The Rosin Box Project, Art of Elan team up for ‘Unified Harmonies’
The multidisciplinary shows in La Jolla this week will feature a blend of ballet and classical music
All Stories
Five years after COVID, tight finances keep San Diego's stretched dance community on its toes
Leaders at four companies share how rising costs and declining financial are endangering the state of dance
San Diego Civic Youth Ballet celebrates 80th season with premiere of ‘The Firebird’
Founded in 1945, the Balboa Park-based company serves more than 400 young dance students each year
Spring Arts Preview 2025: Homegrown Brian Heil thrives as an in-demand ballet dancer
City Ballet of San Diego principal dancer says the dancer's life is hard on the body but enriching for his spirit and soul
Spring Arts Preview 2025: The top 10 dance events we’re looking forward to this spring
Irish and Mexican folkloric dance contemporary dance and ballet in a packed performance season
Dramatic roles and demanding challenges inspire City Ballet’s ‘Swan Lake II’
Dance concerts in San Diego and Escondido will also include the premiere of Elizabeth Wistrich's 'The Seasons' ballet
New ballet based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ heading to San Diego
World Ballet Company's version of the 1925 story features ballet with jazz influences along with choreography and music by two Russian ex-pats
New San Diego dance company plans ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’ ballet
Grand American Ballet will perform its new dance work at Jacobs Music Center on Saturday
San Diego Ballet reimagines its ‘Carnival of the Animals’ for grown-ups
The company's new dance, with original music by Gilbert Castellanos, will be presented Saturday with the tango-infused "Tangata"
2025 preview: Legendary and international companies highlight the local dance scene
Martha Graham and Twyla Tharp troupes visit, along with companies from Mexico and Ukraine
Year in review: San Diego dance became more inventive and diverse in 2024
This year's highlights included works by City Ballet, San Diego Ballet, Malashock Dance, Ballet Collective SD and San Diego Dance Theater
City Ballet set to premiere new ‘Dracula’ ballet led by a vampire ballerina
Company choreographer Geoff Gonzalez created the dance piece, which will star his wife, ballerina and company associate artistic director Ariana Gonzalez
‘Cultivate’ creates community in Malashock Dance company’s season-opener
The dance concert will feature a personally inspired piece by artistic director Christopher K. Morgan and a John Malashock piece inspired by a painting
San Diego Ballet’s new season to open Friday with a blaze
'The Firebird' will be presented along with 'Mambomania' at the Joan B. Kroc Theater in San Diego
Fall Arts Preview 2024: Our top dance picks for the season
From tango to ballet, and from Trolley Dances to Ghost Light Masquerade, there's a dance show for everyone this fall
Fall Arts Preview 2024: Tap Fever’s Larisa Hall aims to teach dancers of all abilities
Tap Fever founder teaches dancers of all abilities: ‘It’s about patience and not letting anyone get overwhelmed. It’s about being reassuring ... ‘Here is step one and then, we’re going...
The Rosin Box Project dance company prepares to turn motion into magic
The Rosin Box Project contemporary ballet company performs new works next weekend in Escondido
‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘Summer Winds’ kick off City Ballet season
Company's 'Love and Obsession' season will take place at UCSD's new amphitheater, the Balboa Theatre and the Escondido arts center
San Diego Dance Theater’s Live Arts Fest expands programming
At the Liberty Station event, Live Arts Fest will feature local and international choreographers debuting new dance works
World Ballet Festival brings Tiler Peck and much more to San Diego
Producing a star-studded ballet production is not unlike the sensation of a roller coaster ride that slows at its highest point before taking a steep dive. There’s a lot of...
Pointeworks stepping up: New ballet company presents inaugural show
Every day at 1 p.m., Sophie Williams checks a report that reveals the daily ticket sales from The Conrad, where her new ballet company, Pointeworks, will perform Thursday in a...
