Saturday Matinee

Acclaimed choreographer Trey McIntyre (back center) sets his world premiere Oh, Inverted World on Smuin Ballet dancers (l-r front) Ben Behrends, Erin Yarbrough-Stewart, and Matt Linzer opening at the Palace of Fine Arts October 1-9.

Smuin Ballet continues its trend of bringing exciting choreographers to the Bay Area by kicking off  its 2010-11 season with “Oh, Inverted World”, a world premiere by choreographer Trey McIntyre. Set to the music of the Shins, this piece joins two of Michael Smuin’s pieces, “Brahms-Haydn Variations”, and “Bluegrass/Slyde” in their fall season which begins on October 1. Word is that Trey McIntyre turned down an opportunity to choreograph with NYCB so that he could present this piece.

To read more about Trey McIntyre and the decision to base the dance company’s home base in Boise, Idaho, click here.

For information on tickets, click here.

Hello everyone! I hope everyone had a great summer – in the past month, I wrapped up my Ph.D., finished up my dissertation, gave a rushed exit seminar, and started my 3rd year of med school within the span of a week. I’m getting used to my new life as a (busy) medical student, surrounded by runny-nosed babies and other high strung med students, but of course I’m itching to get back to the theater again whenever I get a chance.

The only time that I’ve had recently was to get myself to a movie theater, which I rarely do. I went with my mother to see Mao’s Last Dancer (which appears to be more limited release than I thought). It’s not groundbreaking cinema, but an arresting tearjerker that was perfect for my mom and I. Kudos for an impressive debut with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s dancer, Chi Cao, in the leading role. For dancers, this movie isn’t as dance-heavy as the star-studded Center Stage, but more of a mix of dance that served the storytelling. For the dancing, I thought their choreographed pieces were a bit stilted. Surely they could have picked a better choreographed Rite of Spring than they did for the movie’s climax? And I sort of hated but loved the ending, which was trite but still, completely satisfying. That also sums up my opinion of the whole movie.