Free Bandaloop Open Dress Rehearsal for “Flock” (Oakland City Hall)

SOMEWHERE TO OAKLAND

July 8–26, 2025 | Frank H. Ogawa/Oscar Grant Plaza | Free Community Events

BANDALOOP presents Somewhere to Oakland — a month of free vertical dance on the walls of Oakland City Hall and the Rotunda, live music, talks and community ritual featuring more than 50 local artists and partners, scenes from BANDALOOP’s latest work FLOCK, a poetic story of migration, and more!

Taking flight in Frank H. Ogawa/Oscar Grant Plaza, Somewhere to Oakland will transform the iconic Jack London Oak Tree, the Rotunda Building, and Oakland City Hall into a flyway for vertical dance, community singing, and social art practice. This intergenerational project uplifts community voices through embodied storytelling that interweaves bird and human migration.

Calendar of FREE Events

Tuesday, July 8

• 12–1PM Beginning At The Roots: Opening Ceremony; Movement, song, and a collective art project with BANDALOOP – no registration required.
  Great Jack London Oak Tree

Thursday, July 10

• 1:30-3:30PM East Bay Yesterday presents: The Long Lost Oakland walking tour with Liam O’Donoghue
  Great Jack London Oak Tree | Limit 25 people
  AT CAPACITY – REGISTRATION CLOSED!

Saturday, July 12

• 12–1PM Destani’s Piece: Circlesinging with Destani Wolf

  Rotunda | Limit 45 people | ️ REGISTER

• 2-4PM BANDALOOP Live & In Process*
  City Hall | ️ REGISTER

Thursday, July 17

• 1:30-3PM We Bring the Story With Us: Letters to the Bay, From Everywhere We’ve Been, a writing workshop w/ Maya Chinchilla
  Rotunda | Limit 30 people | ️ REGISTER

• 4-6PM BANDALOOP Live & In Process*
  City Hall | ️ REGISTER

• 5:30-7:30PM Samba in the Plaza
  City Hall – no registration required

Saturday, July 19

• 12-1PM Destani’s Piece: Circlesinging with Destani Wolf
  Rotunda | Limit 45 people | ️ REGISTER

• 1:30-4:30PM BANDALOOP Live & In Process*
  Rotunda / Khan’s Alley | ️ REGISTER

Thursday, July 24

• 1:30-3PM Bird talk (more info coming soon!)
  Rotunda

• 5-7PM BANDALOOP Open Dress-Rehearsal with CO-LLAB Choir + Birds of a Feather Reception
  Rotunda | ️ REGISTER

  Join BANDALOOP and Co-LLAB Choir in preparation for the West Coast premiere of FLOCK, telling the magic-realism story of a human-bird hybrid migrating with a familial flock, as part of Somewhere to Oakland.

  This free showing will occur inside the Rotunda Building and is immediately followed by the Birds of a Feather reception in the Rotunda’s Seven Spokes Lounge.

Saturday, July 26 | 1–5PM

• BANDALOOP presents FLOCK: A Vertical Dance Theater Performance + Collective Nest Building + Butterfly Effect Art Making
  Khan’s Alley, Rotunda, City Hall | ️ REGISTER

  We are dancing for hope in impossible times. Please come and join us.

  Taking flight in Frank H. Ogawa/Oscar Grant Plaza, the West Coast premiere of FLOCK will migrate from Khan’s Alley into the Rotunda Building, and culminating at Oakland City Hall. Join us on a flyway of vertical dance, live music, speakers, and social art practice.

  “Remember….You belong here”    – FLOCK

  • 1-1:20p – Khan’s AlleyBANDALOOP Performances featuring Destani Wolf, Ben Juodvalkis and poetry by Maya Chinchilla
  • 2p-2:20pm – Rotunda Performance by CO-LLAB Community Choir & BANDALOOP
  • 2:45p-4p – Collective Art Making with The Butterfly Effect: Migration is Beautiful, Sing Justice and Breathwork
  • 4pm City Hall BANDALOOP Performances featuring Destani Wolf, Ben Judvalkis with words from Satsuki Ina of Tsuru for Solidarity

* Watch BANDALOOP dancing on the wall in creative process