Friday 10
Saturday 11
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Children and their parents can see how dancers warm up at the dance bar and meet the recently relocated Joffrey Ballet of Chicago dancers today as part of the Magic City Family Week-Ends program. There will also be a preview performance from the group’s holiday production and workshops, ranging from beginning ballet to applying stage makeup, for children ages 9 through 15. It’s all free, but registration is recommended. The performance is at 11; workshops begin at noon. The event takes place at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington. Call 744-1612 for more information.
On the advice of doctors jazz legend Miles Davis began drawing after a stroke in 1980 paralyzed his right hand, making him unable to continue playing the trumpet. The art therapy worked: Davis began playing again. But he also continued to paint and draw. A collection of his artwork, ranging from representational to abstract (and including a serigraph of Josephine Baker), is on display today. It’s the largest showing of his art since he died in 1992; originals and graphics will be on sale. The exhibit is free at the Fairmont Hotel, 200 N. Columbus, from 1 to 10. Call 565-8000.
Dressing up your pets and taking their picture isn’t just fun, it’s art. If you’re William Wegman, that is. The world-renowned photographer’s portraits of costume-clad weimaraners poke fun at the human condition. Wegman will lecture and show slides of his work as part of the School of the Art Institute’s semester-long series “Art as Dramatic Comedy.” It’s tonight at 6 at the school’s auditorium, 280 S. Columbus. Seniors and students with ID get in free; it’s $3 for nonstudents. Call 443-3711.
Wednesday 15
Reader contributor John Corbett and local music critic Art Lange join horn player Douglas Ewart from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and saxophonist Evan Parker to examine post-1960s improvised music as part of a week-long festival saluting the European record label Free Music Productions. Today’s free performance and discussion take place at 12:15 at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington. Call 744-6630.
