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The Oakland Ballet Company is a non-profit ballet company based in Oakland, California. OBC was founded in 1965 by Ronn Guidi, an Oakland native, and gained recognition through its historical reconstructions of ballets from the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev; the mounting of classic works of Americana; and the creation of innovative contemporary choreography.[1]
Noted revivals by Oakland Ballet include works by choreographers Kurt Jooss, Michel Fokine, Charles Weidman, and Antony Tudor and the first re-staging of works by Bronislava Nijinska in the United States. Championing American masterpieces as well, Oakland Ballet has presented Eugene Loring's "Billy the Kid", Ruthanna Boris's "Cakewalk", and Agnes de Mille's "Fall River Legend". Along with Guidi's own repertoire of choreography, Oakland Ballet has produced works by local choreographers such as Val Caniparoli, Carlos Carvajal, Margaret Jenkins, Alonzo King, Michael Lowe, Robert Moses, and Amy Seiwert, among others.[citation needed]
In 2000, Oakland Ballet ushered in a new Artist Director, Dance Theatre of Harlem dancer, Karen Brown. Founding Artistic Director Ronn Guidi retired for the final time in 2008 and Oakland Ballet continued to present productions under the direction of guest Artistic Directors through the spring of 2010.
Since his appointment as Artistic Director of Oakland Ballet Company in 2010, Lustig has presented five seasons of his Nutcracker and three spring repertory productions, Forwards! (2011), Diaghilev Imagery (2013), and Oakland-esque (2014), with a focus on commissioned works by Bay Area choreographers. Lustig’s ballet Infinitum was included in the West Wave Dance Festival (2011) and he initiated Oakland Ballet Company’s annual summer Ballet Boot Camp, a two-week dance and choreography workshop now in its fifth year, as well as ongoing ballet training opportunities at The Academy at Oakland Ballet Company. Lustig also been instrumental in reviving Oakland Ballet’s role in arts education in the East Bay, establishing OBC’s current “Discover Dance” community outreach program.
| Title | Choreographer | Oakland Ballet Premiere | Staged By |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billy the Kid | Eugene Loring | 1976 | Eugene Loring |
| Spectre de la Rose | 1976 | Antole Vilzak | |
| Coppelia | 1977 | Ann Jenner of The Royal Ballet | |
| The Sisters | 1977 | Eugene Loring | |
| The Tender Land | Eugene Loring | 1978 (World Premiere) | |
| La Boutique Fantasque | Leonide Massine | 1978 | Leonide Massine |
| Le Soleil de Nuit (The Snow Maiden) | Leonide Massine | 1979 | Leonide Massine |
| Scheherazade | Fokine | 1979 | Nicolas Beriosoff |
| Time unto Time | Eugene Loring | 1980 (World Premiere) | |
| Rooms | Anna Sokolow | 1980 | Anna Sokolow |
| Les Noces | Bronislava Nijinska | 1981 | Irina Nijinska (daughter) |
| Les Biches | Bronislava Nijinska | 1982 | Irina Nijinska (daughter) |
| Polovestian Dances | Fokine | 1982 | Freddie Franklin |
| Cakewalk | Ruthanna Boris | 1983 | Ruthanna Boris |
| Inconsequentials | Agnes DeMille | 1983 | Ilene Strickler |
| Crystal Slipper | Carlos Carvajal | 1983 | Carlos Carvajal |
| The Green Table | Kurt Joos | 1984 | Anna Markard (daughter) |
| Lynchtown | Charles Weidman | 1985 | Sheila Xoregos |
| Fall River Legend | Agnes DeMille | 1986 | Enrique Martinez |
| Brahms Waltzes | Charles Weidman | 1986 | Sheila Xoregos |
| Giselle | 1987 | Freddie Franklin | |
| Lilac Garden | Antony Tudor | 1988 | Sallie Wilson |
| Petroushka | 1990 | Nicolais Beriosoff | |
| Echoing of Trumpets | Antony Tudor | 1990 | Viveka Ljung |
| Dark Elegies | Antony Tudor | 1991 | |
| Gavotte Pavlova | Pavlova | 1992 | Frank Reis |
| Grand pas de deux | Pavlova | 1992 | Frank Reis |
| The Fairy Doll | Pavlova | 1992 | Frank Reis |
| Gaite Parisienne | Massine | 1994 | Freddie Franklin |
| Romeo and Juliet | Ronn Guidi | 1994 | |
| Boléro | Nijinska | 1995 | Nina Yousekevitch |
| Afternoon of a Faun | Nijinsky | 1995 | Jill Beck, Ann Hutchinson and Claudia Jeschke |
| The Secret Garden | Ronn Guidi | 1996 | |
References
edit- ^ "Oakland Ballet History". Oakland Ballet Company. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ Friedman, Jeff; Petncik, Basya; Goto, Carolyn, eds. (2014) [2013]. Ronn Guidi: Sergei Diaghilev and the Original Oakland Ballet, An Oral History (Oral History). San Francisco: Books & Lives. ISBN 978-0-578-13622-6.