{"id":164512,"date":"2026-02-05T02:21:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T02:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/164512\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T02:21:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T02:21:26","slug":"best-bets-diablo-ballet-clown-andrea-barello-oakland-asian-cultural-center-celebration-bass-baritone-davone-tines-aspen-string-trio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/164512\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Bets: Diablo Ballet, clown Andrea Barello, Oakland Asian Cultural Center celebration, bass-baritone\u00a0Dav\u00f3ne\u00a0Tines, Aspen String Trio\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

East Bay ballet: Diablo Ballet is amid its 32nd season, with an appealing, diverse program this weekend in Walnut Creek. The show features choreographer Julia Adam\u2019s version of \u201cThe Little Mermaid\u201d based on\u00a0 the beloved Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale\u00a0(and not the Disney movie!); the troupe\u2019s premiere of Paul Taylor\u2019s \u201cCompany B,\u201d the vivacious piece of Americana set to songs by the Andrews Sisters, and an encore presentation of George Balanchine\u2019s cheerful \u201cDonizetti Variations,\u201d which former New York City Ballet dancer Ashley Bouder has called \u201cfun.\u201d Performances are at 7:30 p.m.\u00a0Friday\u00a0and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Lesher Center for the Arts. The programs are accompanied by\u00a0pre-performance talks\u00a0and\u00a0opportunities to\u00a0meet\u00a0and\u00a0greet the\u00a0cast. Tickets are $30-$59 at\u00a0diabloballet.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Andrea Barello appears in San Francisco in \u201cTonight! A Clown Who Wanted to be Loved?\u201d presented by Church of Clown on Feb. 6. (Andrea Barello via Bay City News) <\/p>\n

Solo clowning: San Francisco\u2019s Church of Clown boasts a guest performer, fringe festival favorite Andrea Barello, in different solo shows this weekend. Born and raised in Italy, Barello\u2019s an award-winning Los Angeles clown bringing two offerings to the Bay Area. On Friday, he appears in \u201cTonight! A clown who wanted to be loved\u201d in which a hopelessly romantic (and perhaps a bit naughty!) man tries everything to get the only thing he wants. Critics called it \u201cfunny,\u201d \u201cpoignant\u201d and \u201ca little spa break for the soul.\u201d On Saturday, he presents \u201cFull of Grace,\u201d in which a peculiar clergyman struggling with moral dilemmas administers a peculiar worship service (with hoses-down of holy water and more). Both performances are at 8 p.m. at Church of Clown, 2400 Bayshore Blvd., San Francisco. Tickets are $20-$40 sliding scale or $30 for both shows at churchofclown.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Fantasy author Aimee Phan is participating in Oakland Asian Cultural Center\u2019s New Year + Black History Month Celebration on Feb. 7. (Nicholas Lea Bruno via Bay City News)<\/p>\n

Freebie of the week:\u00a0With Black History Month and the Lunar New Year arriving at the same time, the Oakland Asian Cultural Center this weekend is offering the\u00a0simply titled Lunar New Year + Black History Month Celebration.\u00a0A\u00a0multifaceted array of performers and activities\u00a0comprise\u00a0the free event, running\u00a0from\u00a011 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at\u00a0the\u00a0center,\u00a0located\u00a0in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza, 388 Ninth St., Suite 290.\u00a0There will be\u00a0a lot of dancing,\u00a0drumming\u00a0and music from East Bay Asian and African American artists, including the\u00a0Toishan\u00a0Association Lion Dancers, Afro-Filipino MPWRD Collective, Patty Chu\u2019s Chinese Dance Troupe, queer lion dance troupe Comrade Lover,\u00a0Bantaba\u00a0Drum Call,\u00a0Urisawe\u00a0Korean Drumming, and members of the\u00a0SambaFunk! Dance school in Oakland. Also on hand will be a Kids + Teens Zone with storytelling and appearances by picture book author Dr.\u00a0JaNay\u00a0Brown-Wood,\u00a0young adult\u00a0fantasy author Aimee Phan, and more, as well as craft activities led by Oakland\u2019s Storyland Collective.\u00a0Finally, a\u00a0marketplace features\u00a0local Black and Asian vendors, as well as representatives from Eastwind Books, Marcus Books, and\u00a0others.\u00a0 The event is part of the Oakland Asian Cultural Center\u2019s 2020 E.A.R.S.\u00a0(Engage, Activate and Rise up Series)\u00a0for Change Initiative\u00a0aimed at fostering stronger ties between the Black and Asian communities. For more information, go to\u00a0oacc.cc.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"
Bass-baritone Dav\u00f3ne Tines joins the early music ensemble Ruckus for a San Francisco Performances program at the Herbst Theatre on Feb. 7. (Bowie Verschuuren\/SF Performances via Bay City News)<\/p>\n

