An Interview with Devon Youngblood

ypc gala co-chair devon youngblood on the 24/25 Season gala

Devon Youngblood has lived in the Bay Area for almost a decade and is based in Oakland, CA. She's currently an early-stage startup executive, with previous work experience at Sotheby's (New York) and Townhouse Gallery (Cairo). Her interests include laminated pastries, vintage clothing, solo concert-going, and building community around the arts.   

Devon is on the Board of SF Ballet’s Young Patrons Circle and is co-chair of the YPC Gala (January 22, 2025) along with Kalla Vieaux. We sat down with her to talk about her involvement in Young Patrons Circle, Opening Night Gala, the arts scene in the Bay Area, and more! 

how did you get interested IN SAN FRANCISCO BALLET?

DEVON YOUNGBLOOD: San Francisco Ballet has an uncanny ability to be a dance company with global reach while also feeling wholly local to the Bay Area. Thumbing through the program, you see dancers who grew up just down the street alongside dancers from Spain, China, and across the world. I love the idea that a local school student could walk into the War Memorial Opera House, fall madly in love with the art form, and realize that someone just like them is on center stage.

And then there’s the programming. I spent a period of my life relatively serious about ballet, which meant I was exposed to classics like Jewels and Swan Lake. But SF Ballet has given me an entirely different visual language of what dance and performance can be. The company takes risks and engages with the wider contemporary world, most recently with Mere Mortals. I enter the Opera House each season knowing I can find comfort in the classical and awe in the unexpected.

You attended the Young Patrons Circle (YPC) Gala last year and this year you are co-chair... Describe the experience of Opening Night Gala with SF Ballet, and specifically the YPC Gala. What's the vibe? 

DY: Glamour, buzz, and a full embrace of there being no such thing as overdressed. But I know that the prospect of attending the Gala can be intimidating, and I’m thankful that YPC opens up different avenues for getting involved. 

I first attended the Gala by simply buying a ticket to the performance. It felt like a low-commitment way of seeing what the Gala was all about, and there was something so special about previewing the upcoming season in a sea of red carpet-ready looks. I eventually started organizing groups of friends to get dressed up, go to the Gala, and then have dinner after the performance.

 YPC also gives members like me access to significantly discounted tickets that include dinner and drinks at City Hall, Dress Circle tickets for the performance, and an afterparty that transforms City Hall into a DJ-filled, open bar extravaganza. What better way to turn off Slack, enjoy the arts, and see an entirely new side of San Francisco? 

YPC Gala is just the beginning, right? What else is Young Patrons Circle about, from your perspective?  

DY: Totally… YPC is about supporting curiosity and building community through the arts. And I say arts, not ballet, because yes, there are those of us that specifically love ballet, but there are others for whom YPC is an avenue for creative engagement more generally. Ballet can be an intimidating art form, because you can’t just tap in and out of a performance. If you’re new to ballet or even just vaguely interested, having a community separate from the performance can help people feel more comfortable engaging with the artistic landscape. That’s where YPC comes in. 

You're not only connected to SF Ballet as a YPC Board Member and fan, but to several other arts organizations in the Bay Area as well. What's special about the arts scene in San Francisco and throughout the Bay? 

DY: The arts scene is both underestimated and incredibly welcoming. Over the years, I’ve had conversations with people who arrived here as transplants and questioned what the Bay Area could offer artistically. I’m now writing a newsletter called San Francisco Has [No] Culture to combat that sentiment and highlight all the great events week after week that make this city more than the sum of its coders.

Admittedly, what makes the local arts scene so special and also a bit obtuse is how community-driven and unexpected it can be. Creativity isn’t simply expressed through established institutions, of which we have a ton. It’s also about disco-ball inspired short film festivals and art book fairs; radio station fundraisers and cake picnics; culinary bookstore talks and vintage pop-ups. We even have a startup museum – the ICA SF – that was founded just a few years ago and is now in the heart of downtown.

So the Bay Area startup mentality doesn’t only apply to tech. There are many people here who start with an idea and a passion and then build events, performances, and community around those things. And in a city known for its high cost of living, it’s impressive just how many of these events and institutions are free and open to the public.

How do you bring those different passions and interests of yours together? Any dream collabs you're hoping to see?

DY: So many dream collabs, because who doesn’t love a bit of cross-pollination? But let’s start with SF Ballet and the upcoming season. SF Art Week launched last year to celebrate art institutions across the Bay during FOG Art + Design, both of which happen to coincide with the Ballet’s opening week. I think there’s a real opportunity to have the city’s heavy hitters come together and celebrate how interconnected the arts are across the Bay. I know I’m not alone in wanting to see how the artists and galleries in our community could help bring a new dimension to the company and the Opera House. I hope to play a small part in making that happen.

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