Boogie Nights: three trippy dance shows and their inspirations, in pictures

Eonnagata Robert Lepage turns his genre-splicing genius to one of history’s most notorious boundary blurrers, Charles de Beaumont, an 18th-century spy, soldier and diplomat. Other­wise known as the Chevalier d’Éon, he spent half of his life as a man and the other half as a woman. The kabuki and martial arts–inspired dance-theatre show stars Lepage, French dance star Sylvie Guillem and legendary British choreographer Russell Maliphant. Nov. 18 and 19. Sony Centre.

Emergence For 28 minutes, a trembling mass of National Ballet dancers skitter, click and buzz their way across the stage, alternately seducing and scaring the exoskeletons off one another (and entomophobes everywhere). Karen Kain originally commissioned the piece in 2009 from Vancouver’s Crystal Pite for a showcase of new works by up-and-coming choreographers. The beautifully deranged creation is back as part of the National Ballet’s fall mixed program. Nov. 24 to 28. Four Seasons Centre.

Chroma Wayne McGregor is a former club kid who served as a movement director for a Harry Potter movie and was a research fellow in the experimental psychology department at Cambridge. All of which influence this piece, which was met with delirious praise at its Covent Garden premiere in 2006. Performed here by the National Ballet and set in a box of white light to the music of the White Stripes, the jagged work—about the emotions that colours evoke—features five couples in flesh‑toned skivvies. Nov. 24 to 28. Four Seasons Centre.