Phoenix rising in California.

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For more than 35 years, Oakland Ballet had a presence in the California dance community. Founder Ronn Guidi retired in 1999 and the company struggled to recast its identity, folding last Feb. But with a major fundraising campaign backed by Target and Chevron, the Ronn Guidi Foundation for the Performing Arts is holding the inaugural performance of the new and improved company Oct. 20. The program featuring music performed by the Oakland East Bay Symphony--will include Nijinsky's Afternoon of a Faun and Guidi's own Trois Gymnopedies. See www.rgfpa.org.