Don’t expect tutus or familiar story ballet music, but do expect energetic action and highly trained ballet dancers, when Kenneth Walker Dance Project and its contemporary ballet dancers take the stage. As a choreographer, Walker is known for drawing on atypical scores ballet, here turning to music from North Africa for his latest, In Her Footsteps. Invited guest company Jose Costas’ Contempo Ballet reflect a Caribbean sensibility fueled by Costas’ Puerto Rican heritage. Among SoCal’s growing ranks of contemporary ballet companies, the 10-year-old KWDP is notable for giving dancers from the company’s South Bay home base an alternative to leaving to dance elsewhere. 

Cal State University Long Beach, Martha P. Knoebel Dance Theatre, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach; Sat., Aug. 3, 7:30 p.m. & Sun., Aug. 4, 2:30 p.m.; $17-$18. artful.ly/kenneth-walker-dance-project/store/events/18102. 

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.