Six Stylized Ways to Get Your Dance On

There are so many dance performances whirling through town this week, it’s enough to make you dizzy. Here’s the low-down on what to expect, depending on which show you choose. And for all you dedicated dance lovers, we dare you to fit in all six shows.

1) Global: Touted as the “official ambassadors of Peruvian culture,” the more than 20 dancers, singers, and musicians of Peru Negro will celebrate Peru’s African heritage with characteristic zeal on Wednesday, March 12, at 8 p.m. at UCSB’s Campbell Hall. Call 893-3535 or visit artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.

2) Acrobatic: Gymnastics and Broadway theatrics meet rainforest imagery in Neil Goldberg’s flashy Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy, coming to the Arlington Theatre on Sunday, March 9, at 7 p.m. Call 963-4408 or visit ticketmaster.com.

3) Scholarly: They’ve been hard at work since September, and the labors of the UCSB Dance Company are finally ready to be unveiled, Thursday and Friday, March 6 and 7, at UCSB’s Hatlen Theatre at 8 p.m. Call 893-3535.

4) Homegrown: Formerly the Santa Barbara Jazz Dance Academy, the recently renamed Santa Barbara Dance Arts presents Configuration, a show featuring the center’s four student dance companies, on Friday, March 7, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 8, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Call 963-0408 or visit centerstagetheater.org.

5) International: If you’re looking to be transported to far away lands, you need only drive as far as Isla Vista, where the UCSB Middle East Dance Ensemble showcases the dance and music of Turkey, Persia, Greece, and Assyria at UCSB’s Lotte Lehmann Hall on Saturday, March 8, at 8 p.m. Call 893-2064 or visit music.ucsb.edu/mee for details.

6) Cross-Genre: For those dance fans whose stomping grounds are strictly North County, Allan Hancock College presents Dance Spectrum, its spring dance concert featuring choreography and performances by both faculty and students. Ballet, hip-hop, jazz, and modern dance will all be represented at the Marian Theatre March 12-15 at 7 p.m. and March 16 at 2 p.m. and 7.p.m. Call 922-8313.