seeing things

To Nutcracker or NOT-Cracker?

Two takes on the classic ballet, and other events in town.

12/04/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

things to do

Tom Toro and Dracula Both Come to Town

Also: Louise Bourgeois and Isabelle Albuquerque at the Lumber Room.

10/09/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

Long Story Short

At Oregon Ballet Theatre, Dani Rowe Takes on Marilyn Monroe

Rowe, the first woman to serve as the company's artistic director, has wanted to tell Monroe's story since Kim Kardashian wore the actor’s dress to the Met Gala.

03/24/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson Photography by Jason Hill

Events

Some of Portland’s Biggest Spring 2023 Concerts and Events

An incomplete guide to Portland’s best cultural offerings this spring, including onetime locals Ari Shapiro and Yeat

03/15/2023 By Dalila Brent, Margaret Seiler, and Matthew Trueherz

Culture

On This Day in Portland Art History...

Autumn is a fruitful time for the arts. Here are some key fall-month high points in Stumptown's history.

09/20/2021 By Conner Reed Illustrations by James Heimer

Dance

Oregon Ballet Theatre’s New Hybrid Season Highlights a Path Forward for Performing in a Pandemic

“We cannot escape the fact that we are the Oregon Ballet Theatre and we are located in Portland, Oregon. And our community has gone through quite a lot over the last six months.”

11/26/2020 By Conner Reed

The Essentials

13 Things to See and Do in Portland: February 2020

Guitar-strumming drag queens, explosive volcano art, and festivals galore.

01/21/2020 By Conner Reed

Fitness: Shake Your Groove Thing

7 Portland Dance Classes to Take Right Now

From hoop dance to Afro-contemporary, our city serves up a seriously sweaty slate of options.

12/28/2017 By Rebecca Jacobson

Ballet

Catch OBT Soloist Candace Bouchard's Last Sugar Plum Fairy Dance

After a 15-year career, the Oregon Ballet Theatre star performs her last pirouette in The Nutcracker.

12/18/2017 By Kayla Brock

Ballet

Oregon Ballet Theatre Debuts 3 World-Premiere Dances By Women

Choreography XX showcases brand-new work from three female choreographers.

06/28/2017 By Anyi Wong-Lifton

Dance

With Fresh Talent and Energy, Oregon Ballet Theatre Makes a Big Leap

OBT was all but pronounced dead near the start of the decade. Now, very much alive, it forges ahead into a bold, ambitious future.

02/20/2017 By Fiona McCann Illustrations by Nick Iluzada

Wise Up: Get Artsy

6 Places in Portland to Embrace Your Inner Artist

Darkroom photography to improv comedy, here are the city’s best spots to get artsy.

11/14/2016 By Ko Ricker

PoMo Picks

Top Things to Do This Weekend: Oct 27–30

It's the Halloweekend. From cemetery tours to an oral history of death—with some vaudeville acrobatics for good measure—here's how to keep it spooky.

10/27/2016 By Rebecca Jacobson, Ko Ricker, Webb Wright, Jason Buehrer, and Fiona McCann

Dance

Dancers Turn Their Backs in PDX Contemporary Ballet's New Show

Portland's newest dance company launches its first season with Incipio, a show in the round.

10/26/2016 By Jason Buehrer

BALLET

A Spellbinding Short Film Reveals the Magic Behind Every Oregon Ballet Theatre Performance

It takes a lot of pliés, push-ups, primping, and pulleys to make it all happen.

04/05/2016 By Fiona McCann

SPRING ARTS

Your Guide to the 2016 Spring Arts Season

From thrash metal to Thornton Wilder, acrobat lumberjacks to Leon Bridges, we present our picks for the season’s sweetest tickets.

03/01/2016 By Ramona DeNies

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

7 Local Gifts for the Arts Aficionado

Books, tickets, records, and art! We've got all you need for the culture buff in your life.

12/03/2015 By Ramona DeNies and Fiona McCann

'TIS THE SEASON

9 Shows and Stage Spectaculars to Make the Holidays Last All Month Long

Behold, our roundup of festive events to carry you through the jolly season.

11/23/2015 By Fiona McCann

BALLET

OBT Ballet Dancers To Jeté to Denmark

Six lucky dancers from the Oregon Ballet Theatre are Copenhagen-bound for a week’s training at a prestigious European ballet school.

07/23/2015 By Fiona McCann

DANCE

The OBT Dancer Who Ran Away to Join the Circus

Fabrice Lemire, artistic director of Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, returned to his roots recently at OBT in the run-up to the show’s May run in Portland.

04/28/2015 By Larisa Owechko