What a treat! The Marin Symphony is a highly underrated group. And my new favorite musical…read moreorchestra. Though I am from San Francisco and have seen the SF Symphony at Davies several times, I much more prefer the Marin Symphony performances at the Marin Veterans Memorial Center. I've seen two performances this year--Waterfront Pops: The Music of John Williams, and most recently Holiday Pops. Waterfront Pops was performed outdoors near the Lagoon of the Marin Center. There is ample parking, and very easy to get to just off the freeway. The line up was amazing, and had all of my favorite John Williams songs. The choice of songs was arranged perfectly, starting and ending with Olympic themes. Indiana Jones, Schindler's List, The Patriot, Hook, Jaws, ET, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Superman...All of the classics were played. The songs transported you back to the movie all over again. The Holiday Pops performance was equally beautiful. I love the intimate venue of the Marin Center, as every seat is a good one. Tickets for performances are extremely reasonable--$50.00 for an orchestra seat. Song choice was just perfect, mixing in traditional songs with more contemporary arrangements. The Nutcracker selection was a treat, and at times, sounded better than when I saw the actual performance of the Nutcracker at the War Memorial Opera House (I do not like the sound system there). The finale of Sleigh Bells topped off a truly magical evening. Conductor Alasdair Neal is a lot of fun, personable, and tells great stories. He's a lot of fun to watch conducting as he gets really animated and always looks like hes having so much fun on stage. At one point, during the Trepak performance from the Nutcracker, it looks like he was having a seizure of some sort from from his enthusiasm. Overall, I thoroughly enjoy seeing the Marin Symphony on the two occasions that I've attended their shows, and look forward to seeing Disney Classics next year. A must.

Their local performances are delightful. We are so fortunate that the symphony continues to bring…read moreus beautiful music in a time of so much noise.

Berkeley Symphony kicked off their 2025-2026 opening season with a full house at the First…read moreCongregational Church of Berkeley. Dina Gilbert was guest conductor Gabriel Cabezas, cellist. Visions of Elysium opened with Elysium and closed with Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony #3 Every selection on the program was fantastic, Elysium was my favorite. After the concert, attendees were treated to a free reception sponsored by Jane Hammond with wine by Knuttel Winery. If you haven't been to the Berkeley Symphony, get to a concert this season!

Top quality. This is a "period orchestra" i.e., a specialist in music written post 1940. That is…read morenot to say you'll never hear Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn etc. - those guys inspired the composers you'll hear here. You'll get to hear outstanding compositions that you don't already own in your vast CD collection, and conductor Joana will let you know why. Programs are oriented to hang well together. Composer in residence, Gabriela Lena Frank will help keep them on track. Joana Carneiro, already of International fame, hails by way of Lisbon, Portugal and assoc. of the L.A. Phil under Esa Pekka Solonen brings a new vitality to the pit. Kent Nagano whose baton ruled the roost for 25 years will occasionally pop in from the Bavarian State Opera, or Montreal Symphony for old times sake. This is not a competitor to SFO or OEBS, it is a cohesive group of professional musicians with a uniquely exciting playlist. Come early for composer & conductors confab. Four or Five concerts per year, phenomenally active Music in the Schools program in all of Berkeley's elementary schools, and several in-progress concerts by living composers.

This was my second home. I met Auntie Mahea in 1993 while taking her dance classes then she invited…read moreme to dance with her halau, Ka Ua Tuahine full time. I've danced for Mahea for 7 years. She is a brilliant teacher, a lover of music, dance, cultural history of Hawai'i and Tahiti. She is respectful, tactful, patient, kind, sincere and wonderful. She is the owner of the center for international dance. She made me fall in love dancing hula kahiko and hula auana. She taught me how to dance gracefully and be gracious. She hosts the most intricate and fun workshops on how to braid a haku lei, decorate costumes, and even, hosted a few workshops for meditation. She may come off very stern but she only expects the best from her dancers. She may seem trivial at times but she is a perfectionist. I love her like she was a part of my family. I've competed with the halau at Tahiti Fete San Jose, performed at numerous Ho'ike Pau Hana shows. If I didn't move out of the East Bay, I would still be dancing for her.

When will you ever been able to travel to two islands within a Saturday morning? NEVER!!!…read more Dancing has always been apart of me. But joining this halau really opened my heart and changed my life completely. I try to get all my friends to join. So far I've gotten two...yes! My baby sister LOVES the keiki class and has recruited two more buddies to join herself. When something is this good, you really can't keep it to yourself. I suggest all people thinking of trying it out, to come to open house.

Shahrzad is an incredibly talented and beautiful artist. My husband and I reached out to her and…read moreasked if she could help us with our first dance for our wedding. We had chosen a unique Persian song and wanted a dance that combined American and Persian dance elements. I had asked a few other dance instructors who seemed unsure how to proceed but Shahrzad listened to the song once and instantly invited us for private lessons. During the first lesson, Shahrzad showed us the dance she had created and I fell in love with it. She had taken our vision and made it even better. We could tell she had taken time to listen to the lyrics and create a sweet and romantic story that followed along with the lyrics. As for the actual dance instruction, Shahrzad was very patient and kind. When she asked us what our level of dance experience is, my husband mentioned he has two left feet and I told her I dance socially but don't know any special steps. Shahrzad was able to adjust certain moves to match our skills and tailored the dance so that we would feel comfortable performing it in front of our wedding guests. Each lesson with her was pleasant and she was also flexible with our work schedules. Shahrzad is also an honest person and after a few lessons, she told us she felt we didn't need any more lessons. She offered to video tape our dance for us and provided verbal feedback so that when we went home, we could watch it and practice. On our wedding day, the first dance was the highlight of the evening for everyone. Neither my husband nor I have ever had so many people come up to us and compliment us on our dancing! Every person who commented on the dance said it was the best first dance they had ever seen. It was romantic, flirty, and engaging since it told a story. And most importantly, my husband and I had so much fun practicing it and performing it! Even today, a few weeks after the wedding, our families still project the dance onto the TV during gatherings and watch it. I highly recommend Shahrzad for dance instruction and am looking forward to hopefully attending some of her dance workshops in the future.

