Nov. 4-6: Merce Cunningham Dance Company at Walker Art Center

Cunningham had a long association with Minnesota and Walker Art Center. This fall the late choreographer's legacy will be recognized in several ways, including his company's interpretation of major works from his vast repertory: "Antic Meet" (1958), "RainForest" (1968) and "Pond Way" (1998). The performances will be historic -- they are among the last before the Merce Cunningham Dance Company disbands in December. MCDC Executive Director Trevor Carlson says the program represents "the diversity in Merce's creative life," including his collaborations with visual artists Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein as well as composers John Cage and Brian Eno. Asked to describe some of Cunningham's significant contributions to modern dance, Carlson cites "his relentless curiosity to develop movement he hadn't seen or experienced before." Three weeks before his death in 2009 at 90, the choreographer was still in the studio, pursuing this goal. The celebration includes exhibitions of the Walker's newly acquired costumes, set pieces and painted drops from MCDC plus related events featuring Cédric Andrieux and Valda Setterfield, both of whom danced for Cunningham.

  • 8 p.m. Nov. 4-5, 2 & 7 p.m. Nov. 6
  • $40-$45
  • Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls
  • 612-375-7600 or www.walkerart.org

Ragamala Dance

The Bharatanatyam troupe has made quite an impression this year on national and international stages, so it's fitting that it should open the first season of Cowles Center programming. Led by artistic directors Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy, the group will premiere "Sacred Earth," inspired by the spiritual wall paintings of western India's indigenous Warli people and the rice-flour drawings of south India known as kolams.

  • 8 p.m. Sept. 23-24, 2 p.m. Sept. 25
  • $25 plus $4 fee
  • The Cowles Center, 528 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls
  • 612-206-3600 or www.thecowlescenter.org

Lucy Guerin

This choreographer is now based in her native Australia but her career includes stints with New York dancemakers Tere O'Connor and Bebe Miller. Guerin's troupe will make its Midwest debut with "Structures and Sadness," a work that should resonate with Twin Cities audiences because of its subject matter -- a 1970 Melbourne bridge collapse. The dancers will draw from a movement vocabulary inspired by engineering principles and also construct a complicated set over the course of the evening.

  • 8 p.m. Oct. 6-8
  • $18-$25
  • Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls
  • 612-375-7600 or www.walkerart.org

James Sewell Ballet

James Sewell Ballet marks its first season at the Cowles Center with a world premiere highlighting Sewell's ability to reimagine familiar musical scores. Also on tap is a revival of "Mendelssohn Trio" plus a section of "Social Movements," a timely meditation on marriage equality. And true to form, the choreographer will offer up a twisted "Black Swan pas de deux." Natalie Portman, you have been warned.

  • 8 p.m. Oct. 21, 22, 28 & 29, 2 p.m. Oct. 23 & 30. 11 a.m. Oct. 29
  • $26-$32 plus $4 fee
  • The Cowles Center, 528 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls
  • 612-206-3600 or www.thecowlescenter.org

Scottish Ballet

Northrop Dance will be on the move until 2013, when its renovated auditorium opens on the University of Minnesota campus, so be sure to head downtown instead for Scottish Ballet. The program features Sir Kenneth MacMillan's "Song of the Earth" (1965), a haunting classic examining the mysteries of mortality, and Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo's "Kings 2 Ends," a buzz-builder at the recent Edinburgh International Festival.

ARENA Dances

Mathew Janczewski delves into the bullfighter's mind with the world premiere of "Matador." The artistry of the ring will be explored as well as its crueler and more dangerous traditions. The program's other highlights include the revival of "Kept," one of Janczewski's first solos (performed in 40-foot-long shirtsleeves) and the trio "Give/Get/Take" from guest choreographer Robin Stiehm.