Oakland Ballet Presents THE DANCING MOONS FESTIVAL, March 24 - April 2

Oakland Ballet Company's 2021-22 Season continues next month with its first-ever celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander choreographers, the DANCING MOONS FESTIVAL.

The company will premiere new works by Phil Chan, Megan and Shannon Kurashige, Michael Lowe and Caili Quan.

The festival's program will also include the West Coast premiere of Chan's Ballet de Porcelaines or The Teapot Prince, recently commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The Dancing Moons Festival will take place over two weekends, March 24 - April 2. The first weekend, March 24 - 26 is presented in collaboration with the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Concerts take place Thursday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with an additional matinee on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. On the second weekend, April 1 - 2, Oakland Ballet moves to the Bankhead Theater in Livermore with concerts on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $68 and may be purchased via direct links at oaklandballet.org/performances-events/spring.

"We are thrilled to collaborate with the Oakland Asian Cultural Center in sharing five new ballets with our community," said Graham Lustig, artistic director of Oakland Ballet Company. "In the wake of continued bigotry and violence targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, we are proud to give a platform to such talented choreographers."

Chan, co-founder of "Final Bow for Yellowface," a call to action to diversify ballet companies while working to divest the field of offensive stereotypes, is currently in residence at New York University and the Manhattan School of Music, and a "Next 50" arts leader at The Kennedy Center. Last year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art commissioned him to create a work inspired by an 18th-century ballet that has been lost, reimagining its story from a new perspective. Titled Ballet de Porcelaines or The Teapot Prince, the original story centers on a prince in search of his lover who is trapped by an evil sorcerer with the power to transform people into porcelain. Chan's version of the ballet premiered in December; next month's presentation will mark its West Coast premiere.

"It is an honor to be the first dance company to present Phil Chan's Ballet de Porcelaines, and to participate in the important work at stake in evolving the ballet field," added Lustig. In addition to the Ballet de Porcelaines, Chan has created a new pas de deux set to original music by Huang Rao and performed live by the internationally celebrated concert pianist Min Kwon. The music is a selection from a wide-ranging project commissioned by Kwon comprising reinterpretations of "America the Beautiful" from 75 diverse composers.

Michael Lowe served as a principal dancer with Oakland Ballet for three decades, and a choreographer for the company in his retirement, culminating in an Izzie Award for Outstanding Choreography for his ballet Bamboo. For next month's Festival, Oakland Ballet will present a new quintet by Lowe.

Caili Quan, based in New York, first earned national recognition as a dancer with BalletX, Philadelphia's leading contemporary ballet company. As a choreographer, she has created works for BalletX, The Juilliard School and Nashville Ballet, among others. She is currently a creative associate at The Juilliard School. For next month's Festival, Oakland Ballet will present a new trio by Quan.

Finally, sisters Megan and Shannon Kurashige are the founders and directors of Sharp & Fine, a San Francisco-based contemporary dance company known for its narrative performance works incorporating original text, music and choreography. For next month's Festival, Oakland Ballet will present a new quartet by the Kurashiges.

On opening night of the Festival, March 24, all of the guest choreographers will participate in a 30-minute conversation. For more information, visit oaklandballet.org/performances-events/spring.

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