current Spring Program is 3 works, each with all the dancers in one theme color (grey, peach, and blue), and minimalist or no set design. Numerous signature moves that repeated throughout, such as windmilling arms and men dragging women, gave an element of continuity among the three works, despite the fact each had a different choreographer. The dancers varied in ability level: all were at least good, some very good.
The two 20-​minute intermissions were a welcome chance to walk around, get a coffee or just to discuss each dance work.
I will definitely see them again! This region is fortunate to have a resident modern dance company, and a great performance space for them.
Yerba Buena Center is the perfect space for a troupe like this. It’s small & there’s not a bad seat, so you can connect to the dancers better. It’s very accessible. Lots of great restaurants nearby for pre-​performance dinners, and several bus routes nearby, as well as BART.

Purchased tickets for the Christmas Ballet from a seller on craigslist who bought them for 50% off.
The theatre is quite small (Yerba Buena Performing Arts) and we had orchestra seats which gave us a great view of all the performers. The first half of the show was a traditional ballet and the second half was various types of dance (jazz, lindy, tap). I really enjoyed this performance.
Support local performing arts! I would definitely watch another performance by Smuin.

Tremendous!
A must-​see for so many reasons.
*SMUIN is ballet with modern twists. Yes, classical. But also sexy, fun, sultry, awe-​inspiring, warm-​hearted, engaging, funny.
*Dancers are super attractive :) No skeleton-​starved ballet dancers here. Ladies with sinewy figures and men with very nice (back-​side!) muscles will make you all-​eyes, all night.
*You don’t have to exchange an arm and a leg for tickets.
If you haven’t already, then add SMUIN to your SF «Must do» list!

The night before going to Smuin I had a honest to heaven dream that I was a ballerina, seriously Black Swan style. I woke up and listened to the Black Swan soundtrack on the way to work. A girl can dream at least.
As for the real show, it wasn’t what I expected but it was still good. I guess I thought it’d be more ballet influenced by modern dance. There were 4 acts. A few more traditional and one based on the tango. Overall, I liked the more traditional dances but the «themed dances» based on tango and 1950s music were good too.
The 2 intermissions of 20 minutes each were too much for me but it provided ample opportunity to buy snacks and booze.
My friend and I went with a Facebook deal, $ 25 a piece for really good seats, pretty much center-​stage not too far from the stage. I probably wouldn’t pay more than $ 35 for a ticket. I look forward to checking out the holiday show.

The perfect thing to kick me out of my fugue-​like state.
Speechless and on a total high, having just come back from a *spectacular* spring show… the passion and emotion of music, with the lyrics being the dancers and their movements, their lines, expressions… definitely transported and forgot about any earthly woes.
Irenic in, weltschmerz out as I sat second row, mesmerized by the precision, the strength, and the cohesiveness and choreography to everything from Mozart’s (grew up playing lots of his piano compositions) Requiem, to a mélange of Beatles melodies (plangent and light-​hearted).
I got great classical ballet, modern dance, and yep… even tap!
What is so enjoyable about fine arts for me is the gamut of emotions displayed, everything from romantic love, to hope, fear, anger, bliss. As like a symphony, capitulation usually comes in the end of any work.
3 parts, 2 intermissions… the first one surprisingly just about 10 minutes into the program. Show in SF performed at YBCA’s Novellus… if you’re a freak and walk/​run to BART and sit as close to the exit as I, you can catch the 2218 train… but you and your hiney are gonna break a little fine sweat!
Awesome self date for a Wed. night.

The Spring Program was Fabulous!!!
I treated myself as a Mother’s Day gift… and what a TREAT it was!!!
The show was at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts… a nice venue, with comfortable seating & great staff (and volunteers… Thank You!)
The show had 3 sets, beginning with music from Prokofiev… Then Mozart and ending with The Beatles… Excellent music choices! Especially the FUN Beatles arrangement at the end of the program.
The entire show was very entertaining!!! Once you’ve seen the Smuin Ballet, none other will do…
The Dancers are soooo incredibly talented… especially the young lady performing during the Beatles song «Something»…she was Something Else!!! WOW!!! (Can one’s body really move like that??? Amazing!!!)
I left feeling so entertained, fulfilled, in awe and incredibly HAPPY!!!
Thank You Smuin Ballet… BRAVO! BRAVO!

************* REVIEW 272 ****************
I took my nieces to see Smuin Ballet, Fall Program at the Palace of Fine Arts last week. It was such a nice show. Beautiful dancers, everyone was synchronized, on point, rhythm, & perfect.
There was 3 sessions, each about 20 minutes, and intermission 15 minutes between sessions. My nieces got to get up, stretch, and got their sweet fix.
1^st Session: Brahmas-​Haydn Variations by Michael Smuin — This was 8 variations, more classical, beautiful played. This was premier back in 1996. My favorite, because I’ve been a ballet student for 10 years when I was younger, I always prefer classic, that’s just me!
2^nd Session: Oh, Inverted World by Trey McIntyre — This was 8 variations, premiered first time in OCT 1, 2010 — this was my nieces favorite parts of all 3 sessions — more modern, funny, more stories telling, & definite more eyes candy for me because all the male dancers were in the boxer! Forget about 6 packs, let’s see 8 – 12 packs! Oh my my!
3^rd Session: Bluegrass/​Slyde by Michael Smuin — This was 7 smaller sessions — all dressed in black tanks & leggings. Modern styles, a lot to do with the metal frame structures, poll dancing & etc.
I was worried that my 6 years old nice would snoring away, but to my surprise, she stayed awake & enjoyed it quite a bit!
For only $ 25-​$ 60 a ticket, this definitely a lot better than to a movie theater & my nieces got more cultured, can’t get any better than this! Great Fall program, highly recommend it to all.