Flamenco Favorites

Friday, February 9, 2007

Flamenco Favorites

The seventh annual Flamenco Festival, Washington, DC brings some of Spain's leading lights to Lisner Auditorium for five performances. The festival opens Friday with a concert by legendary guitarist Paco de Lucia (tickets are limited). Dancers Joaquin Grilo and Isabel Bayon headline the "Gala 2007: Bienal de Sevilla" on Tuesday. The 20-member troupe Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras dances the Washington premiere of "Sabores," a celebration of flamenco's varied styles, Thursday and Feb. 16. The festival closes Feb. 17 with "Una Mirada del Flamenco," a contemporary adaptation of traditional dance by Compañía Rafaela Carrasco. Tickets cost $30 to $75.

FLAMENCO FESTIVAL Friday, Tuesday, Thursday and Feb. 16-17 at 8 at Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW (Metro: Foggy Bottom-GWU). For tickets, 202-397-7328; for information, 202-994-6800 orhttp://www.lisner.org.

Dance on the Cutting Edge

"Edward Scissorhands," British choreographer Matthew Bourne's wordless music and dance adaptation of the 1990 film fantasy, opens Tuesday at the Kennedy Center after earning rave reviews in

London, Paris and Tokyo before it began its American tour. Edward is a boy created by an inventor who died before his project was finished and left Edward with scissors in place of hands. He manages to find love and acceptance after he demonstrates a unique talent for cutting hair and trimming hedges. Tickets cost $29 to $84. See story on Page 20.

"EDWARD SCISSORHANDS" Tuesday through Feb. 16 at 7:30 and Feb. 17-18 at 1:30 and 7:30 at the Kennedy Center Opera House, 2700 F St. NW (Metro: Foggy Bottom-GWU, with free shuttles). 202-467-4600 (TDD: 202-416-8524) orhttp:// www.kennedy-center.org.

Singin' the Blues

An aging blues guitarist shares a lifetime of songs and stories in "Blues Journey," the world premiere of an adaptation of the children's book by Walter Dean Myers, through Feb. 18 in the Kennedy Center Family Theater. The show is intended for ages 7 and older. All tickets are $15. See story on Page 47.

"BLUES JOURNEY" Friday at 7:30; Saturday and Feb. 17 at 1:30, 4 and 7:30; and Feb. 18 at 1:30 and 4 at the Kennedy Center Family Theater, 2700 F St. NW (Metro: Foggy Bottom-GWU, with free shuttles). 202-467-4600 orhttp://www.kennedy-center.org.

Meet Your Ancestors

Learn about old bones and the creatures that once owned them Saturday at "Fossil Fest: Dinosaurs and More" in the National Museum of Natural History. Museum experts will talk about Earth history, fossils, petrified plants and related topics, and there will be hands-on demonstrations and workshops. Admission is free; free timed tickets are needed for some activities.

"FOSSIL FEST" Saturday 10 to 4 at the National

Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW (Metro: Federal Triangle, Smithsonian). 202-633-1000 orhttp://www.mnh.si.edu.

Chicago in Bethesda

Energetic, acrobatic Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performs four works from its

repertory Thursday and Feb. 16 at Strathmore. The lineup: "Lickety-Split," "Strokes Through the Tail," "Gnawa" and the East Coast premiere of "From All Sides."

Tickets cost $28 to $60.

HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO Thursday and Feb. 16 at 8 at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda (Metro:

Grosvenor-Strathmore). 301-581-5100 orhttp:// www.strathmore.org.

Mice on Ice

Mickey, Minnie and their pals from

"Mulan," "The Lion King" and "Pinocchio" skate across Verizon Center in "Walt

Disney's 100 Years of Magic," this year's colorfully costumed and choreographed edition of Disney on Ice, opening Wednesday. Tickets cost $15 to $75.

DISNEY ON ICE Wednesday at 7:30; Thursday at 10:30 and 7:30; Feb. 16 at 7:30; Feb. 17-18 at 11, 2:30 and 6:30; and Feb. 19 at noon at Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW (Metro: Gallery Place-Chinatown). For tickets, 202-397-7328; for information, 202-628-3200 orhttp://www.verizoncenter.com.

Hitting the Road

Explore more than 400 new cars, SUVs and minivans from more than 30 manufacturers and get up close to the hottest

models from Lamborghini, Ferrari and

Maserati at the 2007 Motor Trend International Auto Show at the Baltimore Convention Center through Sunday. There will also be race car simulators, celebrity guests and an "aftermarket alley" of parts and accessories. Tickets cost $10, seniors $6, ages 7 to 12 $4, younger free.

MOTOR TREND INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW Friday and Saturday 10 to 10 and Sunday 10 to 7 at the Baltimore Convention Center, 1 W. Pratt St., Baltimore. 410-649-7000 orhttp://www.autoshowbaltimore.com.

Politics at Court

The Virginia Opera sings "Agrippina,"

Handel's comic glimpse of a long day of imperial intrigue in ancient Rome, Friday and Sunday at George Mason University's Center for the Arts. Empress Agrippina schemes to set her son, Nero, on the throne after she hears that her husband, Claudius, has drowned. Complications follow when she learns that he survived. Tickets cost $44 to $90.

"AGRIPPINA" by the Virginia Opera, Friday at 8 and Sunday at 2 at the Center for the Arts Concert Hall, George Mason University, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax. For tickets, 888-945-2468; for information, 703-993-8888 orhttp://www.gmu.edu/cfa.

Impressionism Is Born

"Pissarro: Creating the Impressionist Landscape," an exhibition of 45 canvases by the pioneer of impressionism gathered from public and private collections around the world, opens Sunday at the Baltimore Museum of Art, its only East Coast stop on a tour of the United States. The show illustrates the painter's transition from traditional landscapes to bold experimentation. Timed-entry tickets are required. They cost $15, seniors $12, students $10, ages 6 to 18 $6, younger free.

"PISSARRO: CREATING THE IMPRESSIONIST LANDSCAPE" From Sunday through May 13 at the Baltimore

Museum of Art, Art Museum Drive and North Charles Street, Baltimore. 443-573-1700 orhttp://www.artbma.org.

-- Compiled by Barry Barriere