Music, Dance, and More

Basil Twist's Petrushka Basil Twist reprises his 2001 Petrushka, the Punch-and-Judy show-cum-Ballets Russes Stravinsky ballet turned back into puppet theater. He adds brilliant choreographies to his dancing dolls, which even pull off the Kozatsky, those deep-knee-bend Cossack kicks. Wednesday to April 16 at the Annenberg.

Pulcinella Alive Pennsylvania Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra in a notable collaboration, with both on the Verizon Hall stage for a world premiere of Stravinsky's Pulcinella by Boston Ballet's resident choreographer, Jorma Elo. Thursday to next Sunday, Kimmel Center.

Paris and Philadelphia: Musical Sister Cities Orchestra 2001 present two new works by Philadelphians Sarah Dubois and Gerald Levinson, as well as classic beauties by Stravinsky, Debussy and Dutilleux, the last illustrated by 10 local artists' projections. April 8, Trinity Center.

The Soldier's Tale Stravinsky's 1918 theatrical work, performed by the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia in collaboration with puppetmaster Robert Smythe. Next Sunday and April 11, Perelman Theater.

Proliferation of the Imagination BalletX, resident dance company at the Wilma Theater, collaborates on a world- premiere dance-theater piece inspired by Guillaume Apollinaire's surrealist play, "The Mammaries of Tiresias." It features original music, spoken text, and choreography by BalletX co-artistic director Matthew Neenan. April 12-24, Wilma Theater.

Building on Balanchine The French connection in this program is Benjamin Millepied, who offered to create a ballet for Pennsylvania Ballet as a thank-you gesture for providing dancers for the movie Black Swan. The result is a dance for eight couples set to music by David Lang. April 14 to 17, Academy of Music.

Heaven/Rennie Harris Puremovement Hip-hop artiste Rennie Harris and his collaborators, French choreographers Gemini and Michel "Meech" Onomo, take Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring as their inspiration for a new multimedia work about reaching across cultural and generational divides. April 15-17, Perelman Theater.

MonTage a Trois Dance + beautiful music + a gorgeous location = PIFA at PAFA. Jeanne Ruddy created a new piece for her dancers to perform among the paintings at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Her choreography is set to Debussy and Satie, against paintings by Elizabeth Osborne, with multimedia projections by Ellen Fishman-Johnson. April 15-17, PAFA Hamilton Building.

Miro's Punch Miro Dance Theater reimagines Pulcinella, the long-nosed commedia dell'arte character. Dancer/choreographer Amanda Miller and her partner and videographer, Tobin Rothlein, use entire-body masking, "relocating body parts through costuming and animated photography." Electric-harp pioneer Zeena Parkins based her new score on Stravinsky's original music. April 21, 23 at the Kimmel's Innovation Studio.

Hope: An Oratorio Jonathan Leshnoff's first composition for voice will involve many musical styles, texts spiritual and secular in five languages, and the theme of spring's renewal. With the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and Iranian singer Sussan Deyhim. April 24 at Verizon Hall.

Rites, Rhythms . . . Riot! Dancer/choreographer Kun-Yang Lin presents Ragtime, a short duet, and his company dances his version of Renard, Stravinsky's one-act opera/ballet with four singers and masks by puppeteer Hua Hua Zhang, on the same program with City Center Opera Theater's world premiere of the Paul Moravec/Terry Teachout opera Danse Russe. Orchestra 2001 plays live throughout. April 28, 29 at the Kimmel's Perelman Theater.

- Dance critics Ellen Dunkel and Merilyn Jackson

and music critic David Patrick StearnsEndText