may 1
New World Symphony: Artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas leads the New World Symphony in a season finale weekend of concerts. The music begins tonight at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts (174 E. Flagler St.) with a "Baton Night." Conductor Felipe Iscaray leads a preconcert conducting seminar at 6:30 p.m., where the first 50 attendees will receive a limited-edition replica of Tilson Thomas's custom-made baton. At 8:00 p.m. the maestro leads pianist Fabio Bidini, violist Charles Pikler, cellist John Sharp, and the orchestra in an all-Richard Strauss program, featuring Don Quixote, Burleske for Piano and Orchestra, and Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks. The program repeats at the Lincoln Theatre (555 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach) on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Tickets range from $15 to $44. Call 673-3331.(GC)
friday
may 2
Lycia: Singer-songwriter-guitarist Mike Van Portfleet of the goth band Lycia continues to create dark, meditative soundscapes on the group's sixth release, Cold. Together with vocalist Tara Van Flower and bassist-keyboardist David Galas, Van Portfleet builds rhythmic, haunting, synth-based symphonies of oppressive, ominous, and bleak melodies characterized by distant drums, whispered or wailed vocals, and suspended guitars. This latest offering echoes with even more melancholy as it explores the chilly title theme. Tonight at 10:00 Lycia presents its icy musical majesty at Cheers (2490 SW Seventeenth Ave.). Admission is seven dollars. Call 857-0041. (GC)
Day by the River: Formerly local groovy/jazzy roots rockers Day by the River return to South Florida to perform tonight at Stella Blue (1661 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach). Since relocating to Athens, Georgia, two years ago, DBR has expanded its South Florida cult following into a regional fan base, taking its Little Feat-meets-the-Grateful Dead sound (as showcased on last year's independently released disc Sky) to granola rockers everywhere in the southeastern U.S. The band also enjoys the distinction of having opened for George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars. Admission is six dollars. Showtime is 11:00 p.m. (They also play SunFest '97 in West Palm Beach this week; see "Concert Calendar," page 95.) Call 532-4788. (GC)
Momentum Dance Company: One of South Florida's most innovative modern dance companies celebrates its fifteenth anniversary with three performances at the Colony Theater (1040 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach) featuring three world-premiere and two Miami-premiere ballets. Internationally recognized Cuban ballerina Rosario "Charin" Suarez joins Momentum Dance Company to perform The Thrill, the first work created for the company by artistic director Delma Iles. Also on the program are the quirky, jazzy Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, a world-premiere work by Iles inspired by Wallace Stevens's poem of the same name; Shadows and Accumulations, another world-premiere work by Iles, being performed by former National Ballet of Cuba dancer Aydemara Cabrera and company dancer Lara Murphy; and a new work by dancer Michelle Carter. Rounding out the program are the Miami premieres of Iles's Corelli Concerto and assistant artistic director Lees Hummel's And the Song Remains the Same, plus a reconstruction of Doris Humphrey's 1922 work Water Study. Performances take place tonight and tomorrow at 8:00 p.m., with a children's concert tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Tickets cost $15 and $25 for today and tomorrow's evening concerts; $12 for adults and $6 for kids for tomorrow's children's concert. Call 858-7002. (GC)
Arabian Nights Festival: Opa-locka hosts the 71st annual Arabian Nights Festival, beginning this evening at 7:00 p.m. with a reception and a "Seventies Music Flashback" concert by Jessie Porter, Timmy Thomas, and Jimmy Bo Horne. Tomorrow the festivities begin at 10:00 a.m. with an attempt at the world's longest "Macarena" dance line led by television actress Marla Gibbs (227, The Jeffersons), plus a parade, free carnival rides, street vendors, and live rap, hip-hop, country, and pop music. At 6:00 p.m. a music and dance fest kicks up with the Barkays, Mongo Santamaria, and other acts. On Sunday at 10:00 a.m. the festival concludes with live gospel and jazz, a youth talent show at 2:00 p.m., a cook-off contest at 3:00 p.m., and a pop concert at 8:00 p.m. All events take place between NW 27th Avenue and 151st Street and Opa-locka City Hall (777 Sharazad Blvd., Opa-locka). Admission to all events is free. Call 758-4166. (GC)
saturday
may 3
Taste of the Beach: There is an abundance of great restaurants on Miami Beach and it would take you months (not to mention big bucks) to visit all of them -- unless, of course, you go to this weekend's Taste of the Beach, held for the first time on Lincoln Road. More than 30 restaurants -- including the Forge, Lure, Yuca, Savannah, and Pacific Time, to name a few -- will provide samples of their fare for under five bucks. In addition to the food, musical acts (including flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook, Latin artist Tito Puente, Jr., singer Raffy, and local pop band 325 Meridian) will provide entertainment, Books & Books will offer chef demonstrations, and the Lincoln Road Farmers Market will sell you the ingredients to cook up your favorites at home. The event runs from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. today and tomorrow. Call 672-1270. (JO)
Air and Sea Show: The sky above and ocean off Fort Lauderdale beach (between Oakland Park and Las Olas boulevards) buzzes with big engines this weekend with the Air and Sea Show. This annual salute to the U.S. military, which runs today and tomorrow from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., features performances and appearances by top military and civilian air and sea units, including aerial stunts by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the Navy Leap Frogs parachute team, rare peeks at the U.S. Air Force B-2 Stealth bomber and other high-tech aircraft, offshore powerboat races, and lifesaving demonstrations by the U.S. Coast Guard Air/Sea Rescue Team. Besides the airborne and on-the-water action, the show offers a display village (on A1A just north of Sunrise Boulevard) showcasing exotic cars and replicas of military vehicles and aircraft. Tonight at 8:00 p.m. jazz saxman Dave Koz will present a free concert on the beach. Admission to all events is free. Call 954-527-5600. (GC)
