The Smuin Ballet
During the dog days of August when the dance calendar in New York City is leaner than a runway model, along came the Smuin Ballet's sixteen agile dancers, who sailed with ease through some tough choreography by Michael Smuin offering a variety of music by Sinatra, Stravinsky, and a delicious Bluegrass score "Bluegrass/Slyde" by Edgar Meyer. The evening was a fine contrast to the oppressive heat.
Especially eye-catching among the dancing crew were Shannon Hurlburt, angling through the sophisticated Sinatra recording of "That's Life," and Celia Fushille-Burke drawing attention with her unique graciousness of spirit. Neither dancer concentrated on wowing the viewer with technique. It was their presence on stage, honest and effortless, that captivated the attention.
But what do we know about the Smuin Ballet stuck away in San Francisco, often overshadowed by the prestigious San Francisco Ballet and the much-heralded upstart company "Lines?"
Michael Smuin is a familiar name in dance history. Once a leading dancer and choreographer with American Ballet Theater and San Francisco Ballet he went on to direct the San Francisco Ballet only to be released under less than amiable conditions. He is also a veteran choreographer of Broadway and of movies, but has happily and successfully returned to his first love ballet. In 1994 he assembled a company bearing his name, and has since placed them near the top in the hierarchy of West Coast companies.
Burke and Hurlburt sat with me between Saturday matinee and evening programs to enlighten Dancer magazine readers about the workings of this company and its obvious success. Our meeting was just before Burke's final career performance that night. At 42 she was retiring from the stage. "I came from El Paso Ballet, now defunct, to San Francisco Ballet via that school's scholarship program," she said. "SFB was a competitive atmosphere, and I am not a competitor by nature. It was too intense and often not fair. I wanted to perform, and that was not always possible."
Because of a knee injury that eventually needed surgery, Burke was forced to take time off. During her recuperation period she got married, started her family, devoted five years to launching her two children before returning to the barre. "I did things in reverse," she said. "I had my family then returned to a heavy schedule of dancing, only this time with Michael's company." By then Smuin had been forced out of his position as director of SFB, and was intent on his own new company. As a performer, a ballet mistress, a board member, and a marketing consultant, Burke has now become a day-to-day right hand woman to director Smuin.
Hurlburt is a stunning dancer and possesses the drawing power of a Broadway performer. Is he interested? He says absolutely not. At the moment he is content with his performing life, and his director who has given him opportunities to choreograph as well as to do solo shots in the repertory. Born and raised in Glens Falls New York, his dance education began in the local tap school. "I grew up being the only guy up there who danced," he recalled. At seventeen he began to study ballet. After a summer at the School of American Ballet he enrolled at Skidmore College (again the only guy dancing) but with no serious thoughts about a career until he met Kirk Peterson and became a company member of the Hartford Ballet. Peterson arranged an audition with Smuin, and nine years later Hurlburt is still a devoted company member.
"This company has been the best thing for me," Hurlburt declared. "So all thoughts of Broadway or any change of venue are out for the moment. I don't like to think about the future because I have a good thing right now. I dance good stuff, have a chance to choreograph, and work with a director I can trust. I don't feel I need to move anywhere."
The set-up for the Smuin ballet in San Francisco sounds idyllic. They have sublet space at a downtown ballet school, which gives them a virtually unrestricted place to rehearse. The company performs in the Palace of Fine Arts, the Yerba Buena Center of the Arts, and now a new theater in Carmel plus some splendid touring possibilities, which adds up to an almost year-round schedule of work. He has even mounted an annual Christmas production, (no thank-you, not another "Nutcracker") a two-part ballet both "classical" and "cool" that annually fills the coffers and keeps things humming for the year.
"We have a supportive board of directors," Burke replied to my question about funding, the bane of existence for every ballet company. "We also do a considerable amount of business from box office, and we have a good subscription service. Tickets are pre-sold which helps us with our cash flow." Burke also added that the company provides benefits, pension plan, therapists and acupuncturists for the dancers. This is not a struggling group of dancers," she emphasized. "Dancers who want to avoid the intrigue and competition of huge classical companies find a haven with us. But they must really be highly skilled and at ease with difficult partnering. That's a big prerequisite."
Hurlburt pointed out that the company seems more a family than a job. Though they rehearse, perform, and tour together, for some reason they choose to hang out together after hours as well. "We do," he admitted, laughing. "It's not for lack of friends. It's just that we actually like each other." A vital company, in a great city, with an accomplished director--sounds like a perfect place to hang your career hat as Shannon Hurlburt and Celia Fushille-Burke have so gracefully done.