For those who seek a little action with their art, "She Sank on Shallow Bank" is an exhibition that cannot be missed. This film, dance, and photography installation is a collaborative display of stop-motion animation and sculptural sets that visits the dreams of a girl who has washed up on the bank of a bay, where her body dances with and reacts to the flotsam. Artist and filmmaker Clifton Childree teamed with dancer and performance artist Nikki Rollason for a creative project which is enhanced by Daniel Hosker's original music score. The opening reception is tonight from 7:00 to 10:00 at the Bas Fisher Invitational located on the second floor of the Buena Vista Building, 180 NE 39th St. The installation runs through Thursday, February 10, when there will be an evening closing reception from 7:00 to 10:00. Call 305-773-2139 or e-mail [email protected] for gallery appointments. (LO)
FRI 14
Live music, giant sausages, and the tasty 1.2 liter Warsteiner Tank. Ahh, life is good at the Fritz and Franz Bierhaus (60 Merrick Way, Coral Gables) where even a veggie-saurus can find plenty of snacks on their Bavarian menu, from späetzle (a traditional homemade pasta) to karrottensalat (marinated carrot salad). And now the jolly proprietor and founder of the annual Coral Gables Oktoberfest, Harald Neuweg, presents the first annual Latin Music Fest today through Sunday, January 16. Keep those steins full of suds since the Bierhaus will donate ten percent of all sales to benefit Tsunami disaster relief in Southeast Asia. The Suenalo Sound System will rock the plaza stage tonight from 6:00 to 10:00, and the traditional Cuban Jazz sounds of Conjunto Progreso will be filling the rafters from 10:00 to 2:00. Call 305-774-1883 or visit www.bierhaus.cc. (LO)
SAT 15
For those of you who assumed that downtown Coral Gables was a tony shopping district with nary a bargain in sight, we've got news for you. Amidst the bridal shops, jewelry stores, and pricey restaurants jostling for position, the thirteenth annual Coral Gables Farmer's Market has returned. Enjoy the typical outdoor market delights, like inexpensive, high-quality fruits, veggies, and plants, arts and crafts, and tasty treats. Take part in Tai Chi in the Park at 8:00 a.m., gardening workshops at 9:00, cooking demonstrations at 10:00, and children's activities at 11:00. Buy yourself a glass of wine to make your experience distinctively Gables-y. Enjoy refreshing, outdoorsy shopping starting this morning at 8:00, on the steps of City Hall, 405 Biltmore Way, Coral Gables. This seasonal market will be open every Saturday until March 26, so enjoy it while it's here. Call 305-460-5311 or visit www.coralgables.com. (PEGY)
SUN 16
Even if you know almost nothing about ballet, odds are you've heard of Coppélia. This comic classic first opened at the Paris Opera Ballet in 1870 during the height of the Franco-Prussian War, and it is recognized as the last ballet of the Romantic era. Shortly after its debut, Paris was under siege and the original lead, Giuseppina Bozzacchi, died tragically on her seventeenth birthday. Still, Coppélia danced on and now the Miami City Ballet is proud to bring this historic masterpiece to the stage. Coppélia is a youthful and exuberant ballet that features pantomime, a doll that comes alive, and fantastic set and costume design. Enjoy a preshow discussion by artistic director Edward Villella 45 minutes before curtain call. Watch this whimsical dance this afternoon at 2:00 at the Jackie Gleason Theater, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. Tickets range from $19.90 to $59.90. Call 305-673-7300 or visit www.miamicityballet.org. (PEGY)
MON 17
How much do you really know about that Australian shiraz, French pinot noir, or California cabernet? Now you can wind down after work by sampling wines and learning something new to impress your friends and maybe even a sommelier. The Art of Wine (6627 S. Dixie Hwy., South Miami) presents Understanding Wine for three consecutive Mondays, covering whites, reds, and finally, sparkling, dessert, and fortified wines. The classes are from 7:00 to 9:00 starting tonight. The cost is a suggested $60 tax-deductible contribution with checks made payable to the Foundation Fighting Blindness c/o the Art of Wine. Call 305-662-9415. (LO)
TUE 18
Once disregarded as bastardized literature with little to no educational content, nowadays the graphic novel is finally being taken seriously. Enter Roland Owen Laird, an African-American comic book artist. Best known for his successful Afrocentric weekly strip The Griots, Laird yearned to tell a bigger story. Together with his wife Taneshia Nash Laird and artist Elihu "Adofo" Bey he created Still I Rise: A Cartoon History of African-Americans, an account of the rough, continuing transition of Africans into African Americans. Evocative of Art Spiegelman's groundbreaking graphic novel Maus, Still I Rise was named one of the "best books in print" by The New York Review of Books. Meet this pioneer when he presents More than Pictures: The Role of Comics in the New Millennium tonight at 7:30 at the South Miami Branch Public Library, 6000 Sunset Dr. Call 305-237-7261 or visit www.posro.com to learn more about Roland Laird's other endeavors. (PEGY)
WED 19
From shark attacks to screwy elections to hurricanes, Florida has provided rich literary mulch for many an author. Joan Didion tackled our fair city head-on in Miami. Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard have gained fame and fortune from fictionalizing the greed and corruption that have made the Sunshine State a snowbirds' paradise. As an eighth-generation Floridian born and raised in Tallahassee, Diane Roberts has seen it all, and now this journalist and NPR commentator has aired the dirty family laundry in a memoir that tests the boundaries of the form. Dream State: Eight Generations of Swamp Lawyers, Conquistadors, Confederate Daughters, Banana Republicans, and Other Florida Wildlife uses Category 5 prose to reveal the history of our quirky, often controversial state through the experiences of Roberts's relatives. Meet the author tonight when she reads at 8:00 at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables. Call 305-442-4408 or visit www.booksandbooks.com. (PEGY)
