Black Label Movement

This weekend: After premiering Carl Flink's latest work last month at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University, Black Label Movement brings "Alleged Dances" to the Cowles Center this weekend. The piece is set to "John's Book of Alleged Dances" by postmodern composer John Adams, who composed the work in 1994 for hypothetical dancers (hence, "alleged"). The Bakken Trio commissioned Flink to create movement for the 10 sections of music, which are loosely inspired by old dances such as reels and pavanes and given quirky titles such as "Toot Nipple" and "Stubble Crotchet." The Bakken musicians will perform on a platform 9 feet above the stage while the dancers perform below. Also on the program is the regional premiere of Flink's "An Unkindness of Ravens," a commission by the 2014 American Dance Festival's Footprint Series, as well as "A Duet for Wreck." (7:30 p.m. March 5-7; Cowles Center, 528 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.; $25-$30, 612-206-3600, www.thecowlescenter.org.) Sheila Regan

'Zoot Suit Riots'

Opening: Before there were Zubaz or MC Hammer pants, there were zoot suits, with their high-waisted, billowy trousers cinched at the ankles and long coats with shoulder pads and wide lapels. Worn by 1940s Chicano and African-American hipsters, they signified the coolest of the cool during the World War II years. For its fifth production, Collide Theatrical takes on the sounds and styles of the era in "Zoot Suit Riots," named after the 1943 riots in Los Angeles between Mexican-American youth and white U.S. sailors and Marines. Artistic director Regina Peluso sets the story in Harlem's Savoy Ballroom, an integrated nightclub where the Zoot Suit Riots' effect has reverberated. There'll be high drama and lots of music from the period, as well as modern takes, live vocalists and swing dancing galore. (Previews 7:30 p.m. Thu. Opens 7:30 p.m. Fri., 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends March 15; the Lab Theater, 700 N. 1st St., Mpls.; 1-877-508-7890, www.­collidetheatrical.org.) S.R