Three of the Bay area’s largest performing arts institutions host modern multicultural dance programs this week, each with its own distinctive flavor.
Luis Bravo’s Forever Tango is celebrating its 12th year of bringing the sensuous music and dance of Argentina to audiences around the world. The current program — which stops at Mahaffey Theater on Thursday — features 14 tango dancers who perform to original and traditional music played live onstage by an 11-piece orchestra. Thurs., Feb. 12, 8 p.m., 400 First St. S., St. Petersburg, $38-$58, 727-892-5767, mahaffeytheater.com.
The following Wednesday, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company presents Another Evening: Serenade/The Proposition at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Jones’ troupe is known for innovative dance that delves into a diversity of subjects. Serenade/The Proposition investigates the issues raised by Abraham Lincoln’s presidency via movement, period text, video, new and traditional music, and modernized period costume. Wed., Feb. 18, 8 p.m. Ferguson Hall-TBPAC, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa, $29.50-$49.50, 813-229-7827, tbpac.org.
Another Wednesday night dance program is presented by Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble at Ruth Eckerd Hall. The longstanding Denver company offers works inspired by the African-American experience and rooted in black dance traditions; the current show includes Alvin Ailey’s Escapades and a National Endowment for the Arts grant-sponsored staging of Katherine Dunham’s Ragtime. Wed., Feb. 18, 8 p.m. 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater, $25-$40, 727-791-7400, rutheckerdhall.com.
This article appears in Feb 11-17, 2009.
