What to see, do and hear: Ukrainian ballet, fairy tales, forbidden literature, more

DANCE

Grand Kyiv Ballet principal dancers Oleksandr “Alex” Stoianov and Kateryna Kukhar were on tour in Europe when Russia invaded Urkraine on February 24, 2022. The married couple was able to get their two children out of Ukraine and now live in the United States. It will be hard for audiences not to think of the dancers’ experiences when watching them perform the two lead roles in Giselle at Atlanta Symphony Hall on Friday, part of a 60-city international tour. A portion of the proceeds from the tour will help fund the renovation efforts of the Kiev State Choreographic College. Tickets $35.75 and up.

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Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre will bring its playful Peter & the Wolf to the Piazza at the Woodruff Arts Center this weekend as part of the Toddler Takeover arts festival. Produced in collaboration with the Alliance Theatre, the ballet will be performed Saturday and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Passes for the day are $25 for adults and $5 for children 6 to 17. Children 5 and under can enjoy it for free.

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THEATER

Jerry’s Habima Theatre, the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta’s award-winning inclusive theater company featuring actors with special needs, closes the curtain this weekend on its production of Into the Woods JR. This Tony-winning alternative fairy tale, written by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, includes familiar characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (with his beanstalk) and others. Tickets start at $36 with discounts available. 

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FILM+TV

Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ film festival, is hosting the second annual Spring Mini Festival next Tuesday to Thursday, March 19 to March 21, at Landmark Art Cinema in midtown. This year’s Mini Festival, also known as “Queer All Year,” will feature hand-selected LGBTQ films from a variety of national and international origins, including India and Egypt. An all-access pass is $30; individual tickets $12 each. 

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MUSIC

Tchaikovsky wrote the music for many ballets, including Sleeping Beauty. Today and Saturday, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will play these soaring melodies which, by the by, were also the inspiration for Disney’s 1959 animated film of the fairytale. The program will open with the cello concerto Tout un monde lointain by Henri Dutilleux, played by guest cellist Johannes Moser. Guest conductor Alpesh Chauhan will lead the orchestra in his Atlanta debut. Tickets $26 and up.

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There’s more dance music to be heard on Tuesday when the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra continues its season at the Marvin Cole Auditorium on the Georgia State University Clarkston campus. It will present an energetic program of Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Danse Bacchanale” from his opera Samson et Dalila, selections from Bizet’s Carmen Suites and the much-loved Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra by Joaquin Rodrigo. 8 p.m. Tickets $35.

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The Grammy-nominated acoustic duo of Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley will bring their soulful stone country vocals to Eddie’s Attic on Friday at 9 p.m. Expect a rockin’ mix of bluegrass, country, blues rock, jamgrass and string band music of all kinds. NPR has lauded them as “musical phenoms.” Tickets $26.70 and up.

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ART+DESIGN

Truth Told Slant continues at The High Museum of Art through August 11. In this exhibition, five photographers take new approaches to documentary photography in order to explore topics of American life, such as race, inequality, immigration, globalization, coming of age, and the pervasiveness of violence. Includes the work of Atlanta artist Jill Frank. Free to museum members; $18.50 for non-members.

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The African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta continues Through Lines, an exhibition featuring the work of the museum’s “Flowers x Seeds” honorees. The work of Dr. Arturo Lindsay and Kelly Taylor Mitchell “draw inspiration from African indigenous spiritual practices and traditions that have emerged from the Black experiences in the Caribbean and the U.S. South.” Located at ADAMA’s new physical space at Pittsburgh Yards. Through March 30.

BOOKS

Revival: Lost Southern Voices returns from March 21 to March 24 in a hybrid format online and at the Decatur Library. The annual festival is a collaboration between Georgia State University Perimeter College and the Georgia Center for the Book that examines works by Southern authors that are out-of-print or otherwise do not receive the attention they deserve. Free – but donations are welcome.

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Read forbidden literature with Getting LIT(erary) at VHC: Banned Book Club on March 21. The book discussion takes place both via Zoom and in-person at Virginia Highland Church. Celebrating the freedom to read, this group calls itself “a declaration, a statement and a movement” and invites you to “dive into tales that have shaken foundations, challenged norms and often found themselves silenced or sidelined.” This month’s book is Judith Guest’s Ordinary People. Free.