Ronn Guidi, Oakland, CA

Ronn Guidi

Ronn Guidi, 73, recently rebooted himself out of retirement and back into a demanding, high-pressure but highly rewarding job from which he had retired six years earlier – artistic director of the Oakland Ballet.

In the years after Ronn’s retirement, his successor changed the artistic direction of the company but was unable to sustain the company’s appeal. In early 2006 it closed for lack of community support.

Ronn was unwilling to let ballet die in Oakland, and made up his mind that he would return and bring the company back to life.

A native of Oakland, Ronn founded the Oakland Ballet Company in 1965 and served as its artistic director for 33 years. During that time he led the company to broad support in the San Francisco Bay Area and to international acclaim, establishing himself as a master choreographer.

In a recent profile on Ronn, San Francisco public television station KQED said:

“Guidi's enthusiasm and efforts paved the way for the troupe to become a major force in dance as one of the few remaining companies in the world performing the lavish and inventive ballets created for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. It was Guidi who brought in such living legends as Leonide Massine, Frederic Franklin and Irina Nijinska to stage authoritative restorations of Boutique Fantasque and Les Biches.”

Ronn became widely known not only for his choreography and creative selection of repertoire, but also for his expertise in identifying, teaching and mentoring promising young dancers. Many of his students have danced with notable companies including the Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet West, and of course the Oakland Ballet Company.

In 2001, Ronn formed The Ronn Guidi Foundation for the Performing Arts to support the artistic and professional development of young dancers and to continue to bring ballet to the community. It is through the administration of the Foundation that Ronn has brought the Oakland Ballet back to the stage.

What made Ronn decide to come out of retirement and reboot himself back into his old job?

“I just couldn’t sit back and let ballet die in a vibrant city like Oakland,” Ronn says. “When the arts die, society dies.

“It was my choice to bring the Oakland Ballet back. I knew bringing it back was only the first step. Sustaining it is the next step, and I think we are on the way to doing that.

“Institutionalizing it is the next step. Only the strongly institutionalized companies survive. Oakland Ballet was almost there – was there – when I retired. Now I have to rebuild the institution. I’m willing to devote my life to doing that.”

Since making the decision to bring the Oakland Ballet back, Ronn has led the re-emerging company through a highly praised December 2006 return of his own version of the Christmas classic, The Nutcracker, and a successful inaugural season that included performances of Afternoon of a Faun, Trois Gymnopedies, Carnival d’Aix and Bolero in October 2007, The Nutcracker in December, and performances of The Secret Garden in April 2008.

Now the company is gearing up for its second season after its renaissance, with its opening fall performances scheduled on October 25, The Nutcracker in December and more performances next spring.

In addition to resurrecting the Oakland Ballet, Ronn has continued to teach. He’s now bringing along yet another generation of aspiring dancers, teaching them with the same energy, enthusiasm and passion he has shown throughout his years as a teacher, mentor, choreographer and artistic leader in the community.

Ronn says the value of the ballet cannot be expressed in dollar terms. It’s bigger than that.

“Imagine a world without art – without painting, sculpture, theater, music, dance,” he says. “When you think of what a miserable world that would be with no art at all, the light comes on. The value is very real and very believable.”

Where does Ronn’s resurrected company go from here? Rachel Howard, dance critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, offered this answer after the October 2007 performances:

“The Oakland Ballet Company already has a future. In addition to Nutcracker, March dates have been booked at the Paramount for another repertory performance, with Guidi excitedly considering which gems from the Oakland Ballet treasure chest to bring back.

“Guidi likes to speak of the Oakland Ballet as his ‘baby,’ and he did so from the stage Saturday, saying that this time, once the baby is raised, he will pass it on to the right successor. Naturally, at 72, he is thinking about his legacy. But the happy Oaklanders in the theater Saturday were clapping for the here and now.