>>> THIS IS MIDDAY ADDITION. OUR WEEKEND PREVIEW COVERS OLD TIME AND TRADITIONAL FAVORS IN BALLET, MUSIC AND CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS. JOINING ME IS NINA. WE BEGIN THE WEEKEND WITH A BELOVED BALLET, TELL US ABOUT GISELLE. >> SHE IS BEING PUT ON BY CITY BALLET. THEY ARE KNOWN FOR DOING MORE MODERN BALLETS SOAR FOR THEM THIS IS A BIG PRODUCTION -- SO FOR THEM THIS IS A BIG PRODUCTION. THE STORY ABOUT GISELLE IS TRAGIC. SHE'S A PEASANT GIRL AND FALLS IN LOVE WITH ALBERT WHO WAS A NOBLE MAN PRETENDING TO BE A PEASANT. HE'S PROMISED SUE SOMEBODY FALLS IN LOVE WITH GISELLE. SHE FINDS OUT THAT HE'S ENGAGED TO A PRINCESS AND GOES CRAZY AND DIES OF A BROKEN HEART. AND ONE DAY SHE RISES FROM HER GRAVE AND SEES THE SPIRITS TAUNTING ALBERT MAKING HIM DANCE TO DEATH. SHE ULTIMATELY FORGIVES HIM AND SAVES THEM FROM THAT FATE. IT HAS EVERYTHING THAT BALLET PEOPLE LOVE, A GREAT STORY, BEAUTIFUL MUSIC AND OBVIOUSLY THESE ARE THE SPIRITS AND THEY HAVE A WHITE ROMANTIC TUTUS. THE MUSIC IS GREAT AND IT'S EVERYTHING THAT WE LOVE. >> WE WILL HEAR A LITTLE BIT OF THE MUSIC BEFORE WE LISTEN WHY DID YOU PICK THIS PIECE OF MUSIC THAT WE ARE ABOUT TO HEAR. >> I PICKED A HAPPIER PIECE OF MUSIC. YOU CAN SEE MANY BALLERINAS TRY THIS AND IT'S VERY DIFFICULT. BALLERINAS ARE DOING THESE TINY HOPS ON POINT AND LEADS UP TO THIS ON STAGE. IT'S A PIECE THAT I ACTUALLY LIKE. >> OKAY THIS IS GISELLE'S VARIATION BY THE PARIS OPERA BALLET. >> [ Music Playing ] GISELLE HAPPENS TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. >>> SPRING IS IN THE AIR AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL HAPPENS THIS WEEKEND. >> THE CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL IS ALL ABOUT THE JAPANESE TRADITION OF WHO NAMI WHICH IS A PEOPLE RELAX UNDER THE CHERRY BLOSSOM TREES. WE HAVE A SMALLER VERSION OF THAT AT THE JAPANESE FRIENDSHIP GARDEN. >> IS THAT WHAT PEOPLE DO AT THIS EVENT, RELAX ? >> WE DON'T HAVE QUITE AS MUCH SPACE WHERE THEY HAVE IN JAPAN. OURS IS MORE OF A CULTURAL CELEBRATION. YOU ALSO SEE JAPANESE DANCERS AND DRUMMERS. THERE IS A JAPANESE MARKETPLACE AND FOOD VENDORS. >> THIS EVENT HAS EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS HAS IN IT. >> YES IT HAPPENS OVER THREE DAYS IN THE GARDEN HAS ALSO GROWN. NOW THEY HAVE ABOUT AN ACRE IN THE LOWER GARDEN AND THERE'S ABOUT 200 PINK CLOUD VARIETY TREES THAT PEOPLE CAN ENJOY. >> IT BEGINS TODAY AND CONTINUES THROUGH SUNDAY. >>> THE POP VOCALIST GROUP IS CELEBRATING THEIR TRADITIONAL SOUND. TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS. >> THIS IS THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER 45th ANNIVERSARY SEASON. THEY ARE THE VOCAL GROUP AND KNOWN FOR SEEING POP, JAZZ, R&B AND ROCK. THEY HAVE ONE 10 GRAMMYS AND THEY ARE LOVED ALL AROUND THE WORLD. >> THE BAND WAS FOUNDED BY TIM HAUSER, WHO WAS IN THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER NOW. >> HE WAS REPLACED BY CHRIS KERR LIST. THE REST OF THE BAND IS THE SAME. >> LET'S LISTEN TO THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER. THIS IS FOR BROTHERS. >> [ Music Playing ] >> HOW IS THE BAND EVEN SOLVING AFTER ALL THIS TIME. >> THEY ARE RELEASING THEIR FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN 10 YEARS. IT'S CALLED THE JUNCTION. THEY ARE ENHANCING IT WITH DIGITAL EFFECTS SO IT'S MORE ACCESSIBLE TO YOUNGER AUDIENCE. USED TO GET THE LOCALIZATION. >> BEFORE WE GO, YOU WANTED TO TELL US ABOUT A MARIACHI