PORTLAND — Portland Ovations will bring the Joffrey Ballet to Merrill Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 21 with its premiere of one of the greatest works of the 20th century, Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring.”

Originally written as an orchestral score for dance, Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” was premiered by Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky on May 29, 1913. Controversial in its time, history now sees it as a work that changed classical dance and music forms, as well as how audiences hear and see.

Partnering with Movies at The Museum at the Portland Museum of Art, Ovations offers a “Rite of Spring” mini film series featuring the films “Igor and Coco” at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 15 and “Pina” at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, March 16 and 17.

Doors open one hour prior to the performance on March 21 inside the Rehearsal Hall at Merrill Auditorium for a pre-performance lecture about the reconstruction process that resulted in the historic Joffrey presentation of the “Rite of Spring.”

Tickets for The Joffrey Ballet range from $41 to $54 for Ovations’ members and $45 to $60 for the general public. To purchase tickets, visit www.portlandovations.org, contact PortTIX at 207-842-0800 or stop by the box office window at Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle Street.