If you TiVo “So Think You Can Dance” and consider “Dancing with the Stars” a weekly excuse for a party, you’ll want to mark your calendar for Friday, June 7. That’s when Shaping Sound — a contemporary dance company formed by STYCD choreographers and DWTS stars Travis Wall, Nick Lazzarini, Teddy Forance and Kyle Robinson — bursts into Chandler.

Ballet Arizona celebrates the influence of famed choreographer George Balanchine by performing his works “Serenade,” “Monumentum pro Gesualdo,” “Movements for Piano and Orchestra,” and “The Four Temperaments.” The Phoenix Symphony accompanies them.

It may be a “tale as old as time,” but "Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” will never feel old hat to generations of new children or eternal fans of romance and fairytales.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — In 12 years, my husband and I have had two vacations without our daughter. Once, we drove 200 miles to drop her at her godparents; the other time, her grandfather flew 850 miles on an $800 plane ticket to spell us.

On Valentine’s Day, the Arizona Lindy Hop Society is asking East Valley residents to grab their partners and enjoy a night of dancing and fun in the grand opening of the Swing Lounge in Tempe.

Eighteen dancers perform cutting-edge contemporary works of modern dance from choreographers Aszure Burson, Alejandro Cerrudo and Swedish choreographer Mats Ek.

Open auditions will be held for the opening and finale numbers for the LIVE Young Choreographers Competition Show by the non-profit Next Generation of Fine Arts 4:30 p.m. Sunday in Chandler.

Dancers between the ages of 10-19 are invited to audition for the opening and finale number for the LIVE Young Choreographers Competition Show. Auditions will be held 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Dance Studio 111, 4910 E. Chandler Blvd, Ste. 111 in Phoenix.

NEW CANAAN, Conn. (AP) - The gang's all here: the football fan, the chef, the teacher and the skier. And there's the Nutcracker prince from E.T.A. Hoffmann's classic Christmas story, who inspired them all.

The work of five choreographers takes the stage in this original dance work.

The dancers stole our hearts and left an impact with their passionate and emotional routines — and to think: That was just through a TV screen.

Thousands of students from Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe high schools concluded spirit week on Friday, ushering in homecoming with parades, a Hall of Fame induction, and pep assemblies.

Performing arts 2012-13 season preview

"I'm quite new to this whole press package," admits British actor Tom Weston-Jones, conducting an interview on a bustling street with buses and foot traffic zipping by rather than talking indoors, where a party's noise level is not much better.

Ballet Arizona presents the 15th annual Ballet Under the Stars Sept. 20-29. This sunset performance series is free and open to the public at six Valley locations.

With "Step Up Revolution," their second summertime at-bat after "Rock of Ages," producers Adam Shankman and Jennifer Gibgot return to one of the things they do best — making young unknowns look like the next big thing. In its fourth installment, however, the "Step Up" franchise has traded an air of inevitability for one of predictability. While die-hard fans and dance fanatics will respond on the opening weekend, ongoing competition from superheroes and cute cartoon characters may slow momentum in subsequent weeks.

Forget those nauseating TV spots drenched in the sugary pop songs of Rihanna and Maroon 5, with images of shirtless men parading down the beach. If you come to “Magic Mike” expecting the senseless ladies’ night out the advertisements promise, you might be dissatisfied. Although stripping plays a key role, it is merely a jumping off point for a much darker, bleaker film.

Gear up in your red, white and blue for these East Valley events to celebrate another year of independence.

"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” is not to be confused with the new Steven Spielberg film staring Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th president. That biopic won’t be coming out until December. Where the upcoming Spielberg film is aiming to be a somber, historically accurate life story of our nation’s most celebrated leader, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” tells an action-packed, fictionalized account of how Honest Abe once fought against vicious vampires. The end result makes “Inglourious Basterds” look like a documentary. As preposterous and silly as “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” is, the movie does deliver genuine thrills and solid fun nevertheless. That’s really all one can ask from a film like this.