The Australian Ballet - "Oscar"

Cal Performances presents
The Australian Ballet
Oscar
Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley
September 25th, 2026

There’s a drawing in our home of five historical figures – a collection of folks that my husband would invite to his ideal dinner party. One of those individuals is Oscar Wilde. I recently asked why he included Wilde in the mix and he answered that the Irish literary genius was known for his witty banter. A quip-ster if you will. Wilde’s writing was famously clever and sharp, and every social event needs a least one such personality. 

Those adjectives filled my mind as I headed to UC Berkeley on Friday evening to see The Australian Ballet in the American premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s Oscar (2024). It’s been a minute since the company, under the Artistic Direction of David Hallberg, was back at Cal Performances and the evening did not disappoint. Oscar gave a two-hour narrative exploration of the life, work and imprisonment of Oscar Wilde - from his family to his writing to his romantic and sexual relationships with men. And the piece succeeds in a very balanced portrayal of Wilde. Winsome and charismatic moments were aplenty. Moments where you could see how Wilde was the much-anticipated guest - the consummate life of the party. Equally present were moments of desire (both hidden and realized), regret, torment and tragedy. But I couldn’t help but feel that something thematically deeper was happening on the Zellerbach stage. At its heart, Wheeldon’s ballet reads as a piece about remembrance. Wilde’s conviction and two-year detention for gross indecency in 1895 frame both Acts. And from there, remembrance begins. Act I recounts the various events prior to his arrest and confinement, while a more abstract Act II finds a broken Wilde, brilliantly portrayed by Callum Linnane, desperately trying to remember and cling to who he used to be. Different remembrances, surely, but remembrances nonetheless. 

Scored by a brief introductory narration from performer Seán O’Shea, Act I opens in the courtroom and Wilde receives his two-year prison/hard labor sentence. Transported to his cell, he lays on a cot, legs straight above him in the air. His left leg starts to tick like a clock moving in reverse; Wheeldon’s choreography indicating that the story is traveling back in time. The chapters that follow are a recollection of what had transpired up to this point. Early scenes brings portraits of family, parties and salons – Wilde living life to the fullest and holding court in society. Linnane’s solos in these social settings floated with exuberant buoyancy, witty tone and angular staccato gesture. At one such event, Wilde seems done with being alone and gravitates towards a man. There is flirting and seduction – stretched lines in the legs and arms reaching longingly towards each other. 

The Australian Ballet in Wheeldon's Oscar
Photo Kristen Loken

During Act I, Wheeldon frequently juxtaposes a starkly pointed foot against a completed flexed one, a beautiful comment on how two extremes can exist in the same instant. Taking that idea into this story, perhaps it is indicative of how Wilde was concurrently pulled to his wife and to men (there is significant debate and varying opinions as to whether Wilde was gay or bisexual). Also throughout this first half, many of Oscar’s themes are played out in the natural world - magical forests, with an array of birds and other mythical creatures. Obviously a nod to specific selections from Wilde’s vast literary canon, this was an opportunity for Jean-Marc Puissant’s costumes, Jon Goldman’s lighting and David Bergman’s video to shine brightly. All these theatrical elements were quite dazzling. Having said that, the number of different characters and dancers onstage during these otherworldly sequences was busy and over complicated the narrative. In fact, that actually could be applied to the entire ballet. Too many supporting characters led to a crowded stage and at times, it was challenging to know them and understand what they meant to the story. 

The Australian Ballet in Wheeldon's Oscar
Photo Kristen Loken

Act II again takes the viewer inside Wilde’s cell, and based on his startling appearance, years have clearly passed and taken their toll. This time, his remembrance is more of a fever dream, almost an induced mania, as Wilde remembers different forces in his life – his wife, his sons, his lovers, characters from his writing. As these images from the outside world infuse his mind, bits of past choreography recurs. He tentatively mirrors postures and phrase material, tortured by who he used to be, who he loved (and still loves), where he ended up and what his life has become.

