Datebook SF

3 days ago | datebook.sfchronicle.com | Rachel Howard

Theo Duff-Grant performs in "The Beauty of Dissolving Portraits." Photo: Chris Hardy/photo by Chris HardyIn the middle of Alonzo King’s new ballet “The Beauty of Dissolving Portraits” there’s a moment that feels like a gift made for anyone who won’t give up on love and interconnection as the current governmental regime tries to tear our society apart.

4 days ago | datebook.sfchronicle.com | Anita Snow

Author Isabel Allende Photo: Eric Risberg/Associated PressBestselling author Isabel Allende has been beloved for decades by millions of passionately loyal readers for her strong female protagonists and epic story lines stretching across the Americas.

6 days ago | datebook.sfchronicle.com | Alicia Rancilio

Actor Lovie Simone Photo: Chris Pizzello/Chris Pizzello/Invision/APWhile cutting together scenes for the new series “Forever,” Mara Brock Akil, who has created shows like “Girlfriends,” “Being Mary Jane,” and “The Game,” recalls asking her video editor to pause for a moment. Was there a problem? No. Akil was watching someone very right: the show’s female lead, Lovie Simone. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, not only is this girl beautiful, she’s acting her ass off,” Akil said.

1 week ago | datebook.sfchronicle.com | Vanessa Hua

Aimee Phan is the author of “The Lost Queen.” Photo: Portrait by Nicholas Lea BrunoAimee Phan grew up hearing about the Trung Sisters: In the first century, the two military leaders founded the country of Vietnam, rebelling against China’s Han Dynasty. They ruled for only three years. Rather than surrender to the Chinese, they took their own lives. Though the legend intrigued Phan throughout her childhood, details were sparse.

1 week ago | datebook.sfchronicle.com | Meredith Maran

Oakland author Caro De Robertis’ latest book is “So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color.” Photo: Portrait by Irene YoungIn 2009, when Uruguayan American writer Carolina De Robertis read from her first novel, “The Invisible Mountain,” at the indie icon Booksmith on Haight, she was clad in flowing silk, her blue eyes kohl-lined, her lips plumped in crimson lipstick. Glossy brown tresses cascaded down her back.