BANDALOOP 35th Anniversary Gala and Celebration

BANDALOOP’s anniversary gala is basically a birthday party, fundraiser, and live performance rolled into one. The Oakland company turns 35 this year, and on Saturday, May 2, it’s marking that milestone with The Night Heron Ball at BANDALOOP Studios in West Oakland. The point is not just to celebrate a long-running arts group. It’s to raise money for the studio space and the wider community of artists, students, and local participants who use it. (bandaloop.org) ### What is BANDALOOP, exactly? BANDALOOP is the troupe that dances on walls, buildings, and cliffs using climbing gear and vertical rigging. That mix of aerial dance and rock-climbing technique is the whole signature. The company says it has performed in more than 300 locations over its 35-year history, and it has built a reputation around turning architecture into a stage instead of treating it like background. (bandaloop.org) ### What’s happening this weekend? The actual event is The Night Heron Ball, scheduled for Saturday, May 2, 2026, from 6 to 10 p.m. at BANDALOOP Studios, 1601 18th St. in Oakland. The gala includes the familiar fundraiser pieces — food, drinks, and a live auction — but the bigger draw is an anniversary performance by BANDALOOP itself. One event listing also notes special guest(bandaloop.org)ght more of a one-off celebration feel than a standard donor reception. (bandaloop.org) ### Why call it The Night Heron Ball? Turns out the name is part branding, part mood-setting. BANDALOOP has framed the gala around “seeking awe in the everyday,” with the night heron as a kind of emblem for that mix of urban nature, motion, and surprise. You can feel the company trying to make the fundraiser itself read like a performance concept — not just a banquet with (bandaloop.org)ty. That fits a troupe whose whole thing is making people look twice at walls, air, and public space. (verticaldancecompany.com) ### Where does the money go? The money is meant to support BANDALOOP Studios and the people who make use of it. The company describes the gala as benefiting artists, students, and community members who co-create the studio as a safe space for arts and culture. That matters because the studio is more than an office or rehearsal roo(verticaldancecompany.com)d vertical dance space, plus workshops and scholarship access. (bandaloop.org) ### Why does the studio matter so much? For a company like BANDALOOP, the studio is the engine room. Vertical dance is not something you can casually rehearse anywhere. It needs rigging, training space, technical oversight, and a safety culture strong enough to support performance at height. So when the gala pitches itself as support for the studio, that’s really support f(bandaloop.org) all — and for the education programs that bring new people into it. (bandaloopstudio.com) ### Is this just for donors? Not really. It is a fundraiser, and there are VIP options, but the public can buy general admission tickets too. The listings mention limited seats, which suggests BANDALOOP is treating this as a real event with finite capacity, not an open-house drop-in. So the audience is likely a mix — longtime supporters, arts patrons, and people wh(bandaloopstudio.com)any does when it throws itself a party. (bandaloop.org) ### Why is this anniversary a bigger deal than it sounds? Thirty-five years is a long run for any performance company, but especially for one working in a physically demanding, technically specialized form. BANDALOOP has been around since 1991 and is still using Oakland as its home base while presenting itself as a global innovator in vertical performance. The anniversary (bandaloop.org)ving — it’s trying to lock in the next phase. (bandaloop.org) ### Bottom line This is really a story about an Oakland arts institution trying to celebrate longevity and finance its future at the same time. The performance is the hook. But the deeper point is keeping a rare kind of artistic infrastructure alive in West Oakland. (bandaloop.org)