From Baroque to hot rock:\u00a0\u201cWhat Is Your Hand in This?\u201d is the question bass-baritone\u00a0Dav\u00f3ne\u00a0Tines and the early music ensemble Ruckus\u00a0will\u00a0ask the\u00a0Herbst Theatre\u00a0audience\u00a0Saturday night\u00a0in\u00a0a San Francisco Performances program inspired by the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Ruckus, a group that has been described as \u201cthe world\u2019s only period-instrument rock band,\u201d and the vocalist cross multiple musical boundaries in a\u00a0concert\u00a0including\u00a0works as diverse as \u201cWhy Do the Nations So Furiously Rage\u201d from Handel\u2019s \u201cMessiah\u201d to the late R&B and soul singer Sam Cooke\u2019s \u201cA Change Is\u00a0Gonna\u00a0Come.\u201d Tines\u2019 own \u201cWhat Is My Hand in This\u201d and his arrangement of the traditional hymn \u201cBe the Lover of My Soul\u201d are also on the program, as are John Dickinson\u2019s \u201cThe Liberty Song,\u201d Stephen Foster\u2019s \u201cBeautiful Dreamer\u201d\u00a0and Benjamin Carr\u2019s \u201cThe Federal Overture.\u201d Performance time is 7:30 p.m. Find tickets, $45-$65, at\u00a0sfperformances.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The Aspen String Trio plays a chamber concert in Livermore featuring music by Mozart, Schubert and more on Feb. 7. (Aspen String Quartet via Bay City News) <\/p>\n

Sensational strings:\u00a0Now\u00a0in its 46th season, Del Valle Fine Arts presents the Aspen String Trio\u00a0this weekend\u00a0in Livermore\u00a0in a varied concert of classic and contemporary works. Established\u00a0more than two decades ago at the Aspen Music Festival with a mission to perform rarely heard string trio repertoire, the esteemed ensemble\u00a0features\u00a0David Perry on violin, Victoria Chiang on viola and Michael\u00a0Mermagen\u00a0on cello; all are professors at distinguished music schools across the country.\u00a0The program on Saturday afternoon starts with Schubert\u2019s Trio in B-flat and ends with Mozart\u2019s inventive Divertimento in E-flat major, his\u00a0first and only work for string trio, and, with six movements, his longest chamber piece. Both compositions are considered landmarks in string trio literature.\u00a0In between, the musicians play 20th century works from their \u201cRemembered Voices\u201d project, which\u00a0showcases\u00a0music suppressed by the Third Reich. They include Mieczyslaw Weinberg\u2019s Trio for Strings, with Jewish, gypsy and\u00a0Moldavian\u00a0folk themes, and\u00a0Gideon Klein\u2019s 1944 String Trio, which is deeply rooted in the Eastern European folkloric tunes.\u00a0A reception follows the concert, which begins at 3 p.m. Feb. 7 in the Bankhead Theater, 2400 First St., Livermore.\u00a0Tickets range from $25-$57, with discounts for college students and youngsters under 18. Visit livermorearts.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"East Bay ballet: Diablo Ballet is amid its 32nd season, with an appealing, diverse program this weekend in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":164513,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[79537,79538,79539,79540,79541,79542,79543,79544,79545,143,79546,145,144,79547,79548,27351,79549,79550,79551],"class_list":["post-164512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-aimee-phan","tag-andrea-barello","tag-aspen-string-trio","tag-church-of-clown","tag-david-perry","tag-davone-tines","tag-del-valle-fine-arts","tag-full-of-grace","tag-michael-mermagen","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-asian-cultural-center","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-ruckus","tag-sambafunk","tag-san-francisco-performances","tag-toishan-association-lion-dancers","tag-urisawe-korean-drumming","tag-victoria-chang"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}