Entertainment

Best Bets: Joffrey Ballet premieres online 'Boléro'

Posted February 23, 2021 5:00 am

By Scott C. Morgan

Dancer Anais Bueno is featured in the world premiere of "Boléro," a virtual dance inspired by the famed Maurice Ravel concert piece that features choreography by Joffrey company artist Yoshihisa Arai. Courtesy of Joffrey Ballet

Ravel revelry

The Joffrey Ballet is back with "Boléro," a new online take on Maurice Ravel's famous concert piece by choreographer Yoshihisa Arai. The performance features 15 members of the company who were filmed at the Gerald Arpino Black Box Theatre in Joffrey Tower, 8 E. Randolph St., Chicago. Free to view, but donations appreciated. joffrey.org or youtube.com/TheJoffreyBallet. 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12

Puppeteer Tom Lee collaborates with Eighth Blackbird on "The Great Zodiac Animal Race." The virtual stream is at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26. Courtesy of the artist

Lunar puppets

Puppeteer Tom Lee teams up with the modern music ensemble Eighth Blackbird for "The Great Zodiac Animal Race," an Asian myth about the creatures in the Lunar calendar that's streamed online Friday. $20. eighthblackbird.org. 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26

Wisconsin-booster comedian Charlie Berens performs at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan on Saturday, Feb. 27.

Wisconsin booster

Tickets are scarce to see Charlie Berens, the Wisconsin comedian and actor whose viral content about folks in his home state has become wildly popular. Berens performs twice on Saturday at the Genesee Theatre, 203 N. Genesee St., Waukegan. $99 (sold out, but check with box office for returns). (847) 263-6300 or geneseetheatre.com. 6 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27

Jonathan McReynolds takes the virtual stage of the 37th Annual Salute to Gospel Music Program hosted by College of Lake County in Grayslake on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 27-28. Courtesy of College of Lake County

Singing praise

Jonathan McReynolds is one of the featured singers in the 37th Annual, First Virtual Salute to Gospel Music Program this weekend presented by College of Lake County's Lumber Center for the Performing Arts in Grayslake. Free, but advance registration is required. (847) 543-2300 or clcillinois.edu/events. 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28

Snake handlers

Chicago Opera Theater presents the Midwest premiere of "Taking Up Serpents" in an online performance Saturday. This new work by librettist Jerre Dye and composer Kamala Sankaram focuses on a rural American enclave of Pentecostals who willingly take up venomous snakes to prove themselves before God. $20 digital tickets. (312) 704-8414 or chicagooperatheater.org. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27

Anne Carrere stars in "Piaf! The Show," which is streamed online via College of DuPage's McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn on Sunday, Feb. 28. Courtesy of Stephane Kerrad/KB Studios

'Sparrow' spectacle

"Piaf! The Show" is a multimedia show taped at Carnegie Hall with Anne Carrere starring as the iconic 20th-century French singer Edith Piaf. The online stream is made available via College of DuPage's McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn. $25 per household. (630) 942-4000 or atthemac.org. 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28

Baroque from Skokie

Two co-directors team up for the Music of the Baroque concert "Double Trouble - Bach, Vivaldi & More." The performance is livestreamed on Sunday from the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. Then the performance will be available on demand. $25. (312) 551-1414 or baroque.org. 7:30 p.m. livestream Sunday, Feb. 28; recorded stream available Wednesday, March 3

Bernard Kleina's 1965 photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. in front of Chicago City Hall is featured in the new Elmhurst Art Museum exhibit "In Focus: The Chicago Freedom Movement and the Fight for Fair Housing." Courtesy of Elmhurst Art Museum

MLK in Chicago

Bernard Kleina of Wheaton photographed the late civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. locally in the 1960s, and many of those images are featured in the new exhibit "In Focus: The Chicago Freedom Movement and the Fight for Fair Housing." It begins on Thursday at the Elmhurst Art Museum, 150 Cottage Hill Ave., Elmhurst. $15; $12 seniors; free for kids and students (advance purchase for specific times suggested). (630) 834-0202 or elmhurstartmuseum.org. Noon to 5 p.m. Thursday, March 4; exhibit continues through Sunday, June 20

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