NEWS & REVIEWS

“The Diablo premiere of Sean Kelly’s Coppélia’s Wedding kicked off the festivities, a seven-movement ballet with classical charm to spare. Each chapter felt very much like a pronouncement of happiness and joy, like one might expect at a wedding celebration.”

“Roque has choreographed some challenging dancing, and the Diablo dancers are up to the challenge. A big surprise, to me at least, is the lengthy dialogue about apples between McConnell and Wells, who articulate it very well, by the way. It’s clear that Roque has a lot going on below the surface of this witty and clever piece. Frugivory is different and fun, and I like it a lot.”

Diablo Ballet turns 25 this season, and that’s something worth celebrating. And celebrate, they did, with a world premiere of a full-length ballet, Once Upon a Time, on March 22 and 23 at the Lesher Center for the Performing Arts. Choreographer Julia Adam has woven a host of fairytale characters—Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and her stepsisters, Alice in Wonderland and the White Rabbit, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and more—into a narrative ballet that’s smart and funny, with broad appeal.

Diablo Ballet’s 25th Anniversary season was celebrated with the world premiere of Once Upon A Time, a new ballet in two scenes by choreographer Julia Adam. Set to music from George Gershwin’s An American in Paris and Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra and accompanied by the Contra Costa Wind Symphony, Adam created a fairytale remix enjoyable for all ages.

At a time when larger cities (San Jose comes to mind) has seen such an asset vanish more than once, this suburban community does just fine with its mobile 10-dancer version, now living out its silver-anniversary program in unfettered leaps and bounds.