Rita Felciano

A Quarter of a Century

A Quarter of a Century


"Schubert Scherzo," "The Eternal Idol," "Sinfonietta" "Echo," "Merely Players" "Blue Until June"
Smuin Contemporary Ballet
Palace of Fine Arts
San Francisco, CA
September 30, 2018

Smuin Contemporary Ballet, as it is known today, is that rare story of a company surviving without missing a beat even after the unexpected death of its founder. Michael Smuin in this case. Less than a decade after his acrimonious departure from San Francisco Ballet, with which he had been associated off and on since

By Rita Felciano
The Weight We Carry

The Weight We Carry


"death"
Fact/SF
CounterPulse Theater
San Francisco, CA
Sept, 27, 2018


Sometimes a show leaves you slightly dissatisfied because it didn’t quite hit its target. Yet with choreographer/Artistic Director Charles Slender-White’s “death” chronological and imaginative time, the examination of the audience/performers’ relationship, the ingenious use of Counter Pulse’s physical space, and the slippery topic of this inquiry, you couldn’t help admire the endeavor's complexity. FACT/SF’s three male (Slender-White, Keanu Brady and Kegan

By Rita Felciano
A Mixed Bill in Every Way

A Mixed Bill in Every Way


"Stabat Mater" "Mad Brass"
Garrett + Moulton Productions
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
San Francisco, CA
September 6, 2018


Using less experienced dancers as a backdrop to soloists can boast of a long tradition in Ballet. But when Janice Garrett and Charles Moulton, each after long independent careers in contemporary dance, decided to bring a "movement choir" of not-yet professional dancers to their co-choreographies, they stepped into unknown territory. Former tapper, theater director and Merce Cunningham dancer Moulton was best

By Rita Felciano