Diablo Ballet + Diablo Ballet School Find a Forever Home in Shadelands
Founded in 1993 by professional ballet dancer Lauren Jonas and prominent structural engineer Ashraf Habibullah, Diablo Ballet was the first professional ballet company in the history of Contra Costa County. In 2019, Diablo Ballet launched Diablo Ballet School, the first and only ballet school in Contra Costa operated by a professional ballet company. Performing almost exclusively at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, creating shared, magical experiences for audiences from around the region, Diablo Ballet celebrated its 32nd anniversary on March 10, 2026, the very day that the esteemed ballet company and school secured its Permanent Occupancy Certificate from the City of Walnut Creek for its new location at 490 N. Wiget Lane in Shadelands.
Previously operating with offices in downtown Walnut Creek separate from the school and costume storage, the organization is now united under one roof – bringing all of its operations together in one central space. After 32 years of entertaining audiences, Diablo Ballet has found its forever home.
The entire Diablo Ballet organization — Company, School, and adminstrative offices — is now under one roof at 490 N. Wiget Lane, Walnut Creek. [Photo courtesy Diablo Ballet]
For Lauren, Diablo Ballet artistic director, who has helped spearhead the Company’s direction, and her staff and team of professional dancers, this is another welcome milestone in a year of growth and expansion, a testament to the pull and power of ballet, an art form that combines extreme athleticism, emotional storytelling, and artistic grace to engage audiences fortunate enough to have a seat in the theater.
Members of Diablo Ballet’s professional dance company are full-time employees of Diablo Ballet, who perform on stage, teach dance in the studio and classroom, and participate in Diablo Ballet’s many community programs and initiatives. [Photo courtesy Diablo Ballet]
Today, Diablo Ballet is an award-winning, internationally recognized professional dance company committed to enriching, inspiring, and educating children and adults through the art of dance. The Company has made profound contributions to the regional performing arts scene, and dance studio and school classrooms throughout Contra Costa and Alameda counties.
Open seven days a week, Diablo Ballet School offers classes for ages three (Pre-ballet) through adult, with a professiional track for teens interested in pursuing a career in dance. [Photo courtesy Diablo Ballet]
In 2019, Lauren and Director of Operations Krissy Gray established Diablo Ballet School. The school’s teachers are Diablo Ballet’s full-time professional dancers, who are also full-time employees of the Company. They are still in the prime of their careers, balancing a busy schedule of professional performances and studio instruction. Here, students are mentored by professional dancers and have the opportunity to explore their art and grow their futures inside the organization.
And while he is no longer a part of the day to day operations, Ashraf continues to be one of Diablo Ballet’s most vocal supporters and champions.
During her youth, Lauren trained at the Marin Ballet, and upon high school graduation, she secured her first job with Milwaukee Ballet. From there, she went to the Oakland Ballet and the Southwest Ballet, and toured with Moscow Ballet. In 1992, she met Ashraf.
Ballet dancer and artistic director Lauren Jonas was a member of the first Diablo Ballet company of dancers between 1994 and 2007. [Photo credit Ashraf Habibullah]
“We attended a performance of Stars of the Moscow Ballet at the Lesher Center, and we saw how excited the audience was because there was no professional ballet company here. There was opera and theater, but no ballet,” said Lauren. “So we started talking about forming a company, which was a daunting, but incredible experience. We received our nonprofit status in 1993, and launched our first full season of Diablo Ballet on March 10, 1994. When we started the Company, we only wanted to be a professional ballet company – we had no need or wish for a school. We started small – we were a professional company of eight dancers, and I was one of the eight. We performed at the Lesher Center, and toured the United States and worldwide.”
Diablo Ballet dancers demonstrate athleticism, emotional storytelling, and artistic grace to engage and inspire audiences of all ages. [Photo courtesy Diablo Ballet]
Diablo Ballet has grown to become a highly influential performing arts organization of 18 diverse professional ballet dancers, who are full-time employees – this is their day job – whose contributions to the Company and the community go beyond the stage.
“In 2018, as we started planning to celebrate Diablo Ballet’s 25th anniversary the next year, we also began talking about starting a ballet school,” said Lauren. “We knew that, to ensure the longevity of the organization, we needed a school to enable us to grow and provide employment and training opportunities for our dancers. Plus, being able to develop our own curricula based on our professional dance experiences and to offer young dancers opportunities to develop a solid, well-structured foundation in dance, establishing a school made perfect sense.”
Diablo Ballet School took flight in August 2019.
At one time, the Diablo Ballet dance company was working out of Shadelands Art Center, before it moved to a studio in Pleasant Hill, then to a studio in downtown Walnut Creek. The School was renting space once occupied by Contra Costa School of Performing Arts in Shadelands. The organization’s administrative offices were in downtown Walnut Creek, and its costumes were in a rental space in Berkeley.
