Outdoor action
Who wants to be stuck in a stuffy old theatre when you can enjoy dance in all its al fresco glory? That’s the philosophy behind Dusk Dances, which features an impressive lineup of choreographers (Susie Burpee, Melanie Kloetzel, Carmen Romeo and the Throwdown Collective) making magic throughout Withrow Park from July 30 to August 4. duskdances.ca.
Cash grab
If you haven’t seen line and swing dancing on the stages of the Four Seasons Centre, well, hold onto your cowboy hats, pardner. James Kudelka’s The Man In Black, set to music by the late Johnny Cash, could lasso new ballet fans when it’s performed along with Jorma Elo’s Pur Ti Miro, George Balanchine’s classic Theme And Variations and No. 24, a duet by versatile principal dancer Guillaume Côté. June 19 to 23. 416-345-9595.
More Morris
The appearance by the Mark Morris Dance Group was one of the highlights of Luminato 2008, and one of the best local dance shows of the millennium’s first decade. Now the troupe returns to Luminato with its signature work, L’Allegro, Il Penseroso Ed Il Moderato, which draws on Handel’s oratorio, John Milton’s poetry and William Blake’s paintings. Hard to believe the masterpiece, celebrating its 25th anniversary, has never been performed in Canada before. June 21 to 23 at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. 416-368-4849.
