As avid collectors of figurative paintings, Steven Bennett and Dr. Elaine Schmidt wanted to learn more about the artists they were collecting.

The Gilmore Keyboard Festival’s Rising Stars series continued on Sunday evening with a stellar performance by Zhang Zuo, also known as “Zee Zee,” at the Wellspring Theater in Kalamazoo. Rising Stars seeks to offer a chance to see promising performers before their international breakthroughs, and if the audience learned anything from Zuo’s performance, it’s that she’s definitely one to keep an eye on.

With house lights up, white feathers float, twirl, glide, dive, and crash onto the black floor during the intermission. So begins the invitation into the hypnotic movement of Grand Rapids Ballet’s “Extremely Close,” the titular and closing piece of their current production, an elegant mixed bill of classical and contemporary dramatic ballet that draws inspiration from literature, Americana and inventive forms.

The term “gaslighting” has gotten a lot of play lately, with regard to personal relationships as well as the behavior of public figures. It’s used to describe a form of psychological manipulation or abuse in which a narcissist or sociopath plants seeds of doubt to destabilize the victim, causing them to question themselves, perhaps even their sanity.