Grupo Corpo

Cal Performances

https://calperformances.org/events/2024-25/illuminations-fractured-history/grupo-corpo-21-and-gira/

Brazil’s riveting Grupo Corpo visits in its Cal Performances debut, with two works that showcase the company’s distinctive style, rooted in classical ballet but enriched by folk and popular dance. Co-led by brothers Paulo and Rodrigo Pederneiras, the troupe’s dancers are celebrated for their athleticism, versatility, and deep respect for the connections between music and movement. The choreography in 21 is derived from the rhythmic sequences in the score by Marco Antônio Guimarães and Brazilian instrumental group Uakti. Gira (“SPIN”) is inspired by the Afro-Brazilian religion Umbanda and features music by São Paulo band Metá Metá that combines ritual chanting with animal cries, bird calls, and searing saxophone. “Their…dancers are masters of a scintillating eclecticism of style, able to whip a languorous Latin shimmy into a sharp pirouette, to flip from samba to jazz to ballet in a single phrase” (The Guardian).

Broken Love

SF Ballet

https://www.sfballet.org/productions/broken-love/

Two Love Stories Retold: In our 2024 Season, you were first introduced to these two strong females leads. This season they return for a retelling of the enduring power of love. Step into the colorful world of Frida Kahlo with Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s critically acclaimed Broken Wings. This mini masterpiece explores the life and art of the celebrated Mexican painter. Enter the realms of the paintings themselves through the lens of Kahlo’s wildly creative spirit. Making its comeback after a popular run of shows last season, Sir Frederick Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand is a story of fervent love, heartbreak, sacrifice, and forgiveness.

Two Trains Running

American Conservatory Theater

https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2024-25-season/two-trains-running/

From the author of The Piano Lesson and Fences comes the story of Memphis Lee, a diner owner in a historically black neighborhood in Pittsburgh at the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, who must decide if he should allow the government to take over his building or sell the property to a ruthless businessman. Full of vivid characters, joy, hope, love, and perseverance, this Tony-nominated play celebrates the spirit, laughter, heart, and resilience of the people who make our country great even when faced with overwhelming odds.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Cal Performances

Strength, precision, and passion remain the hallmarks of the august Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater more than 65 years after its inception. The company’s legendary dancers return to Berkeley with vibrant programs of new and classic works that showcase and synthesize a dazzling range of cultural influences, from spirituals and church hymns, jazz, R&B, and hip-hop, to African dance and classical ballet. Many of the earliest Ailey works and the newest company creations share a common focus: illuminating the rich panorama of Black American experience. Ailey’s monumental Revelations serves as a beacon through it all, and as former company dancer and keeper of the Ailey flame Sylvia Waters observes, “It’s a testament to Alvin’s understanding of humanity and the human spirit. That, yes, people experience despair, struggle, repression, oppression, but they have the resilience and strength to go forward.”

Fat Ham

SF Playhouse

Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Drama: Critically-acclaimed playwright James Ijames reinvents Shakespeare’s masterpiece with his new drama, Fat Ham. Juicy is a queer, Southern college kid, already grappling with some serious questions of identity, when the ghost of his father shows up in their backyard, demanding that Juicy avenge his murder. It feels like a familiar story to Juicy, well-versed in Hamlet’s woes. What’s different is Juicy himself, a sensitive and self-aware young Black man trying to break the cycles of trauma and violence in service of his own liberation. From an uproarious family barbecue emerges a compelling examination of love and loss, pain and joy.

