Editor’s choice

Giselle returns

As they like to joke in the dance world, this is a show that will give you the Wilis. That is, after all, the term for the ghostly tutu’d figures so maniacally bent on revenge in the iconic classical ballet. We don’t often get a chance to see the en-pointe masterpiece in Vancouver, but Coastal City Ballet is ready to stage it for the first time in 10 years. This time out, it’s a Canadian premiere choreographed by Irene Schneider, but expect all the balletic romanticism that you might have found at its Paris debut in 1841. If you loved Swan Lake, you’ll get sucked right into this story of a young peasant girl who dies—oh so dramatically—of a broken heart, only to join the Wilis.

Coastal City Ballet presents Giselle on Friday (May 19) at the Vancouver Playhouse and June 9 at the Surrey Arts Centre.

High five

Five events you just can’t miss this week

Between Worlds: The Moth in Vancouver

Unmissable, riveting storytelling from the famed collective.
May 20 at the Vogue Theatre

Transfigured Light

A spellbinding journey through death and rebirth with the Arkora Ensemble.
May 18 at Mountainview Cemetery Celebration Hall

Fred Armisen

He isn’t just twistedly hilarious; the Portlandia star and Late Night With Seth Meyers bandleader is insanely multitalented.
May 20 at the Commodore Ballroom

Traces of Words

Spanning graffiti to video, it’s shaping up to be one of the year’s best exhibits.
To October 9 at the UBC Museum of Anthropology

Expressions Theatre Festival

Arts Umbrella’s aspiring thesps take on teen anxiety and the pee-rfect Urinetown: The Musical.
May 18 to 27 at the Waterfront Theatre