Martin Lawrence Brings Lit AF Tour to PPG Paints Pittsburgh Ballet Season Premiere Performance (Fri., 11/22/21)

1) “Marty Mar” is in town tonight. That’s actor, comedian, director, and producer Martin Lawrence. He brings his LIT AF Tour to PPG Paints Arena, additionally featuring featuring DeRay Davis. Michael Blackson, B. Simone, Tommy Davidson, and Benji Brown. Lawrence is best known for his film and TV roles including his signature sitcom “Martin.” He’s starred in such films as Blue Streak, and Big Momma’s House, Black Knight, and Wild Hogs. Additionally, he starred opposite Will Smith in Bad Boys and its sequel, Bad Boys II. Lawrence and Smith reprised their roles in 2020’s, Bad Boys for Life. 7:30 p.m. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown.

SEASON PREMIERE (four short ballets). Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Oct. 22 – 24.

2) One may think of ballet as stately, traditional dance, but it’s also changing and evolving. Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre brings this home with a show titled Season Premiere, which consists of four pieces—two from great choreographers of the 20th century and two from the 21st.  Victor Gsovsky’s 1949 “Grand Pas Classique,” set to music by the composer Daniel Auber, is a pas de deux danced in a precise classical style. George Balanchine’s “Diamonds,” the closing part of his full-length 1967 masterpiece Jewels, is an elegant piece meant to evoke the traditions of imperial Russian ballet. It is danced to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony #3 in D major. “Petal,” by Helen Pickett, is energetic yet graceful and clearly contemporary. Here’s a clip of Atlanta Ballet dancing Petal, to music by Philip Glass. The newest work is a so-far-unnamed piece by Jennifer Archibald, founder of Arch Dance Company and the artist who, a few years back, was tapped to develop a hip hop dance curriculum at Columbia’s Barnard College. This excerpt from Archibald’s earlier “Leafs.Bricks.Sun” has music by Aneeliah. Pittsburgh Ballet dances its Season Premiere at Benedum Center, 237 7th St., Cultural District. (M.V.)

Share on Social Media