SF Community Fashion Week

SF Community Fashion Week

You are cordially invited to the 20th season of the Award- Winning Fashion Community Week!
Future of Fashion Conference
Join us at the opening evening of the Award winning Fashion Community Week. We are celebrating our 20th season by kicking off with a Future of Fashion Conference. Experience industry leaders discussing sustainability and the Future of Fashion. Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of fashion, as the speakers share insights on the latest innovations, sustainability and cutting-edge technology in the industry. It is an opportunity to network and meet dignitaries of the fashion sustainability and tech industry.
Fashion Week Opening Party
You are invited to celebrate the 20th season of the Award-winning Fashion Community Week's opening party at the chic Executive Order Lounge. Join us to enjoy crafted cocktails, delectable bites, viewing trendy fashionable pieces and socializing with the local fashionistas! We invite you to wear your favorite attire to join us in fun fashion photo sessions. Music will be spinning all evening. We look forward to having a fun time with you at our Fashion Week Opening Party!
Fashion Week: One of a Kind Fashion show
You are cordially invited to the 20th season of the Award- Winning Fashion Community Week. Join us to the most popular fashion show of the Bay Area! It is taking place at the majestic Marker Hotel in San Francisco in Union Square. This evening features our only runway show of the season featuring extravagant collections by outstanding global designers! The evening begins with a VIP Red Carpet and social hour at 6pm followed by an exquisite one of a kind fashion show at 7.30pm. The evening continues with a celebration gathering at 9.30pm with crafted cocktails and music. We look forward to having a Fashionable time with you at our Fashion Week show!

Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion

Cal Performances

https://calperformances.org/events/2024-25/percussion/zakir-hussain-and-masters-of-percussion-2425/

This event has been canceled due to the passing of Zakir Hussain. The Night Out / Night Off community sends best wishes and condolences for his family. Night Out / Night Off graduates had the pleasure of attending Zakir Hussain's performance in 2023. 
This legendary tabla virtuoso who defied genres, died at 73. Google Zakir Hussain’s name and a Who’s Who of the music world populates your screen: Edgar Meyer, Béla Fleck, Herbie Hancock, George Harrison, Van Morrison, Earth, Wind & Fire, John McLaughlin, Mickey Hart, Kronos Quartet, Yo-Yo Ma…and the list goes on and on. A wildly prolific collaborator, the tabla virtuoso has brought the ecstatic rhythms of Indian classical music to the farthest corners of the globe, masterfully connecting his own musical traditions to a breathtaking array of pop, rock, and folk genres. This latest edition of his popular Masters of Percussion program invites a dynamic cast of virtuoso performers to the Zellerbach Hall stage.

Raymonda

SF Ballet

Tamara Rojo’s Bold Reimagining of a Timeless Tale of Love and Courage: Raymonda, a woman ahead of her time, embodies the resilience and compassion reminiscent of Florence Nightingale. Set against the backdrop of the 19th-century Crimean War, this adaptation redefines the role of women in both wartime and society. Tamara Rojo’s bold reimagining of Petipa’s timeless classic highlights its heroic and elegant qualities, set to Alexander Glazunov’s soaring score performed by the Grammy Award-winning SF Ballet Orchestra.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Cal Performances

Beloved South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, with one of “the most distinctive and uplifting choral sounds around” (NPR), visits with its unforgettable harmonies and inspiring message. Since its launch to global stardom on Paul Simon’s Graceland album in 1986, the group has won five Grammys and sung for millions across continents. Born from struggle under its country’s apartheid regime, Ladysmith sings songs of freedom, love, and peace, and Nelson Mandela famously cited the group’s music as a source of strength and inspiration during his imprisonment, later calling them “South Africa’s cultural ambassadors to the world” (Theaterscene).

This Land is Our Land

Cal Performances

Roots music singer and songwriter Martha Redbone lends her soul-stirring voice to a new collaboration with the genre-defying American Patchwork Quartet (a 2025 Grammy nominee), for a performance exploring the United States’ rich cultural tapestry. Redbone draws on her southeastern Cherokee/Choctaw and African American heritage to craft uplifting songs that celebrate the human spirit, infused with the folk and blues sounds of her childhood in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. She has said, “I feel that the one thing that still resonates physically and emotionally with people is music… [It] is the one field where we still have a fighting chance to be able to share some important, powerful, profound messages.”

Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play

SF Playhouse

https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/2024-2025-season/exotic-deadly-or-the-msg-play/

It’s 1999, and Ami is an awkward Asian American high schooler whose world comes crashing down with a terrible discovery: her family is responsible for manufacturing MSG, the mysterious ingredient getting all the kids hooked! Meanwhile, a cool new girl arrives from Japan, and she’s not playing by the rules. In Keiko Green’s new play, Ami vows to redeem her family name and save the world from MSG. This whimsical, time-traveling adventure is a riotous and hilarious romp through wild teenaged crushes, family legacies, and the magical properties of instant ramen!