Malashock Dance to explore human relationships and emotion in ‘Tandem Intuition’
Christopher K. Morgan’s dance “Inconstancy” uses clever props to help illustrate its grass-is-always-greener themes.They include small, identical carpets of artificial grass, a pair of white purses, two small lamps, white...
Les Ballets Jazz Montreal sets the music of Leonard Cohen to dance
The marriage of music and dance requires a careful collaboration, one that allows for both genres to complement each other.Les Ballets Jazz Montréal's “Dance Me” fuses the emotionally potent songs...
San Diego-centric ‘Giselle’ ballet inspired by Mexican culture
The San Diego Ballet version of “Giselle” has moved from Europe, where it premiered in 1841, to Spanish Colonial California, where a fragile peasant girl falls in love with a...
Golden State Ballet brings back popular dance show ‘From New York, with Love’
Before the curtain opens, before the lights illuminate the stage and the music is cued, Golden State Ballet artistic director Raul Salamanca conducts a pre-performance ritual.Alone in the darkened theater,...
Spring arts preview 2024: Our top 10 dance picks for the season
Three dance companies spring forward this season with programs that spotlight female choreographers. And for those who appreciate an innovative fusion of creativity, check out Malashock Dance and its response...
Spring arts preview 2024: Ballerina Reka Gyulai is enjoying her transformation into choreographer
The life of a ballerina can be a consuming devotion, expressed by a physical language that can be more powerful than words.For many, though, a dance career is fleeting, crimped...
Foreign travel and fresh repertoire inspire City Ballet’s ‘An American in Paris’
Ballet companies embark upon a creative expedition every season, in search of a new and different approach to dance.For City Ballet’s resident choreographers Geoff Gonzalez and Elizabeth Wistrich, the journey...
Foreign travel and fresh repertoire inspire City Ballet’s ‘An American in Paris’
Ballet companies embark upon a creative expedition every season, in search of a new and different approach to dance.For City Ballet’s resident choreographers Geoff Gonzalez and Elizabeth Wistrich, the journey...
Foreign travel and fresh repertoire inspire City Ballet’s ‘An American in Paris’
Ballet companies embark upon a creative expedition every season, in search of a new and different approach to dance.For City Ballet’s resident choreographers Geoff Gonzalez and Elizabeth Wistrich, the journey...
Malashock Dance’s new artistic chief talks about connection and ‘Everyday Dances’
A big move in life can often require a three-part process. What to bring, what to leave behind and what to connect to going forward.For Christopher K. Morgan, who began...
California Ballet founder Maxine Mahon, who left indelible stamp on San Diego dance scene, dies at 82
For 50 years, Maxine Mahon was San Diego's doyenne of dance as the founder and director of California Ballet Co., which despite its closure in 2020 still holds the record...
Looking ahead: Five San Diego dance shows I can’t wait to see in 2024
An exciting year awaits with contemporary and classical ballet programs that introduce new dancers, a new artistic director and original choreographic works.There’s another reason to see a 2024 dance concert....
Year in review: Looking back at local dance in 2023
Movement artists are driven to dance because it can be a form of self-expression that is more authentic to them than words. They engage in demanding physical discipline in the...
San Diego’s ‘Nutcracker’ ballet dancers kept on their toes with work visa requirements
Artist visas are expensive, restrictive, time intensive and stressful.But they have proved to be a life-changing pathway to opportunity and freedom of expression for some of San Diego’s most skilled...
Dancing sugarplums are headed your way with this roundup of ‘Nutcracker’ ballets countywide
An iconic classic that heralds the holiday season, “The Nutcracker” returns with its Tchaikovsky score and casts that include stunning ballet professionals and talented students. Youngsters as charging mice, little...
No tutus or tiaras here: NYC Ballet ballerina set to ‘Turn it Out’ with friends in San Diego
Tiler Peck is no ordinary prima ballerina. That was evident in 2017, when she appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and performed what looked like a floating moonwalk on pointe...
