Press

Press Room

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Press Releases  |  Reviews Photos

Welcome to the OBC Press Room, the online resource that offers easy access to the latest information about Oakland Ballet Company. Here, members of the press can find the latest press releases, reviews and downloadable high-resolution photos.

Media contact:
info@oaklandballet.org

PRESS RELEASES

Click on the boxes below to read each press release.

Fall Performance Season 2023 Press Release

Flower

Luna Mexicana

Graham Lustig’s The Nutcracker

Dancing Moons Festival 2023 Press Release

Dancing Moons Festival 2022 Press Release

Jangala 2019 Press Release

Jazz Vistas Spring 2019 Season Press Release

Graham Lustig’s The Nutcracker 2018 Press Release

REVIEWS

Click on each title below to read the review.

The Daily Californian - Luna Mexicana - Lauren Harvey | November 2023

Oakland Ballet Company’s annual Luna Mexicana honored Día de los Muertos with an exhilarating celebration of Mexican tradition and culture…All in all, Oakland Ballet’s Día de los Muertos performance hit every mark, honoring the past and keeping tradition alive in the present.

 

Click here to read the full review.

Dance Review - Flower - Jen Norris | October 2023

The raucous celebratory spirit of the proceedings is a welcome change from the staid ballet viewing that takes place in most concert dance settings…Flower feels like a love letter to Oakland and the power of the universal language of dance to create community.

 

Click here to read the full review.

The Daily Californian - Dancing Moons Festival - Edith Matthias | April 2023

On March 16, the Oakland Ballet Company showcased its captivating performance of the “Dancing Moons Festival” at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. This proclaimed “celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander choreographers” was refreshingly contemporary, moving away from the traditional Eurocentric mode of ballet.

 

Click here to read the full review.

Click here to go to the Dancing Moons Festival Press and Reviews page.

Dance Commentary - Graham Lustig's The Nutcracker - Heather Desaulnier | December 2018

Live orchestral accompaniment makes such a difference when it comes to dance performance! The last time I was at the Paramount Theatre for an Oakland Ballet Company program, I commented that at times, the recorded mix was so clippy and loud that it distracted from what was happening on stage. Not so yesterday for the opening of Graham Lustig’s The Nutcracker. As has been the tradition in past years, the Oakland Symphony, under the direction of Michael Morgan, and the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir joined the troupe for their annual pre-Christmas run of the story ballet. Live music combined with a festive narrative and splendid dancing made for a simply magical afternoon at the theater.

 

Click here to read the full review.

Dance Commentary - Scene and Heard - Heather Desaulnier | June 2018

Oakland Ballet Company marked the transition from May to June with Scene & Heard, a selection of work dedicated to the breadth and range of story in ballet. For this program, Artistic Director Graham Lustig charged six choreographers with the task of creating short narrative ballets. The resulting commissions (three from within the OBC family and three from local choreographers) made for a terrific afternoon of choreography, danced by a company that is looking impressively strong.

 

Click here to read the full review.

The San Francisco Chronicle - Scene and Heard - Allen Ulrich | June 2018

Most ballet audiences love a good story graphically told, but not all choreographers can spin a yarn successfully. That gift requires both instinct and training. So, bravo to Oakland Ballet Artistic Director Graham Lustig, who planned his company’s spring season around the art of the narrative. No fewer than six premieres by local dance makers filled the schedule.

 

Click here to read the full review.

Oakland Ballet's Jangala - Joanna Harris | March 2018

All the staff, cast and dancers and especially Graham Lustig are to congratulated for this extraordinary production. It is wonderful to know that Lustig, is including the Oakland community in his outreach and reaching that community where they live, in the various neighborhood high schools. 

Click here to read the full review.

Oakland Ballet's Jangala - Anoushka Agrawal | March 2018

There is something remarkably charming about the blend of the traditional with the contemporary — as if two completely different cultures and eras are merged into one. Oakland Ballet Company’s Jangala exemplifies this. 

Click here to read the full review.

PHOTOS

Please contact info@oaklandballet.org if you are part of the media looking for specific photos.

For archival footage, please visit the Chromadiverse Legacy Project or the Ronn Guidi Foundation.