Dorrance Dance

Welcome to another busy weekend at Cal Perfor­mances! On Thursday evening, the combined vocal forces of the Manhattan Transfer and Take 6 (Mar 17)—10 voices with 20 Grammys between them—will fill Zellerbach Hall with their trademark crystalline harmonies, stirring gospel rhythms, and soaring melodies. The bands’ current tour is a hit with audiences and critics alike, with a recent concert in Maryland praised as “an explosion, in gale wind proportions, of musical enjoyment, creative genius, vocal excellence and a boatload of fun” (DC Metro).

Next, acclaimed choreographer Michelle Dorrance and her company Dorrance Dance (Mar 18–19) arrive in town with a program that demonstrates how powerfully movement and music can be entwined in the bodies of expert dancers. Dorrance’s brilliant SOUNDspace, adapted on this occasion for the unique qualities of Zellerbach Playhouse, soars as a powerful tribute to the history and legacy of tap dancing and features both Dorrance’s own choreography and solo improvisation by company members. This remarkable program reminds us that “If the idea of tap dance makes you think of stale musicals from the early 20th century, Michelle Dorrance is eager to shatter your assumptions” (Broadway World Washington).

Finally, in a true season highlight, the mighty London Symphony Orchestra (Mar 20), under the direction of luminary conductor Sir Simon Rattle, provides an afternoon of unsurpassed symphonic music on Sunday afternoon at Zellerbach Hall. The wide-ranging program is almost an embarrassment of riches, packed with masterworks by Berlioz, Sibelius, Bartók, and Ravel, along with a more recent audience favorite, The Spark Catchers, by the brilliant British composer Hannah Kendall. Trust me—in terms of memorable symphonic music, it doesn’t get better than this.

March marks the time of year that traditionally finds Cal Performances operating on all cylinders. From now through the beginning of May, the remainder of our 2021­–22 season is filled with adventurous programming. You won’t want to miss…

• pianist extraordinaire Mitsuko Uchida playing and directing Mozart with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (Mar 27)
• the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (Mar 29 – Apr 3), returning to Zellerbach Hall for the first time since the initial pandemic shutdown in 2020; this year’s Ailey programs—featuring more than a dozen works from the company’s legendary repertory—have only recently been announced, so make sure to check our website for details
• the renowned English Baroque Soloists with conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner in a transfixing program of works by Mozart and Haydn (Apr 10)
• Angélique Kidjo, our 2021–22 artist-in-residence, in her new music-theater piece Yemandja (a much-anticipated Cal Performances co-commission and Illuminations event, Apr 23).

Fasten your seatbelts; we have all of this—plus much more—in store for you!

We’re very proud of our updated winter brochure and know that a few minutes spent reviewing our schedule—in print or online—will reveal a wealth of options for your calendar; now is the perfect time to guarantee that you have the best seats for all the events you plan to attend.

I know you join us in looking forward to what lies ahead, and to coming together once again to encounter the life-changing experiences that only the live performing arts deliver. We can’t wait to share it all with you during the coming months.

Jeremy Geffen
Executive and Artistic Director, Cal Performances

P.S. – Stay tuned for exciting news about our brilliant 2022–23 season, to be announced in April!