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Artifacts - March 3-16, 2010
*Wine and art go together like hummus and pitas. So it only makes sense that Art St. Louis’ Grape Arts fundraiser will feature a series of formal and informal wine tastings, as well as the requisite silent and live auctions. The 18th annual fundraiser takes place from 2 to 6 p.m. March 21 at Windows Off Washington, 701 N. 15th St., on the 10th floor. For tickets call 241-6399 or visit www.artstlouis.org.
*St. Louis’ newest avant-garde arts presenter, Hearding Cats Collective, has received a bundle of cash from the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation to present 60x60 Dance, a mix of 60 unique 60-second dances designed by 60 St. Louis choreographers to 60 separate compositions — each by a different composer, of course. The performance, which will take place Oct. 3 at the Sheldon Concert Hall, will feature different dances and compositions than those of the debut 2009 version.
*Speaking of avant-garde music, the latest work by new-music composer, singer and performing artist Meredith Monk will make its world premiere March 13 at Powell Symphony Hall. Grand Center Inc. and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra commissioned a new work by Monk three years ago. The still-untitled piece features 32 musicians and 40 singers, as well as two singers from Monk’s vocal ensemble. The performance will be broadcast live on KFUO-Classic 99 and online at www.classic99.com.
*In other SLSO news, keep an eye out for Central West Ender Jecoliah Wang at the 3 p.m. March 7 concert of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra. Wang will perform the Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2 as the featured soloist. Wang, 15, is a freshman at Metro Academic and Classical High School.
*University City High School students are wrapping up three weeks of intense jiving and hustling, thanks to a residency by jazz-influenced River North Chicago Dance Company. During the residency, River North used dance and music to teach American history from the roaring ’20s to the “hip-hoppin’” ’90s. Students also learned about jazz dance legends, including Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Bob Fosse and East St. Louis legend Katherine Dunham. The residency was sponsored by Dance St. Louis.
*Local rapper Allen “AG” Gates has begun a new career as a model. Gates was named the male “Fresh Face of Spring 2010” by the popular urban fashion website DrJays.com. A Vashon High School grad and former Crossroads College Prep assistant basketball coach, Gates recently traveled to San Diego for a photo shoot, and some of his shots are now featured on DrJays.com.
*The world’s eyes may have been focused on Vancouver recently, but the St. Louis circus community was focused on the other side of Canada. Elliana and Melvin — members of St. Louis’ youth circus, the St. Louis Arches — recently auditioned at Ecole Nationale du Cirque, the prestigious circus school in Montreal that serves as a feeder school for Cirque du Soleil. Former Arch Renaldo “Junior” Williams currently attends the school.
*Art Outside, Schlafly Beer’s alternative art fair, is seeking artists for the September event. All artists living within a 125-mile radius of St. Louis are invited to submit three to five digital photos of their work by May 1 to be considered for the juried outdoor fair. Applications and rules for participation are available at www.schlafly.com.
*Along that same vein, Gitana Productions is asking local photographers to submit black-and-white shots of “ordinary yet extraordinary” local heroes for a new juried photography competition. The resulting exhibition, Eye On the Sparrow: The World Within St. Louis, will tour the St. Louis region later this year and will accompany an original play of the same name. Entries for the competition are due March 31 and details are available at www.gitana-inc.org.
*Here’s hoping the White Rabbit won’t be late for this very important date. On March 14, the Loop’s Eclipse Restaurant will celebrate the arrival of Alice in Wonderland in cinemas with a Wonderland-themed dinner party. The five-course meal will feature dishes inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic tale, including Pig & Pepper — a pepper pot consommé with suckling pig and figgy pudding custard — and “Who Stole the” tarts, as well as appearances by the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat and the perpetually late White Rabbit. The $65-a-plate price tag for the dinner includes a ticket to the new Tim Burton movie at the Tivoli, which may be used that night or another. For information call 726-2222.
*It may be home to millions of volumes written by authors from around the world, but on March 6, the St. Louis Public Library is celebrating local authors in the third annual Author Shout-Out. The event, which will take place from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at the Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid Ave., features appearances by Rose Jackson-Beavers, James Bell, Sylvester Chisom, Marie Chew-Elliot, Julia Failla Earhart, Lyle Johnson, Kristie Lyon, Stephen McAllister, Sean Muhammad, Lesly Nowlin, Joe Schwartz, Linda Jo Smith, Edward Steinhardt and Denise Sumotzy. Books by each of these authors will be on sale at the event.
*St. Louis ArtWorks is now accepting summer apprenticeship applications for teens aged 14 to 19. ArtWorks participants use sculpture, printmaking, drawing and painting to create large-scale commissioned work and individual projects, while learning tools for future success. Best of all, they get paid! Applications for the June 14 to July 23 session are due March 31. For information call Jenna Smith at 289-4188.
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