Fairview

Contra Costa Civic Theatre

In this 2019 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, we see a middle-class Black family preparing for Grandma's birthday, and everything's going wrong--the food isn't ready, the radio is on the fritz, and there's something strange in the air. But what starts as a typical family comedy turns into one of the most startling examinations of the paradigms of race in America...and into a night of theatre you will never, ever, EVER forget. Simultaneously hysterical and scorching, we are honored to present this piece that celebrates everything that theatre was meant to accomplish.

Samara Joy

Cal Performances

https://calperformances.org/events/2024-25/jazz/samara-joy/

In jazz, every generation has a few “old souls” who skip the line to join the pantheon of greats—young artists who burst on the scene seemingly out of nowhere, fully formed. Fresh out of music school but with a deep history in gospel music, the wildly talented vocalist Samara Joy is just such a figure. Joy won Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best New Artist at the 2023 Grammy Awards for her debut release, an old-school affair that explores classic tunes associated with Carmen McRae, Nat King Cole, and Billie Holiday, and followed it with a third Grammy, for Best Jazz Performance in 2024. This year, she’s nominated for two additional Grammys—Best Jazz Vocal Album (for A Joyful Holiday) and Best Jazz Performance (for her rendition of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Me” with pianist Sullivan Fortner) “Listening to Samara Joy, I’m struck by the sound of her voice—warm, grounded and sturdy, an impression reinforced by her sure sense of pitch… Her understated, swingy rhythm can feel lighter than air” (NPR).

Hamilton

Broadway SF

A revolutionary story of passion, unstoppable ambition, and the dawn of a new nation. HAMILTON is the epic saga that follows the rise of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton as he fights for honor, love, and a legacy that would shape the course of a nation. Based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography and set to a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway, HAMILTON has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education. HAMILTON features book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire. In addition to its 11 Tony Awards, it has won Grammy®, Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an unprecedented special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors.

Jaja's African Hair Braiding

Berkeley Rep Theatre

Step into the vibrant world of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, a beloved Harlem hotspot where West African immigrant braiders work their magic on the locals’ locks. Amidst the lively buzz of a scorching summer, love ignites, dreams soar, and secrets unravel. But beneath the surface lies a current of uncertainty, pushing this close-knit community to confront the challenges of being outsiders in their own neighborhood. From the pen of acclaimed Ghanaian American playwright Jocelyn Bioh (Goddess, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play) and directed by Obie winner Whitney White, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding is “a play that is equally affecting as it is hilarious,” hails Entertainment Weekly. Post Event Add Ons: Post show discussion: Join us after the show for a postshow discussion, expertly guided by members of Berkeley Rep’s artistic team. Post show reception: Join us for a post show reception and a photo op with the actors!

Carmen

SF Opera

https://www.sfopera.com/operas/carmen/

Her Passion is Freeing. His Obsession is Deadly. As free as a rebellious bird, it is hard to escape the magnetic allure of Carmen. Entranced by her passionate seguidilla, the soldier Don José descends into a dangerous spiral of desire. Jealousy and obsession lead to fatal consequences in Francesca Zambello’s production in which matadors bump shoulders with factory workers in the heat of Seville. Bizet’s evocative score features some of the most recognizable music in opera, brought to life by conductor Benjamin Manis.

Sweet Honey in the Rock

SF Jazz

https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/24-25/sweet-honey-in-the-rock/

A dynamic and influential a cappella ensemble deeply rooted in Black history and culture, the GRAMMY-winning Sweet Honey in the Rock make their Miner Auditorium debut with a series of concerts celebrating five decades of musical alchemy.
Founded in 1973 by Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, the group’s name is derived from a biblical passage that refers to a land rich with sweet honey and in which the rock symbolizes strength and resilience. This imagery reflects the essence of their music, which is both sweet and powerful, infused with spirituality and social consciousness.
Their repertoire spans gospel, blues, jazz, and traditional African melodies, often interwoven with themes of empowerment and love. Through their intricate harmonies, vocal percussion, and soul-stirring performances, Sweet Honey in the Rock have captivated audiences around the world and recorded 27 acclaimed albums including the group’s latest, #LoveInEvolution.