Oceánica Ballet presents Viva La Vida: a dancer in a green and blue folklórico costume and Día de los Muertos face paint leaps against a purple-black background. November 1, 2026, College of San Mateo Theatre.
image by Vin Eiamvuthikorn for Oceanica Ballet
THOUGHTS
We’re excited to share that Maddie, Rowan and Shellie are performing with Oceánica Ballet on November 1.
Viva La Vida is a family-friendly program of story ballets inspired by Halloween and Día de los Muertos. Act One previews two upcoming works, P1N0CCH10 and Carmilla. Act Two is Viva La Vida itself, an original tale of loss and the resilience of love, told through folklórico-infused dance.
You know them and love them from your time together in the studio, or from phone or text conversations, so it’s a particular pleasure to see them expressing themselves in a different light.
Mark your calendars! We look forward to seeing you there.
Sunday, November 1 | 1pm & 4pm
College of San Mateo Theatre
1700 W Hillsdale Blvd, San Mateo
CLASS SPOTLIGHT
Intro to GYROTONIC® with Celeste
Mondays at 6pm | Starting October 19
If you’ve been meaning to try Gyrotonic and haven’t yet, tomorrow evening is an easy place to begin. No experience is needed. Celeste starts with the movement vocabulary, then helps you set up the equipment to suit your body. From there you begin sketching out movement, with your breath included from the first class.
The Group Class Welcome Package is $268. It covers the four-class series and adds a 1:1 appointment, valid for 60 days.
WHAT I’M READING
Using light to control brain cells – neuroscientist Karl Deisseroth explains how he made his Nobel-winning discovery The Conversation
Deisseroth, a Stanford psychiatrist and bioengineer, shares this year’s Nobel in medicine for optogenetics. The beginning is the best part: a young doctor struck by how little was understood about the cells he hoped to treat, who tried a gene from single-celled algae because it seemed the least likely to work. The first result in a living mouse is just as good. The light comes on and the mouse circles left, the light goes off and it looks up as if nothing had happened.
They fought wildfires while serving time. A new law gives them a shot at Cal Fire jobs
CalMatters
Incarcerated crews account for nearly half of California’s emergency firefighting hours, yet many came home with little to show for it on paper. A new law standardizes their credentials and gives them hiring preference at Cal Fire. It’s a practical case of skill earned in the body being recognized by the people doing the hiring.
Read it here →
Photos show giant pumpkins vying for heavyweight glory as pumpkin season gets underway
AP News
Photos from Half Moon Bay’s annual weigh-off and pumpkin regatta, which is as delightful as it sounds. Included because it’s October, and some things are simply good to look at.
Read it here →
Local listening: Kelsey Kindall
A cold email from the founder of El Portal Recordings brought this one to my inbox, and I’m glad it did. “Honey I’m Home” is a sweet song from San Francisco singer-songwriter Kelsey Kindall, an El Portal artist and a Pennsylvania native whose path ran through church choirs and musical theatre before she started writing her own music. Listen here →
If you’re planning to be at College of San Mateo on November 1, reply and let us know. We’d love to know who will be in the audience. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you at the studio this week.
Warmly,
Harriet
