Eugene Weekly : Calendar : 02.09.06

The UO consistently dishes up some of the most innovative dance in town, and their upcoming faculty concert, Dance 2006, is no exception. Gabriel Masson's "Lines, Arcs, Angles, and Sound" culminates a richly collaborative residency. Rita Honka's "Coming Home" takes on the intensity of big city life, in this case her hometown of Detroit. Walter Kennedy offers two pieces, including an abstract interpretation of Jeffrey Stolet's electronic score (pictured at left) and "I Never Said," which explores themes of competition and aggression. And speaking of aggression, Jenifer Craig has a lot to say about everyone else having a lot to say: Her "Cell Life" explores how cell phones have become part of all of our lives, whether we use them or not. "Cell phone protocol seems to have quickly, steadily, and stealthily overtaken pre-cell phone social norms," she says. "What are the new rules? Who decides?" Craig takes a look at the current yak-yak-yak situation and some of its potential effects. And when you attend the performance, please, for the sake of the performers, please turn your "Mochachocolatta" ring-tone off. See Thursday, Feb. 9 Calendar. — Rachel Carnes

Music began with improvisation — making it up on the spot. Even classical music really grew out of improv — Bach and Mozart and many other great composers were as well known in their time for their ability to improvise at the keyboard as for the music they wrote on paper. More recently, jazz took improvisation to exalted heights; jam bands grew out of rock's improv tradition. Today, jazzers, adventurous classically trained musicians, electronica explorers, VJs and even media artists are finding fertile common ground in the uncharted territories of improvised music. This weekend at DIVA, you can hear some of the West Coast's finest musical make-it-up artists, and even learn how to do it yourself. The Knotty Ensemble from Vancouver, B.C., will join the Eugene collective the JiRCs, ambient drone rockers Avoid the Future Shadow, Kurt Doles and other musicians in IMMI Fest 2006, the annual improvisation festival that comes to Eugene for the first time. DIVA hosts workshops for laptoppers, video artists and musicians all weekend. Friday night performances feature acoustic improv and experimental short works, while Saturday, the musicians will improvise a soundtrack to the classic film Joan of Arc. Electro-pop-DIY-noise oriented bands will play late both nights. The fest wraps up Sunday with a documentary about the evolution of video art followed by an improv blowout starring all the musicians and workshop participants. See Calendar or www.proscenia.net/diva/calendar.htm/— Brett Campbell

We confess: We simply couldn't allow the KLCC Microbrew Festival to pass without mention. Brewers from all over the west will be offering samples of their popular and specialty brews at the Fairgrounds this weekend. This year's Collaboration Brew — for which seven Oregon brewers create an interpretation of one recipe — is one of Benjamin Franklin's favorite homebrew recipes, Poor Richard's Ale. Jerry Zybach and the StageHogs and Riffle provide the live entertainment, and the Micro Music Sale, featuring hundreds of used records and CDs at bargain prices, offers another way to part you from your hard-earned cash. The whole thing is a fund-raiser for KLCC 89.7 FM, so it's not just your belly you'll be benefiting. See Friday Calendar.

Lord Leebrick Theatre crosses cultural lines again with Mi Vida Gitana (right), a love story set in Pamplona, Spain about the romance between a Spanish gypsy girl and a Latino American boy. The bilingual production will be performed by the critically acclaimed, Portland-based theater company Teatro Milagro as part of Lord Leebrick's ongoing Latino Theatre Project, which has been funded by grants from the Lane County Cultural Coalition and the National Endowment for the Arts, among others. Teatro Milagro will also hold a free actor's workshop on Saturday. See Saturday Calendar.

The UO's Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics is sponsoring a two-year examination of Native American art, images and issues. This year's Morse Chair is former principal chief of the Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller, who spoke during the fall semester. The Jacobs Gallery's current exhibit, "Marquee Massacres: Native Americans in 100 Years of Global Movie Graphics," is also part of the center's programming. And this weekend, Eugene Weekly presents "Imagining Indians: Indigenous North Americans in Film" at the Bijou Art Cinemas. Among the films screening are The Fast Runner (left), the first film released in the Inuktitut language; The Business of Fancydancing, an award-winning film by Sherman Alexie; and Nanook of the North, Robert J. Flaherty's documentary about the daily routines of an Inuit Eskimo family. For full schedule and previews of each film, see pull-out section this issue and Calendar.