HERE & NOW
Sunday, July 16, 2006; Page N10
DANCE
THE DANCE WORLD is famously competitive, but for one night, at least, two companies will not only share the same program, they will perform in the same work. Choreographer Ronald K. Brown created "For Truth" to unite his New York-based troupe, Evidence, with Philadelphia's Philadanco. Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts commissioned the new work and hosts its world premiere. In keeping with Brown's interest in matters of faith, "For Truth" explores the emotions of committing oneself to a higher power. Evidence and Philadanco will also perform separately on the program.
-- Sarah Kaufman
At Wolf Trap's Filene Center, 1551 Trap Rd., Vienna. Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. $10-$34. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visithttp:/
CLASSICAL MUSIC
THIS HAS BEEN AN UNUSUALLY RICH SEASON for visiting Asian orchestras. In May, the China National Symphony Orchestra came to the Music Center at Strathmore. And tonight, the Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra will bring a program titled "Taiwan Nights" to the Kennedy Center. Much of the music is familiar -- Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro" Overture and Dvorak's "New World" Symphony -- but the program also includes the world premiere of a piano concerto titled "Far Horizon," by the Chinese composer Chien-Tai Chen. Pianist Brian Ganz met Chen at the University of Maryland in the 1980s, so this is a collaboration between old friends. Yoel Levi will conduct.
-- Tim Page
At the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW. Tonight at 8. $30-$70. Call 202-467-4600 or visithttp:/
ART
"HOME FREE," AN EXHIBITION of the Philadelphia artists collective Vox Populi, has a somewhat above-average mix of good, bad and indifferent art. One piece, however, manages to take a standard contemporary trick and get it absolutely right. A video called "Cocked," by Matthew Suib, pulls together various snippets of Hollywood footage that all depict a single theme -- as many other art videos have done over the past decade or so, to varying effect. In the case of "Cocked," the clips, each one lasting maybe a second or three, come from 10 classic spaghetti westerns, featuring stars such as Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson. They capture a Hollywood gunfighter's trademark tics and gestures as he's about to kill: narrowing eyes, twitching cheek muscles, fingers caressing the grip of a six-shooter, a sneering smile or dead-fish gaze. Assembled into an 11-minute loop, these moments of almost static gesture feel like the endless buildup to the world's most hideous gunfight -- which we never get to see. There's a strange, almost sexual tension to these exchanges of sly glances between men. "Cocked," made in 2003 in reaction to the impending Iraq war, is about the pornography of violence. Or at least it's a teaser for it.
-- Blake Gopnik
At the District of Columbia Arts Center, 2438 18th St. NW. Through July 23. Open Wednesday through Sunday 2 p.m.-7 p.m. Free. Call 202-462-7883 or visithttp:/
