Dance enthusiasts have several treats in store starting Thursday, with special dance performances, a workshop and a dance-centered community discussion.

Martha Connerton’s Kinetic Works: “The Seasons Ballet”

Martha Connerton’s Kinetic Works promises “candy for the senses” in her multimedia staging of Alexandre Glazounov’s ballet, “The Seasons.”

Blending dance, art and science, the work promises “frosty snow and hailstorms, waltzing flower gardens, scarecrows and galloping wind horses,” along with guest dancers from New York and 14 dancers ages 7-13 in this performance, which Connerton says is designed to “blow off the winter blues.”

Brown bags are encouraged at the matinee performances.

Details: Jan. 24, 6 p.m. (open dress rehearsal), Jan 25, 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. Halton Theater, Central Piedmont Community College. $5 seniors/students, $8 dress rehearsal, $10 matinee.

No tickets sold at the box office. Tickets must be purchased at: www.mckineticworks.org.

NC Dance Festival

The 22nd annual NC Dance Festival is the showcase event of Dance Project Inc., the nonprofit organization that operates a professional dance school and dance company based in Greensboro. The festival tours five cities: Charlotte, Raleigh, Boone, Wilmington and Greensboro. Charlotte’s stop features nine performances in two days and is hosted by UNCC.

Friday performances include: Code f.a.d. Company (Raleigh), Gaspard & Dancers (Durham), Van Dyke Dance Group (Greensboro), Gary Taylor and the Winston-Salem Festival Ballet (Winston-Salem).

On Saturday look for: John Gamble Dance Theater (Greensboro), E.E. Balcos/E.E. MOTION (Charlotte), The Kearns Dance Project (Burlington), and Carol Finley (Raleigh).

Details: Jan. 25-26, 7:30 p.m., Robinson Hall, UNCC. $6-$14. unccboxoffice.universitytickets.com, 704-687-1849.

Urban Bush Women

UNCC’s Department of Dance is hosting a weeklong residency with Urban Bush Women, members of the African Diaspora community whose mission is to create dance and community.

Choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar founded the group in 1984 to bring untold stories of disenfranchised people to light through dance.

Two free events will be held.

The “Dance for Everybody” Workshop is a 90-minute movement class that reinforces the notion of each individual having a unique and powerful contribution to make. Participants explore UBW’s technique with close attention to the use of breath, weight, call and response, and polyrhythm.

Details: Urban Bush Women “Dance for Everybody” Workshop, Feb. 2, 12:30 p.m., The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Art + Culture. Free. Register at www.ganttcenter.org.

In “A Conversation with Jawole Willa Jo Zollar,” Zollar will share perspectives on art as a tool for liberation and UBW’s approach to the social change agenda in schools and communities. There will be a movement demonstration and a question-and-answer portion. The session will be facilitated by Dr. Takiyah Nur Amin, Assistant Professor of World Dance at UNCC.

Details: “A Conversation with Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.” Feb. 2, 7:30 p.m., UNC Charlotte Center City Building, 320 E. Ninth St. Free. www.dance.uncc.edu.