Michael Smuin Takes a Spin With the Greats

Choreographer Michael Smuin is fearless, and half the fun of his “Dancin’ With Gershwin,” Wednesday at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, came from watching him tackle songs associated with a pantheon of high-profile dance-makers, from Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and George Balanchine to Tommy Tune and Susan Stroman.

Danced by his attractive, skillful Smuin Ballets/SF, his plotless full-evening medley proved strong in its theatrical concepts but weak in choreographic development, with even the cleverest staging ploys quickly losing their luster because he couldn’t sustain them with original movement. Repetition set in, and even Easton Smith’s spectacular overhead lifts eventually grew over-familiar.

But Smuin had a couple of not-so-secret weapons that kept the evening aloft, starting with Willa Kim’s bold and witty costumes. And, all by themselves, the varied recordings used as accompaniment offered an 80-year recap of some fabulous Gershwin performances.

Besides Smith’s lifts, the evening depended heavily on the mature lyricism of Celia Fushille-Burke, the gymnastic daring of Sarah Barber and the energetic tapping of Shannon Hurlburt--though he looked much more impressive in ballet bravura during the finale and a rock solo early on. Allison Jay also made an impact as a Marilyn Monroe clone and in a dreamy love duet with Barber.

The evening began with a lot of surprises, among them two intermissions in the first 40 minutes. The first interval came after the company performed Smuin’s sextet “Star Shadows” (to Ravel) and two solos from “To the Beatles Revisited” as an unannounced curtain-raiser; the second took place when an accidental snag left a “Gershwin” piano prop dangling precariously over the dancers’ heads.