Ballet22 - Summer Season 2026

Ballet22
Summer Season 2026
Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center for the Arts & Culture, San Francisco
July 25th, 2026

If you were at the Cowell Theater on Saturday night, you could feel the pure, unbridled joy emanating from the concert dance stage. Because over the weekend, Ballet22 invited audiences to celebrate their annual summer season of mixed repertory offerings. Founded in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, the company is bound and committed to challenging gender assumptions and upending ingrained notions in traditional and contemporary ballet, and to featuring men, trans and non-binary performers en pointe. This year’s triple bill deeply lived into that vision, and applied it to a vast range of work. With excerpts from the Romantic classic Coppélia to 2021’s striking La Follia to the world premiere of Keelan Whitmore’s The Fifth Point, Ballet22 proves once again that they are continuing a significant and vital expansion of the ballet performance landscape.

For their classical offering, Ballet22 opted to present a suite of dances from 1870’s Coppélia. Truthfully, the full-length, three-Act narrative is not my favorite, but I do love the choreographic vocabulary of Arthur Saint-Léon, Marius Petipa and Enrico Cecchetti. So, this abridged selection of solos, duets and group sequences fit the bill perfectly for me. Romantic era ballets are known for demanding a complex equation of strength, lightness and grace which each member of Ballet22’s cast more than delivered. Footwork was balanced, controlled and precise while paying careful attention to upper body placement. There were long diagonal phrases of single-footed relevés. Detailed petit allegro. Floaty, breathy boureés. And if you ever took Cecchetti ballet examinations, you would recognize the specific, and somewhat rare, hand positions from that tradition. I even saw a few glimpses of Cecchetti’s fifth arabesque. 

Victor Maguad & Daniel R. Durrett in Verzola's La Follia
Photo Reneff-Olson Productions

Act II brought contemporary works to the table, beginning with 2021’s La Follia, choreographed by Durante Verzola and set to the Baroque masterwork “Sarabanda in D Minor” by Arcangelo Corelli. Danced by Daniel R. Durrett and Victor Maguad, the duet was also decidedly Baroque. Not in terms of having old-fashioned physical vocabulary – quite the opposite. But in the sense that the two bodies on stage were in dialog with each other throughout, much like a Baroque musical invention. With a courtly tone, they conversed in unison; and sometimes via question and answer. They punctuated moments in the score with staccato arms and deep pliés in 2nd position. Once again, the footwork stunned (enviable brisés) as did strong effacé body positioning. La Follia is a special duet and I’m looking forward to the next opportunity to take it in.

Ahead of the final dance, the world premiere of The Fifth Point, choreographer Keelan Whitmore noted that the quintet was inspired by the iconic Pas de Quatre, another Romantic era project that brought famed ballerinas of the time together in a single piece. And so, he shared that The Fifth Point similarly mines themes of “coming together.” 

As the lights went up on the most contemporary piece of the evening, the cast arranged itself in picturesque, posed vignettes – very reminiscent of Pas de Quatre. But quickly, the dancers took over the stage with reckless abandon. Jumps in 2nd evoked a beating heart; pulsating urgency, a charged tone. Unison phrase material spoke to that sense of togetherness, while simultaneously honoring the individuality of each artist. And as the five dancers took turns in the spotlight, the preceding soloist would greet and welcome them with generous, open arms. A lovely example of how to comport oneself as part of a community.

