Spoleto Festival USA. (Summer Calendar of Performances).

Now celebrating its twenty-seventh year, the Spoleto Festival USA was founded in 1977 as the American counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds) in Spoleto, Italy. Spoleto spotlights classical and contemporary dance performed by professional companies from around the world. The National Ballet of Canada heads south for the summer to make its Spoleto Festival debut with Matjash Mrozewski's A Delicate Battle, Balanchine's Apollo, and James Kudelka's The Four Seasons. They'll be joined by Shen Wei Dance Arts dancing Folding and its version of The Rite of Spring (Part 1): the flamenco companies of Maria Pages and Farruquito; and Israeli choreographer Yasmeen Godder, who presents the evening-length work Hall, meant to evoke the history of an abandoned dance hall. Festival performances are held May 23-June 8 in various venues throughout Charleston, South Carolina. Call 843.579.3100 for tickets, or see www.spoletousa.org for more information.