College Conservatory of Music Dance Division

Curious about what dance students have been up to since heading back to school? This weekendbrings a couple of concerts promising some of the season's strongest student (and professional) classical and contemporary performances. First off, the University of Cincinnati's COLLEGE-CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC DANCE DIVISION presents its fall ballet ensemble dance concert in the Patricia Corbett Theater on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The show features a world premiere neoclassical piece from Assistant Professor Michael Tevlin, simply titled Ballade, set to Fauré's Ballade for Piano and Orchestra. Following on the heels of the traditional Chinese music and dance production of Shangri-La recently seen at the Aronoff Center, the CCM program will showcase the work of three noteworthy choreographers of Chinese heritage. Guest artist TONG WANG's Folk Dance fuses Chinese folk dance elements with contemporary ballet stylings — and if that's not enough juxtaposition, Japanese kodo drums accompany the choreography. On a more traditional note, YI-QI CHENG and QI JIANG (both teach dance at CCM) offer new spins on classical ballet pieces, both interpreting themes of love and death. Cheng presents a rendition of Melody from Gluck's opera based on the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and his beloved Eurydice. Jiang has re-staged legendary choreographer Marius Petipa's The Kingdom of Shades piece from La Bayadère. Info: 513-556-4183. ...

Culminating their first year as a nonprofit dance studio/company, PLANET DANCE/EXHALE presents a concert of new choreographic works from the company's co-founders, former professional Broadway dancers Missy Zimmer and Andrew Hubbard. (The program is Friday and Saturday in the Aronoff's Fifth Third Bank Theater.) The solo-intensive show features dancers from Planet Dance's youth and professional ensembles performing in a whirlwind of high-energy styles. There's the politically charged Roll with It that Zimmer describes as "a really rebellious anti-war piece with angry, thrashy Jazz style." New Orleans Style celebrates the Crescent City's flavor with brightly colored costumes and tricky, flashy moves with a modern lyrical flair. To balance the program, look for a family folk piece set to a Patty Griffin tune and a solo by Hubbard that Zimmer half-jokingly calls "a new, nice endeavor for him," as he typically prefers improvisation in his unique free-form style. Tickets: 513-621-2787.