The season covers a lot of ground

Forty years ago, without fully intending to, Joan Myers Brown started a dance company for students who needed performance opportunities. Since then, Philadanco has put Philadelphia on the world dance map with its vast repertoire and busy touring schedule. It has also enriched the local dance scene.

Ten years ago, Jeanne Ruddy started her own troupe in Philadelphia. The former Martha Graham principal dancer creates her own dances as well as hiring top choreographers to set pieces on her company. In 2006, she opened the Performance Garage, a new theater and rehearsal space in a former auto mechanic's shop.

Philadanco and Jeanne Ruddy Dance perform here only a handful of days each year. But both are marking their anniversaries in April with performances on the Avenue of the Arts. Catch them while you can - and savor spring's other dance delights.

- Ellen Dunkel,
Inquirer dance critic
STREB. Elizabeth Streb's company combines modern dance, circus moves, martial arts, and Hollywood-style stunts for a breathtaking performance. Her evening-length Brave is a series of 10 "action events" performed by eight "actioneers," including Temple alumna Samantha Jakus. Feb. 4 to 6, Annenberg Center. (215-898-3900, www.pennpresents.org.)

Urban Bush Women. This Brooklyn-based company of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The troupe, which has a woman- and African-centered perspective, has a February date at Bryn Mawr College - whose Performing Arts Series also has reached its quarter-century mark. The performance features an evening of works by the company with Germaine Acogny, director of Senegal's Compagnie Jant-Bi, and her star dancer Kaolack (Pape Ibrahima Ndiaye). Feb. 13, Goodhart Hall, Bryn Mawr College. (610-526-5210.)

Philadelphia Dance Projects. A new series in 2009, PDP celebrates local dance. This year's offerings include Otto Ramstad and Chris Yon; the world premiere of Red Thread with Lisa Kraus, Eva Karczag and Vicky Shick plus Meg Foley, Gabrielle Revlock, and Michele Tantoco; and the screening of PBS's Beyond the Mainstream, as well as the annual shorts program, featuring Kate Watson-Wallace's Everywhere. Also included: the SCUBA National Touring Network for Dance, featuring Philadelphia's Megan Mazarick, the BodyCartography Project from Minneapolis, and San Francisco's Jacinta Vlach/Liberation Dance Theatre. Feb. 26 to March 20, various locations. (215-546-2552, www.philadanceprojects.org.)

Pennsylvania Ballet. The company presents four programs this spring: The Four Temperaments and Carmina Burana (March 4 to 13); a tribute to Chopin's bicentennial (March 13 and 14); a repertory program that includes Balanchine's Square Dance and Jerome Robbins' Afternoon of a Faun (May 5 to 9); and John Cranko's Romeo and Juliet (June 4 to 12). All performances at the Academy of Music except May 5 to 9 at the Merriam Theater. (215-893-1999, www.paballet.org.)

Jeanne Ruddy Dance. The 10th-anniversary season will feature three works by Ruddy - Significant Soil, Breathless, and LARK - highlighting the company's depth and journey in the last decade. April 8 to 11, Wilma Theater. (215-546-7824 or at www.wilmatheater.org.)

BalletX. The modern ballet company continues to bring new works to Philadelphia, with premieres by New Yorker Thang Dao and Baltimore native Lauren Putty. April 14 to 18, Wilma Theater, (215-546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.)

Bad Boys of Dance. Think dance is for women? International ballet star Rasta Thomas changes minds with a high-energy, high-talent show combining ballet, hip-hop, jazz, capoeira, and other genres. April 15 to 17, Annenberg Center, (215-898-3900, www.pennpresents.org.)

Philadanco. The Philadelphia Dance Company gives itself a 40th-anniversary present - the local premiere of a ballet by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, commissioned by the Kimmel Center and the August Wilson Center in Pittsburgh. The program also includes Milton Myers' Element in Which It Takes Place and Gate Keepers, by Ronald K. Brown. April 15 to 18, Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. (215-893-1999, www.kimmelcenter.org.)

Koresh Dance Company. This spring will mark the first time Ohad Naharin, artistic director of Israel's Batsheva Dance Company, is setting work on a Philadelphia-based company. The program will also include a new piece by company artistic director Roni Koresh. April 29 to May 2, Suzanne Roberts Theatre. (215-985-0420, www.koreshdance.org.)

Momix. The highly imaginative company creates magic - or, in the case of Botanica, flowers - out of the human form. May 20 to 22, Annenberg Center. (215-898-3900, www.pennpresents.org.)