The only way you’d be able to catch performances by 30 dance companies on a normal weekend would involve a personal jet, a time machine, a full wallet, a bit of luck and a fair amount of moxie. That is, unless you live in St. Louis. We have the Spring to Dance Festival every Memorial Day weekend, which brings exactly that much dance to the stages of the University of Missouri-St. Louis' Touhill Performing Arts Center (One University Boulevard; 314-516-4949 or www.touhill.org) for just $10 a day. No full wallet necessary! So here’s how the fest works: Every night from Thursday through Saturday (May 24 through 26), the doors of the Touhill open at 4:30 p.m., and various local arts organizations present interactive demos in the lobby starting at 5:30. Then at 6 p.m. dancers get moving on the Lee Theater stage, and the main hall swings into action at 7:30. Though the performance times remain the same each evening, the companies switch out nightly, ensuring that nearly all dance styles are represented throughout the fest, from ballet to contemporary to tap and then some. And these ensembles travel to St. Louis from all over to perform -- Q Dance hails from Ontario, Pilobolus comes from Connecticut, and the Common Thread Contemporary Dance Company is based right here, just to give you an idea. To check out the full Spring to Dance Festival schedule, visit www.dancestlouis.org.
May 24-26, 2012