Classical ballet combines a Halloween legend with dance in the spooky Ghost Light Masquerade
The definition of a ghost light?It’s a safety precaution in theaters, often a single bulb, left on after hours, so unsuspecting staff won’t cross the darkened stage and trip over...
Ballet Collective SD choreographers collaborate on ‘Heartbeats’ concerts Saturday in La Jolla
The dancers of Ballet Collective San Diego gathered for a rehearsal last month, dressed casually for a summer day in unassuming T-shirts and shorts.They sauntered around the brightly lit, rectangular...
Fall arts preview 2023: Dancer-choreographer Cecily Holcombe says she ‘savors things more’ these days
Once a dancer, always a dancer is a familiar motto among movement artists.It’s a catchphrase that speaks to the fact that dance is more than a job. It’s a lifestyle.Though...
Fall arts preview 2023: Our top dance picks for the season
The dance season is on fire this fall with fairy tale ballets, a Balanchine program, a tribute to a Biblical character and a visit from New York City Ballet’s best....
LITVAKdance is a small company making a big impact in San Diego
LITVAKdance, the five-member, contemporary dance company based in North County, has expanded its reach far beyond San Diego.It has crossed borders, traveled over state lines and danced its way into...
LITVAKdance is a small company making a big impact in San Diego
LITVAKdance, the five-member, contemporary dance company based in North County, has expanded its reach far beyond San Diego.It has crossed borders, traveled over state lines and danced its way into...
LITVAKdance is a small company making a big impact in San Diego
LITVAKdance, the five-member, contemporary dance company based in North County, has expanded its reach far beyond San Diego.It has crossed borders, traveled over state lines and danced its way into...
Dancing on the edge: San Diego’s ballet dancers scrape by on short contracts, ‘Nutcrackers’ and side jobs
Summer is synonymous with vacation time, when sandy beaches beckon and thoughts of cruise ships, road trips and carefree days tease the imagination.American classical ballet dancers, however, can’t afford those...
LITVAKdance is a small company making a big impact in San Diego
LITVAKdance, the five-member, contemporary dance company based in North County, has expanded its reach far beyond San Diego.It has crossed borders, traveled over state lines and danced its way into...
City Ballet of San Diego to dance ‘Without Bounds’ in outdoor UC San Diego appearance
City Ballet’s 31st season begins with a countdown: five productions, four different venues, three programs that feature world premieres, two family presentations and lots of firsts, starting with this weekend’s...
City Ballet of San Diego to dance ‘Without Bounds’ in outdoor UC San Diego appearance
City Ballet’s 31st season begins with a countdown: five productions, four different venues, three programs that feature world premieres, two family presentations and lots of firsts, starting with this weekend’s...
City Ballet of San Diego to dance ‘Without Bounds’ in outdoor UC San Diego appearance
City Ballet’s 31st season begins with a countdown: five productions, four different venues, three programs that feature world premieres, two family presentations and lots of firsts, starting with this weekend’s...
City Ballet of San Diego to dance ‘Without Bounds’ in outdoor UC San Diego appearance
City Ballet’s 31st season begins with a countdown: five productions, four different venues, three programs that feature world premieres, two family presentations and lots of firsts, starting with this weekend’s...
City Ballet of San Diego to dance ‘Without Bounds’ in outdoor UC San Diego appearance
City Ballet’s 31st season begins with a countdown: five productions, four different venues, three programs that feature world premieres, two family presentations and lots of firsts, starting with this weekend’s...
La Jolla Playhouse’s world premiere dance-theater piece ‘Is It Thursday Yet’ explores life on the spectrum
The La Jolla Playhouse premiere of “Is It Thursday Yet?” is intended to be an illuminating work of self-discovery.It’s also a pay-it-forward piece.The evening-length solo dance production, co-created and directed...
