Smuin's razzle-dazzle radiates in 'Gershwin'
Rachel Howard, Chronicle Dance Correspondent

Monday, May 5, 2008

Michael Smuin was a ballet showman whose slick dances his fans loved, and plenty of critics - this one included - loved to hate. But watching his Smuin Ballet carry on after the gleefully populist choreographer's sudden death one year ago, it's hard to remember what all the fuss was about. Perhaps that's largely because Smuin's 2001 "Dancin' With Gershwin," which opened at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Friday, is one of his tamer packages. It's inoffensive, undemanding entertainment that will keep Smuin devotees happy - and likely win some new fans.

5 questions for Amy Seiwert on Smuin Ballet

Rachel Howard

Sunday, October 19, 2008

When ballet showman Michael Smuin died last year, he left behind a lively legacy, a company of devoted dancers and a choreographic protege, Amy Seiwert. "Boss," as Smuin Ballet dancer Seiwert called him, always championed her sharply innovative, formally dazzling ballets, which she began choreographing about a decade ago. In June, Seiwert retired from the stage to become Smuin Ballet's resident choreographer. Her latest work, "Been Through Diamonds," premieres this week alongside Smuin's "Dances With Songs" and Robert Sund's "Carmen."

Dance review: Smuin's comic talents regifted

Rachel Howard, Chronicle Dance Correspondent

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Michael Smuin was essentially a theatrical choreographer. His protege Amy Seiwert is, to her core, a formal one. Smuin, who died last year, never pushed her to be anything but herself. But in "Been Through Diamonds," her first ballet as resident choreographer of Smuin Ballet (and her seventh for the troupe), we see a gifted talent testing her range.