“Now, we’re under one roof in this beautiful space,” said Krissy, who has been with the organization for 11 years. “We can unpack our bags, hang photos, and spread out. Our company rehearses here. Our students take classes here. And costume fittings just got a lot easier!”
Krissy manages the day to day operations of Diablo Ballet and Diablo Ballet School. She has extensive dance training and experience – she grew up on the musical theater side of performing arts and has a degree in dance. And she has extensive experience on the business and nonprofit side of the arts. That substantial background made her contributions key to establishing the school and getting it up and running.
Young students in position for class in the new Diablo Ballet School studio in Shadelands. [Photo courtesy Diablo Ballet]
Open seven days a week, Diablo Ballet School offers classes for ages three (Pre-ballet) through adult, with a current enrollment of 180 students, which includes young dancers, adult dancers, and participants in the Dance for Parkinson’s program. Krissy and Lauren are excited to welcome new students who are looking to add the joys and rewards of ballet to their lives. Some students dance for fun, testing to see if this is something they want to continue as a performing art or an alternative to organized sports. And, for older high school students, Diablo Ballet School offers a professional track for those who are serious about ballet as a career.
Many high school students in the upper level classes will choose to make ballet a university study and career choice. [Photo courtesy Diablo Ballet]
“Because our teachers are professional ballet dancers who are in the midst of their professional careers, our school is a built-in professional dance mentorship environment,” said Lauren, "helping those students who are making decisions about moving forward with dance as a university study and professional career.”
The large main dance studio measures 9200 square feet and sports a custom-designed floor, built by San Francisco Ballet, with a sprung subfloor for shock absorption and a non-slip finish for pointe shoes and ballet slippers.
The new space in Shadelands measures 9200 SF, and includes one studio at 1800 SF for larger classes and rehearsals; a second studio at more than 1500 SF; and a third studio at 700 SF for pre-ballet and smaller classes. For Company dancers, there are locker rooms; a kitchen and break room; a lounge; and a Pilates studio.
Diablo Ballet dancers rehearse for the Company’s May 27, 2026, premier of Romeo & Juliet, a contemporary and whimsical retelling of the classic drama, choreographed by Penny Saunders. [Photo courtesy Diablo Ballet]
Filling out the space are costume and props storage rooms, restrooms, and a large lobby. Throughout the space, the high ceilings evoke openness and freedom to move and jump and dance about.
(l-r) Dancers Diego Cruz Alvarez and Nicole Ciapponi rehearse Birthday Variations (by choreographer Gerald Arpino) with Dawn Perrin, who staged the ballet, and Pierre Francois-Vilanoba, who assists with coaching. [Photo courtesy Diablo Ballet]
Diablo Ballet’s season at Lesher Center for the Arts runs November through May, offering five programs each season, with three to four performances per program. This current season, Diablo Ballet performed The Nutcracker, Company B by Paul Taylor, Donizetti Variations by George Balanchine, The Little Mermaid, and Romeo & Juliet. Coming up in May, Diablo Ballet will perform the full-length Coppélia, the famous comedic ballet about a doll who comes to life, first performed in 1870. Coppélia performances include one on Friday, May 15, and two on Saturday, May 16. Finally, on May 22, the annual Dancer Choreography Showcase will be held at Del Valle Theatre in Walnut Creek, where dancers have the opportunity to create original work.
One of the most popular and treasured holiday traditions since the 1990s is Diablo Ballet’s The Nutcracker, performed every Christmas season at Lesher Center for the Arts. [Photo courtesy Diablo Ballet]
“Ballet’s classical, disciplined training is core to any dance training a student might pursue,” said Krissy. “There is great athleticism and artistry in ballet. To feel this as a dancer is exhilarating – to experience this as an audience member or someone standing in the wings can take your breath away.”
Diablo Ballet presents both classical ballets, such as The Nutcracker, and modern, contemporary performances, such as the Company’s Romeo & Juliet, which premiered on May 27, 2026. [Photo courtesy Diablo Ballet]
“Ballet has been my life. I started when I was six, and I’ve been dancing and living ballet my whole life,” said Lauren. “This is my passion, my hobby, my work. Our relationship with Lesher Center allows us to live our dream of sharing a professional dance company with the community, and offering a professional dance school to young people and adults who see ballet as a means for nurturing their minds, their bodies, and their spirits.”
(l-r) Andrea Gaudet, Diablo Ballet School principal; Lauren Jonas, Diablo Ballet co-founder and artistic director; and Krissy Gray, Diablo Ballet director of operations, celebrate Diablo Ballet’s growth and future of endless possibilities. [Photo courtesy Diablo Ballet]
Congratulations, Diablo Ballet, on your many accomplishments these past 32 years! And, welcome to Shadelands!
To learn more about the dance company, school, and performance schedule, visit Diablo Ballet. To reserve tickets for upcoming performances, visit Tickets or Lesher Center for the Arts. Diablo Ballet School’s 2026 Summer Program will run June 1–August 9.
