He was called the “naughty boy of dance” by none other than the grand dame of modern dance herself, Martha Graham. The Paul Taylor Dance Company comes to Philly with five works, the latest,Changes (2008), a Philadelphia premiere. The naughty boy is tricky though: there are two programs, A and B, so you’ll need to head over to the Annenberg twice to catch it all. A includes Changes, Esplanade (1975), and Lines of Loss (2007); B has Philadelphia premiere De Suenos (2007), Changes, and Promethean Fire (2002). Taylor’s dances run the gamut of overwhelming to trivial, so every heavy moment is likely to be counterbalanced with, if not whimsy, at least a little less heavy.

Paul Taylor Dance Company
Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (3680 Walnut)
Thursday June 5, 7:30PM
Friday June 6, 8PM
Saturday June 7, 2PM
Saturday June 7, 8PM
$32-46

Local company Group Motion presents their season finale REFUG(u)E at the Arts Bank at the University of the Arts. GM often layers video, text, soundscape, visual art, and original music to produce “a richly textured, image-filled evocation of the theme or story," and seeks direct communication with the audience. These performances include work from five local choreographers: Group Motion's Artistic Director Manfred Fischbeck (Fugue/Subter-fug(u)e), Olive Prince (Old Girl, New), Laina Fischbeck (The Memory of the Mass), Silvana Cardell (Vertex), and Kun-Yang Lin (Emptiness of Snow). You can check out some rehearsal footage to get a glimpse of what you’re in for.

Group Motion's Season Finale: REFUG(u)E
Arts Bank at the University of the Arts (601 S Broad)
Thursday June 5, 8PM
Friday June 6, 8PM
$20

The PA Ballet closes out its 2007-2008 season with a company and two (well, really three) world premieres. The eponymous work Carnival of the Animals is the story of Oliver Percy, a young boy who ends up spending the night in the NY Museum of Natural History; naturally, the museum’s inhabitants start coming to life. Sounds cute, AND! John Lithgow wrote the accompanying narration, and will be performing as the narrator on opening night this Friday and again at the Saturday performances the following day. The two world premieres include Jupiter Symphony, choreographed by Peter Quanz and set to Mozart's Symphony No. 41 in C major, and Pampeana No. 2 and Penumbra, two short and abstract ballets choreographed by Matthew Neenan and set to the music of Argentine composer Alberto Ginestra.

Carnival of the Animals
Pennsylvania Ballet
Academy of Music (Broad and Locust)
Friday June 6, 8PM
Saturday June 7, 12PM & 8PM
Sunday June 8, 2PM
Thursday June 12, 8PM
Friday June 13, 8PM
Saturday June 14, 2PM
$22-an ungodly amount

Even dance is going green these days: The Hatch Dance Theater presents Dance Stories in the Everglades, a modern dance concert inspired by the, yes, Florida Everglades. The performance is in a wooded amphitheater, uses no electricity, and features recycled costumes and “alternative to paper” programs. This is one for the family; the work is rounded out with a site-specific dance for three- to five-year-olds, though we're sure they won’t object to some adult dancing.

Dance Stories in the Everglades
The Hatch Dance Theater
Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education (8480 Hagy's Mill Road)
Saturday June 7, 2PM
$15

Koresh is back with its monthly artist showcase, featuring local dancers and students. They’re also running a promotion for a free dance class, so go and see what styles you’d like to try.

Koresh Artist Showcase
2020 Chestnut
Saturday June 7, 6PM & 8PM
Sunday June 8, 6PM & 8PM
$10

In attempts to bring the dance communities in Philly and NYC together, Susan Hess Modern Dance resident choreographer Devynn Emory has put together "An Evening of Duets," featuring choreographers and dancers from both cities. The pieces are, of course, duets, a form Emory became more interested in after frequently creating duets for herself and her dancer Meg Foley. The performances mark the ending of Emory’s three year residency; while she’s still local it’s an ideal time to check in on her work.

An Evening of Duets by New York and Philadelphia Choreographers
Susan Hess Modern Dance Studio (2030 Sansom, 3rd Floor)
Saturday June 7, 8PM
Sunday June 8, 8PM
$10

The STREAMS concert marks the culminating event of the 2008 Umfundalai Intensive-African Dance Workshop Series based at Temple. The performance features choreography by Charles O. Anderson, Antoinette Coward-Gilmore, Yhema Mills, Amina Olushola Heckstall, L'Antoinette Osunide, Tamara Thomas, and Kariamu Welsh, and pieces utilize contemporary African dance vocabulary and motifs.

Umfundalai STREAMS Concert
Conwell Hall Theatre (Broad St and Montgomery Ave)
Saturday June 7, 8PM
$20

Merian Soto is back with another installment of her One Year Wissahickon Park Project. This time the dancers will be at the man-made Livezey Waterfall off Forbidden Drive. This is one of the final four performances, each Sunday in June, so if you haven’t checked out the Project before get over there before it’s too late!

One Year Wissahickon Park Project
Wissahickon Park, Livezey Waterfall off Forbidden Drive
Sunday June 8, 10:30AM
Free