Dance

Paris Opera Ballet’s ‘Red Carpet’ reveled in the garishness of glamour

Chanel costumes and undeniable pedigree made for exuberant, if uneven, spectacular.

Dance Lou Fancher - October 23, 2025

Fall into theater: 11 shows to catch this season

From Arthurian opera and deportation reenactment to D.I.R.T. Fest and 'Spanish Stew'—our critic's picks for best stage bets.

Onstage Charles Lewis III - September 30, 2025

Spirit of Compton’s Cafeteria Riot soars again in new Flyaway work

Inspired by 1966 LGBTQ uprising in the Tenderloin, 'Down on the Corner' showcases local talent and legacy of resistance.

Dance Aimée Ts'ao - September 29, 2025

World Arts West Dance Festival delivered communal joy, despite brutal NEA cuts

Trump's generational assault on the arts unsuccessful in dropping curtain on 40-year Bay tradition.

Dance Tom Molanphy - September 14, 2025

Best of the Bay

VOTE NOW in the 2025 Best of the Bay Readers’ Poll!

Marke B. - September 1, 2025

Our 51st installment of the Bay Area classic is 'new and improved' for 2025—and still full of local love.

Dance

As Legion of Honor celebrates 100th, Megan Lowe Dances moves for authenticity

Lucia Verzola - August 27, 2025

Looking to institution's future, performers in unprecedented site-specific piece are encouraged 'to be as you as you can possibly be.'

Dance

Drama Masks: We’re going to be OK, dammit

Charles Lewis III - August 22, 2025

Joe Goode's 'Are You Okay?' tells terribly sad tales, yet wisely refuses to give into nihilism.

Dance

Joe Goode Performance Group wants to know: ‘Are You Okay?’

Aimée Ts'ao - August 14, 2025

Mainstay Bay Area troupe wields dance to explore coping with a world twisting under our feet.

Dance

From polka to ‘Wicked,’ Deaf Dance Fest shows diversity of expression

Mary Carbonara - August 1, 2025

Artistic Director Antoine Hunter talks about bringing global Deaf experience and range to the dance scene.

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Onstage

Celebrating Black Hawaiians with songs of resilience and joy

Maria Hunt - July 28, 2025

New music project and performance 'Pōpoloheno' shines a spotlight on some of the islands' overlooked history.

Dance

How two friends turned their Lower Haight garage into a line dancing honky-tonk

Dorothy O'Donnell - July 22, 2025

Joel Reske and Sean Sullivan have watched their little concrete hoedown blow up into a downtown phenom.

Culture

SF Carnaval isn’t going anywhere

Caitlin Donohue - May 22, 2025

Powered by 400 volunteers, beloved festival and parade (since 1978!) sets its sights this year on honoring rhythms of the African diaspora.

Dance

AXIS Dance Company and Dr. Catie Cuan on the high-tech art of ‘choreorobotics’

Aimée Ts'ao - May 14, 2025

Will it take a dancer to improve our relationship with machines?

Arts + Culture

Bay Area arts organizations reel, vow to survive NEA grant cancellations

Caitlin Donohue - May 7, 2025

Agency's new 'priorities' include supporting communities of color, despite defunding BIPOC-led organizations.

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Dance

A Smuin season shaped by DJ playlists, sexy sculpture, drag queen fame

Aimée Ts'ao - April 19, 2025

The SF company returns, enlisting the talents of Auguste Rodin, the Partridge Family, Queen, and Lady Camden.

Stage Review

After a shattering loss, Alvin Ailey danced to revelatory heights at Zellerbach

Lou Fancher - April 18, 2025

The company's 57th annual Berkeley run was dedicated to legendary dancer-director Judith Jamison, and polished off some true gems.

Dance

It’s a maze, it’s a Minotaur, it’s a metaphor, it’s… ‘boycow’

Marke B. - April 15, 2025

At Counterpulse, two dancers charge a labyrinthian trope—each in their own way, simultaneously (milk buckets included)

Dance

Sean Dorsey Dance’s divine work turns 20

Joshua Rotter - April 6, 2025

Retrospective program celebrates trans choreography at a time when its "beautiful and juicy" healing is more needed than ever.

Art

Queer American Songbook to Ukrainian trans theater, SF International Arts Festival won’t play it straight

Caitlin Donohue - March 30, 2025

Venerable fest doubles down at unlikely, if urgent moment for convening global LGBTQ+ creatives.

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Dance

Paris Opera Ballet’s ‘Red Carpet’ reveled in the garishness of glamour

Fall into theater: 11 shows to catch this season

Spirit of Compton’s Cafeteria Riot soars again in new Flyaway work

World Arts West Dance Festival delivered communal joy, despite brutal NEA cuts

VOTE NOW in the 2025 Best of the Bay Readers’ Poll!

As Legion of Honor celebrates 100th, Megan Lowe Dances moves for authenticity

Drama Masks: We’re going to be OK, dammit

Joe Goode Performance Group wants to know: ‘Are You Okay?’

From polka to ‘Wicked,’ Deaf Dance Fest shows diversity of expression

Celebrating Black Hawaiians with songs of resilience and joy

How two friends turned their Lower Haight garage into a line dancing honky-tonk

SF Carnaval isn’t going anywhere

AXIS Dance Company and Dr. Catie Cuan on the high-tech art of ‘choreorobotics’

Bay Area arts organizations reel, vow to survive NEA grant cancellations

A Smuin season shaped by DJ playlists, sexy sculpture, drag queen fame

After a shattering loss, Alvin Ailey danced to revelatory heights at Zellerbach

It’s a maze, it’s a Minotaur, it’s a metaphor, it’s… ‘boycow’

Sean Dorsey Dance’s divine work turns 20

Queer American Songbook to Ukrainian trans theater, SF International Arts Festival won’t play it straight

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