Twirling troupe

Mexico’s oldest and most celebrated dance company, Ballet Folklórico de México de Amelia Hernández, is set to perform at 8 p.m. Nov. 14 and 15 at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

The 54-year-old company typically presents shows with 10 to 12 dances representing different regions of Mexico and different historical periods. The company “has done exemplary work adapting folk traditions for the stage,” Mondavi Center Executive Director Don Roth said.

Butoh in the spotlight

The performance art known as butoh will get special attention at UC Davis Nov. 9 and 10, the Department of Theatre and Dance announced.

Butoh originated in Japan in the 1960s as an alternative to traditional Japanese dance forms and western modern dance.

In a news release, a Department of Theatre and Dance spokeswoman said butoh "allows the body to speak through unconscious improvised movement based on organic, natural qualities, reconnecting to that which is universal and essential."

Ushio Amagatsu, artistic director of the Japanese butoh troupe Sankai Juku, is scheduled to deliver a free, public talk from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Nov. 9 at the University Club Studio.

Members of Sankai Juku are scheduled to lead a workshop for selected theatre and dance students Nov. 9 and 10.

Sankai Juku is scheduled to perform at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on Nov. 14 and 15.

Causeway music festival

Area middle school, high school and collegiate musicians are invited to the Mondavi Center for Nov. 18's Causeway Youth Band Festival and Concert, hosted by the band programs at UC Davis and California State University, Sacramento.

Organizers said the first-time event will feature composer and guest clinician Frank Ticheli, the 59th Army Band, chamber ensembles of the Air Force Band of the Golden West, and UC Davis and CSUS faculty.

The festival is scheduled to culminate with a 7:30 p.m. concert in Mondavi Cen-ter's Jackson Hall, with tickets required. Due to perform are the UC Davis Concert Band, the Sacramento State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble and two festival bands assembled by director-nomination from the area's finest student musicians.

School band directors interested in having their students participate should contact UC Davis music professor Peter Nowlen, (530) 752-5537 or pnowlen@macnexus.org.

For the concert, Ticheli is scheduled to conduct some of his own compositions, including Abracadabra, Sun Dance, Blue Shades and Apollo Unleashed. The program also includes Chen Yi's Spring Festival, Judith Zaimont's City Rain and Alfred Reed's Alleluia! Laudamus.

Brazilian jazz shows

Bossa novas, sambas, jazz standards and more are on the program for An Evening of Brazilian Jazz with singer Luciana Souza and guitarist Romero Lubambo at the Mondavi Center. The show is scheduled at 8 p.m. Nov. 14-18 in the center's Studio Theatre, with cabaret seating.