The Oakland Ballet Company premiered new work Saturday in the Town that speaks to an important debate happening right now: immigration.
‘Angel Island Project’ was performed at Oakland’s Paramount Theater. This is the biggest project so far under the Oakland Ballet Company’s Dancing Moons Festival program. The program was created during the pandemic when artistic director Graham Lustig said he was disgusted and angry to learn some dancers were subjected to racist slurs.
Watch NBC Bay Area News free wherever you are
WATCH HERE‘Angel Island Project’ is inspired by protest poetry carved into the walls of the Angel Island immigration station between 1910 and 1940 by Chinese detainees, some of whom were held up to two years.
“It’s still alive here today amongst the communities that live here and we want to make sure that we honor the tenacity the bravery of those people who built new lives and the many generations who have followed and are still contributing and enriching all of our world,” Lustig said. “The wonderful thing about dance is you know it is its own language, it can speak to so many people in so many different ways, it has a power to emphasize our humanity, our vulnerability, our physical prowess, the strength, determination we have. It’s all present in the dances that we’re showing today."
The performance is about 90 minutes, composed by Huang Ruo and features seven different choreographers of AAPI descent. The ballet company said it plans to bring this performance to San Francisco and San Jose in 2026.
For more information visit: https://oaklandballet.org/performances-events/angel_island_project/#purchasetickets%22%3Eoaklandballet.org
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news with the Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
SIGN UP 