Ballet

Devastated landscapes, hovering helicopters, bombs exploding, and flames so vivid you can almost smell the smoke. The visual effects in Stephen Petronio Company's "Underland," presented in its Boston premiere last night by World Music/CRASHarts, take this intense 65-minute dance theater work to a very dark place. But amid the visuals of mayhem and destruction, Petronio's 11 extraordinary dancers carry on, stoically, methodically. Throughout, they throw themselves into Petronio's slashing, slicing choreography, falling and getting back up. And toward the end, there is a glimpse of redemption.

First position in ballet is the one in which you turn your feet out so that the heels touch and the feet try to form a straight line. First position in any competition is everybody's goal. So it's no surprise that "First Position" is the name of first-time filmmaker — and Brookline native — Bess Kargman's new ballet-competition documentary, which opened this past Friday at the Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge. The film follows seven students, ages 10 to 17, as they strive to reach the 2010 finals of the annual Youth America Grand Prix in New York City, where the prizes for the older winners...

The following was submitted by the Marblehead School of Ballet:   The Marblehead School of Ballet is still accepting applications for its Summer Intensive Dance Programs for adults ages 12 and over and children ages 8 to 12. Regarded as a distinct opportunity for students of dance to cultivate their technical skills and enrich their understanding and appreciation of the art form, MSB's program attracts dancers from a large geographic...

Jerome Robbins was only 25 when he choreographed his first, most famous ballet, "Fancy Free. " A rousing choreographic tale of three young sailors on shore leave, the ballet sported a jazzy original score by a young, relatively unknown composer named Leonard Bernstein, marking the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Boston Ballet's company premiere of the 1944 ballet is the centerpiece of the current season-ending program, and it's a terrific addition to the repertory, full of comic flair and brilliant choreography.

MOSCOW-- It was supposed to be a ballet fit for a party boss: Winsome maids from the local collective farm prance around the stage carrying 5-foot-long potatoes, while happy Soviet farmers celebrate yet another bountiful harvest. But communist dictator Josef Stalin gave Dmitri Shostakovich's ballet "The Bright Stream" a thumbs down when it premiered in 1935 -- it seemed too frivolous for the New Soviet Man. After seven decades of oblivion, the ballet has completed its rehabilitation in the canon of musical masterpieces: This month, Alexei Ratmansky, artistic director of Moscow's Bolshoi...

BOSTON BALLET AT THE HATCH SHELL Presented by Boston Ballet and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra At: Hatch Shell, Esplanade (rain venue: Hynes Convention Center), Aug. 31. Free. 617-987-2000 (for weather alerts), www.bostonlandmarks.org, www.bostonballet.org Free Tchaikovsky on the Esplanade is a Boston tradition. What would the Fourth of July be without the "1812 Overture"? But free Tchaikovsky ballet - with dancers and a live orchestra - hasn't been seen on the Esplanade in decades, if ever.

Cambridge — Music and dance are often the most intimate of bedfellows. Most commonly, our perception of movement is shaped by the mood, rhythm, and structure of the score. Sometimes, however, a dance seems to give shape to the music, as José Mateo's new "Risk of Repetition" does to the accompanying Violin Concerto of Philip Glass. The world premiere is one of two works on José Mateo Ballet Theatre's "Absurdus" program, but there's nothing absurd about it. Despite some ensemble imprecision during Friday night's press opening, the work...

The Council on Aging will offer a Dance Fusion class beginning at 1 p.m. next Thursday at Town Hall. Participants will receive a healthy, fun workout while learning a variety of dance styles, including Latin, ballroom, jazz, and ballet. Prior dance or exercise experience is not required, just a comfortable pair of shoes. The drop-in fee is $5. For further information, call 978-372-1101. - David Cogger

CAMBRIDGE — African dance, ballet, Denishawn, even the pop and lock hits of krump — the weekend’s Dance Complex Faculty Concert of all new works was an entertaining sampler of the variety of styles that enliven the busy rehearsal and teaching studios every week. Marianne Harkless’s “Awakening’’ served as a welcome, with Sylvia Kelly chanting a Congolese “Call for Peace’’ and six female dancers filling the space with a spirited blend of modern dance and African-inspired movements, upper bodies pumping forward and back as stomps and catch steps carried the dancers into eye-catching...

BECKET -- The lights dim, the trumpet fanfare begins the familiar strains of the "Le Corsair" pas de deux, and Rasta Thomas flies out of the wings in a brilliant series of soaring grand jetes. But when he steps aside to allow his partner to enter with her own flamboyant variation, the ballerina is a no-show. "Cut, cut! Where's the ballerina?" Thomas demands. Jacob's Pillow executive director Ella Baff steps into the spotlight, gently reminding Thomas, "It's bad boys of dance, Rasta.

