Bay Area dance company Smuin Ballet has been driving down south to perform at Carmel's Sunset Center for years—of late, three shows annually.
For its 22nd season, Smuin returns with a performance called Dance Series One, comprising four dance works including "Broken Open," a new piece by choreographer-in-residence Amy Seiwert, accompanied by music from cellist and composer Julia Kent; Ma Cong's "French Twist," a dance inspired by Tom & Jerry cartoons and set to French composer Hugues Le Bars; and departed founder Michael Smuin's “Bouquet,” a pas deux set to two Shostakovich piano concertos.
A second new piece, called "Maslow," is a rumination on psychologist Abraham Maslow's idea of human self-actualization, scored by a new composition by bluegrass/classical cellist Ben Sollee, and influenced by hip-hop dance moves. This mash-up comes from 28-year-old dancer Ben Needham-Wood, who was commissioned by Smuin Artistic Director Celia Fushille.
“I wish I had 10 years more experience because Smuin is so renowned,” Needham-Wood says. “This is the first time I've been commissioned to create something for the main stage of a company of this stature.”
To choreograph the piece, he said he tried to project his artistic growth in 10 years’ time and tap into the skills he would have then. In that process, he realized he was trying to self-actualize, which his mom, a psych major in college, was a big proponent of. So he decided to turn his attention to the psychologist himself as the subject.
The hip-hop influence came by way of his exposure to the culture when he was younger.
“In high school [St. Paul’s in Crocker, New Hampshire] I was offered a grant to study hip-hop culture in New York, meeting with pioneers of the hip-hop movement, the cultural movement of it. Through that study, I became more versed in that aesthetic. For me, being a classically trained ballet dancer, it offers juxtaposition. I love taking the structure of ballet and fusing that with the new energies, textures and dynamics of hip-hop. It's served me well.”
The music, by Ben Sollee, is an original score, composed specifically for Needham-Wood’s piece.
“Ben and I met when I was dancing in Louisville, Kentucky, where Ben now lives,” he continues. “From the moment I met him, we both knew we had a very strong [tendency to use] a narrative. It guided a lot of our practices. We found kinship in it. We've always been looking for something to work on together.”
And here it is. A combination of intellectual thought and lively culture in the form of a dance, embedded in a program that spans tradition and innovation.
Dance Series One is performed 8pm Friday and 2pm Saturday at Sunset Center, Ninth and San Carlos, Carmel. $57-$73. 620-2048, www.smuinballet.org.