Daily Inspiration: Meet Lauren Jonas

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Jonas.

Hi Lauren, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I co-founded Diablo Ballet, a professional ballet company in the San Francisco Bay Area’s East Bay, in 1993. I was a professional dancer up until then.

My co-founder, Ashraf Habibullah, and I had watched a performance at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, and we saw how excited the audience was to have ballet in its home theatre, and we thought it would be a perfect venue to house a professional ballet company. The Lesher Center had a professional theater, symphony orchestra, and opera but not a ballet company. We slowly took a year to build our brand, and we hired dancers in January 1994. Our first performance was on March 10, 1994, and we just concluded our 30th season.

In 1995, we began our PEEK (Performing, Arts, Education, and Enrichment for Kids) Program with one second-grade classroom. We are now in 8 title-1 schools in the East Bay each month and Juvenile Hall in Martinez every week for 11 months. Teaching social-emotional movement lessons to create self-esteem, group process, and the joy of artistic expression.

In 2019, we launched the Diablo Ballet School, the first school in the history of Contra Costa County, which is operated by a professional ballet company. The School trains students ages 3 to adult, including a Dance for Parkinson’s Program, which offers classes to Parkinson’s patients and their caregivers twice weekly free of charge.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In 2000 and 2007, the downturn in the economy hit hard. Diablo Ballet was faced with some extreme emergency fundraising to stay in business. We hit the ground running to raise awareness and much-needed funds, and gratefully, we survived.

The same issue faced us during COVID-19, although due to being more established, it was daunting but not as devasting. Resilience is key in running a non-profit arts organization. Diablo Ballet has been through some scary times and has managed to survive.

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My role as Artistic Director is vast, and I wear many hats, from fundraising to repertoire planning, hiring dancers, coaching, and managing. Not one day is the same, which informs flexibility in the processes on my part, and the outcome can sometimes be disappointing or fulfilling.

My co-founder Ashraf guided me early on in being a leader who comes from a kind, considerate, and respectful position, and I try very hard to carry that with me always. Sometimes, it takes sacrificing your position for the betterment of the organization to always listen and come from a calm place. I still remember quite clearly how I felt as a dancer and the directors who inspired me to be the best dancer I could be. For me, the dancer’s health and well-being are always at the forefront.

I am proud of so many of Diablo Ballet’s accomplishments-the caliber of the dancers, the repertoire, and the performances; The School gives me, its co-founder Krissy Gray, who is our Director of Operations, and our School principal Andrea Gaudet, so much pride. It is really a joy to watch students, whether they are young or young at heart, witness their dreams fulfilled and guide them in a positive culture. It is everything we are about.

Our PEEK Outreach Program is so much of my heart. When you see a young person grow as an individual and become a positive member of society after being released from incarceration or become a leader in their classroom due to the effects of our program, it fills my soul.

What do you think about happiness?
When I think about happiness, I think about gratitude. My mother always taught my sisters and me to try to find gratitude each day. I’m so grateful to our incredible staff, dancers, Board of Directors, volunteers, and all of the donors and grantors who make Diablo Ballet possible.

When everything aligns, it’s beautiful! For me, my work is about trying to make a difference in the world. If I can help create an organization that makes this place a tiny bit better, I’m happy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.diabloballet.org
• Instagram: @diabloballet
• Facebook: www.facebook/diabloballet
• Linkedin: Diablo Ballet
• Twitter: @diabloballet
• Youtube: Diablo Ballet
• Yelp: Diablo Ballet
• Other: @diabloballet (TikTok)

Image Credits
Dr. Magic, Tue Nam Ton, Rosselyn Ramirez, Lauren Jonas, Bilha Sperling, DB School, and Diablo Ballet