La Jolla Playhouse’s world premiere dance-theater piece ‘Is It Thursday Yet’ explores life on the spectrum
The La Jolla Playhouse premiere of “Is It Thursday Yet?” is intended to be an illuminating work of self-discovery.It’s also a pay-it-forward piece.The evening-length solo dance production, co-created and directed...
SDDT Emerging Choreographers Showcase offers an all-ages opportunity
Tonight, the eight finalists competing in San Diego Dance Theater’s Emerging Choreographers Showcase & Awards will witness their dance ideas come to life.There are big pluses for all participants, including...
BODYTRAFFIC dance company hits the reset button
Tina Finkelman Berkett woke up one morning during the pandemic and pondered how long a disaster could last.As the artistic director of BODYTRAFFIC, a Los Angeles-based contemporary dance company that...
In San Diego Ballet’s new production, it’s all about swinging on pointe
San Diego Ballet’s classical dancers have spent years honing their technique, mastering elegant leg extensions, fantastic fouetté turns and perfect pirouettes.But in the production of “Eight to the Barre,”...
Breaking new ground: LITVAKdance introduces new works in ‘Terrain and other dance stories’
The two men and four women of LITVAKdance move in unison while watching each other for even pacing in the mirrored wall.Performing barefoot on a sunlit wood floor, their right...
Breaking new ground: LITVAKdance introduces new works in ‘Terrain and other dance stories’
The two men and four women of LITVAKdance move in unison while watching each other for even pacing in the mirrored wall.Performing barefoot on a sunlit wood floor, their right...
Breaking new ground: LITVAKdance introduces new works in ‘Terrain and other dance stories’
The two men and four women of LITVAKdance move in unison while watching each other for even pacing in the mirrored wall.Performing barefoot on a sunlit wood floor, their right...
Breaking new ground: LITVAKdance introduces new works in ‘Terrain and other dance stories’
The two men and four women of LITVAKdance move in unison while watching each other for even pacing in the mirrored wall.Performing barefoot on a sunlit wood floor, their right...
Dance-off: Malashock plans program of world premieres by three choreographers
Choreographer John Malashock, who has directed the San Diego contemporary dance company that bears his name for 35 years, will soon choose a new artistic director.It’s a milestone moment, not...
San Diego State dance professor makes with ‘Skin Hunger’
From the time we are newborns and into our senior years, touch plays a primary role in our physical and mental well-being.Its absence can result in what psychologists call "skin...
Rosin Box Project pays tribute to Women’s History Month
The Rosin Box Project is a boundary-breaking band of dance professionals who have quit the best of the big ballet companies.This tight-knit troupe prefers to apply its mastery of traditional...
Empowered to create: Rosin Box Project pays tribute to Women’s History Month
The Rosin Box Project is a boundary-breaking band of dance professionals who have quit the best of the big ballet companies.This tight-knit troupe prefers to apply its mastery of traditional...
Spring arts preview 2023: City Ballet’s Elizabeth Wistrich is prevailing through the pandemic
As co-founder and resident choreographer of City Ballet, Elizabeth Wistrich has become accustomed to the demands of a dance career.She has thrived as both a dance artist and a choreographer,...
Spring arts preview 2023: Our top 10 dance picks for the season
Spring is a time of renewal and dance companies are stepping out with fresh perspectives on romance, spirituality, female empowerment and the environment. San Diego Dance Theater: 'Becoming Always'The uniqueness...
They got the beat: City Ballet inspires with original choreography set to a percussive score
Contemporary ballet combines the technical training of the classical vernacular with nontraditional music and movement.The results can energize dancers, who get to perform their pirouettes and grand pliés with a...
Kyle Abraham’s A.I.M brings ‘Our Indigo: If We Were a Love Song’ to San Diego
In Kyle Abraham’s movement vocabulary, certain words are in regular rotation.Purpose. Intention. Fearlessness.All are streams of thought that inhabit choreography meant to explore themes of history, identity and Black culture.As...
