Oceánica Ballet to soar at Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos

“There’s an incredible sense of verticality and being surrounded by the machines and history of flight really felt like an awe-inspiring setting for dance,” Lowman said. “The idea of flight is so evocative for the human imagination.”

Taking inspiration from the physics of flight, the movements of the first piece reflect the forces determining flight — lift, thrust, gravity and drag. This is a new work choreographed by Lowman that sets the stage for the theme of the show. 

Continuing on theme, the second performance is a restaging of Lowman’s choreographed Lark Ascending, set to the Ralph Vaughan Williams score, with imagery reflecting movement in nature, such as birds in flight or leaves in the wind. Closing out the show is the return of the annually performed big band piece, Swingin’, choreographed by Lepe. 

Choreographed for the initial show, Swingin’ has become a crowd favorite with its celebratory nature and complementary backdrop emphasizing the retro Americana theme. 

“In the middle of COVID, the feeling of not being sure of where things were going, I got this moment where a big band song came on and gave me a lighter feeling,” Lepe said. “It was a breeze in the midst of all the craziness we were going through.” 

The performance is included with purchase of museum admission. Patrons can walk around to take in the history of aviation and enjoy the ballet show complementary. This way, those who happen to visit the museum over the weekend can experience a performance for which they might not have planned.

“Being able to reach out to people like that, having an opportunity for people to experience dance and ballet in almost an unexpected way, I think it’s super cool,” Lepe said. 

The hope of Oceánica Ballet is always rooted in a desire to make professional-level ballet performances accessible and relatable to audiences, the co-directors said. Beyond providing performances at affordable prices and shorter production lengths apt for audiences of all ages — the Hiller show is two 45-minute productions — this effort shows through valuing who is seen on stage.

Traditionally, and even to this day, many have preconceived notions as to what is “appropriate” for classical ballet, Lowman said. These limitations on what is represented in other ballet companies, such as the body type of ballerinas or maintaining strict gendered roles in narrative, perpetuate a level of Eurocentrism from which Oceánica Ballet hopes to move away. 

From partnering same-gendered dancers or having a man en pointe, the company hopes to “constantly explore different ways of choreographing and telling stories,” Lowman said. 

“What we’re trying to do is create work that people can relate to,” Lepe said. “So people that look like me, like you, the person out on the street, can say ‘Not every single ballet dancer is super lengthy or skinny and there’s a space for me if I ever want to do it.’” 

The co-directors said they’re looking forward to returning to the museum and are grateful for the overall support for the arts in the Bay Area. Lepe hopes someone can be inspired through one of their performances. 

“Ballet has this magic to it that if you get to experience it and you get to relate to it and really feel it, it’s something different,” Lepe said. “It’s not the stuck-up sort of ‘rich people going to the ballet’ type of thing. It’s an art form that people can relate to and creating that opportunity is really cool.”

The Flying Colors performance will be held at 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Saturday, June 8, and Sunday, June 9. Visit hiller.org/tickets to purchase tickets for museum entry.