IN THIS ISSUE:

• New Executive Director
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• Annual Gala at Blackhawk Country Club
• The Little Prince & The Escaping Game
• Theatre Encounter for Low Income Children
• Diablo Ballet Awarded Taproot Grant

Diablo Ballet is proud to announce the appointment of Lee Foster to the position of Executive Director. The addition to the staff marks the first time since 2002 Diablo Ballet has had a full-time administrator. Artistic Director Lauren Jonas, who handled both jobs in the interim, will now focus on the creative side of the company, including the development of new ballets and working closely with the company’s resident dancers.

Since 1997, Foster has served on the Board of Directors and as the Executive Director of Hillbarn Theatre in Foster City, which was founded 68 years ago. During her tenure, Foster increased audience participation by over 200% and eliminated all debt, while tripling the annual budget. She received an MBA from the University of San Francisco and graduated from the Arts Leadership of the Future program sponsored by the Packard Foundation.

Among her honors, Foster received the BRAVO! Award, presented by Congresswoman Jackie Speier in June 2008, and she has received special recognitions and resolutions from city, county, state and national government sources.

Take a magical adventure with more than 30 Diablo Ballet dancers as they perform this zany Shakespearean comedy. Diablo Ballet's 15th Anniversary Program, "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," is choreographed by the internationally-acclaimed choreographer Julia Adam and is set to music by Felix Mendelssohn. Children will have a special photo opportunity with dancers in costume following the matinee, so bring your camera!

SATURDAY, MAY 2 - BLACKHAWK COUNTRY CLUB, DANVILLE

Benefiting Diablo Ballet and the PEEK Outreach Program for Children and Youth
&
Honoring Patron of the Arts Award Recipients
Barney Fonzi and Sally Streets

Join fellow arts patrons for dinner, auctions, and an exclusive performance by the dancers of Diablo Ballet and the Company’s Apprentice and Professional Intermediate Programs, plus a wine tasting sponsored by Gann Family Cellars. Diablo Ballet will honor Barney Fonzi, publisher of Diablo Magazine, and Sally Street, artistic advisor, for their outstanding contributions to the dance community.

The Annual Gala supports Diablo Ballet’s performance season and the PEEK program, a unique arts awareness program that enriches the lives of over 5,000 children and families each year who have limited access to the arts.

ABOUT THE HONOREES
Mr. Fonzi is currently the group publisher with Diablo Publications. Within his 24 career he has played an integral role in the company’s growth from a single-publication venture to a multi-product publishing company. As publisher, Barney is responsible for the sales, marketing, and editorial components of the magazine, as well as additional Diablo Publications products, such as Napa/Sonoma magazine, Diablo Arts magazine, and Tri-Valley Visitor’s Guide.

Ms. Streets currently serves as Diablo Ballet’s Artistic Advisor. She was instrumental in the inception of Diablo Ballet fifteen years ago and has continued to make a significant impact on the arts throughout the Bay Area community. A former dancer with the New York City Ballet and a highly respected teacher and choreographer, Ms. Streets has been a faculty member of many Bay Area schools and companies including the San Francisco Ballet and Oakland Ballet. She has served as guest company teacher for the New York City Ballet and the Royal Ballet in London. Currently, Ms. Streets is the principal teacher at Berkeley Ballet Theater. She also created seventeen world premieres for Diablo Ballet.

For gala tickets and sponsorship info, call (925) 943-1775.

Diablo Ballet’ 2008-09 Season will conclude with the entertaining and enthralling story, "The Little Prince," choreographed by Julia Adam and featuring a compliment of thirty dancers on Friday May 8 at 7:30 pm and Saturday May 9 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. The evening program will also include choreographer KT Nelson’s "The Escaping Game."

The beloved book "The Little Prince" was written by the French author, journalist, and pilot, Antoine de Saint-Exupery in 1943, one year before his death. It is the most famous of his novels. From the surface it appears to be a simple children’s tale but "The Little Prince" is a profound and deeply moving book written in riddles and filled with philosophy and poetic metaphors. The book has been translated into many languages from the original French version and was made into a play and a movie. "The Little Prince" brings to life an important message for children and adults alike: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

KT Nelson's "The Escaping Game" set to the music of Zap Mama premiered September 24, 1997 at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. The work is a highly physical dance - both playful and athletic, set to music that produces a powerful backdrop. The Oakland Tribune said, “Nelson has gone considerably beyond those primordial urgings in her very street smart dance but the remembrance is still there.”

Since 1995, Diablo Ballet has presented this free program funded this year by US Bank and The Dean and Margaret Lesher Foundation. This important program, which is part of the Ballet’s PEEK Program (Performing Arts Education and Enrichment for Kids), brings 750 low income school children from Contra Costa County school systems into the Lesher Arts Center in Walnut Creek.

For more information or to support the program, please call Executive Director Lee Foster at 925 943-1775, ext. 4.

Diablo Ballet was awarded a Strategic Planning Prep service grant by the prestigious San Francisco-based Taproot Foundation. The Foundation will convene a team of expert market and strategy analysts who will work with Diablo Ballet to create an in-depth, unbiased situational report and help guide the company toward a strategic plan. “We could not be more honored to have been selected for this grant, and it could not come at a better time. We will be better positioned to face these challenging times and to ensure success for the company in the coming years,” said Miriam Leigh, president of Diablo Ballet’s board of directors. Awardees of the grant, valued at $70,000, are selected in a highly competitive application process.
For more information about Taproot, click here.