Eugene’s Zapp Dancers. Photo by Michael Brinkerhoff.

The Spin

Who’s who and what’s what in dance this month

The days are getting a little bit longer, and dance is starting to bloom. 

We recently caught a performance of the U.K.’s Ballet Boyz, part of the inimitable White Bird Dance Series in Portland. Catch the review of the show on the Eugene Weekly blog at bit.ly/2kNAsVw.

Xcape Dance Company presents LOVE at 7:30 pm Feb. 3 at the Hult Center, featuring “real-life LOVE stories, multimedia design and theatrical elements.” Proceeds from this student performance benefit Ophelia’s Place. $15-17.50. 

Also this week, movement all-stars the Shaolin Warriors burst onstage at 7:30 pm Feb. 6 at the Hult. While not dance, per se, the Shaolin Warriors put on a rousing show, with skillful choreography, a huge array of weaponry, storytelling and humor. $23-$48.75.

Eugene Ballet Company presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream at 7:30 pm Feb. 11 and 2 pm Feb. 12. EBC dancer Suzanne Haag, who premiered her stunning work Look last season, presents The Surrounding Third. And Chicago-based choreographer Stephanie Martinez will present the ballet titled Wandering On. $29-$65, with college and youth discounts available. See more about the EBC’s effort to expand contemporary offerings in this issue. 

At 7:30 pm Feb. 18, The ZAPP Dancers present StoryStruck in the Hult Center’s Soreng Theater; $15-$17.50.

In dance education news, Dance With Us offers its First Saturday Dance at 7 pm Feb. 4 at the Trinity United Methodist Fellowship Hall; 440 Maxwell Road, featuring a mix of swing, West Coast, night club two step, ballroom and Latin. Following a lesson, there will be open social dancing from 8 to 10 pm. $8 per person, new and experienced dancers welcome, no partner needed. 

And Argentine Tango presents a Milonga Vino Social Dance, 6 – 8 pm February 15 at the Oregon Wine Lab, 488 Lincoln St. Free. 

Pining for summer? Well, the Oregon Country Fair is looking for dancers and movement artists to teach and perform in its Workit Shop area and Dance Pavilion. “The Workit Shop area is a fun, safe, empowering space to explore, move and create with our bodies and voices,” says the 2017 OCF Entertainment Application guide. “And the Dance Pavilion is a stage designed to host a variety of dance styles, ranging from African to Eastern European, salsa to contra.” Apply to teach and perform at oregoncountryfair.org. And tell your friends: “We’re trying to do outreach to performers and movement artists in other communities,” says Dance Pavilion coordinator (and my next-door neighbor) Shawn Kahl.