East Bay DANCES 2018 Showcases All Kinds of Movement

East Bay DANCES 2018 Showcases All Kinds of Movement

PHOTO COURTESY VISIT OAKLAND

Traditional and modern dance as well as Americana styles and Persian belly dancing will be represented.

All over the world, it’s a universal that when you have a party, when you want to celebrate the good in life, you eat, you sing, and — especially — you dance. The Oakland Ballet brings that universal truth home when it hosts the East Bay DANCES 2018 festival.This annual celebration of movement enters its fourth year with performances by some of the Bay Area’s hottest dance troupes and solo acts, both modern and traditional and sometimes somewhere in between, bringing diverse styles from around the world. Hayward’s Ballet Folklórico México Danza explores the cultural heritage of Mexico through traditional folkloric dance, while the intergenerational dNaga uses dance to draw attention to social issues as universal as racism and sexism and as intimate and immediate as dealing with the loss of a loved one or living with Parkinson’s disease. And the Urban Jazz Company, a troupe that includes both deaf and hearing artists, uses smooth urban jazz rhythms to tell stories connecting people of all cultures and backgrounds.Other performances include old-timey Americana by the Jubilee American Dance Theatre, traditional Persian belly dance by Shabnam Dance Company, and hot contemporary moves by the AXIS Dance Company.

Shut up and dance, as the kids say. Sun., June 3, 4 p.m., $15 children and students, $25 adults, $20 seniors, Odell Johnson Performing Arts Center, Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Oakland, OaklandBallet.org