Calendar for the week

thursday
september 4
Invitation to the Arts: It's a sampler platter of culture! Instead of a couple of fried mozzarella sticks here or an oily potato skin there, you get short little bitefuls of delectable ballet, theater, dance, and other arty offerings. A showcase for the upcoming season at Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts (1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach), this preview starts with a VIP cocktail reception and art displays from local organizations including the Wolfsonian and the South Florida Art Center, followed by a fashion show, Act Two of Miami City Ballet's production of Swan Lake, and a performance by jazz guitarist Al Di Meola. Also planned are vignettes from the theatrical circus production Artistique and production numbers from the Tony Award-winning musical Chicago. Tickets range from $15 to $40 and all proceeds benefit the theater's performing arts scholarship fund for Dade County students. Call 673-7300. (JO)

Drummin' Open Rehearsal: The Miami Light Project welcomes the public to an open rehearsal of Drummin', an original musical composition by Tania Leon, scheduled for a November 7 world premiere. The rehearsal takes place tonight at 8:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre (605 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach). In this project Leon, the composer in residence at the New York Philharmonic, explores the inherent rhythms of Miami's multiple cultures, concentrating on black American, Brazilian, Cuban, Haitian, Native American, and pan-Asian communities. Leon is collaborating with choreographer Bebe Miller, who will be conducting a two-week workshop with her own dance company and dancers from Miami-Dade Community College later this month (Miller will host an open rehearsal on September 26 at 7:00 p.m. at MDCC's Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Ave.). Admission to tonight's performance is ten dollars (includes cocktails and hors d'oeuvres with the artists). Call 531-3747. (GC)

friday
september 5
Control Machete/Enemigo Sol: Mexico's top hip-hop group Control Machete might be the Latin American answer to Cypress Hill, House of Pain, or even the Beastie Boys. Hailing from the city of Monterrey, the three-man group tackles the problems of illegal immigration, drugs, urban violence, and other universal social issues in a Mexican context on its debut album Mucho Barato, which was produced by Cypress Hill producer Jason Roberts. Control Machete rocks the house tonight at 8:00 p.m. at Rose's Bar & Music Lounge (754 Washington Ave., Miami Beach). Also on the bill are Enemigo Sol, a rock en espanol collaboration by members of Miami-based bands A Kite Is a Victim, Ed Matus' Struggle, Honeysticks, and Floor; the band's melodic, Velvet Underground/ Echobelly-influenced experimental pop tunes explode on-stage in an energetic set. Admission to this eighteen-and-over show is ten dollars. Call 532-0228. (GC)

IMAX Movie Madness: Sail the Atlantic, cross the searing Serengeti plain and the frozen tundra of Antarctica, plunge into the Grand Canyon, dive into the ocean depths, even venture into deep space. And do it all from the comfort of the IMAX 3-D Theater at the Museum of Discovery and Science (401 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale). Beginning today and running through October 16, catch three IMAX films and get into the museum for free. The festival program includes the 3-D films Across the Sea of Time, Into the Deep, and L5: First City in Space, as well as The Living Sea (narrated by Meryl Streep, with music by Sting) and To the Limit, an adventure into extreme sports (there are eight films in all). Movie Madness passes cost $21 for adults, $15 for kids. Call 954-463-IMAX for showtimes. (GC)

Schubertiade: The Murray Dranoff Foundation, the hosts of the annual Dranoff Two Piano Competition, presents a three-night festival celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Franz Schubert, running tonight through Sunday at Florida International University's Wertheim Center for the Performing Arts (SW Eighth Street and 107th Avenue). The festival also commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of Johannes Brahms. Each of the three concerts offers works by both composers, with performances by past Dranoff winners Goldina and Loumbrozo, Marton and Batzner, Laich and Bergman, and the van Veen brothers. Highlights include Schubert's Piano Quintet in A major (The Trout), Andante Varie, and Shepherd on the Rock, and Brahms's Hungarian Dances and Liebeslieder Waltzes. Tickets cost $20 for each concert ($45 for all three). Performances take place tonight at 7:30 p.m. and tomorrow and Sunday at 4:00 p.m. Call 758-8700. (GC)

saturday
september 6
Toledo: Imagine that Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker had a child who was raised by Tom Waits and who later stumbled onto acid jazz. Toledo is that type of musical cat. He has a penchant for songs about the glories of life on the hustle, in the fast lane, part of the underground, as heard to good effect on his debut CD, Fishnets and Cigarettes. On the disc the former dancer, choreographer, and junkie's whiskey tenor blares out lyrical songs about violent Cuban women, drugs, decadent sex, and death. Toledo rolls into Rose's Bar & Music Lounge (754 Washington Ave., Miami Beach) tonight with his band and a troupe of sultry flapperish dancers who could make even the most circumspect hustler blush. If the vocals, music, or dancers don't put color in your cheeks, perhaps the open bar from 10:00 to 11:00 p.m. will. Showtime is 11:00 p.m. Admission is five dollars. Call 532-0228. (LB)