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While the production isn’t quite perfect (sometimes the children in the cast failed to articulate Michin’s lyrics clearly enough, and some of characterizations need more precision) it is still exactingly calibrated enough to make you pine for the innocence of childhood even as you cringe at its scars. There are also a few tearful moments but the musical is never mawkish. Like its pint-size heroine, “Matilda” is far too smart to be that ordinary. Contact Karen D’Souza at 408-271-3772. Read her at www.mercurynews.com/karen-dsouza, and follow her at Twitter.com/karendsouza4.

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority will hold a community meeting Feb, 19 at 11 a.m, to discuss the most recent draft of the VTA’s new service plan, which is set to launch in preparation for BART service to Santa Clara County, The meeting will be held at the Martin Luther King, Jr, Library, 150 E, San Fernando St, Maps of the VTA service changes can be found online at newtransitplan.vta.org, Next week, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose will help local kids find their groove, ballet shoe earrings 24 karat gold plate dangle from pink bead ballerina dancer dancing ballet shoes ballerina dancers eg562 During the museum’s “Kids Like to Move It Week,” in keeping with its focus on preventing childhood obesity, the museum will host classes and activities with local dance teachers, fitness instructors and sports teams—including the San Jose Sharks and Giants..

Berkeley Ballet Theater: One of the East Bay’s longest running “Nutcrackers” is a full production that makes excellent use of the school’s Children’s Division and Youth Company; Dec. 16-18; Regents’ Theater, Holy Names University, Oakland; $35; berkeleyballet.org. Moscow Ballet: The “Great Russian Nutcracker” is a lavish production featuring 40 principal Russian dancers and corps de ballet,and local supporting dancers; 4 and 8 p.m. Dec. 20; Flint Center, Cupertino; $28-$88; 800-745-3000, www.nutcracker.com.

Meklit is giving audiences a fresh musical experience, “When I play in Ethiopia, they’re ballet shoe earrings 24 karat gold plate dangle from pink bead ballerina dancer dancing ballet shoes ballerina dancers eg562 like, ‘Oh, this is American music.’ And then I play it here and they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s Ethiopian music.’ It’s really both, It’s a hyphenated music that’s about questions of immigration and culture, And when we think about where our hybridized culture is moving, what is the sound of our demographic shift? These are all questions that come up in this music, “This music comes out of where we are right now, I’m making American music, but it has elements of the world outside of America inside of it, because America is a nation of immigrants, I’m trying to reflect a reality that deserves a musical voice, a cultural voice and a cultural space.”..

Towering high on the box-shaped video screens, Beyonce was a captivating presence as she worked the big main stage as well as the long catwalk that extended partway across the field to a smaller secondary stage. Backed by a solid live band, she found great success with the country rambler “Daddy Lessons,” which sounds more like a Dolly Parton offering than a Beyonce tune, as well as a powerhouse “Drunk in Love.”. She gave the crowd too many snippets, instead of full renditions, but a few of those mashed-up medleys worked OK. Still, I would’ve preferred it if Beyonce had cut back on the number of tunes in order to play more fulfilling versions. Also, she spent too much time offstage, trusting the video segments to keep the momentum going.