1. Choreographer Crystal Pite (Kidd Pivot) teams up with and writer/performer Jonathon Young (Electric Company Theatre) for the highly anticipated Betroffenheit. Billed as “a complex, passionate performance that draws on theatre and dance to explore themes of trauma and dislocation,” the sold-out show runs Feb. 25 to 27 at the Vancouver Playhouse. Details at dancehouse.ca.
2. Local rock, punk and roots musicians, including Pill Squad, China Syndrome, Nervous Talk, Shiloh Lindsey, Sexy Decoy, Space Junk and I, Braineater, pay tribute to David Bowie with a night of inspired covers Feb. 26 at the Rickshaw. Tickets at Highlife, Neptoon, Zulu, Red Cat at ticketfly.com. Proceeds go to the Canadian Cancer Society and Keep a Child Alive.
3. Presented by Dancers of Damelahamid in partnership with the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, the Coastal First Nations Dance Festival is a weeklong celebration of the stories, songs and dances of the Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast March 1 to 6. Performers include smoke dancer Tesha Emarthle and James Jones, a celebrated Edmonton-based contemporary hoop dancer and hip hop performer who regularly tours with A Tribe Called Red. For more information, got to damelahamid.ca.
4. The Vancouver International Dance Festival leaps across local stages Feb. 28 to March 19 with performers from Sweden, Cuba, Japan, Quebec, Ontario and Vancouver, including street dance collective Project Soul. Details at vidf.ca.
5. Eric Fell, Patrick Maliha and Shaun Stewart, a.k.a. The Gentelmen Hecklers, apply their live comedic commentary to the 1989 ass-kicking, mullet-friendly, Patrick Swayze-as-a-bouncer vehicle Roadhouse, Feb. 27, 9:30 p.m. at Vancity Theatre. It’s part of the Just For Laughs Northwest Comedy Festival. Details at jflnorthwest.com.
