City Week

Dance Fever

Through hip-hop and lyrical jazz dance moves, Inside Out expresses a wealth of emotions, says dance instructor Kristen Eberhardt.

"It reflects (emotional themes) through the steps, the attitude, and how they let those emotions come out in the realm of dance," Eberhardt says.

The title stems from the idea of letting out one's inner feelings, rather than hiding them. Organizers say the show will convey themes of innocence, judgment, illusions, torment, fear, forgiveness, desire, faith and suffering.

Inside Out includes a 30-minute segment that Eberhardt choreographed that tells the entire story of the '80s movie Dirty Dancing, whose major theme is love. Dirty Dancing is about a girl who succumbs to a forbidden love with a dance instructor.

"I always pick something that's pretty broad, and I make like a mini-drama," Eberhardt says.

Kristen Wright, a student performer, choreographed a half-hour number dedicated to Janet Jackson. The number is a mix of dance moves taken directly from Jackson's choreographer, Tina Landon, as well as Wright's own choreography.

The cast of 28 students is mix of beginners and experienced dancers. Having five performances is unusual for a dance show, Eberhardt says, but it will help the beginning dance students improve their skills.

Inside Out is collaborating with the PCC theater department, whose students will provide the lighting for the performance.

"Dance is the medium to express emotions," Eberhardt said. "It's very exciting."

Tickets are $5 for all seats for the night performances on Thursday through Saturday. The Wednesday performance cost is whatever you can pay more than $1, and the Saturday matinee is free with a non-perishable food donation for a local charity. --A.L.

Pop Tart Eater on the Loose

I've long been a stand-up comedy fan, and in particular, a Paula Poundstone fan. Her witty yet strange takes on life have occasionally had me unintentionally shooting beverages out my nose (that's a good thing).

This was before she ran into her, well, not-so-little legal problems in 2000-2001. Long story short: She was nailed as she took her children to get some ice cream--while a bit hammered.

To her credit, Poundstone admitted she had a drinking problem and got into rehab, fast. By all accounts, she's cleaned up her life, and after a while, she regained custody of her adopted children. You've got to like that.

You've also got to like the fact that she truly loves stand-up. I saw one of her first shows after her legal problems, in 2002, at the Sunset Station in the Las Vegas area. She was hilarious, yet slightly off-kilter. She joked about her legal issues, but you could tell she was still hurting. She also didn't want to get off the stage--she went way longer than her performance was supposed to last, and at one point, the lights got turned off, I am guessing, because the management had seen enough.

Now, in the midst of her full-fledged comeback, the regular on NPR's Wait Wait ...Don't Tell Me! is on a national tour, called "The Big Picture." She's likable and really damn funny, and her performance will undoubtedly be worth the $29 ticket price, easy. Check her out. --J.B.

Asia Aid

Four months after the tsunami of Southeast Asia hit, there are people who still need help recovering.

"When the tsunami hit, there was tremendous physical as well as emotional trauma, not only to those who were in it, but those who had family in it," says Joannne Haupert, doctor of chiropractics at Inspired Healing.

Although, Haupert says, it is hard to say exactly how much the United States has given to help reconstruct the countries damaged by the tsunami, she believes we can always give more. That's why Inspired Healing is showing A Walk of Wisdom, a documentary by the spiritual leader Mae Chee Sansanee of Thailand, about her belief in individual people reaching their full potential of helping their society.

The film is a tribute to the people most affected by the tsunami, and Inspired Healing is asking for donations for the long-term rehabilitation of survivors and the education and nurturing of orphaned children in Thailand. Inspired Healing will match whatever donations they bring in.

Haupert says people need to have not only their physical needs met, but also their emotional, psychosocial and spiritual needs addressed.

"When you lose a mother, you don't just need food on your table. You need another mother role, and you need to deal with the fact that this very-important being to your existence is no longer there," Haupert says.

A Walk of Wisdom is aimed at opening peoples' hearts. "Within tragedy, there is always a seed of potential of us gathering to add to the relief effort," Haupert says.

Admission is free. --A.L.

Aspen Fire Rebirth

UA sculpture grad student Kate Hodges came to Tucson from Vermont, and she says she instantly was drawn to Mount Lemmon and its trees. When the devastating Aspen fire hit in 2003, she decided she wanted to create something to honor the place. She says she's also seen the new life that's been created after the fire, and that further developed her idea.

"I noticed the resilience and the beauty (that came) out of this traumatic situation," she said. "There's so much new life, and I thought this was a great way to honor that aspect of it."

She's talking about her large-scale sculpture, "Resilience and Resurrection." Funded in part by a $4,500 grant, Hodges had three trunks from trees killed in the Aspen fire brought down from the Summerhaven area. Daily during the last two semesters, Hodges carved and painted two of the 30-foot trunks; she cut the third into pieces and inlayed other pieces of wood from Mount Lemmon--some dating as far back as from the 1500s--that the UA Dendrochronology Department gave her. (I didn't know what the heck dendrochronology meant, either; it's the study of climate changes and past events using tree rings.)

"It's an incredible science," she says. "It really links to art, with the patterns, the rhythms and the connection to the land."

Hodges' end result, "Resilience and Resurrection," is a mixture of art and science, all of it themed around rebirth (i.e. the trees' life continues through the exhibit). Hodges says the sculpture will be on display for a year before, she hopes, it finds a permanent home. It's being unveiled on Saturday, April 30, on lawn on the east side of the road adjacent to the UA Life Science Building South. --J.B.