Like many parents of children adopted from Russia, I do what I can to keep my kids connected with Russian culture. We read Russian folk tales and go to performances of groups like the Russian-American Kids’ Circus, which will be on
Long Island this weekend and in Kutztown, Pa. on Feb. 11. It is good, old-fashioned circus fun.

So I thought it would be a good idea on this blog to scan the culture listings every month for Russian music performances and art exhibits around the United States. I’ll tell you a bit about events that catch my eye, and hopefully add reviews later as I take my kids on a culture blitz. But if any of you attend any of these events and write about them on your blogs, please alert me to the links. Ditto culture promoters, if you are reading: Send me links to upcoming events.

Here's February:

In art, today and tomorrow are the last two days to catch "Visual Experiments of Russian Avant-Garde Artists 1910s-30s" at the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum on the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.

In ballet, the Moscow Festival Ballet, a company founded by a former principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, will present "Sleeping Beauty" at the Marin Center in San Rafael, Calif. on Saturday, Feb. 17.

In classical music, on Friday, Feb. 9, the Louisville Orchestra will feature the music of Dvorak, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. New York's Metropolitan Opera is doing a live high-definition broadcast of "Eugene Onegin" at several movie theaters around the country on Feb. 24.

In jazz, on Monday, Feb. 19, the Open World Russian Jazz All Stars are playing at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley in Seattle.

In musical theater, the Pushcart Players, one of my favorite kids' theater groups, will present their version of "Peter and the Wolf" in Patchogue, out on New York’s Long Island, at a Sunday, Feb. 11 matinee. We saw this play last year during New Jersey's theater week, and it is loads of fun. A different version of "Peter" is playing at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta from Feb. 7-9. Also potentially for kids: several performances of "Fiddler On The Roof" in Glendale, Calif. from Feb. 14-16.

And for those of you truly on the edge, the Russian supergroup U-Piter will take the stage at the State Theatre in Falls Church, Va. on Friday, Feb. 16. U-Piter will travel to San Francisco on the 18th. Russian pop music is an acquired taste. I haven't yet, but what the hey?