Join the circus

Skateboarding. Dance. Basketball. All involve intense physical movement and, as executed by the performers of Traces, all represent a way of trying to answer the question: “If the world ended tomorrow, what traces would you leave behind?”

The Montreal-based troupe 7 Fingers (or Les 7 Doigts de la Main), acclaimed for its blend of theater and dance, attempts to answer that query in Traces. This energetic show takes the Cirque du Soleil model—think almost surrealistic high-flying acrobatics—and places its principals on skateboards. With the action set in an abandoned warehouse in a world that seems set on the edge of the apocalypse, the story here is told through a group of young urban friends who, hunkered down in their grim shelter, design ways to leave their mark on whatever is left of society. The result, which Time magazine declared as one of 2011's top 10 plays or musicals, is a breathtaking show that's at once hyperactive and athletic yet also supremely graceful. During the course of the show's 90 minutes, the performers flip and leap, twirl and twist—all without seemingly breaking a sweat.

The 7 Fingers troupe performs Traces on Monday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m.; and Tuesday, March 26, at 3 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $24.65-$59. Three Stages at Folsom Lake College, 10 College Parkway in Folsom; (916) 608-6888; www.threestages.net.