Oakland Ballet Company Announces Spring 2013 Season

Oakland Ballet Company presents its spring season program Diaghilev Imagery, a fresh take on tradition that ties the exceptional artistry of the Bay Area dance community to some of the most inspiring masterworks of classical ballet. The program features three intimate new ballets by acclaimed choreographers Amy Seiwert, Robert Moses (both world premieres), and company Artistic Director Graham Lustig (West Coast premiere), that draw inspiration from Sergei Diaghilev's iconic Ballets Russes while celebrating Oakland Ballet's long history of preserving the legacy of that esteemed institution. Each choreographer re-imagines works originally commissioned by Diaghilev who in his day brought together some of the greatest composers, choreographers, dancers and artists for new collaborations and it is in that spirit of creation and innovation that Seiwert, Moses and Lustig offer exciting new choreography with modern interpretations of Les Biches, Le Spectre de la Rose and Pulcinella, set to the original music scores. Performances are Friday May 10 at 8pm; and Saturday May 11 at 2pm and 8pm in the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice Street. Tickets are $35 ($30 seniors/$20 children/students). For information and to purchase tickets visit www.oaklandballet.org or call (510) 893-3132.

Amy Seiwert, artistic director of Amy Seiwert's Imagery, brings her vision to Les Biches, with a score by Francis Poulenc that reflects his fascination with early jazz. Les Biches was presented by Oakland Ballet in 1982 in the original Ballets Russes staging, and now Seiwert bases her version on a modern-day host giving a party. In Le Spectre de la Rose, Robert Moses, artistic director of Robert Moses' Kin, re-conceives one of the most famous ballets choreographed for the Ballets Russes, with a score by Carl Maria von Weber, delving into the sensuality of the ballet's young protagonist, and exploring imagery from the original French poem that inspired the work, in the context of a modern text by hip hop artist Tupac Shakur. Graham Lustig's Pulcinella, set to Igor Stravinsky's cheery score, premiered in 2011 to critical acclaim at the Princeton Festival and now makes its West Coast debut.