FESTIVAL. >> IS A FESTIVAL AND COMPETITION. THERE WILL BE FOOD AND ACTIVITIES ALL THROUGHOUT THE DAY. >> THE FESTIVAL HAPPENS SUNDAY AT PEPPER PARK. >> THANK YOU, HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND. >> A FIRE OFFICIAL SAYS A ARMED MAN HAS TAKEN THREE HOSTAGES AT THE COUNTRY'S LARGEST VETERANS HOME. HE'S ALSO CALLING IT AN ACTIVE SHOOTER SITUATION. >> FLORIDA GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT HAS SIGNED A SCHOOL SAFETY BILL PASSED BY THE LEGISLATOR IN RESPONSE TO THE VALENTINE'S DAY MASS SHOOTING THAT KILLED 17 PEOPLE AT A HIGH SCHOOL. THE SUSPECT CONTINUES TO BE HELD WITHOUT BOND. >>> LIBERTY UNION FILED A ACTION SUIT ACCUSING THE US GOVERNMENT OF BROADLY SEPARATING IMMIGRANT FAMILIES. THE LAWSUIT FOLLOWS ACTION OF A WOMAN AND HER SEVEN-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WHO WERE BEING HELD AS SEPARATE FACILITIES THOUSANDS OF MILES APART. >>> DOCTORS ARE SEEING MORE FLU CASES. HERE IS A INFECTIOUS DISEASE DOCTOR DEAN. >> THIS HAS BEEN SUCH A SEVERE FLU SEASON THAT EVEN THOUGH WE ARE PAST THE PEAK, THE LEVEL OF INFLUENZA THAT WE ARE SEEING NOW IS HIGHER THAN THE PEAK FROM LAST YEAR. >> EVEN IF YOU HAD THE FLU IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO GET THE SHOT. >>> THIS WEEK AND IT'S TIME TO SET YOUR CLOCKS ONE HOUR AHEAD. IT OFFICIALLY COMES AT 2 AM SUNDAY.
This weekend is all about the classics: a beloved ballet, a timeless band and a long-held Japanese tradition.
City Ballet Presents 'Giselle'
Dance
City Ballet stages "Giselle," a beloved ballet about love and forgiveness.
Set in Germany during the Renaissance, Giselle falls in love with Albrecht, a nobleman pretending to be a peasant. Giselle is shocked to discover that Albrecht is engaged to marry a princess, and dies of a broken heart. One night Giselle rises from her grave and finds Albrecht surrounded by a large group of ghostly spirits trying to make Albrecht dance to death. Giselle intervenes, showing her power of love and forgiveness.
Giselle will be performed by Ariana Gonzalez and Sumire Ito, and Albrecht will be performed by Iago Breschi and Lucas Ataide.
Details: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Spreckels Theatre, 121 Broadway, downtown. $34 to $89; find tickets to "Giselle."
Cherry Blossom Festival
Visual Arts, Dance
Take time to relax in Balboa Park at the 13th annual Cherry Blossom Festival.
Guests are invited to explore and relax in a grove of pretty, pink cherry blossom trees, a practice that follows a Japanese tradition called hanami.
Also happening will be a cultural celebration featuring dancers, drummers and artists, as well as a Japanese marketplace and food vendors.
Details: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Japanese Friendship Garden, 2215 Pan America Road, Balboa Park. $8 to $12; find details about the Cherry Blossom Festival.
The Manhattan Transfer
Music
The jazzy Manhattan Transfer returns for its 45th anniversary concert.
This Grammy-winning band is known for its a capella singing and creative harmonies in music that ranges from jazz to R&B. Though its founder Tim Hauser died in 2014, the original band is still together -- now joined by Trist Curless.
The Manhattan Transfer will release a new album at the end of March, but you can hear some of the new songs at this weekend’s concert.
Details: 8 p.m. Saturday. Jacobs Music Center, 750 B St., downtown. $25 to $69; find tickets to The Manhattan Transfer.