 

Woodminster Summer Musicals - "Carousel"

Woodminster Summer Musicals
Carousel
Woodminster Amphitheater, Oakland
July 11, 2026

In a region as climately temperate as the Bay Area, outdoor performance is a summer staple. Most years I take in one or two of these delightful al fresco experiences – at Stern Grove, Stanford’s Frost Amphitheater, Cal Shakes (RIP) or at Woodminster Amphitheater amongst the trees in the Oakland Hills. An East Bay institution, Woodminster Summer Musicals has over a half century of theatrical history. Since 1967, the group has been deeply committed to sharing a diverse collection of full-length musicals with local audiences during the summer months. Currently mid-way through its 59th season, this year’s offerings are an eclectic bunch, representing both contemporary and traditional musical theater stylings. And on Saturday evening, a good-sized house gathered to take in July’s show, Carousel, directed by Joel Schlader, choreographed by Sarah Pon and Blake Hennessy-York, with vocal direction from Debra Lambert. Over two delicious acts, the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein classic mined themes of youth, romance, consequence, disaster and reconciliation alongside a touch of magical realism.

Carousel’s narrative centers around the relationship between carnival hypeman Billy Bigelow and ingenue Julie Jordan, and the coastal community in which they live. Early on, they have a mutual attraction, and in (very) short course, wed. Married life is hardly a fairytale, and after a host of dark events and circumstances, tragedy eventually strikes. Life goes on, but is marred and marked by the past. And in the end, a chance is offered up which may provide some redemption and healing. Much action happens along the way amidst powerhouse vocal numbers and a beautiful ‘dream’ ballet.

Parts of the show will be tough for a 2026 viewer. Categorizing the narrative themes, conversational exchanges and gender dynamics as dated is a dramatic understatement. The show’s messaging about violence, specifically domestic violence, is both disturbing, and frankly, bizarre. And…Carousel was created in the 1940s, eight decades ago. As I watched Carousel on Saturday night, I was keenly struck by all these truths. Though I was also aware I was there to comment on this performance, by this cast, on this night and in this place and that is what follows.

The cast of Carousel
Photo Stephen Woo & Anna Chibisova

The Prologue Carousel Waltz transported its audience to the seaside town’s carnival, complete with a juggler, magician, stilt-artist, cotton candy and the titular carousel ride. It was colorful, dynamic and full of joy. The women’s and men’s ensemble featured many highly-trained, incredibly strong ballet dancers who delivered Pon and Hennessy-York’s movement phrases with technical proficiency, grace and confidence. It is no easy feat to choreograph interesting group sequences on a small-ish stage with a large cast, and here, there was elegance and flow to spare, and nothing looked overly fussy. Another standout dance moment came later in the Act, during the chorus’ “Hornpipe.” Celtic-inspired patterns met with percussive footwork which matched perfectly with the shanty-style music. Being a dance writer, I was mostly focused on the show’s physicality, but the strength of the leads must be mentioned. Cody Craven as Billy, Elise Walters as Julie, Ashley Garlick as Carrie, Michael Parrott as Enoch and Susan Himes-Powers as Nettie dazzled - vocally, in scenework and with undeniably commanding presence.

Dance-wise, Act II is all about the dream ballet where Billy gets to see his daughter Louise, now a teenager (danced by Pon). First comes a brief glimpse of her carefree side – long, stretchy arabesques and delicate, whimsical brisés. As characters from the town enter the picture, her posture and demeanor speak to gains in strength and confidence. But the ballet isn’t all lightness and breeze. As the score takes on a darker tonality, cancan dancers emerge from the carousel. There’s an ominous sense that the seemingly innocent carnival ride also breeds anger, temptation and danger, something Louise and her family are well versed in. 

The lengthier sequence was great and the leads were terrific, but the most important aspect of Carousel’s dream ballet is that it moves the story forward. It gives Billy a chance to learn about his daughter - her personality, her struggles, her dreams, who she is. And in the 1940s, dance as a story element was somewhat new in musical theater. Choreography as more than a celebration of movement or style. Choreography as a narrative contributor, a narrative force. A trip down dance history lane will point to a number of choreographic voices who contributed to this paradigm shift. Perhaps most notable is the iconic Agnes de Mille, creator of Oklahoma’s famed dream ballet in 1943. She did it again, two years later, as the original choreographer of Carousel.