Culture Lust Weekend: Dance on Film, Stand-Up Science, and The Moving Units

Start your weekend tonight at the San Diego Museum of Art's Culture and Cocktails event. Tijuana-born, New York based artist Hugo Crosthwaite will be there working on a wall drawing as part of an exhibit of his work called Brutal Beauty (tune in to Morning Edition tomorrow morning when I'll be talking about his work and playing excerpts from an interview with him). Crosthwaite will be making a wall piece similar to a piece he did in New York.

As for the rest of the weekend, lust it up!

FILM

From San Marcos to T.J., three local universities will participate in a cinematic dance-a-thon this weekend for the 3rd annual DANCEonFILM fest 2010. The short, limb-defying films, 18 in all, include carefully-curated works from the New York Dance Films Association, as well as a select few from DANCEonFILM’s worldwide open call.

In case you hadn’t heard, the Academy is doubling its potential Best Picture nominees to 10, which is all the more reason you should head to AMC this Saturday to check out the chosen ones for a pre-show refresher. S.D.’s 2 largest AMC locations – Palm Promenade and Mission Valley - will screen 5 this Saturday, with the series continuing next weekend. "Avatar: 3D" or the Cohen Bro’s "A Single Man?" We’ll leave you to your Sour Patch Kids.

They’re predicting a real-life “Gloomy Sunday,” so why not head to the Oceanside Museum of Art this Saturday for a screening of the eponymous film? The movie, which is screening as part of OMA’s Culinary Cinema Series, focuses on a ménage-a-trois gone terribly wrong (is there any other kind?). Chef Steve Akin, of DZ Akins fame, will dish up cold-weather comfort food after the show.

THEATER

We’re not usually ones for a “Noche de Pasion” in P.B., but when it involves a Spanish guitar, So You Think You Can Dance, and Cirque Du Soliel? Sold! At Tango Del Rey this weekend, guitarist David Maldonado will be strumming alongside an international cast of dancers (some from the reality show and famed troupe listed above) for his aforementioned performance, a musical interpretation of the 100-year-history of the instrument. The newly reopened venue was a huge draw for tango dancing back in the day – perhaps it will curtail some of the less-savory gyrations afoot at other clubs in the neighborhood.

Proton synthesis is hardly synonymous with Seinfeld, but biologist-turned stand-up comedian (and UCSD grad) Tim Lee somehow makes talking nerdy hilarious (with a Power Point, to boot). We wish he was around in high school for a sitcom-style breakdown of our chemistry book, but – pardon the pun - no matter: catch him at the Carlsbad Theatre this Saturday.

MUSIC

The Moving Units will return to The Casbah this Saturday with their special brand of sweaty dance-punk; locally adored Beaters and The Dabbers will open. For a mellow antithesis, melodic indie fave The Appleseed Cast will make an appearance at the club next Wednesday.

Mathematically-based musical minimalism (say that 5 times fast) can be found at USD tonight, as acclaimed composer-in-residence Tom Johnson performs for the campus’s Faculty Piano Recital, along with associate professor Christopher Adler and Juan Campoverde Q. Missed it? No worries - a repeat performance can be found in Encinitas next week.

This Friday, the 4 Queens of Boogie Woogie will saunter into Dizzy’s from the 4 corners of the globe (California and Arizona, respectively) for a one-night-only piano performance. Get it, girls!

23-year-old Borneo native Zee Avi was discovered after sending songs via YouTube to a friend – which eventually ended up in the lap (top) of Raconteurs drummer Patrick Keeler. She’s since signed to Monotone Records and on a national tour, which will make a stop at The Loft this Sunday.

Carmen Bradford may boast a musical bloodline (her father was trumpeter Bobby Bradford), but she cut her teeth under another jazz heavyweight – Count Basie. She’s since worked with Wynton Marsalis and Tony Bennett, amongst others. She and her quartet will perform at the Birch North Park Theatre this Wednesday, as part of the jazz in North Park series.

ART

Speaking of jazz-era legends, stop by the UCSD Faculty Club to take a peek at them throughout the years in a month-long photography exhibit, “All That Jazz” (including vintage shots of Joséphine Baker). As part of its Black History Month festivities, the school will also host its annual Scholarship Brunch this Saturday, where you can sample soul food, swing to gospel music, and toast to the scholars to whom the event is dedicated.

Iva Gueorguieva may have officially left residency at the Lux Art Institute, but you can still glean some insight into her kaleidoscopic world (with the help of L.A. Times art writer Leah Ollman, who originally profiled Gueorguieva). The two will speak at Lux tonight as part of the gallery’s Studio Series, where guests will be able to ask about her experiences as an artist.

BOOKS

UCSD’s Public Culture in the Visual Sphere continues this week with internationally renowned art and culture critic Brian Holmes, who grew up in CA but now calls Paris home. Holmes, who holds a doctorate in Romance Languages and Literatures from Berkeley and was recently awarded the Vilém Flusser Theory Award, will speak tonight at 7:30 on intellectuals and their role in social movements.