Once again River North gives ticket buyers their money’s worth in its annual V-Day engagement, packing the program with two world premieres, two pieces that premiered last fall and four popular works from the company’s repertory. Brand new works include a driving three-way dance battle by, coincidentally enough, New York choreographer Robert Battle, and a look into the tension between group creativity and individual expression by commissioned choreographer Lauri Stallings. Frank Chaves, River North’s artistic director, restages “Forbidden Boundaries,” his intensely personal, athletically rigorous premiere from last fall that seeks quite literally to strip away the protective layers of self-doubt and inhibition keeping us from success. Romantic, valentines-y pieces on the program include Chaves’ stormy duet “Sentir em Nos,” set to the über-sexy vocals of Andrea Bocelli, and Battle’s “Ella,” a physical scat that sets pace with formidable vocal dancing of Ms. Fitzgerald’s “Air Mail Special.” (Sharon Hoyer)
At the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, (312)334-7777. February 12 and 13, 8pm. $30-$65.
