Cal Performances

05/29/2026

They've been doing this for 50 years and it never gets old.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo — aka the Trocks — are coming to Zellerbach Hall this February, and this is the performance you bring literally anyone to. Pristine technique, outrageous costumes, and comedy that lands whether you've seen a hundred ballets or none.

📅 Saturday, Feb 27 and Feb 28
📍 Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley

Subscriptions are on sale now — save 25% when you subscribe to 4+ Dance events: https://bit.ly/4cZ65r2

Single tickets go on sale August 11.

05/29/2026

Pristine technique. Lavish tutus. Just a hint of five o’clock shadow. 👀🩰

— the “Trocks” — have been delivering smart, en pointe satire of classic ballet repertoire for more than 50 years, and they’re returning to Zellerbach Hall this February. Whether you’re a lifelong ballet devotee or have never set foot in a dance theater, this one’s for you.

📅 Feb 27–28, 2027 | Zellerbach Hall

Subscribers: this one’s part of your season. Not subscribed yet? Save 25% when you subscribe to 4+ Dance events — subscriptions are on sale now, with single tickets going on sale August 11. Link in bio.

Thumbnail 📸: Jim Coleman

05/28/2026

We have a pretty good view from our corner of UC Berkeley. ☀️🐻🕰️

05/26/2026

Our 2026–27 season includes a remarkable concentration of artists at pivotal moments in their careers — farewell tours, milestone birthdays, once-in-a-generation collaborations.

We've curated the Iconnoisseur's Guide to the season on our blog: a look at the landmark events that define this lineup, from Wynton Marsalis's final tour as artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra to the Vienna Philharmonic / Wiener Philharmoniker's three-night Mahler residency with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and guest soloists including Yuja Wang, to tribute celebrations for Steve Reich and Philip Glass at 90.

For those building their season now: our Choose-Your-Own subscription packages offer flexible options by genre — select the number of performances that fits your schedule and save up to 25%.

Read the full blog post:

Legends of the Stage: iconic names—with enormous talent to back it up, including Wynton Marsalis, Judy Collins, and the Vienna Philharmonic!

05/22/2026

"I hope audiences leave with a sense of having experienced something beautiful, but also something deeply human. A story of love, identity and vulnerability that has not often been given this kind of space in dance." — David Hallberg, Artistic Director, The Australian Ballet.

Oscar, choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, makes its North American Premiere at Zellerbach Hall this September. Inspired by the life and legacy of Oscar Wilde — his wit, his flamboyance, his fierce advocacy of "art for art's sake," and the criminal convictions tied to his sexuality — this is a ballet that takes seriously the narratives it embraces, performed by the superb dancers of The Australian Ballet with Joby Talbot's score performed live by the Berkeley Symphony.

Build your own season around what you love: choose by genre, select your number of shows, and save up to 25% with a 2026–27 subscription: https://bit.ly/4cZ65r2

05/21/2026

Congratulations to the Class of 2026! 🎓🐻✨

We are proud to welcome UC Berkeley's graduating classes to Zellerbach Hall, Zellerbach Playhouse, the Hearst Greek Theatre, and Hertz Hall for Commencement—providing the stage for over 50 ceremonies across nearly two weeks.

We're not only a place that brings art to life, but also where Berkeley's biggest moments happen. While your time as a student is complete, we can't wait to welcome you back as alumni for many more incredible performances.

📸: Noah Berger

05/15/2026

We are thrilled to welcome the Attacca Quartet as our 2026–27 Ensemble in Residence!

Formed at the Juilliard School in the early 2000s, this two-time Grammy Award-winning quartet has gone on to collaborate with Caroline Shaw, Billie Eilish, and FINNEAS, appear on Saturday Night Live, and perform on stages from Carnegie Hall to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The New York Times calls them "exuberant, funky" — and we think you're going to love them!

In its second concert of the season, Cal Performances' Ensemble in Residence celebrates John Adams' 80th birthday.

05/13/2026

What a season. ✨❤️

Over the past nine months, more than 80 performances brought together some of the world's most extraordinary artists — and the audiences who make it all possible. From the opening notes of Sarabande Africaine to the final bow of This Land, 2025–26 was a season of breadth, beauty, and inspiration.
As our Executive and Artistic Director Jeremy Geffen reflected: "From opera to acrobatics, string quartets to contemporary dance — the one constant was performers' feedback about how welcomed they felt by our audiences, and how grateful they were to be performing among such thoughtful, attentive, and open-minded patrons."

Browse through for a glimpse of just a few highlights — and thank you for being part of it. We can't wait to see you for our 2026–27 season. 🎶

Photos by Kristen Loken, Brittany Hosea-Small, Ando Caulfield, Chris Hardy, Stefan Cohen, and parsa_parsa.

05/12/2026

Luna Composition Lab — the nonprofit founded by composers Missy Mazzoli and Ellen Reid — is celebrating 10 years of mentoring the next generation of female, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming composers, and The New York Times is taking notice.

What started as a conversation over coffee in Brooklyn in 2016 has grown into a thriving organization with fully funded fellowships, world-class mentorship, and an alumni network that spans conservatories and concert halls across the country.

For their 10th anniversary, Luna Lab is commissioning 75 world premieres by 50 alumni — and we're proud to present one of the celebratory performances right here in Berkeley on February 26, 2027. Read the full feature below.

Missy Mazzoli and Ellen Reid didn’t have female mentors. They founded Luna Composition Lab so young composers would.

05/08/2026

To help you find the most fulfilling performances for you across our 80-performance season, we've created a series of guides that pull out performances that are just your taste. If a performance transports you somewhere new — the World Traveler's Guide is for you.

Our World Traveler's Guide to the 2026–27 season is built around performances steeped in cultural traditions and pride from around the globe. Think Kodo in One Earth Tour 2027: Luminance, Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández on their 75th Anniversary Tour, and Cirque Kalabanté in WOW (World of Words) — performances that don't just move you, they take you somewhere entirely new.

Read the full World Traveler's Guide, with direct insights from the artists about how their culture gives life to their work: https://bit.ly/49EhpYC

Not sure this is your vibe? We have five other guides to help you find the performances made for you!