Friday 4/30 – thursday 5/6
George Balanchine, widely considered one of the greatest choreographers of our time, preferred to call himself a craftsman. Tonight Violette Verdy, who danced with Balanchine’s New York City Ballet for 20 years, will discuss what it was like Behind the Scenes With Balanchine, part of the Alliance Francaise’s monthlong “Fete des Arts.” Verdy speaks at 6:30 at the Alliance, 54 W. Chicago. Tickets are $8. For reservations call 312-337-1070.
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In the 17th century, women with a musical bent often enjoyed more creative freedom if they joined a convent. This weekend the Newberry Consort, featuring sopranos Christine Brandes and Ellen Hargis, will perform music composed by cloistered nuns at a series of concerts called Celestial Sirens. Performances are at 3 on Thursday, April 29, and tonight at 8 at the Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton. Saturday’s concert is at 8 at Grace Episcopal Church, 924 Lake in Oak Park. Tickets are $25 and $35, $22.50 and $31.50 for seniors, and $12.50 and $17.50 for students. On Sunday they’ll perform at 3 at Northwestern University’s Lutkin Hall, 700 University in Evanston. Tickets are $20 and $25, $18 and $22.50 for seniors, $10 and $12.50 for students. Call 312-943-9090 for more information on all four shows.
The performance group Goat Island researched its latest piece, The Sea & Poison, for two years. This cryptic work concerns “the effects of poison on the body and landscape, and of the pollution of time and space,” bringing together elements like the Italian tarantella (a dance that was supposed to purge the body of venom from a spider bite), deformed frogs, and the 1957 movie The Incredible Shrinking Man. The piece premieres Friday; tonight’s show includes a postperformance “context talk/response” by environmental-health specialist Peter Murchie. The performance is at 7 (the show continues through May 9) at the Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ, 615 W. Wellington. Tickets are $12, $8 for students and seniors. Call 773-281-3953 for reservations.
4 TUESDAY An exhibit of the costumes worn by dancer and choreographer Ruth Page during her long career opens today and runs through June 15 at the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State (312-747-4050). A preview Monday at 5 includes talks by organizers Ann Barzel and Larry Long.