Blowout '97: Get a glimpse at some of the most outrageous hair looks created by stylists from several local salons tonight at the third annual Blowout fundraising event, to benefit Reef Relief. Several movie and television celebrities, including Sunset Beach's Eddie Cibrian, Michael DeLorenzo from New York Undercover, Mario Lopez from Saved by the Bell, dance diva Joi Cardwell, The Bold and the Beautiful's Lindsay Price, and Anthony Michael Hall of The Breakfast Club fame (remember him?) will perform or make appearances tonight at the Arch Club (753 Washington Ave., Miami Beach) from 9:30 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., while models take the runway to showcase those wild hairstyles and whimsical fashions by designer Betsey Johnson. Tickets to this eighteen-and-over event cost $15 and $30. Call 626-3813. (GC)
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever: The Shores Performing Arts Theater (9806 NE Second Ave., Miami Shores) provides its own take on Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane's melodic musical about a young woman with acute ESP powers, opening tonight at 8:00 p.m. Christy Mauro stars as Daisy Gamble, who experiences a vision of a past life as an eighteenth-century noblewoman. Daisy begins visiting a charming psychiatrist who hypnotizes her so she can explore past lives. The stage version departs from Vincente Minnelli's 1970 musical flick starring Barbra Streisand and Yves Montand by spending more time on Daisy's past-life sequences. The production runs Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m. through May 25. Tickets cost $18 and $22. Call 758-5404. (GC)
New World Symphony: See Thursday.
Momentum Dance Company: See Friday.
Arabian Nights Festival: See Friday.
sunday
may 4
Tango Festival: This passionate and intimate dance of the Argentine slums has made quite a comeback in the last few years. Little wonder; that wailing bandoneon gets under your skin. Tango is real roots music, blending influences from Italians, Spaniards, East European Jews, and Africans. Rising from the brothels of Buenos Aires in the late Nineteenth Century, the dance eventually became the rage of Paris and New York and was even accepted by the middle and upper classes in Argentina (after they got over their scandalized sensibilities at its suggestive body movements). Carlos Gardel, the foremost tango singer who died in the 1930s, brought tango to an almost mythic popularity in Argentina and beyond. After a period of relative obscurity, tango is once again popular, with movies such as Scent of a Woman depicting it prominently, Spanish superstar Julio Iglesias recording his own version of the tango, and classes sprouting up everywhere you turn. In fact, about 1000 participants are expected at this week's fourth annual Argentine Tango Congress at the Ramada Deauville Miami Beach (6701 Collins Ave., Miami Beach). Opening ceremonies and the first milonga take place tonight at 9:00 p.m. Also included in the weeklong extravaganza are daytime tango classes, evening dances with a live orchestra, and the final grand ball on May 10. Tickets range from $55 for the grand ball finale to $399 for a full week's registration. Tickets must be purchased in advance; call 446-9444 for more information. (JO)
New World Symphony: See Thursday.
Arabian Nights Festival: See Friday.
Taste of the Beach: See Saturday.
Air and Sea Show: See Saturday.
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever: See Saturday.
monday
may 5
A.R. Eguiguren: Author A.R. Eguiguren sets his latest novel, New Greenland, in the not-too-distant future, with a radical environmental state taking shape in South America. The fictional land in the title, which is ruled by a totalitarian Green regime, isolates itself from the outside world and begins a complete "naturalization" of its cities, meaning that human rights are replaced by a new respect for nature. Eguiguren reads from his novel and discusses this radical environmentalist's dream world tonight at 8:00 p.m. at Books & Books (296 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables). Admission is free. Call 442-4408. (GC)
Tango Festival: See Sunday.
tuesday
may 6
Florida Philharmonic: Conductor James Judd and the orchestra conclude their Masterworks series with five season-finale concerts with cellist William De Rosa at four different venues. The program features Smetana's Bartered Bride Overture, Dvoryak's Cello Concerto, Debussy's Prelude a L'Apres-midi d'un Faune, and Respighi's Pines of Rome, with performances tonight and tomorrow at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale); May 8 at the Kravis Center (701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach); May 9 at the FAU Auditorium (off Glades Road, Boca Raton); and May 10 at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts (174 E. Flagler St.). Tickets range from $17 to $75. All concerts take place at 8:00 p.m. Call 930-1812. (GC)
Tango Festival: See Sunday.
wednesday
may 7
Polaroid Plus: Two local photographers, Linda Broadfoot and Roxanne Featherly Hewing, present their Polaroid image and emulsion transfers at Photogroup (130 Madeira Ave., Coral Gables) through May 31. The works in the exhibition "Polaroid Plus" were created through two experimental processes. Image transfers are made by peeling apart Polaroid photographs before the normal developing time, then transferring the negative side onto damp watercolor paper. Emulsion transfers are created by removing and transferring the positive image layer of a Polaroid onto another surface (fabric, glass, stone, wood, sheet metal), where it can be crushed, rolled up, or frayed. Both processes allow for the images to be reworked or retouched with pastels, watercolor, dyes, pigments, or pen and ink; the results straddle the line between photography and other forms of visual art. Admission is free. Call 444-0198. (GC)
Tango Festival: See Sunday.
Florida Philharmonic: See Tuesday.
