One Very Busy Weekend (After Another)

The Center for the Arts at Wesleyan presents the Montreal-based ensemble RubberBanDance Group (2 members pictured above) Friday and Saturday (4/24 & 25) at 8 p.m. in the CFA Theatre. Led by co-Artistic Directors Anne Piamondon and Victor Quijada (also choreographer and breakdancer, RBDG will perform "Punto Ciego." They describe the piece for 6 dancers thusly: "This work is the continuing development of a vocabulary that intermixes contemporary dance with the techniques and textures of various street dance forms. Refined over the last decade, this movement style coils tight and strong in the solar plexus, as arms and legs move freely through space. The three-dimensional surfaces of the body push and carve through the space - taking the body out of the upright position and into horizontal and inverted planes." To find out more about this ground-breaking troupe, go to www.rubberbandance.com/. For tickets, call the Box Office at 685-3355 or online at www.wesleyan.edu/cfa.

The Buttonwood Tree has a slew of events each day this weekend. Friday night, the performance welcomes back the Fran Curley Group for an evening of jazz improvisations. Joining the fine drummer and Waterbury native for the 7:30 p.m. show is Dave Christopolis (bass), Ted Murray (saxophone) and Ben Kohn (piano.) To find out more about the group, go to www.francurleyjazz.com/.

Saturday (4/25), The Buttonwood and the Riverwood Poetry Series presents "TEACHER'S POeT" at 5:30 p.m., a late afternoon and evening of poetry featuring several fine student poets and the teachers that have inspired them. Scheduled to read are students Celeste Kurz, Jordan Hutensky, Brendon Anderson, and Shacoya Harts along with teachers Elizabeth Thomas, Kathryn Kelly, Ginny Lowe Connors and Rafael Oses. To find out more about this event and others in the Riverwood Poetry series, go to www.riverwoodpoetry.org/.

Elizabeth Thomas returns to The Buttonwood on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. to host the "CT National Youth Poetry Slam Team 2009 Team Practice." The talented young poets are practicing for their participation in "Brave New Voices" taking place this July 15-19 in Chicago. The 12th annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival convenes the top young poets and spoken word artists, aged 13-19, from across the United States and beyond. Brave New Voices is a one-of-a-kind festival that truly engages everyone involved; from the participants, to the adult mentors and the audience members.
Come give them support and encouragement.

At 5 p.m. on Sunday, Martin Glover will host and facilitate the "Junk Percussion Community Circle." If you wish to take part, bring a bucket, pot, pan or anything you think might sound good when you hit it (no baby brothers or sisters - only inanimate objects), bring a drumstick or suitable mallet, and a set of earplugs and listen to the joyous cacophony. For more information about this and all Buttonwood events, call 347-4957 or go to www.buttonwood.org.

This Saturday at 7 p.m., Vinnie's Jump & Jive moves its monthly "Cheek to Cheek Swing Club Dance" to Beckham Hall on the Wesleyan campus (Wyllys Avenue.) Providing the music will be the Boilermaker Jazz Band and the evening also includes an "East Coast Swing" lesson. For more information, call 347-6971, extension 3777.

The Sunday Salon Series at the Green Street Arts Center welcomes Gina Ulysse and Kerry Kincy at 2 p.m. for a program called "Telling Voices: Movement, Words and Life History." The program features Wesleyan professor and anthropologist Ulysse with Movement Teaching Artist Kincy (Green Street instructor and TA in residence at Children's Home of Cromwell and also a member of choreographer Judy Dworin's Performance Project Inc., Moving Matters!) in a conversation "about the challenges and joys using the arts to tell stories of survival that would otherwise remain untold and explore the healing power of the arts in diverse communities." For more information, call 685-7871.

There are 2 Sunday evening concerts on the Wesleyan campus. At 7 p.m. in the World Music Hall (Wyllys Avenue), the Wesleyan Chinese Music Ensemble, Guowei Wang, music director, will present "Hearing China: Chinese Music Concert", a program of classical and contemporary works. Tickets are available by calling the Box Office at 685-3355 or online at www.wesleyan.edu/cfa.

At 7:30 p.m. in Crowell Concert Hall, "Music for Piano and Cello" features Carolyn Halsted (piano) and Julie Ribchinsky (cello) performing works by Ravel, Rorem, Moeran, and more. The concert is free and open to the public.