Hop, Skip, Dance

It may be the year of the tiger in some regions of the world, but around these parts we're thinking it's the year of the dance, what with all of the expressive performances our fair city has hosted lately. At this point there's almost no way that St. Louisans don't have a spring in their step, a plié in their knees, a tap in their toes — well, you get the idea — and we couldn't be happier about it! If you, in fact, already have the fever, then you know about Dance St. Louis' Spring to Dance Festival, held Thursday through Saturday (May 27 to 29) at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus (1 University Drive at Natural Bridge Road). But if you've somehow missed all of the excitement, here's the scoop: At this three-day fest, 30 dance companies — hailing from cities including Cleveland, Kansas City and Houston, along with area groups — converge to bring an assortment of dance styles to both stages at the Touhill. Each evening begins at 6 p.m. in the Lee Theatre with performances by four different groups (St. Louis' ANNONYArts/Dawn Karlovsky and dancers are one of the featured acts on Thursday), and at 7:30 p.m. the movement shifts to the larger Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall for even more dance (the Joffrey Ballet also performs on this stage on opening night!). Now, for all of this artsy entertainment, you might expect to pay a premium, but that's where you'd be wrong: Spring to Dance Festival tickets cost just $10 per night! A steal! Call 314-516-4949 or visit www.touhill.org to make a purchase.
May 27-29, 2010