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Singing to recorded music signals that you can't afford live musicians. What Twyla Tharp has done in Come Fly Away, putting a big band onstage to accompany recorded vocals by Frank Sinatra, signals that she couldn't afford not to have live musicians. Not if she wanted a commercial product that could justify hefty ticket prices, anyway. But it's a superfluous gesture that the famed choreographer has made in her latest dance musical -- one that subjugates Sinatra's voice more than it showcases it, and one that confines her impossibly beautiful dancers to a generically glossy nightclub setting from which Tharp draws something short of inspiration. In its glimpses of the romantic entanglements among four couples, Come Fly Away only hints at emotional complexity as it hurtles through nearly 30 Sinatra songs in not even the 80 minutes it's advertised to run. Twarp's intensely athletic style here trumps the passion that should be on display, making for an affair that's easy on the eyes and, alas, easy on the heart, too. Closes this Sunday, April 29. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $69 to $125. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org. Reviewed by Jonathan Padget

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GALA Theatre presents Puro Tango, a celebration of the tango, directed by Hugo Medrano and featuring singer Nelson Pino and other internationally acclaimed musicians, dancers and actors from Argentina and Uruguay. To April 29. GALA Theatre at Tivoli Square, 3333 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $38. Call 202-234-7174 or visit galatheatre.org.

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The resident company of D.C.'s CityDance, Christopher K. Morgan & Artists , closes its season with Morgan's first evening-length work, Limited Visibility, exploring what we hide in our everyday lives. "Of course, like many other gay people," the openly gay Morgan told Metro Weekly, "there's a period of life where you're hiding that or revealing that or grappling with that. [But the work also explores] all of the different things that we struggle with as individuals [gay or straight]." Lighting plays a key role in the piece, isolating, even interrogating, dancers, making their movements and activities more intimate, personal. Morgan is one of six dancers appearing in the piece. Saturday, April 21, at 8:15 p.m., and Sunday, April 22, at 3 p.m. CityDance Studio Theater at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Tickets are $25. Call 202-347-3909 or visit christopherkmorgan.com or strathmore.org.

Morgan photographed for Metro Weekly by Todd Franson.

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Intended as a "holiday for space," the annual event Countdown to Yuri's Night celebrates the world's first manned space flight by Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in the most non-scientific of ways: through a zany night of visual art, performance and music. Among the festivities: an art/science exhibit of local contemporary artists at Artisphere's Mezz Gallery focused on "retro-future visions of space"; the stage show "The Wrath of Shock-a-Khan,” featuring drag queen Lucrezia Blozia as Shock-a-Khan, burlesque stars from D.C. and New York, and music by surf-rockers Atomic Mosquitos; and a "lunar" dance party following a performance by the local jazzy-ska band Eastern Standard Time. The atmosphere will be high all night with $5 Stoli drink specials. Saturday, April 14, at 8 p.m. Artisphere, 1101 Wilson Blvd. Arlington. Tickets are $30 at the door. Call 703-875-1100 or visit artisphere.com and c2yn.com.

"Light Moves" is a collaborative piece, co-commissioned by the Clarice Smith Center, from choreographer Margaret Jenkins working with media artist Naomie Kremer, composer Paul Dresher and poet Michael Palmer. Friday, Feb. 3, and Saturday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center's Ina and Jack Kay Theatre, University of Maryland, University Boulevard and Stadium Drive. College Park. Tickets are $35. Call 301-405-ARTS or visit claricesmithcenter.umd.edu.

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'Tis the season for ballet companies to perform versions of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. The American Ballet Theatre offers a new version by the company's Alexei Ratmansky, considered one of the leading choreographers in contemporary ballet. His take, complete with sets and costumes by Tony Award winner Richard Hudson (The Lion King) won rave reviews at its debut last season in Brooklyn. Here, the company will perform with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, Bethesda's Norwood Middle School Choir and the National Cathedral School Choir. Tickets remain for performances on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 1:30 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 11, at 1 p.m. Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $45 to $150. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

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Gay choreographer Daniel Phoenix Singh will perform a tender male-male duet "Since You've Asked" -- featuring poetry by Leonard Cohen and music by Jacques Brel -- as part of his company Dakshina's performances at Artisphere this weekend. A Banghra Dance Party with DJs takes place in the venue's Ballroom after the performances. Tonight, Friday, Dec. 9, and Saturday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 11, at 3 p.m. Artisphere, 1101 Wilson Blvd. Arlington. Tickets are $25, except $15 for Sunday's performance. Call 703-875-1100 or visit artisphere.com.

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One of the world's most beloved ballerinas, having danced with the Kirov Theatre, the Royal Danish Ballet, the London Royal Ballet and the New York City Ballet, to name a few, Nina Ananiashvili stops at Lisner Auditorium to perform choreography by Alexei Ratmansky of the Bolshoi Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre.

Ananiashvili performs with principal dancers from the State Ballet of Georgia and musicians from the Bolshoi Orchestra in three Ratmansky ballets: Charms of Mannerism, Bizet Variations and Dreams About Japan. Various international dignitaries, including the Georgian ambassador and many Members of Congress, are scheduled to attend a post-performance reception. Sunday, Nov. 6, at 6:30 p.m. Lisner Auditorium, The George Washington University, 730 21st St. NW. Tickets are $45 to $115. Call 202-994-6800 or visit lisner.org.

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The Washington Performing Arts Society presents a Summer Steps program with young members of Step Afrika!, showcasing the traditions of stepping and other percussive dance styles. Sunday, Aug. 7, at 6 p.m. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Tickets are free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

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In collaboration with the Embassy of Peru, the National Geographic Society presents screenings today of two Peruvian films, each followed by demonstrations of the dances represented. First up is Mitchell Teplitsky's Soy Andina, which tells the story of two women who explore and affirm their Peruvian identity through dance. One of the women, Cynthia Paniagua, will offer a dance demonstration and sit for a conversation with Teplitsky after the screening. Gabriela Yepes' short film Danzak follows, telling the story of Nina, a young Peruvian girl whose father, a master of the traditional Andean Scissors Dance, is dying of a respiratory ailment. A live demonstration of the scissors dance follows. Sunday, July 17, at 1 p.m. for Soy Andina and at 3:30 p.m. for Danzak. National Geographic Society's Gilbert H. Grosvenor Auditorium, 1600 M St. NW. Tickets are $10 each screening. Call 202-857-7700 or visit nglive.org.

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