Arts Education Program Inspires Bay Area Youth

Arts Education Program Inspires Bay Area Youth

Founded in 1965, the Oakland Ballet Company (OBC) is a non-profit performing arts organization that provides art education and community engagement programs that celebrate the diversity of Oakland and the Bay Area. Its mission is to provide accessible, relevant, and exciting dance that inspires and educates all ages in our diverse community.

Female dancers, wearing leotards deocrated with a skeleton and colorful skirts, kick their right let in the air.
Luna Mexicana (Dia de los Muertos) performed by the Oakland Ballet Company.

Matson has been a strong supporter of OBC for the past 10 years and recently made a $5,000 donation to help underwrite its ‘Discover Dance’ program, which helps fill the gap in arts education in East Bay schools and fosters an appreciation of dance through in-school educational programs, open rehearsals, free community performances, scholarships to OBC training programs, and ticket donations. The program is prioritized for Oakland public schools, particularly those from lower socioeconomic areas and English Second Language (ESL) students, to expose children to the art of dance. Last season, more than 7,000 local students participated in OBC’s Discover Dance programs.

“There are very few arts organizations in our area that offer free dance arts programs,” said Leah Curran, operations manager, OBC. “Discover Dance was designed to increase equity in access to the arts and has become a highly requested program, having grown consistently since its inception in 2011.”

Female dancers, wearing masks decorated as skulls, turn about the room in colorful, full skirts as students watch.
Luna Mexicana (Dia de los Muertos) performed by the Oakland Ballet Company.

OBC offers a 16-week residency program called “You Can Dance,” which gives students twice-weekly dance and movement lessons. Teachers are provided with educational guides and lesson plans to incorporate themes from performances into their curriculum and produce in-theater student performances of "The Nutcracker” and “Luna Mexicana.”

Last year, Discover Dance held performances of “Luna Mexicana” and “The Nutcracker” at Oakland’s Paramount Theater, as well as student assembly performances at several Oakland schools and Residency programs of “You Can Dance!” at two third-grade classes at the Oakland Academy of Knowledge.

Coming in March, students will perform in the Dancing Moons Festival. In partnership with the Oakland Asian Cultural Festival, the program aims to showcase Asian choreographers, dancers, composers, and costume designers.

Four performers from OBC's "The Nutcracker" pose in the middle of the aisle while elementary students hold their arms above their head with fingers touching.
OBC cast of The Nutcracker.

“On behalf of the staff, dancers, and the Board of Directors at Oakland Ballet Company, we extend our deepest thanks to Matson for the long-standing support of Oakland Ballet and our “Discover Dance” arts education program,” said Curran. “Because of this partnership, we have exposed thousands of students to the art of dance at no cost to Oakland’s public schools!”

More information about the Oakland Ballet Company, performance schedules and ticket information, can be found at https://oaklandballet.org/