I've been dancing and studying under Shahrzad Dance Academy (SDA) for 6 months now after having…read moretaken classes with other studios in the Central Asian and Persian dance styles for 2 years. Shahrzad Khorsandi focuses on teaching the technique and incorporating grace, esthetic beauty through movement, and self expression! Which for me has been the perfect balance. I love and highly recommend her classes!!!

Organizers aren't. They've consistently lost vendors over the years due to lack of communication…read moreand lack of promotion. Attendees never know in advance who will be performing or who will be vending.

I had an absolute blast at Rakkasah West!…read more It was my first time performing with my local Bay Area troupe and I had never attended this sort of event before. If you love belly dancing, middle Eastern culture or just want to try something new, I definitely recommend going. FYI: It's crowded! There's a ton of vendors crowded in (in true Morrocan market fashion) selling music, clothing, jewelry. Be sure to keep a close eye on good deals and hidden treasures. Those unique finds may not always be advertised. (I found a traditional middle Eastern dress for $7!) Girls, girls, girls! Everywhere. I'm guessing for every 5 women, there was 1 man. The belly dancing part of it is probably why, but this event can be fun for both sexes to enjoy. Performances of every level. I was part of a small troupe that performed at the smaller, intimate stage (Cabaret stage). The level of experience will vary but it's all in good fun. The music can range from modern to traditional to gothic, so you have a nice variety.

What Natta has created with Tea Dancers is not just a studio, but community. She is an incredible…read moreinstructor - kind, intensely creative and disciplined. She teaches her dancers strength, grace and presence, but also encourages their creativity. She is dedicated to each and every student and it shows in their care for each other and confidence in their work. The productions are outstanding, one of a kind. The studio transforms with lighting, costumes music. These are not simply recitals to demonstrate skills. The dancers participate in all aspects and through that experience become invested in themselves and each other. Over the last 8 years my child has grown immensely while dancing with Natta. In the advanced group he has learned incredible dance skills and also developed compassion, communication, creative leadership. I highly recommend this studio to anyone seeking a unique expertise that goes beyond developing dance skills.

my daughter started shortly before she turned 6, and is now in her 5th year. She has always been…read moreathletic but I used to laugh when she danced because it was more like fighting. Under Natta's guidance, my child is transforming into a dancer, which is amazing. My child thrives at the school among her gentle friends, many of whom are older than her.

Project Bandaloop is amazing! If I were good enough, and they would have me, I would drop out of…read moregraduate school right now to dance on walls and cliffs with them. Since that is not the case, I had resigned myself to frequent visits to their website UNTIL I found out that they host beginner and int/ adv workshops! Woohoo! Maybe I will be an amazingly talented beginner and they will beg me to travel the world with them and dance on the Petronas Towers, Chartres Cathedral, maybe even at Petra or the Coliseum. Please. Please. Pick me. I'll do anything. ________________________ Update: Since I have now completed both the beginner and int/adv workshops offered by Project Bandaloop, I feel this review needs an update. The workshop is a lot of fun, although pretty hard on the body. I figured that vertical dancing might have its challenges, but I had no idea how much a rock climbing harness and nerve endings could disagree. However, that did not stop me from going 4 days in a row...doubling up on pants and shirts can make a huge difference. The beginner workshop (5 hours over 2 days, $110) features a warm up, and then a rotation through the climbing wall featuring bouldering/dance, dance from single point suspension ("pods"), the trampoline walls, and the wood wall. The advanced workshop (6 hours over 2 days, $150) has an additional floor station and focuses on play and choreography more than orientation and skills. The workshops were between 15-20 people with 5-7 instructors. The instructors were great! Definitely gave the freedom to play, while also providing constructive pointers and maintaining a safe environment. The founder of Bandaloop, Amelia, was also in and out, watching the advanced performances, answering questions, etc. While she did not offer me a position in her dance troupe, I am definitely addicted, and will be going back for more. Maybe one day I can have my own trampoline wall. The one downer: the warehouse in Oakland seems pretty sketch upon first approach,. It isn't well marked, and looks kind of run down. It also can be tough getting in earlier, etc because all the doors are locked. However, the next workshop is in a new location close by in Oakland, so this may change soon.

truly amazing, innovate aerial artists! google them, and check out some of their performances, or…read morebetter yet, go see them in person!

The first session I went to (seven months ago) I was figuring that it would be worth 1¾ hour of my…read moretime and $25 (though the scale can slide down to $20) to see what this was like, no harm done if I didn't like it. I was hooked, and I've attended most of the weekly sessions ever since, though there's absolutely no commitment required as to how often you come. Beginners (which is what I was) are very welcome. If you drop in for one session, I'm pretty sure you'll feel it was time well-spent, even if you end up deciding not to come back for more. Hey, you could just add "attend at least one improv class/session" to your bucket list, and if you decide not to return, you'll have been able to cross off an item...

I did the drop in class last night. I have always been a bit of an oddball, but the people at the…read moreclass made me feel right at home. Everyone had a great attitude. Elana is a fun teacher, who encourages all aspects of improvisation, and has a great assortment of games, exercises and scenes to try. I highly recommend this to anyone. Even if you have no interest in Improv, you should do at least one drop in class, just for the fun of it.