Kyle Abraham’s A.I.M brings ‘Our Indigo: If We Were a Love Song’ to San Diego
In Kyle Abraham’s movement vocabulary, certain words are in regular rotation.Purpose. Intention. Fearlessness.All are streams of thought that inhabit choreography meant to explore themes of history, identity and Black culture.As...
The language of love: ‘Romeo et Juliet’ expresses ion with a physical vocabulary
William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet” has a timeless familiarity, with lines such as “Parting is such sweet sorrow” or “Thus, with a kiss, I die.”But when the Bard’s tragic...
The language of love: ‘Romeo et Juliet’ expresses ion with a physical vocabulary
William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet” has a timeless familiarity, with lines such as “Parting is such sweet sorrow” or “Thus, with a kiss, I die.”But when the Bard’s tragic...
Mojalet Dance Collective revives its upbeat tribute to dance from the 1920s to ’60s: ‘Blast from the Past’
The way we dance and move reflects who we are and where we are in history.That’s one of the reasons why choreographer Faith Jensen-Ismay thought to bring back this weekend’s...
Mojalet Dance Collective revives its upbeat tribute to dance from the 1920s to ’60s: ‘Blast from the Past’
The way we dance and move reflects who we are and where we are in history.That’s one of the reasons why choreographer Faith Jensen-Ismay thought to bring back this weekend’s...
Ephrat Asherie Dance connects with hip-hop and street dance history in ‘UnderScored’
From its earliest beginnings in the 1970s, hip-hop’s dance culture grew from street-corner kids spinning on their heads to a genre that crossed racial boundaries while encouraging creativity and social...
Looking ahead to 2023 in dance: Despite dismal attendance in ’22, dance scene is resilient and poised for a comeback
The local dance scene in San Diego begins the year with strong performances that inspire a feeling of connectedness, with an unspoken understanding that everyone is welcome.Next month, San Diego-born...
Looking back at dance in 2022: New venues and fresh choreography revitalized dance
Last year, COVID-19 nearly crushed San Diego’s dance scene, an art form in which touch and movement is the method for communicating ideas, feelings and experiences.Every company in town had...
A San Diego-bred choreographer just wants to come home. It shouldn’t be this hard.
San Diego has a reputation for being a welcoming city known for its mild, sunny climate, a thriving arts scene and a laid-back, diverse culture.One might be lulled into thinking...
A San Diego-bred choreographer just wants to come home. It shouldn’t be this hard.
San Diego has a reputation for being a welcoming city known for its mild, sunny climate, a thriving arts scene and a laid-back, diverse culture.One might be lulled into thinking...
Your guide to ‘Nutcracker’ productions in San Diego in 2022
The tinkling refrain of the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” signals “The Nutcracker” season, when San Diego’s professional ballet dancers and talented students present the timeless story of Clara,...
California Ballet returns to live performance with ‘Awakening’
If there is one thing dancer Michaela Gould hopes to take away from her performance in California Ballet’s “Walpurgisnacht,” it’s the pair of pointy ears she wears as part of...
Art imitating life: ‘Bros’ is the first major Hollywood film to feature all-LGBTQ cast
At the beginning of the romantic comedy “Bros,” opening today at theaters nationwide, gay podcast host Bobby Leiber (played by Billy Eichner) explains why he rejected an offer from movie...
Fall arts preview 2022: Our top dance picks this season
The autumn season of plenty offers many choices for dance audiences. City Ballet breaks out a Balanchine work in radiant red costumes, San Diego Ballet goes wild with "Jungle Book"...
Fall arts preview 2022: Second-generation dancemaker Sadie Weinberg learns to do it her way
A dance career for females can be tricky. Success is often impacted by body type, age, physical ability and last, but not least, the childbearing years.LITVAKdance founder Sadie Weinberg credits...
