GOINGS ON SANTA BARBARA : Light Moves : Choreography and illumination share center stage in a new work by Santa Barbara Dance Theatre.

In the world of performing arts, lights rarely get equal billing with action.

That’s not the case, however, with Santa Barbara Dance Theatre’s new dance number “Quartet,” which makes its debut tonight in the company’s “Dance to the Light” show at UC Santa Barbara’s Main Theatre.

From the very beginning, choreographer Alice Condodin and lighting designer L. K. Strasburg worked together so that the two elements would share the spotlight.

“Quartet,” appropriately, features four dancers, each with a story to tell. “But you’re not allowed to see the whole story,” artistic director Jerry Pearson said. “You see through the windows of parts of their lives the same way that light defines space.”

The rest of the modern dance program will include four dances choreographed by Pearson (“In Our Own Image,” “Necessary Losses,” “Vernacular Rhythms” and “Maze of Grace”) and one piece, “In the Ellasphere,” choreographed by visiting UCSB lecturer Christopher Pilafian. The latter piece is a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.

The concert will run through Saturday, with shows beginning at 8 p.m. General admission is $10. Call 893-3535.

This trio of concerts will wrap up the company’s season, but it won’t be the end of company’s workload. Beginning Feb. 3, the group will spend 12 days visiting 21 Santa Barbara County schools, giving a dance lecture-demonstration called “The Motion That Moves You.”

“They will talk about different elements of dance, concepts of dance, different choreography with dance,” tour coordinator Jesus Colmenero said. The program will include modern dance, contemporary dance and funk-type dancing, he said.

The tour is being sponsored by the Lobero Theatre, with financial assistance from various foundations. Colmenero said this is the first phase of what organizers see as a much bigger dance education project.

“Ultimately, we’d like to promote the Lobero and the Santa Barbara Dance Theatre for more support for local artists and local dance companies,” he said. “We have a lot of dance companies coming here from the outside, but it’s important to show that we have dance companies in the community.”

UC Santa Barbara will kick off its “Shakespeare on Film” series tonight with the 1935 production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The film stars James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland (in her film debut), Dick Powell, Joe E. Brown, Ian Hunter and Mickey Rooney. Cinematographer Hal Mohr won an Academy Award for his work on the movie.

The remainder of the series: Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 version of “Romeo and Juliet”; “Richard III” (1955), produced by, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier; the 1989 production of “Henry V,” directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh; “Julius Caesar” (1953), starring Marlon Brando; “Hamlet” (1990), with Mel Gibson in the title role; “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead,” Tom Stoppard’s 1990 adaptation of his play about two incidental characters in “Hamlet”; “Macbeth” (1971), directed by Roman Polanski, and the 1985 movie “Ran,” director Akira Kurosawa’s adaptation of “King Lear.”

General admission to tonight’s film (and each of the others) is $5. A series pass is $20. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will begin at 8 p.m. in Campbell Hall. For information, call 893-3535.

Also at UCSB: Three experts on the history of African-American dance will lead a two-part symposium Wednesday at Campbell Hall. The title: “The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance.”

This program is part of an educational tour of the American Dance Festival. Through video, slides, music and live demonstration, the program will take a look at African-American dancers and choreographers’ contributions to modern dance.

The panelists will be ADF Director Gerald E. Myers; Joe Nash, coordinator of black dance history at the Alvin Ailey American Center in New York City, and Halifu Osumare, a member of the Stanford University dance faculty and coordinator of Stanford’s Committee on Black Performing Arts.

Part 1 (4 to 5 p.m.) will highlight the dance contributions made by Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus, and other milestones of the 1930s and 1940s. Part 2 (7:30 to 9 p.m.) will focus on 1950s and 1960s dancer-choreographers Talley Beatty, Donald McKayle, Eleo Pomare and Alvin Ailey. There is no charge for either session. For information, call 893-3535.

Flutist Angela Weingand will be the guest soloist when the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra presents its third program of the season with concerts Sunday and Tuesday at the Lobero Theatre. The program will include Bach’s “Suite No. 2 in B,” Stravinsky’s “Flute Concerto in D” and Dvorak’s “Serenade for Strings.” Sunday’s concert will begin at 4 p.m., Tuesday’s at 8 p.m. The theater is at 33 E. Canon Perdido. General admission is $15 to $20. Call 963-0761.