Cal Performances
Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
Saturday, January 23 @ 7:30 PM
Special UC Berkeley Grad Student Price: $10 (you may bring one guest @ guest price)

Supreme athleticism, astonishing choreography, earth-shattering sounds drawn from enormous drums that conjure ancient rituals: the awe-inspiring drummers of Kodo return to Berkeley by popular demand! The new production Luminance celebrates both the troupe’s 45th anniversary and taiko’s ability to stir the soul. The show features highlights from Kodo’s most popular tours, including the mighty o-daiko drum solo and climactic “Yatai-Bayashi” finale and a tribute to Maki Ishii’s dynamic and beloved taiko composition “Monochrome,” which involves 10 drums and two large, deeply resonant gongs.

“A phenomenal performance by artists who appeared to have moved into a fantastical realm where the usual limits to human endeavour do not apply”—Financial Times

Cal Performances
Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
Saturday, February 13 @ 7:30 PM
Special UC Berkeley Grad Student Price: $10 (you may bring one guest @ guest price)

Salvador López López, general director 
Viviana Basanta Hernández, artistic director 

Culture bearers and global ambassadors, the artists of Ballet Folklórico de México have forged a reputation for excellence by introducing audiences worldwide to the artistry of Mexican folklore from pre-Columbian civilizations to the modern era. The company was founded 75 years ago in Mexico City by choreographer Amalia Hernández, a visionary who revolutionized the concept of Mexican traditional dance through both stunning original works and her research of regional folklore, music, costumes, and movement styles. The company has reached more than 45 million spectators worldwide and has received countless awards and accolades, positioning itself as one of the world’s premier folkloric dance ensembles.

Cal Performances
Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
Saturday, February 27 @ 7:30 PM
Special UC Berkeley Grad Student Price: $10 (you may bring one guest @ guest price)

Few performers can deliver a joke just as perfectly as they land a grand jeté—and the outrageously talented male performers of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo do it with style and sass. Beguiling to ballet insiders and dance world newbies alike, the “Trocks” have been serving up their smart, en pointe satire of classic dance repertoire—pirouetting in lavish costumes and with just a hint of five o’clock shadow—for more than 50 years.

“It’s the dancers’ serious unseriousness, their full commitment … that grounds the work and allows us to escape into their world” (The Ballet Herald).

Cal Performances
Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
Saturday, March 27 @ 7:30 PM
Special UC Berkeley Grad Student Price: $10 (you may bring one guest @ guest price)

A “once-in-a-generation soprano megastar” (The New Yorker) and winner of a record-breaking six Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Emmy, Audra McDonald is the whole artistic package. With her gleaming voice and incomparable gift for musical storytelling, McDonald is equally as mesmerizing in the concert hall as she is on Broadway or television. Critics described something akin to a spiritual awakening on experiencing her breathtaking transformation as the domineering Mama Rose in the most recent revival of Gypsy. Don’t miss the return of this singular sensation performing her signature mix of songs from Broadway, the Great American Songbook, and beyond.

Cal Performances
Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
—MULTIPLE DATES—
Tuesday, April 6 @ 7:30 PM
Wednesday, April 7 @ 7:30 PM
Thursday, April 8 @ 7:30 PM
Special UC Berkeley Grad Student Price: $10 (you may bring one guest @ guest price)

Alicia Graf Mack, Daria L. and Eric J. Wallach Artistic Director 
Matthew Rushing, associate artistic director 

The revered Ailey company returns in its eagerly anticipated annual residency, with renewed energy and vision under the artistic direction of celebrated former Ailey dancer Alicia Graf Mack. Elegance and strength, abstraction and soulfulness—the Ailey dancers’ movement is guided by a spiritual core that makes this company distinct, whether performing canonical Ailey masterworks like Revelations or bringing to life brand-new work by some of today’s most compelling choreographers. Graf Mack promises to carry Ailey’s legacy into the future, as evidenced by her own words: “We march boldly forward, dancing without fear, dreaming without limits, and conquering every challenge, every tomorrow with revelatory transcendence. So let’s dance!”

Cal Performances
Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
Friday, April 16 @ 7:30 PM
Special UC Berkeley Grad Student Price: $10 (you may bring one guest @ guest price)

Feras Charestan, qanun
Abbos Kosimov, doira
Wu Man, pipa
Vincent Peirani, accordion
Basel Rajoub, duclar, saxophone
Vincent Ségal, cello
Yurdal Tokcan, oud

The Aga Khan Master Musicians is an artist collective performing new music inspired by old traditions. Originally hailing from Central Asia, China, and the Middle East, its five core members—Feras Charestan, Abbos Kosimov, Basel Rajoub, Yurdal Tokcan, and Wu Man—all virtuosic in their own right, are joined here by two special guests from France, accordionist Vincent Peirani and cellist Vincent Ségal. The septet performs a program of jointly created works inspired by the ancient routes that connected trade and culture between Asia and the Mediterranean.

“Their music is a beguiling expression of converging traditions and timbres”—The Scotsman

Cal Performances
Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
Saturday, April 17 @ 7:30 PM
Special UC Berkeley Grad Student Price: $10 (you may bring one guest @ guest price)

The Space Between the Notes

Niladri Kumaar, sitar
Agnelo Fernandes, keyboards
Sambit Chatterjee, drums
Satyajit Talwalkar, tabla

Maverick instrumentalist and composer Niladri Kumaar is among the most compelling and innovative artists in Indian classical music today. A gifted sitarist, he was an admired collaborator and longtime protegé of the late tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain—appearing multiple times with him at Cal Performances—and their special musical relationship is explored in Sumantra Ghosal’s documentary film The Space Between the Notes. To honor his friend and mentor, Kumaar has created a new ensemble of Indian musicians that will perform a program combining his own original compositions with works that he and Hussain used to play together. “I remain focused on finding my distinct voice within the continuum of luminaries who have shaped Indian classical music,” says the sitarist. “Thus, my creative journey continues, guided by tradition yet open to innovation.”

Cal Performances
Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
Friday, May 7 @ 7:30 PM
Special UC Berkeley Grad Student Price: $10 (you may bring one guest @ guest price)

Moses Pendleton, artistic director

A magnificent tour of the seasons unfolds in Botanica, as the visual wizards of MOMIX combine acrobatics, extraordinary costumes, giant puppetry, and a dreamy, pulsing score that ranges from birdsong to Vivaldi. The ever-popular troupe—founded more than three decades ago by Pilobolus co-founder Moses Pendleton—creates a spellbinding theatrical world sure to delight audiences of all ages and described as “a fantasia of flora and fauna collaged together with creaturely humor” (The Seattle Times).