This Week in Tiny Dancers

This weekend, beginning ballerinas will pass on the torch to the wee ones with Ballet for Children at the Laguna Beach Festival Forum Theater. Ballet Pacifica Academy students ages 14 to 18, en pointe and otherwise, will dance roles such as the Iguana in Charles Maple's rendition of the traditional African tale "Why Do Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears" and channel skeletons and cookie bakers (with two giant cookies boogieing in the background) for "The Monster Boogie and Other Dances (A Halloween Dream)," choreographed by Lorin Johnson. Designed for children ages four- to 12-years-old and set to the music of James Peterson and Laurie Berkner, "the ballets tend to be really silly" Johnson says -- but jungle misunderstandings and spooky Halloween favorites should give parents a much-needed break before the impending Oct. 31 sugar high.

Ballet for Children Series at the Festival Forum Theatre, 650 Laguna Canyon Rd., Laguna Beach, (949) 851-9930, ext. 104. Sat., 11 a.m., 1 & 3 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m., noon, 2 & 4 p.m. $12-$15.