Oakland Ballet Company is bringing back one of its most beloved traditions this week, staging the 10th anniversary of “Luna Mexicana” at the Paramount Theatre on Friday, October 30, and Sunday, November 1. The Día de los Muertos production has grown into a fixture of the city’s fall arts calendar, blending classical ballet with mariachi music and Mexican folklórico dance.
The anniversary run kicks off Oakland Ballet’s 2026-2027 season, according to Piedmont Exedra, which described the show as the 10th staging of the “critically acclaimed” production. Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. on October 30 and 2:30 p.m. on November 1, per the Oakland Ballet Company. The Paramount Theatre is billing the event as “Luna Mexicana - Celebrating 60 Years of Oakland Ballet,” tying the production to the company’s 60th-anniversary season, according to the Paramount Theatre.
As KTVU reports, Oakland Ballet Artistic Director Graham Lustig and San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Esteban Hernández have shared insight into this year’s performances. Hernández has been commissioned to choreograph a new piece centered on his Mexican heritage, drawing on music by Mariachi Vargas and composer Manuel Ponce to explore the relationship between traditional Mexican music and dance, the same Piedmont Exedra report notes. Lustig, for his part, choreographed a piece following a young girl as she decorates her family’s ofrenda and learns the cultural meaning behind Día de los Muertos.
A Story of Memory, Set to Mariachi
At the heart of “Luna Mexicana” is the story of a girl named Luna who visits a graveyard on Día de los Muertos and reflects on her family and her past, according to ABC7 News. The production brings Mexican folklórico traditions onstage alongside contemporary dance, as reported by KQED. The show will feature leading local folkloric Mexican dance troupes and mariachis performing alongside Oakland Ballet’s dancers, per the Mercury News.
The program opens with an Aztec blessing ceremony, followed by a “Presente” call, regional folkloric dances performed by Ballet Folklórico México Danza, and a 15-minute performance from Mariachi Mexicanisimo, according to the same Piedmont Exedra report. On November 1, the “Presente” call will be followed by a special performance from Los Cenzontles. Oakland Ballet first premiered “Luna Mexicana” at the Paramount in 2016, and the Mercury News has called it one of the region’s signature Día de Muertos celebrations in the decade since.
Filling a Gap in Mainstream Ballet
The production also speaks to a broader representation gap, according to Piedmont Exedra, which noted that the Latinx community is rarely represented in mainstream ballet. The show is recommended for audiences ages 7 and up, per Oakland Ballet, while children under age two may attend without a ticket as long as they sit on a parent or guardian’s lap, according to the Paramount Theatre.
Ticket prices for the two shows vary depending on where fans look. Piedmont Exedra reported that tickets for both performances start at $35.55, while KQED listed prices ranging from $35 to $100 on Ticketmaster. The Mercury News put the range at $33.55 to $85.15, and Event Tickets Center listed the October 30 show as starting at $69.
60 Years of Oakland Ballet
This year’s “Luna Mexicana” run arrives as Oakland Ballet marks six decades since its founding in 1965 by Ronn Guidi, according to KTVU. The nonprofit describes itself as a performing arts organization that reflects the diversity of Oakland and the greater East Bay, per Oakland Ballet’s website. KTVU also reported that funding has become a growing concern for the company in recent years, citing proposed federal arts cuts, reduced state funding and Oakland’s elimination of cultural funding in its 2026-2027 budgets.
“Luna Mexicana” joins a lineup of Day of the Dead events across the city this season, with Oaklandside’s Halloween and Day of the Dead guide highlighting the production’s 10th anniversary as a centerpiece of the fall calendar. The outlet also noted that Oakland Ballet first performed the show at the Paramount Theatre back on November 2, 2018, underscoring how long the tradition has anchored the city’s Día de los Muertos season.
