News & Reviews

Experience the power of dance

Review | Diablo Ballet’s Balanchine and Beyond

Heather Desaulniers | February 2019

Twenty-five epic years of stellar dance and community engagement, all while building programs that both inspire and challenge audiences. Friday night’s opening of the Balanchine & Beyond program certainly continued this trend.

News | Diablo Ballet, Robert Dekkers to present new version of ‘Red Shoes’

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle | June 2018

Dekkers believes artists keep returning to “The Red Shoes” for inspiration for the same reason it attracted him. “A lot of the work I make is totally abstract, not really narratively driven, so when I do decide to do something based on a narrative, what draws me is the desire to find a way to take this framework and turn it on its head,” he said.

Review | Diablo Ballet: 24th Anniversary Gala

by Grier Cooper, CriticalDance | March 2018

Diablo Ballet’s 24th Anniversary gala at the Lesher Center for the Arts, was a choreographic tapas of delicious, bite-sized samplings of the company’s diverse offerings and capabilities. The dancers were at their peak. For a company to go from organic, free-flowing contemporary pieces created by top modern choreographers such as Trey McIntyre to the simple elegance of the long-loved classical ballet Swan Lake with equal skill and precision requires a special breed of dancer with experience and maturity. This Diablo Ballet program clearly demonstrates that it is a company that nurtures and produces that breed of dancer.

Review | Diablo Ballet is 24 years strong

by Terez Rose, The Classical Girl | March 2018

Diablo Ballet has done it again, and the company has never looked better. Wait. Didn’t I say that last year? But it’s true—last Thursday’s anniversary gala performance seemed to be presenting Diablo Ballet at its strongest, its most versatile.

News | Concord pianist writes film score for Diablo Ballet anniversary

by Janice de Jesus, East Bay Times | March 2018

“Film scores are never easy and always make me second-guess myself,” said Levitt, manager at Steinway & Sons in Walnut Creek. “At the same time they also stretch my creativity and force me to grow as a composer. As a result, the film gets the music I feel it deserves and I reach a new level of personal achievement.”

News | How One Company Navigates the Messy Ballet World

Carla Escoda | February 2018

The ballet world is highly stratified, however, there are small companies that quietly thrive — as if occupying a separate ecosystem. On the threshold of the 24th season of Diablo Ballet, I spoke with co-founder and artistic director Lauren Jonas about the phenomenon.

Review | Diablo Ballet “A Swingin’ Holiday and More”

By Bryn Namavari | November 2017

A sprightly and spry revue with its brightly colored costumes (Cynthia Sarmiento), lively accompaniment from Greg Sudmeier with the Diablo Ballet Swing Orchestra, and playful choreography, this piece continues to be a surefire way to mark the beginning of the holiday season.

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