From dancers and composers to authors and actors, San Diego’s creatives tell us what they’re doing this season — and what’s inspiring them right now. Plus, our top picks for the fall season — in books, classical music, dance, music, stage and visual art.
BOOKS
Top picks
From a story-writing contest to a book fairs to appearances by bestselling authors Mona Awad, Elizabeth Gilbert, Priya Krishna and Bruce Holsinger, there’s a local book event for every reader this fall.
Read more: Our top book picks this season
Meet author Leah Ollman
Growing up in Point Loma and Del Cerro, Leah Ollman thought she’d probably become an artist someday. But when she realized she processed the world more through language than visual art, she became an art critic instead, with the goal of helping others make sense of the visual world through language.Now, the Mission Hills resident has combined her passions for art and words in her first book, “Ensnaring the Moment: On the Intersection of Poetry and Photography.”
Read more: Leah Ollman aims to give readers a ‘way in’ to exploring art on their own terms
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Top picks
Given that San Diego’s classical music scene has a wealth of thoughtful curators, savvy presenters, welcoming venues and excellent musicians, choosing only 10 top concert picks is no easy task. Here are just some of the many promising options coming up this fall.
Read more: Our top classical music picks this season
Meet mezzo-soprano Danielle Perrault
Mezzo-soprano Danielle Perrault has been noticing positive changes in her life. She credits many of those changes to somatic therapy, which concentrates on the mind-body connection using movement, breathwork and body awareness to help heal stress, trauma and chronic pain.
Read more: Mezzo-soprano Danielle Perrault explores the connections between mind and body
DANCE
Top picks
Fall offers a harvest of performances for every taste, with the family-friendly Trolley Dances and classics such as “Cinderella” and “Giselle,” iconic ballet productions that tell a tale of romantic love and heartbreak. The season also includes the French company Ballet Preljocaj, inspired by the theme of gravity and Ballet Collective San Diego returns to The Conrad with “Idioma,” a dynamic program inspired by the universal language of dance.
Read more: Our top dance picks this season
Meet dancer Brian Bennett
Professional dancers can be laser focused on attaining physical perfection. “There is value in striving for being better,” affirmed dancer Brian Bennett, who performs with PointeWorks, Culture Shock, The Rosin Box Project and, on Saturday, with Ballet Collective San Diego. “But there is also value in accepting when you can’t control something and embracing where you are in the moment. I want to be an example that reminds people of that fact.”
Read more: Dancer Brian Bennett inspired by ‘the pursuit of achieving balance’
MUSIC
Top picks
Some of the biggest concert tours are skipping San Diego this fall, including those by Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, The Who, The Weeknd, Oasis, Dua Lipa, Linkin Park, Keith Urban, Lorde and Tate McRae. But when it comes to the sheer volume of concerts taking place here, area music fans may still be overwhelmed. As usual, our picks of likely highlights do not include shows that area already sold out — so take a bow, Laufey, Doechii, Jackson Browne, Sigur Ros, Jason Mraz, Benson Boone, Conan Gray, Reverend Horton Heat and The Teskey Brothers, AFI, Stereolab, Zakk Sabbath, Mirador, and a dozen or so more.
Read more: Our top concert picks this season
Meet musician Irving Flores
Thinking about music, rehearsing and trying out different ideas and approaches are just as inspirational to award-winning jazz pianist Irving Flores as being on stage and performing for an appreciative audience. “One inspiration, day by day, is the challenge of all the performances that I need to prepare for,” said the constantly active pianist, composer and band leader.
Read more: Pianist Irving Flores draws his inspiration from music, nature and traveling with his wife
STAGE
Top picks
From the world premiere of a “Working Girl” musical at La Jolla Playhouse to a Spanish-language twist on the “Grinch” at the Old Globe, there’s something for everyone this season.
Read more: Our top theater and opera picks this season
Meet actor Lena Ceja
Lena Ceja was 16 when a drama teacher introduced her to Mimi Marquez, the fiercely independent Latina dancer in Jonathan Larson’s musical “Rent.” It was a life-changing moment for Ceja, a Latina who was born in East L.A., raised in Fontana and now lives in Vista.
Read more: Theater actor Lena Ceja is on a fast-moving journey of joy
VISUAL ART
Top picks
San Diego’s busy summer season may be winding down, but that hardly means the region’s artistic and cultural machines come to a screeching halt. If anything, it’s ramping up. This fall, galleries, museums and art centers throughout the county are opening their doors for new exhibits. Here’s a sampling of some of the most anticipated shows and exhibitions coming this autumn.
Read more: Our top visual art picks this season
Meet artist RD Riccoboni
During a high school field trip to see the British literature art collection at Yale University, RD Riccoboni’s teacher told him he could skip the literature-centric show altogether and head to a nearby gallery where, the teacher thought, a certain artist’s work would resonate more with him.