Smuin Ballet Begins Season With OH, INVERTED WORLD, COLD VIRTUES and More in San Francisco, Now thru 10/14

Smuin Ballet kicks off its bold 2012 -2013 season with a revival of its smash hit Oh, Inverted World by Trey McIntyre, the West Coast premiere of Cold Virtues by rising star choreographer Adam Hougland, and three works by the late Michael Smuin: Starshadows, Homeless, and No Viviré. Smuin Ballet's Fall Program runs tonight, October 5-14, 2012 at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, San Francisco. Single tickets ($25-$65) and subscriptions ($120-$168) are now available at www.smuinballet.org or the public may call (415) 912-1899.

Called "striking" and "remarkable" by the New York Times, Oh, Inverted World by Trey McIntyre is set to music by the influential indie-rock band The Shins. An innovative fusion of McIntyre's fresh, impulsive choreography and The Shins' distinctive style, Oh, Inverted World is a mesmeric and lingering work marked by intricate patterns and athletic partnering. This dynamic ballet, commissioned by Smuin Ballet, received its world premiere in Fall 2010 in San Francisco, and recently enjoyed its New York premiere at The Joyce Theatre in Manhattan, when the New York Times again proclaimed it "irresistible. The Smuin dancers are excellent…they're at their finest here."

Smuin Ballet will also present the West Coast premiere of Cold Virtues by rising star choreographer Adam Hougland. The piece features 14 dancers, who whirl and leap against a hypnotic backdrop of spinning fans. Called "beautifully bleak, honest in unflinching fashion" by Louisville Courier-Journal, Hougland's piece, set to Philip Glass's haunting Violin Concerto, uniquely captures attention and halts time. As the Principal Choreographer for The Louisville Ballet and Resident Choreographer for Cincinnati Ballet, Houghland has added to his list of accomplishments by choreographing original works for The American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, Introdans in the Netherlands, The Limon Dance Company, The Washington Ballet, and The New York Choreographic Institute at New York City Ballet. In 2006, he created a world premiere for Juilliard's Centennial Celebration that was broadcast on the PBS 'Live from Lincoln Center' series. He has won the Princess Grace Award for Choreography, the Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography, and a New York State Council for the Arts Commissioning Grant, and was included in Dance Magazine's 25 to Watch for 2011 and Pointe Magazine's 10 VIPs of 2006.

The program continues with a set of pieces choreographed by Michael Smuin. Starshadows, a sensual and evocative adagio for three couples, explores the mystery and beauty of intimate relationships. Set to Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major, this piece is dark, dreamlike, and describes in dance a half-remembered melody that flows through the viewer's consciousness. Two solo works by Smuin will also grace the stage; Homeless is a joyous, exhilarating piece that celebrates dance athleticism through sudden leaps and sublime jumps while following the insistent exotic rhythm imbedded in the music. No Viviré spices up the stage when it pairs the extensive classical training of dancing en pointe with the delicious flavoring of Latin American rhythms.