A Bellydancing Festival Brings Havana Women an Empowering Experience

Awash in sunlight, around 50 women stand in a circle on the rooftop performance space of Casa Gaia in Old Havana, Cuba. Karen Rodríguez guides them through a series of improvisational movements. Soft spoken and radiant, Rodríguez encourages the participants to walk around freely, dancing and moving as they wish…

The 305 & Havana International Improv Fest Brings Dance Across the Sea

You could say Bistoury’s 305 & Havana International Improv Fest, which debuts this Saturday at Miami Theater Center, has been in the works for almost 20 years. In 1999, Cuban-born choreographer Alexey Taran created the first improvisation festival in Caracas, Venezuela. Taran had already been working with improvisation techniques…

Karen Peterson and Dancers Get Political With Scrutiny

If one word could describe the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency, it would be “scrutiny.” That concept is incorporated into the title of Karen Peterson and Dancers’ latest international collaboration. Scrutiny: The World Gone Astray — which explores the emotional, social, and political turbulence of our times through mixed-ability dance — will make its U.S. premiere May 11 and 12 at Miami-Dade County Auditorium.

Moira Finucane Stages The Rapture to Address Climate Change

A cruciform stage is enveloped in an eerie cloud of mist. Ethereal streams of light peek out beneath undulating furls of smoke. A nearly 6-foot-tall woman emerges, black beads dripping down her naked body, with a gigantic black cape that threatens to swallow her. As industrial music blasts, the shroud sprouts…

Reggie Wilson’s Citizen Tackles Identity Issues

New York-based choreographer Reggie Wilson’s Citizen asks loaded questions about belonging and not belonging. Tigertail presents Citizen this weekend at Miami-Dade County Auditorium, and Wilson will offer a full program, including a panel discussion and multiple dance workshops.

Fort Lauderdale Fringe Festival Lets Theater Geeks Get Weird

A ’90s-inspired sing-along van ride with the “Fringy Mime Queen.” A one-man show about the complete history of drag. An epic battle among giants in a town called Normal. These are just some of the plays that will be showcased at the third-annual Fort Lauderdale Fringe Festival from April 20 to 23.

Retiro, a Meditation on Aging, Lets Older Women Share Their Stories

Endless interviews with women on the red carpet in glittering gowns. Flawless models selling the latest cosmetics in glossy women’s magazines. The new army of celebrity girls morphing into women in front of our very eyes. Young, attractive women are everywhere you look. What’s rarer, at least in entertainment and media, are women openly accepting or coping with the inevitable aging process. Aging is increasingly hidden in real life too, especially in Miami, where it’s masked with white lies, makeup, and cosmetic procedures.

Javi Carrion Returns to Comedy With an Upcoming Special and Maybe a Secret

Bilingual comic Javi Carrion has had an interesting life, to say the least. The Puerto Rican-born Miamian is a veteran of the South Florida comedy scene, fitting gigs in between working for an electronics company and raising his 9-year-old daughter. He’s set to tape a half-hour special, Miami Made Me, April 8 at the Open Stage Club.

Tigertail’s Fire Festival Brings Contemporary Creatives to Miami

Festivals in Miami conform to a bit of a mold: They’re typically bass-heavy, unflinchingly hedonistic, and rhyme with “shmultra.” Mary Luft of Tigertail Productions has worked tirelessly since the ’80s to break that mold. Her company concentrates on bringing to the 305 the most contemporary and avant-garde performers for events that otherwise might never see daylight in South Florida.

Miami City Ballet’s Closing Program Features Patricia Delgado’s Final Bow

Miami City Ballet will conclude its season this week with a rich selection of repertory pieces: two from George Balanchine, in very expressive but distinct modes, and one from modern-dance master Paul Taylor at his genial best. Company premieres this year have upped expectations and trumpeted growth, but the current program reconfirms the quality of the company’s long-held artistic assets.

Ballet Flamenco La Rosa Brings Drama, Passion in La Casa de la Muñeca

Ballet Flamenco La Rosa’s studio evokes the feel of a tablao in Spain. The strumming of the guitar, the rapid-fire rhythms of footwork, and the soft vocals of the singer reach across time and place. The piece being rehearsed, La Casa de la Muñeca (inspired by Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House), is likewise timeless and carries universal themes, dealing with anxieties that resonate in the most innate way.

Jimmy Carr Invites Miami Comedy Fans to Heckle Him Onstage

British standup comedian Jimmy Carr is, by his own admission, “rude, crude, and offensive.” His sense of humor certainly isn’t for everyone. However, for those who enjoy properly dirty jokes, Carr is a virtuoso. He combines the razor-sharp barbs of a roastmaster, the concise one-liner genius of Mitch Hedburg, and the filthy vocabulary of Louis C.K. with a wit as quick as that kid in elementary school who was always ready with a devastating “yo’ mama” joke.

GableStage’s Dry Powder Goes Behind the Curtain of Financial Dealmaking

The world of high finance is equal parts confounding, infuriating, and downright terrifying. Most Americans look at Wall Street’s slick, greedy players and are resigned to the fact that it’s filled with money-hungry vultures, the kind of people who won’t settle for just one yacht. They’re sucking the economy dry,…