<BR>Mary Cochran<P><BR>Octavio Roca seems eager about Oakland Ballet's new season. He is excited about the new ballet by Mary Cochran, formerly of Paul Taylor, and the transition being led by new AD Karen Brown, formerly of Dance Theater of Harlem.<P>Some excerpts:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Mary Cochran is beaming with anticipation, and her excitement is easy to catch. <P>``These Oakland Ballet dancers are so versatile, so beautiful,'' she said recently. ``They're going to look great, and I don't think they'll have any trouble with some of the crazier modern-dance references.'' <P>...<P>Oakland Ballet is in transition, and this season should signal what the future holds. There is a lot of excitement around town with the arrival of the company's new artistic director, Karen Brown, who will follow Joral Schmalle and Guidi in leading the East Bay troupe. There is also a lot of excitement about the choice of Cochran's new ballet to open the season.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR><B><A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/08/27/PK28943.DTL" TARGET=_blank>Follow this link to the full article</A></B>

For Oakland Ballet's lineup for the upcoming season, <B><A HREF="http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000116.html" TARGET=_blank>click here</A></B>.<P>For the appointment of Karen Brown as the new AD, <B><A HREF="http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000148.html" TARGET=_blank>go here</A></B>.

SF Weekly's Rachel Howard is excited about Oakland Ballet's opener this weekend:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Oakland Ballet's rehearsal studio has become a dance history classroom, and Mary Cochran, a petite powerhouse with a tousle of exuberant paprika-red curls, is calling out the syllabus. <P>"It's actually Nijinsky meets hip hop," Cochran says as a lanky woman in pointe shoes demonstrates a warped version of the running man.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><B><A HREF="http://www.sfweekly.com/issues/2000-09-13/dance.html" TARGET=_blank>Howard's preview</A></B>

And so is the Contra Costa Times' Blair Tindell:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>"I had images of vaudeville -- doing kick lines to Brahms is funny to me," says Cochran, who is well-known in modern dance circles from 12 years as a soloist with the Paul Taylor Dance Company. <P>But onomato-what? In the Oxford English Dictionary, onomatomania is "anguish at the inability to recall some word." Cochran searches not for words, but more abstract terms that describe dance steps. The solution -- codifying moves by imitating notable performers like Ruth St. Denis, Martha Graham, Elvis Presley and Bob Fosse -- sounds complicated, but it's simple, Cochran says.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><B><A HREF="http://www.contracostatimes.com/timeout/stories_feattop/x14oakballet_20000914.htm" TARGET=_blank>Tindall's preview</A></B>

Reviews of this program are posted in the the following thread:<P> <A HREF="http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000391.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000391.html</A>