dance

When David Orr recognized how especially turbulent the past few years had felt, he set out to create a respite.

The arts in Massachusetts have taken on a new role from culture creator to healthcare solution. In June, Art Pharmacy and Mass Cultural Council, along with Mass General Brigham, announced the launch of the first statewide arts prescription in the nation.

Through its ParkARTS program, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department enlivens pockets of green space across the city, bringing arts workshops, concerts, movies and puppet shows to city-run parks year-round, with a more concentrated calendar in the summer months, all free of charge.

The Mission Hill Arts Festival returns for its fourth year with seven performances this summer by diverse musical and multimedia artists centered on the theme “Elements of Earth: An Uncommon View.”

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Boston this week as part of the Celebrity Series of Boston, the nonprofit presenting performing arts and artists in venues across the Greater Boston area.

On a recent evening, the jolting sounds of string instruments filled a room that was half dance studio, half gym. A quartet stood in the center of a mat-covered section of the space, each member stationed behind a music stand. Three dancers circled the ensemble, cycling through a series of turns and leaps and kicks.

On a recent Monday afternoon, Andrea Herbert Major was in full director mode at the Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts. Wearing an all-black ensemble with pink pointe shoes to match her Barbie-pink nails, she sat in a wood-floored studio fine-tuning a series of dance routines.

Last year, “Show Out Boston!” a vibrant youth arts community engagement program, was an all-out success. This year, community members can look forward to another free installment of the showcase on Feb. 1 at Hibernian Hall in the heart of Roxbury.

Boston-based dance company Subject:Matter conjures works that explore the past, present and future of tap. Its interplay of heritage and innovation was on thrilling display at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston on Oct.20 and 21.

This 2023-24 school year, libraries across the country are a few books short. An increasing number of states have enforced policies banning books that deal with race, history and gender identity. These bans are the inspiration for Abilities Dance Boston’s original piece, “The Banned Ballet.”

The Brazilian contemporary dance company Grupo Corpo crafts compositions specific to Brazilian history, culture and spirituality. This month, the group returns to Boston for the first time since 2018 to perform two Boston premieres.

Boston Ballet company dancer My’Kal Stromile has an impressive stage history. He’s received The Juilliard School’s Choreographic Honors three years in a row, won the Hector Zaraspe Prize for choreography in 2018 and has been executing immaculate work with the Boston Ballet for five years. This fall, Stromile will debut his first mainstage choreographed piece, “Form and Gesture.”