Durham
Beyond Beauty: Photographs from the Duke University Special Collections Library

Nasher Museum of ArtWith the recent proliferation of cameras on iPhones and BlackBerrys, everyone’s a shutterbug. But how many of these photographs will be preserved for posterity? Older generations of photographers had to work a bit harder, as we learn in Beyond Beauty, a show curated by Duke’s Sarah Schroth that features the approximately 100 “greatest hits” of Duke’s photography collection. It traces the history of photography from its birth in the 1870s to today’s myriad ways of capturing an image. Notable photographers represented include Alfred Stieglitz (perhaps better known as Mr. Georgia O’Keeffe); Civil War and Abraham Lincoln portraitist Mathew Brady; and Julia Margaret Cameron, known for her portraits of leading Victorian artists and intellectuals such as Alfred Lord Tennyson and Charles Darwin. Spanning the history of the form, the exhibit highlights photos taken in Southern states, as well as in South Africa (a specialty of the Archive of Documentary Art). Those interested in how the photographs were produced will be able to see the evolution of the process, from the earliest daguerreotype to the recent advances in digital printing. The exhibit opens today and runs through Oct. 18. For more information, visit nasher.duke.edu. Sarah Ewald

Durham
Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

Durham Performing Arts CenterThe American Dance Festival pirouettes onward with the arrival of the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. Encompassing twin schools in Aspen and Santa Fe (no surprise there), the company has become well-known for straddling the worlds of both classical and modern dance, to much critical success. They bring pieces by a variety of choreographers for their ADF showcase. Sue’s Leg, an early work by Twyla Tharp, the Tony-winning choreographer and director behind the 2002 Broadway hit Movin’ Out, is being revived. Next up is Laura Dean’s Night, a piece that juxtaposes the fluidity of classical ballet steps with rigid geometric shapes. William Forsythe then takes over with Slingerland Pas de Deux, a specially developed original work from the company’s repertoire set against a Western backdrop. Rounding out the program is Jorma Elo’s Red Sweet, which deals primarily with abstraction and repetition. Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is in town tonight through July 4. For more information, visit www.americandancefestival.org. Sarah Ewald