4/8-4/11 “When you watch anything in performing arts,” explains Ballet Arizona’s artistic director Ib Andersen, “or you go and see a painting, it’s all about you as an individual.” His baritone voice reaches an even lower pitch as he lingers on the last “you.” Andersen can describe the abstract sets…
4/3-4/4 The Valley’s first public skatepark needs some love — and not from the loyal skateboarders who’ve grinded the edges off the steel coping for seven years. Desert West Skateboard Plaza needs some TLC from the City of Phoenix, says one of the park’s founders, Laura Martin, who — through…
3/12-3/13 It took Joye Sass four months to write her play. But she’s spent half her life coping with the rape that inspired Demons, written and directed by Sass, which opens at the Paper Heart Gallery on Friday, March 12. Sass, 37, wrote Demons four years ago. “But I wasn’t…
Quick . . . which East Valley city was the leading manufacturer of ostrich-related products during the first quarter of the 20th century? If you answered Chandler, you’re correct. (You may also be one of those trivia geeks no one likes to stand next to at a party.) Dedicated to…
3/12-3/14 Here’s a thought for all you conscientious drivers out there: If you need a parachute to stop your car, you may be exceeding socially acceptable speed limits. Try telling that to a drag racer, a thrill seeker who, on the danger scale, makes Indy and Formula One racers look…
Thu 3/11 Nearly a decade before San Francisco’s mayor incited a bold uprising of gay marriage supporters, Sandi DuBowski, a soft-spoken director from Brooklyn, was flirting with the idea of making a film. Jewish and gay, DuBowski is no stranger to discrimination. Indeed, his life would make for a riveting…
Many a grown man has been moved to poetry by the beginning of a new baseball season, but, as equipment managers pull monogrammed bats from a winter’s slumber and millionaire athletes trade in mink coats and diamonds for hats and gloves, more than a few fans might ask: “When exactly…
Sun 2/29 Face it — the invite to Sunday’s 76th Academy Awards wasn’t lost in the mail. So instead of spending a king’s ransom on Vera Wang couture or an Armani tux in hopes of sneaking in, better go with Plan B. The Oscar Night America Gala at the Ritz-Carlton…
3/1-3/7 Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick — the oldest American man ever to finish among the top four men’s tennis players in the world, and the youngest American man ever to finish number one — are coming to volley in the Valley this week. But forget about Andre versus Andy…
Seeing as how we don’t have children, we feel infinitely qualified to tell parents everywhere how to indulge theirs in a little something called “culture.” Far from suggesting near-impossible tasks such as getting them to read more and watch TV less, our suggestion comes in the form of music culled…
On a Saturday sometime in the mid-’90s, the lives we were living — and the lunches we had just eaten — were erased forever. We were introduced to a couple of guys named Spike and Mike and the wonders of animation gone bad. Some days are a revelation, and any…
ONGOING One often hears “it’s tradition” used as an explanation for why things are done a certain way. Sometimes, however, tradition is not an end in itself, but a means to another goal. Such is the attitude at Aikido of Scottsdale. A Japanese martial art that redirects the force and…
Fri 1/30 In a single-minded pursuit, The Dating Venture spreads the love at a Singles Expo/Extravaganza set for Friday, January 30. Singles, swinging and otherwise, are invited to enjoy an evening of comedy, music and dancing while checking out the merchandise (“romance products,” that is) and soliciting the services of…
1/9-1/25 Stuart Little — everyone’s favorite mouse, adventurer and exceptionally good guy — has taken to the boards, hoofing and singing in the musical adaptation of E.B. White’s beloved book. Just like in the book, Stuart dodges the malicious Snowbell in search of his wren friend Margalo and, on the…
1/8-1/11 Few festivals celebrate a culture’s past and present simultaneously. Yet this is exactly the point of the American Express Invitational Native American Arts Festival, as guests see both modern Native American art and the traditions that influenced it. The festival is preceded by a free lecture and demonstration series,…
12/26-12/28 In 1988, Tom Hanks starred in Big, a film about a 13-year-old who receives his wish and wakes up one morning in the body of a grown man. In recent years, the story has morphed into a musical, currently being revived by Greasepaint Scottsdale Youtheatre. Within the confines of…
Sun 12/21 Several of the religious holidays celebrated worldwide during December are linked to the first day of winter and shortest day of the year, better known as the winter solstice. Jazz music, being a religion of its own — and Windham Hill Records the temple at which many aficionados…
Sat 12/13 Contemporary dance is taking an abstract leap forward in Phoenix, with the presentation of Dancing in C by Crossing 32nd Street, the musical ensemble-in-residence at Paradise Valley Community College and Scorpius Dance Theatre, a contemporary dance company. The collection of pieces combines ethnic and improvised music with choreographed…
Sat 12/13 Short attention span? Meet your match this Saturday, December 13, when the Phoenix Indieclub rolls its first short film festival. The local branch of the international independent filmmakers club is set to screen selections from seven Arizona filmmakers; fare ranges from war drama to documentary to claymation. Hatched…
Sun 12/14 Seems not all the polo in Scottsdale comes courtesy of Ralph Lauren. This Sunday, December 14, the North Scottsdale Polo Club saddles up for the Polo Benefit for Homeless Horses. The Club, which has been playing the old “hockey on horseback” for 20-some years, has teamed up with…
12/5-12/6 No matter what the weather report says, skiers the world over know that ski season truly starts when the latest Warren Miller film comes out. For more than 50 years, Warren Miller Entertainment has crisscrossed the globe to catch the sport’s finest practitioners in action, using stunning cinematography to…
Fri 12/5 “I’m sure a lot of people used to fantasize about Cris [Kirkwood] or [Derrick] Bostrom as a woman, so no, I don’t think it’ll be a stark departure,” Curt Kirkwood says of his former Meat Puppets bandmates, comparing his new project with singer/guitarist Lisa Newmyer to the local…
