Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Vienna Boys Choir at Center for the Arts

prides itself on bringing to Fairfax some of the most cutting-edge contemporary dance companies performing today. This weekend, the center is not only host to the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, making its D.C. area debut on Saturday, but the performance will also feature a world premiere by one of the most gifted choreographers in today's dance world.

Founded in 2003 by Nancy Laurie, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet has garnered the attention of audiences and critics alike through its company of 16 extraordinarily talented dancers, as well as its commitment to acquiring and commissioning groundbreaking new works by emerging contemporary choreographers. 

Artistic Director Benoit-Swan Pouffer has been credited with introducing the works of numerous up-and-coming choreographers from across the globe, and the March 10 program serves as evidence of this commitment. Saturday's performance features the world premiere of “Simply Marvel” by Dutch choreographer Regina van Berkel, “Grace Engine” by Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite and “Hubbub” by Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman. 

Though the company has been performing for nine years, its appearance in "The Adjustment Bureau" starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt helped catapult it into the mainstream entertainment world. Pouffer helped train Blunt for her role as a dancer and the company appeared in several scenes in the movie, which were shot in Cedar Lake's studio and performance space in the Chelsea Gallery District in Manhattan. 

In a press release announcing his company’s role in the film, Pouffer said, “My goal was to help an actress who never had danced professionally become a believable member of Cedar Lake, and further to create a solo, duet and ensemble piece for the film in the Cedar Lake aesthetic. Emily is a hard working and an extremely talented actress who was fully open to the challenge. Together we learned that she could use her body to communicate in ways she hadn't explored, and at the same time I learned how an actor could turn emotions into movement.”

The Center for the Arts also brings back an "old" favorite to Fairfax this weekend. The Vienna Boys Choir may have been in existence for more than 500 years, but its talented singers are all quite young, between the ages of 10 and 14.

Founded in 1498, this gifted choir has collaborated with many of Europe's leading composers from Biber to Mozart to Bruckner; Franz Schubert himself was even a chorister.

The ensemble exclusively sang at imperial court, mass, private concerts and state functions until the breakdown of the Habsburg Empire in 1918, when it became a private institution and began giving concerts outside the chapel to pay for the boys' upkeep. It has since become an international phenomenon, performing approximately 300 concerts around the world each year.

This enchanting ensemble has charmed audiences at the Center with its beautiful holiday concerts in past seasons. On March 11 at 8 p.m., these angelic voices bring a delightful performance that encompasses Austrian folk songs and waltzes, classical masterpieces, pop songs and medieval chant. 

The program will include a diverse collection of works from composers from the past and present, including “O Fortuna” from Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana”; Brahms’ 13th Psalm; Strauss’ “Tausend und eine Nacht” (Arabian Nights); Ennio Morricone’s “Nella Fantasia” (In My Fantasy) from the 1986 film, “The Mission”; and a medley of songs from the 1992 film, “Sister Act.” Italian conductor Manolo Cagnin will serve as choirmaster for this performance. 

If you can't make it out to the Center for the Arts this weekend, there are a number of exciting performances coming up:

• The Virginia Opera brings Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Mikado" on Friday, March 23 and Sunday, March 25;

• Pianist Christopher O'Riley and cellist Matt Haimovitz bring a genre-bending performance called "Shuffle.Play.Listen" on Saturday, March 24;

• Tony Award-winning ensemble The Acting Company brings Shakespeare's great tragedy, "Julius Caesar," on Sunday, April 1. 

The College of Visual and Performing Arts at Mason also present a number of fantastic performances in the coming weeks:

• The University Singers & Women's Chorale appear at Providence Presbyterian Church on Sunday, March 25;

• Theater at Mason brings Bertolt Brecht's "The Life of Galileo" to Harris Theater on Mason's Fairfax Campus on March 29 through April 7;

• The Mason Dance Company brings its annual 2012 Gala Concert on March 30 and 31. 

For more information or for tickets, please call 888-945-2468, see cfa.gmu.edu or visit the Center for the Arts box office, open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.