Revue's (Royal) Weekend Top Picks
Most of you plan to be glued to live streaming video of Westminster Abbey this weekend, making this week’s edition of Weekend Top Picks a tough sell. Once you’re bleary-eyed with white lilac and bejeweled sashes, however, you’ll realize it’s time to get out. That’s where I come in, with a show from the prince of hip-hop himself, to a concert from NC Dance highlighting the queens of choreography. Happy weekend!
Spotlight: An Evening of Women Choreographers
This season at NC Dance, the ladies get the last word with a season finale including three works by female choreographers. They’re staging Twyla Tharp’s The Golden Section, set to four works by David Byrne, who you might recognize from the Talking Heads. You’ll also see Requiem 9. 11, by Jacqulyn Buglisi; inspired by September 11, the work received wildly enthusiastic reviews from the New York Times when it debuted ten years ago. Wrapping up the show is Outflow Boundary, a world premiere from former NC Dance Theatre 2 dancer Emery Lecrone.
Tomas and the Library Lady
Based on the life of author Tomas Rivera, this new show at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte follows the story of a young Hispanic boy who struggles to learn English as his family relocates from town to town, and he from school to school. He finally meets a librarian who turns a page for him, and solidifies a lifelong love of words.
Man Man
This experimental, Philadelphia-based quintet has an energetic, wacky sound with heavy piano and horn, making them a potentially great alternative soundtrack for a circus. Their shows thrive on pace, as they never take any breaks between sets, and you can expect to hear numbers from their latest album, Rabbit Habits, like the delightful "Easy Eats or Dirty Doctor Galapagos."
Usher
I’ll be honest: the whole time I watched Usher’s Superbowl performance, I sincerely wished someone had just hooked him up to a stereo of pre-recorded "OMG" and "Let It Burn," and let him dance without the distraction of having to sing. Probably not a very "culture writer" thing to write, but I think it’s safe to say that an Usher show is really mostly about the visuals.
Dr. Shahram Khoshbin on Van Gogh
For the past 15 years, Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical Center Dr. Shahram Khoshbin has studied the effects of neurological disorders on achievement. One of his focuses has been Van Gogh, and in his lecture, A Neurologist’s Portrait of Van Gogh, Khoshbin examines how temporal lobe epilepsy may have caused hypergraphia, a compulsion to create many writings or graphic productions. This Saturday, the Bechtler will host him as a guest lecturer in Wells Fargo Auditorium at 6 p.m.
