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As a teenage breakdancer, Victor Quijada's gestures were so supple and elastic he acquired the nickname Rubberband. And although Quijada later learned the ways of classical, contemporary and postmodern movement, he never lost his love of the loose-limbed body. With his company Rubberbandance, Quijada choreographs works that roll his various movement vocabularies into a pliant style with a distinctly urban attitude. The troupe presents a full-length tragicomic piece, Punto Ciego (Spanish for blind spot), which reflects upon the nature of relationships and perceptions of reality in a multimedia world.

—Deni Kasrel

Thu., Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m.; Fri., Nov. 7, 8 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 8, 2 and 8 p.m.; $32-$48, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St., 215-898-3900, pennpresents.org.

Way before TV's The Tudors and the movie The Other Boleyn Girl, there was Gaetano Donizetti's 1830 opera about Henry VIII's hapless — then headless — second queen. Since Maria Callas reclaimed it from oblivion in 1957, Anna Bolena has steadily claimed its stature as a genuine bel canto masterpiece, an ambitious drama if not the last word in historical accuracy (awesome pre-scaffold mad scene, of course). AVA's alternate casts feature Angela Meade — who made a fast-tracked Met Opera debut last year — and Jan Cornelius as Anne, with Ben Wager and Ryan Kuster as incorrigible player Henry.

—David Shengold

Nov. 8-22, various dates and times sold out; call 215-735-1685 or visit avaopera.org for more information.

Remember, as a kid, how much fun it was to pile up blocks, higher and higher, till they all came tumbling down? Photographer Andrea Baldeck never lost her love of playing around — her fascination with precariously positioned objects forms the basis of her exhibit "Balancing Act." Working in her familiar black-and-white format and using household crockery, Baldeck investigates concepts relating to shadow and light, stasis and tension. Her striking images appear to push things to limits, or as she says, it's "a bit like the Mad Hatter's tea party."

—Deni Kasrel

Nov. 8-Dec. 4, Sande Webster Gallery, 2006 Walnut St., 215-636-9003, sandewebstergallery.com.

It's hard not to expect weighty fare from university theater programs, but Villanova — fresh off Eugene O'Neill's oh-so-heavy Long Day's Journey Into Night — counters with the buoyant Le Dindon (An Absolute Turkey), a seldom-seen farce from the recognized master of slamming doors, mistaken identities and naughty innuendo, Georges Feydeau (1862-1921). Director Harriet Power sets Le Dindon in the fabulous elegance of 1930s Hollywood, which should add to the adulterous fun.

—Mark Cofta

Nov. 11-23, $7-$24, Vasey Theatre, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Ave., Villanova, 610-519-7474, theatre.villanova.edu.

Local dance fans get a double-whammy of innovative performance by way of Montreal-based companies this week. The Annenberg Center presents Rubberbandance, while at the Kimmel Center there's La La La Human Steps, a cutting-edge ensemble that upends concepts of classical ballet. For its Philadelphia première, La La La stages Amjad, which deconstructs both the movement and music of Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. This visually arresting troupe is known for intriguing moves; keep your eyes peeled for the barrel jump, a cool acrobatic aerial pirouette.

—Deni Kasrel

Thu.-Sat., Nov. 6-8, 7:30 p.m., $34-$44, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org.