News & Reviews
Experience the power of danceReview | Diablo Ballet is 24 years strong
by Terez Rose, The Classical Girl | March 2018Diablo 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 2018The 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 2017A 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.
Review | Dance Commentary by Heather Desaulniers: Diablo Ballet
By Heather Desaulniers | October 2017An emotive, contemporary duet that charmed with a universal parable. A chamber work replete with neoclassical speed and musicality. A fun-filled, energetic ensemble dance to welcome the coming holiday season. What a well-crafted program to kick off Diablo Ballet’s twenty-fourth year!
News | Diablo Ballet’s ‘A Swingin’ Holiday and More’
By Maxine Marshall | August 2017Nothing says “holidays” like ballet set to the bright music of the 1930s and ’40s, including favorites by legends like Duke Ellington and Nat King Cole.
News | Big Love for Diablo Ballet Artistic Director
By Claudia Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle | April 2017People love to talk about Lauren Jonas behind her back. They describe the Diablo Ballet co-founder and artistic director using words like “nurturing,” “generous,” “incredible.”
News | Diablo Ballet Dancers Reach Out To Incarcerated Teens
By Jennifer Modenessi, Bay Area News Group | January 2016With the help of a California Arts Council grant, Jonas and Stegge are teaching movement classes to juvenile offenders in a bid to give them new and positive ways to express themselves — and maybe even help them stay out of juvenile hall. The teens — ages 15 to 18 — meet weekly with the dancers and learn how to turn their emotions into movement.