All the Rite Moves

The rituals of spring abound this time of year. In keeping with that tradition, Center Dance Ensemble and its founder, Frances Smith Cohen, bring us The Rite of Spring. The ballet, featuring Smith Cohen's choreography set to Igor Stravinsky's score, takes the stage March 13 through 16 at the Herberger Theater Center. Smith Cohen first performed the piece in 1975 with the Tucson Symphony, and now – 28 years later – is having another go at it. The piece is divided into eight "scenes": beginning, ancestor, games, mates, couples, nesting/birthing, ritual of the ancestors, and sacrifice.Three works from other groundbreaking dance companies also will be performed: Red Dress Suite and Time and Again by the Keuter/Mooney Dance Company, and The Queens Project by A Ludwig Dance Theater.

Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 13, through Saturday, March 15, and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 16, at the Herberger, 222 East Monroe. Tickets are $19.50 for adults, $16.50 for seniors and $8.50 for children. Call 602-252-8497. – Maidi Terry

3/18–3/19
Fiddle Kicks
He's Bond. Vagabond. And his life's journey, as related in Vagabond Tales, brings him to downtown's Dodge Theatre at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, and Wednesday, March 19. Through global music, choreography and colorful staging, the Barrage musical troupe shapes this "exploration of culture and style." Call 480-784-4444 for tickets ($33 to $45.50); see www.barrage.org for show details. – Jill Koch

Our Bodies, Our Shelves
Is What It Is Theatre Company is romancing the tome in its latest production, Somewhere in Between. The comedy recounts, in 10 scenes, a man's struggle with uncertainty as he falls for a bookstore beauty. The show runs March 14 through 29 at Studio One Performing Arts Center, 4520 East Thomas. Tickets are $10 to $12; call 480-994-9495. – Jill Koch