Oakland Ballet Company opens its 2026-27 season with the 10th anniversary of Luna Mexicana, its Día de los Muertos program, at the Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway in Oakland. There are two performances: Friday, Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets start at $35.55, and the company recommends ages 7 and up.
What's new this year
For the anniversary, the company commissioned Esteban Hernández, a principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet, to choreograph a piece reflecting on his heritage, set to the music of Mariachi Vargas and composer Manuel Ponce. It is his first collaboration with Oakland Ballet.
"Traditions are a huge part of Mexican culture," Hernández said in the company's announcement. "My piece touches on the importance of the perpetuation of those traditions, the level of multi-generational effort it requires to do so, and the gratification that emerges from sharing that time together."
The rest of the program
- Choreography by Artistic Director Graham Lustig following a young girl decorating her family's ofrenda, who dances through the night with generations of her ancestors.
- An Aztec blessing and a call for "Presente," inviting audience members to say aloud the name of someone who has died.
- Regional folkloric dances by Ballet Folklórico México Danza at both shows, and a 15-minute set by Mariachi Mexicanisimo.
- On Nov. 1 only, a performance by Los Cenzontles.
"The Latinx community is rarely represented in mainstream ballet," Lustig said. "Luna Mexicana was created as a platform to encourage a diverse audience to participate in the cultural traditions of Day of the Dead."
Tickets and getting there
The company sells tickets through Ticketmaster via its website and warns against resellers; the Paramount box office also sells them in person on Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. A post-show Encore Celebration reception on the mezzanine, catered by Agave Uptown, requires a separate ticket. The company notes the show is BARTable.
More Día de los Muertos events: our Bay Area guide.