If ventriloquism seems as passé as a 1970s sitcom, comedian Jay Johnson hopes to change your mind.

Johnson, who starred as deluded ventriloquist Chuck in the hit sitcom "Soap," comes to Raleigh's Fletcher Opera Theater in the Progress Energy Center at 8 p.m. Wednesday with "The Two and Only," his Tony-winning puppet show.

A vaudeville-style show that melds biography with ventriloquism history, "The Two and Only" features a chatty puppet menagerie that includes a singing vulture named Nethernore, an anxious snake, a monkey and a tennis ball.

The show ran for two months on Broadway and earned generally favorable reviews for its aural wizardry, poignancy and corny charm.

Tickets are $36 and $46 and are available at 834-4000 or www.ticketmaster.com.

See them shimmy

Another age-old art, belly dancing, wiggles its way to the forefront Saturday, when Raleigh's Belly Revelations presents its "Shimmy South 9" performance.

A fundraiser for the Louisburg-based nonprofit Youthville, USA, "Shimmy South" will feature folk dance scholar Aisha Ali and regional performers. Ali will also conduct workshops in Tunisian, Iranian and Egyptian folk dances. They're already sold out, but you can get on the waiting list.

If you're itching to shimmy but don't know where to start, check out Belly Revelations' instructional DVD, "Bellydance Moves & Combinations Anyone Can Do," available at www.bellyrevelations.com, or Ali's videos and recordings at www.aisha-ali.com.

"Shimmy South 9" will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Wake County Shrine Club, 6015 Lead Mine Road, Raleigh. Tickets are $16; $6 for children younger than 12, and are available through PayPal at the Belly Revelations site.

Ballet cover girl

Carolina Ballet fans who gasped at the sight of the brilliant aqua costumes in Balanchine's "Raymonda Variations" -- part of the "Balanchine Favorites" program that runs through Sunday at the Fletcher Theater in Raleigh's Progress Energy Center -- have another thrill in store.

The costumes, designed by David Heuvel (who also designed "Firebird," "Swan Lake" and "The Gardens of Giverny" in "Monet Impressions"), are serving double duty. They will re-emerge in Robert Weiss' forthcoming production of "Sleeping Beauty" in May.

And you can get a sneak peek at Lilyan Vigo's Aurora costume for the fairy tale on the cover of the next issue of Pointe magazine. Vigo is the cover girl, and the issue will have an article on the company's 10th anniversary.

Tap concerts

If you think live accompaniment is dead on the dance scene, check out Footnotes Tap Ensemble's free concerts next weekend at the Durham Arts Council's PSI Theatre at 120 Morris St.

The Triangle tappers will perform at 7:30 p.m. March 8 and 2 p.m. March 9, accompanied by a jazz trio, singers, a flutist and a banjo player. For information or reservations, go to footnotestapensemble.org or e-mail footnotestapensemble@gmail.com.

New theater troupe

Apex theater artists accustomed to trekking to nearby towns may soon have their own homegrown troupe. The Apex Arts Council will sponsor an organizational meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Apex Community Center, 53 Hunter St., for people interested in starting a theater group.

More than two dozen people attended an informational session this month, according to the Arts Council. Monday's meeting will focus on the logistics of a group and what its mission should be. Anyone interested in participating in any capacity -- from performing to set building -- is urged to attend. Go to www.apexarts.org for more information.