Denver Dance Festival ’09 to mix things up
Today-Sunday. Hip-hop/jazz dance. You wouldn’t know it from the generic-sounding name, but Denver Dance Festival 2009 could be the freshest, most diverse dance offering of the year. Spearheaded by Denver hip-hop and break-dance boosters Motion Underground, the event features hip-hop, jazz and modern companies that have supplied dancers for “So You Think You Can Dance,” “America’s Best Dance Crew” and other shows. Includes Mad Monkey Project, Schiff Dance Collective, BreakEFX, True to Form, RockStarz and others. Today-Sunday at the New Denver Civic Theatre, 721 Santa Fe Drive. $15, all ages. 7 p.m. today-Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday. 303-309-3773 or . John Wenzel
St. Pat’s Day is on parade
Saturday. Big holiday parade. LoDo will be filled with green goodwill for the 47th annual Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade. More than 10,000 marchers will take to the streets, led by the parade’s grand marshal, Denver City Auditor Dennis Gallagher. This year’s theme is “Irish With Altitude” — as always, there will be lots of floats, clowns and, of course, pipe bands and step dancers. 10 a.m. Saturday. The parade starts at Blake and 27th streets, continues down Blake to 17th Street, then heads to Coors Field via Wynkoop Street.
Classical music
Two weekends. Celtic music and dance. Let it be said that the Denver Brass knows how to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. For one of its most ambitious programs of the year, “Brass, Bagpipes & Co.,” the 12-member brass ensemble joins forces with an array of guest performers. More than just a concert, the Celtic extravaganza involves the Pipes and Drums of Celtic Colorado, Rocky Mountain Highland Dancers and Wick School of Irish Dance. Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. March 20 and 2:30 p.m. March 22 in the University of Denver’s Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2344 E. Iliff Ave. $22-$43. 303-832-4676 or . Kyle MacMillan
Wednesday. New Music. In 1968, pioneering minimalist composer Steve Reich conceived “Pendulum Music” — a kind of audio sculpture — during a visit to the University of Colorado at Boulder. To mark the 40th anniversary of its premiere a year later, CU’s coincidentally named Pendulum New Music series will showcase the work during a concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the ATLAS Blackbox Theater, 1125 18th St., on the CU-Boulder campus. Also on the program are new works by CU composers Hunter Ewen, Ryan Wurst, Paul Hembree and Nathan Wheeler. Free. 303-492-8008 or cu-pendulum.com. Kyle MacMillan
Friday and Saturday. Baroque music. For 28 years, the Boulder Bach Festival has celebrated the enduring genius of its namesake. This year’s edition, which continues with concerts at 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday at the First United Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce St., Boulder, explores the composer’s relationship with the liturgy of the Mass. The two programs will include the Lutheran Mass No. 1 in F major and Lutheran Mass No. 2 in A major, respectively. Krista Bennion Feeney, concertmaster of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra in New York City, will serve as guest concertmaster. $28 in advance, $35 at the door. 303-444-7328 or . Kyle MacMillan
Theater
Ongoing. Burlesque. For the first time since the 1930s, a dedicated burlesque theater is opening in Denver. Reyna Von Vett presents “Leadville or Bust” early evenings at the New Denver Civic’s cabaret theater, before turning things over (most nights) to Burlesque As It Was, the iconic company established in Denver a decade ago by Vivienne VaVoom (Michelle Baldwin). “Leadville” is a playful revue of genuine 1880s burlesque tunes like “Ragtime Cowboy Joe,” “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” and “Seeing Denver.” The night of double-entendre and can-can dancing is hosted by “Cora Vette,” who takes us back to a time when sex and scandal were all about corsets, tights and bawdy songs. The all-new late-night show, “The Black Box Burlesque,” taps into the 1930-60 classic era of burlesque, when the art form was much more tease than strip. The show features classic samples of the fan dance, screen dance and the balloon-pop number. It promises to be a sparkling extravaganza. “Leadville” plays 7 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays; “Burlesque” plays at 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays only through May 31 at 721 Santa Fe Drive. $15-$25 each (discount for both). 303-309-3773, King Soopers stores, . or . or . John Moore
Film
Ongoing. Fantasy parable. Fresh from a premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Denver- based writer-director Jamin Winans screens his sophomore feature for hometown audiences. A fantasy-rich tale about grief and redemption, “Ink” follows an otherworldly mercenary named Ink as he abducts young Emma from her slumbers, dragging her into a dreamscape. Forces good and ill vie for the soul of the 8-year- old, as well as that of her distracted, angry father. Go to “Ink” to support the work of local filmmakers. Stay to familiarize yourself with a young writer-director who continues to challenge himself and sharpen his idiosyncratic visions. Begins a two-week run tonight, the Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli, Ninth Street at Auraria Parkway. $6-$9.50 303-820-FILM. denver . Lisa Kennedy
Visual art
Today. Painting. The Plus Gallery will unveil its new location at 2501 Larimer St. with a public reception from 6 to 9 p.m. today. The two-story space consists of an addition attached to a renovated portion of the historic Benjamin Moore paint factory complex. On view will be geometric abstraction by Karen McClanahan, who has shown at the gallery for much of its 8-year history. Her show, “Everything Has Its Place,” will run through April 18. Free. 303-296-0927 or plusgallery . Kyle MacMillan
Friday. Painting.Rex Ray draws on a host of influences, including pattern and textile design, to create his opulent, flowing abstractions. The German-born artist, a former longtime resident of Colorado Springs, will be showcased in two overlapping exhibitions opening this week. The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, 1485 Delgany St., is displaying a 9-by-25- foot painting through Jan. 31. A public reception is set for 6 to 10 p.m. today. $10, $5 seniors and students. 303-298-7554 or . Gallery T, 878-2 Santa Fe Drive, is presenting a selection of other works by the artist in a show opening today and running through May 2. Free. 303-893-0960 or . Kyle MacMillan
Family fun
Thursday. Puppet show. The Denver Puppet Theater presents another classic for its latest show: “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” running through May 17. For those who need a refresher, it’s the tale of an exceedingly vain monarch and his quest for the finest clothes. A couple of swindlers convince him that their clothes are the best, and only worthy people can see them. The clothes, of course, don’t exist. But because of his lust for fashion, and his friends’ fear of seeming unworthy, the king ends up in a parade — in invisible “clothes.” 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The theater is closed April 6-14. Denver Puppet Theater, 3156 W. 38th Ave.; 303-458-6446. Tickets are $6.
Comedy
Saturday. Classic comedy. It’s taken a long time — 40 years, to be exact — but the Smothers Brothers have lately gotten their due as the fearless entertainers they were in the late 1960s. Fired from their groundbreaking CBS variety show for their liberal views on Vietnam, Nixon and other topics, the brothers have been vindicated in recent documentaries and, this fall, the new book “Dangerously Funny.” Tommy and Dick will bring the gentler side of their comedy-music stylings to Boettcher Concert Hall on Saturday, with locals Dotsero. 7:30 p.m. 1000 14th St. $15-$73. 303-623-7876 or . John Wenzel
