Spring Dance

May Day: CounterPULSE's 3rd Anniversary Show is the perfect time to be reminded of all the good stuff the cutting-edge arts space with a distinctly DIY streak has produced. There won't be any bizarre fertility rituals, but kind of like May Day itself (a mishmash of ancient customs harmonized by raucous merrymaking), the celebration augurs lots of pure spectacle, bringing together eight of the most innovative movement and performance artists to have graced the venue in the past three years. The huge lineup includes the Joe Goode Performance Group's Wonderboy, which features the group's trademark evocative dance theater, complete with life-size puppets and snatches of spoken word, and the aerial antics of Joanna Haigood and the Zaccho Dance Theatre, whose gorgeously confrontational site-specific piece reveals the poetry of motion. Also appearing is acclaimed performance artist and activist Guillermo Gomez-Peña, who takes on transcultural identity and stereotypes in pieces that alternate between the hilarious and the horrific. The gala includes plenty of food and drink, as well as a silent auction where audience members can pas-de-deux with their pocketbooks.
Sun., April 27, 8 p.m., 2008