In ‘A Sky of Infinite Blue,’ Kyomi O’Connor faces the ‘four sufferings’ and finds peace in her new memoir
Nine months after her husband died, San Diego author Kyomi O’Connor began to open the pages of her past, “little by little,” and write her story.“A Sky of Infinite Blue:...
In The Rosin Box Project’s ‘Debuts,’ pushing boundaries is the norm
The classically trained ballet dancers of The Rosin Box Project are rebels who refuse to be anchored to traditions.As a result, the company delivers edgy, daring programs that emphasize the...
Filipino American comic Jo Koy celebrates unity and tradition in new family comedy ‘Easter Sunday’
Actors can spend months preparing for a role, but in the comedy “Easter Sunday,” opening today at theaters nationwide, Filipino American comedian Jo Koy just had to be himself.It’s not...
Filipino American comic Jo Koy celebrates unity and tradition in new family comedy ‘Easter Sunday’
Actors can spend months preparing for a role, but in the comedy “Easter Sunday,” opening today at theaters nationwide, Filipino American comedian Jo Koy just had to be himself.It’s not...
In new production, LITVAKdance embraces the unknown
An outdoor stage is an unpredictable setting that can provide a jolt of vivacity to the performers and the audience.It’s one of the things that LITVAKdance company likes about the...
In new production, LITVAKdance embraces the unknown
An outdoor stage is an unpredictable setting that can provide a jolt of vivacity to the performers and the audience.It’s one of the things that LITVAKdance company likes about the...
In new production, LITVAKdance embraces the unknown
An outdoor stage is an unpredictable setting that can provide a jolt of vivacity to the performers and the audience.It’s one of the things that LITVAKdance company likes about the...
In new production, LITVAKdance embraces the unknown
An outdoor stage is an unpredictable setting that can provide a jolt of vivacity to the performers and the audience.It’s one of the things that LITVAKdance company likes about the...
City Ballet San Diego’s ‘Reimagined’: Once more, with feeling
It’s summer and instead of living easy, choreographer Geoff Gonzalez has murderous betrayals, ionate lovemaking and scenes from a Degas painting on the brain.For City Ballet’s performance of "Reimagined,"...
47 things to do, eat and see in San Diego to level up your summer
Beach: Coronado Whenever life gets too stressful, we point our cars westward — as in toward the ocean. And one of our favorite waterfront destinations is Coronado. Yes, it can...
Liberty Station’s Malashock Dance looks ahead to its next steps
After more than 30 years, Malashock Dance company has begun a campaign to find a new artistic director while it continues to evolve its legacy of performance and service.John Malashock,...
With ‘Emerge,’ Golden State Ballet takes its first steps
Golden State Ballet’s “Emerge” represents the turning points in Raul Salamanca’s career, with a quartet of works that connect the artistic director’s past with his goals for the future.As a...
David Sedaris on his father’s death, heaven and why he thinks clowns are smart dressers
Best-selling author and award-winning humorist David Sedaris can still get his readers to giggle in his new book, “Happy-Go-Lucky,” even when writing personal, poignant truths.His family, which includes his actress-author...
Malashock Dance’s next steps
After more than 30 years, Malashock Dance company has begun a campaign to find a new artistic director while it continues to evolve with its strong legacy of performance and...
Malashock Dance’s next steps
After more than 30 years, Malashock Dance company has begun a campaign to find a new artistic director while it continues to evolve with its strong legacy of performance and...
Joffrey Ballet brings a program of new dance styles to the Civic Theatre
Nicolas Blanc was creating the dance “Under the Trees’ Voices” for the Chicago-based Joffrey Ballet during the height of COVID, when he learned that his grandfather had died.“Like many other...
In ‘This Empty World,’ Nick Brandt’s lens focus on planet’s creatures, big and small
Just outside of Amboseli National Park, where the disappearing snows of Mount Kilimanjaro can be seen in the distance, photographer Nick Brandt waits to capture the of Kenya’s animal...