Smuin Contemporary Ballet - "Spring Point"

Smuin Contemporary Ballet
Spring Point
ODC Theater, San Francisco
February 13th, 2026

Friday evening at ODC Theater was all about newness. Four world premiere dances. An event that actually started on time! Curtains around the city are consistently being held for close to fifteen minutes in anticipation of latecomers. It’s getting tiresome, so a show that begins when it says it will feels like a new experience. And, of course, the launch of Spring Point, the newest choreographic platform at Smuin Ballet. As Artistic Director Amy Seiwert explained to the packed house, Spring Point is designed to foster emerging choreographic voices as they navigate the complex journey from early studio performance towards (hopefully!) a main stage. It was a lovely night showcasing a collage of divergent work, danced impeccably by Smuin’s company artists.

Costumed in matching white and taupe, eight dancers took seats around the perimeter of the stage to kick off Julia Feldman’s Wallflower. Alone, in pairs or in groups, they would take turns inhabiting the open middle space. The cast cycled through a unique physical vocabulary, marrying classical ballet technique, contemporary twists and present-day style. Gestural sequences abounded, as did port de bras from ballet’s positions of the body (croisé, efface, écarté). Straight flying arms matched with the bird sounds in Wallflower’s score. And Tessa Barbour’s developpé in 2nd was a thing of beauty. Feldman’s phrase material had such a circular, breathy feel – expanding in space with every inhalation and cascading with the exhale. Though where I think Wallflower particularly excelled was how it showed support, camaraderie and celebration of a community. Each dancer was afforded time and opportunity to share their individuality while also harnessing a collective energy when the full ensemble danced together. And with the presence of the chairs, it was poignant how Feldman explored that each cast member was simultaneously a performer and a witness. 

Charmaine Butcher in Babatunji's Society
Photo Maximillian Tortoriello

The sextet for Babatunji’s Society entered the stage, dressed identically. Slowly trudging across the space in long black trench coats with stiff high collars (costumes by Erin Yarbrough Powell), the mood was heavy, angsty and foreboding. Over Society’s six chapters, dancers would shed this ominous outerwear in an attempt to break free from the mold of the group. And they did so in a very Dance Theater container, where numerous theatrical devices were employed. Lighting, music, scenework, characters and text conversed with Babatunji’s highly physical movement. Movement that was full throttle and high-octane, full of acrobatic flips and rolls, as well as martial arts, breaking and percussive dance influences. Desperation was palpable, but so was persistence and success.

Another multi-episode contemporary ensemble work, Cassidy Isaacson’s Chapter 3 is inspired by “a moment of personal change and deepened awareness,” as shared in the program notes. With equal parts groundedness and soaring, Chapter 3 was full of highly kinetic and athletic syntax, harkening to various movement traditions. Pilates was present, as was yoga. A Horton tilted side turn. Ample partnering. In fact, Isaacson’s partnering passes had the most interesting points of contact and support, almost like the material that might have arisen out of Grand Union’s contact improv practice. And with the recurring notion of spinning and rotation, each turn transported every performer somewhere new.

Tess Lane and Maggie Carey in
Carey's In the Blue Hours of Morning
Photo Maximillian Tortoriello

Closing the inaugural Spring Point program was Maggie Carey’s In the Blue Hours of Morning, danced by a cast of eight. While I enjoyed every world premiere on the bill, this was my favorite of the night. Everything was so joyful - the banjo-filled Oh Hellos score, Carey’s sweeping choreography, Tess Lane and Yarbrough Powell’s flowing costumes, the demeanor of each dancer. So bright, so dazzling, so much happiness. Waves were a conceptual throughline. Canoned phrases rippled across ODC Theater’s stage. Bodies swayed from one side to the other. Arms undulated and cartwheeled, suspension and release informing step after step. And in Morning, many of the quick, complex phrases, particularly with the arms, directly punctuated the score, suggesting a foray into neo-classical ballet.