RiverDance

Just as the Mississippi River is constantly in flow, so too are dancers perpetually in motion, growing both in their physical abilities and in their mental, choreographic talents. Even through this forward progression, influenced by of-the-moment movement, the dancers who make up the Big Muddy Dance Company remain firmly grounded in St. Louis' robust jazz history. As the repertoire of their upcoming concert reveals, they honor our city with pieces by local choreographers -- including Tuatha de Danann by company artistic director Paula David and Kameron Saunders' A Fragile Heaviness -- while showcasing our increasingly small world with works from Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's Lou Conte and the University of Arizona's Sam Watson. The Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus (One University Drive at Natural Bridge Road; 314-516-4949 or www.touhill.org) hosts the company's season premiere concerts, scheduled at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday (June 29 and 30). Tickets to the performances cost $22.
Fri., June 29, 8 p.m.; Sat., June 30, 8 p.m., 2012