Pints and plies: A pairing that brings opportunity to ballet and the uninitiated

Artistic Director Amy Seiwert recalled debuting a piece during the Sacramento Ballet company’s inaugural Beer and Ballet event in 1994. The event was a chance for the troupe’s dancers a rare opportunity to step from the back of the class to the front of the room.

“It’s an incredibly vulnerable place to put yourself in. You make a ballet, you put it out there and you have no control how people see it, what they experience when they see it or what they take away from it. And that’s hard because you have to just put it out there and hope it reaches an audience in the way you intended,” Seiwert said.

Beer and Ballet’s choreographic workshops give nine members of the local ensemble the opportunity to create and perform their own pieces, which will debut Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. and run through Feb. 16. Each performance is followed by a Q&A session where dancers field questions from attendees.

This year’s performances are being curated with choreographic tutelage from Seiwert and Val Caniparoli of the San Francisco Ballet, who has lent his expertise to more than 50 companies in the United States and abroad, from Singapore to Finland.

Caniparoli said he and Seiwert will address all aspects of a piece with choreographers from lighting and costume, to music and editing, but he says that the beer and ballet’s intimate studio setting places the spotlight on dance.

“You can’t hide behind production. You’ve got to produce. It’s choreography. That’s what you’re seeing. A lot of times now, with technology, I see choreography hidden behind extravagant film,” Caniparoli said.

“This is how you should do it. You won’t see totally new designs. You’ll see some lighting, but in that setting it’s limited. You can’t do everything you want to do, and that’s another thing you have to learn — compromise.”

The Cunningham-Binda Stage at the E. Claire Raley Studios for the Performing Arts seats a total of 125 people, bringing attendees in close proximity to performers.

Dancer Julia Feldman said that the intimate setting and no-frills performances offer a less-daunting introduction to those who may not be ballet aficionados.

“I think there’s something about the setting that makes it more relatable or more approachable, or less intimidating than seeing ballerinas on a stage lit up and all this production value that you might not be able to relate to as much,” Feldman said.

Feldman has participated in Beer and Ballet since 2012, which gave her her first opportunity to choreograph a piece in her inaugural year with the company. Feldman performed a solo during her first year, followed by an ensemble piece the next year.

This year, Feldman plans to work with a series of Bach preludes, which will include eight dancers, five movements and a solo.

“I can’t stress enough how invaluable it is to have this platform. For me personally, I can say it is what allowed me to find my voice as a choreographer and realize that it’s something I am passionate about. I’ve learned all of my tools through this program,” Feldman said.

Previous reporting by The Bee highlighted Seiwert’s initiatives to create channels for women to step into leadership roles in ballet. According to the Dance Data Project, Seiwert and Sacramento Ballet’s commission of The Nutcracker was the only female-choreographed, full-length world premiere during the 2018-19 season.

“Amy is passionate about making sure there is equal representation of male and female representation in choreography. It’s vital that there are more female voices represented in the ballet world,” Feldman said.

Just as Seiwert continues to open doors for dancers, she is hoping the beer aspect of the event will help to introduce new patrons to the Sacramento Ballet.

“Sometimes when people hear the word ballet and they think if you go to see the ballet you’re going to behave a certain way, that it’s very froufrou,” she said. “There’s this kind of preconception of what it means, and the beer is really to break that conception a little bit. You can sit there and drink your beer and watch the ballet, and both of those things can be of incredibly high caliber, and they will marry well together.”

This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 10:49 AM.