Back in 2002, the spelling-bee movie "Spellbound" kicked off a run of kiddie-contest documentaries of which "First Position" is the latest example. It's a foolproof genre: All you have to do is find a discipline (spelling, ballroom dancing, poetry slams, what have you), get a camera, and focus on a group of charismatic kids as they vie for one or more top spots. Bingo: instant drama. Because its subjects are so driven and so talented, "First Position," which is about ballet, is more gripping than the norm.

Few would dispute that Jerome Robbins was one of the great theater directors and choreographers of the 20th century. Stephen Sondheim called him "the only genius I ever met. " But Robbins unleashed his creativity in two distinctly different realms. The Broadway Jerome Robbins conceived "West Side Story" and was a driving force behind "On the Town," "Peter Pan," "Gypsy," "Funny Girl," "Fiddler on the Roof," and many more. The ballet Jerome Robbins was a fine dancer who worked with Michel Fokine (who gave him the title role in "Petrouchka")

I always knew I wanted to do a documentary. Ballet seemed like the right subject. I studied it from the age of 4 at the BOSTON BALLET SCHOOL and was in this world for nearly a decade. I know when a girl is going to cry in 30 seconds because she didn't land a pirouette. I also know how to shoot ballet. When I look at competition shows, you can tell when the person behind the camera hasn't been trained to shoot dancers. They cut off limbs when the feet, hands, and neck are so important.

Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen announced Friday that the company will perform in Finland Sept. 8 and 9 at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki. The company will give three performances, including resident choreographer Jorma Elo's "Plan to B," Christopher Wheeldon's "Polyphonia," William Forsythe's "The Second Detail," and Helen Pickett's "Tsukiyo. " Nissinen and Elo, both natives of Finland, will join the company on tour. The tour is sponsored by the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation.

"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" — In theory, seeing Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy share the screen should be a delight. In reality, this seriocomic romp merely has its moments, but more often feels heavy-handed, sappy and overlong. Sure, it'll seem warm and crowd-pleasing but probably only to crowds of a certain age, who may relate to these characters who find themselves in flux in their twilight. Handsome as the film is from John Madden, who directed Dench to her supporting-actress Oscar for "Shakespeare in Love," it too...

Cambridge — Music and dance are often the most intimate of bedfellows. Most commonly, our perception of movement is shaped by the mood, rhythm, and structure of the score. Sometimes, however, a dance seems to give shape to the music, as José Mateo's new "Risk of Repetition" does to the accompanying Violin Concerto of Philip Glass. The world premiere is one of two works on José Mateo Ballet Theatre's "Absurdus" program, but there's nothing absurd about it. Despite some ensemble imprecision during Friday night's press opening, the work emerges as a...

The following was submitted by Springstep:  $10 admits you to any and all of these great classes! No need to pre-register, just come to the door on Saturday. Saturday, February 11 12:30 - 1:10 pm Bollywood Youth Hip Hop (Ages 8-13) (FREE) 1:20 - 2:00 pm Belly Dancing Adult Hoop Dancing 2:10 - 2:50 pm Ballroom Dance Floor Fundamentals Boston Body Barre 3:00 - 3:40 pm Adult Hip Hop Ballet for Your Body ...

At 15, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was commissioned to provide music for a royal wedding in Milan. He offered the dramatic vocal work "Ascanio in Alba" and musical accompaniment for a ballet to be danced between its two acts. The 1771 premiere was well-received, a repeat performance was demanded two days later, and then, incredibly, the score of the intermission music simply disappeared, the only trace of it a copy of a version for piano made sometime in the 1930s. This matter was considered closed until the Australian musicologist Ron Hunter studied that sketch, thought...

NEW YORK - Hugo Fiorato, a former child prodigy who became the conductor of the New York City Ballet and one of its most enduring influences, died Monday in Boston. He was 97. His death was confirmed by his stepson Jonathan Scott. Mr. Fiorato, who was with the City Ballet for 56 years, was a figure of continuity surpassed only by George Balanchine, who founded it in 1948 with Mr. Fiorato's mentor, conductor Leon Barzin. Mr. Fiorato held almost every job the company had to offer, starting as its first concertmaster in 1948.

A rehearsal of Boston Ballet's "Don Quixote" is really a myriad of mini-rehearsals, a multi-ring circus. Which is not surprising when you have five couples sharing a production's lead roles. In the center of the company's Grand Studio on Clarendon Street, former Australian Ballet artistic director Maina Gielgud, who is staging the piece, oversees Kathleen Breen Combes and James Whiteside in the second act's Gypsy scene. Over near the production department's table, Paulo Arrais and Jeffrey Cirio — who, like Whiteside, will be dancing the male lead role of...