Calendar of Events

January 9th and 16th - Contemporary Technique and Contact Improvisation at the Emporium Annex ($15 each/$10 for registration by Jan 8th or with another class).
3-4:30pm - Ground/Space, an intermediate/advanced contemporary technique class
4:30-6pm - Push to Reach, a developmental movement approach to contact improvisation.

January 10th and 17th – Choreographic Process at the Emporium Annex ($30 for first workshop/ $50 for both)
12-3pm - DIG: Dances in Gestation is an investigation of choreographic research processes that will provide a rigorous opportunity to go deeper into your practice of movement and meaning. Jan 10th is a prerequisite for the 17th. Interested choreographers should contact Angela to discuss their creative goals.

January 23rd - Creative Movement for Families at the Emporium Annex ($12 for a family with one child/$15 for two or more children)
3-4pm - Kinnect Tots for families with babies and toddlers (ages 6 months to 3 years)
4-5pm - Kinnect Kids for families with young children (ages 3-6 years)
Parents can connect with their babies and young children through creative play and movement exploration with take home ideas for development and fun.

January 24th - Somatic Movement Integration at URBhana ($30/$20 for registration by Jan 8th or with another class)
12-3 - From Mechanics to Meaning is a somatic movement exploration open to anyone regardless of age or experience. Bring your body into better harmony by engaging perception and coordination to find new possibilities.

Registration is now open and spaces are limited. Discounts are available for multiple workshops and for registration by Jan 8th. You can pre-register in person with cash or check at First Friday on Jan 8th at URBhana or with paypal on the AH Squared website.
Contact Angela at venturedance@gmail.com or call 865-246-1492. Visit www.ahsquared.com or www.circlemoderndance.com for more details. Angela Hill is a former Knoxvillian and now Sydney, Australia based performer, award winning choreographer, somatic therapist and dance educator. She is co-director for AH Squared, a creative partnership with André Hayter and was with Circle Modern Dance for over ten years. She has a BFA in Dance Education from Arizona State University and is a Certified Rolfer™, Rolf Movement Practitioner™ and graduate of the Hakomi Psychotherapy training.

The Piano Men features Dove Award nominee and Canadian Juno Award nominee, recording artist Jim Witter. He and his band lead an expertly crafted tour of an entire decade that begins with "Your Song" and winds along on a musical time machine, saluting two of the century's most popular contemporary songwriters. Utilizing rear-screen projection, the audience sees newspaper headlines, automobiles, people, events, toys and even television commercials that shaped the 1970's. Along the way, the sounds of "My Life," "Candle in the Wind," "Rocket Man," "Just the Way You Are," and many more classic hits create an evening filled with nostalgia. The concert will be conducted by KSO Resident Conductor Jim Fellenbaum.

At the Civic Auditorium, 500 Howard Baker Ave, Knoxville, TN 37915. More information: (865) 291-3310, www.knoxvillesymphony.com

At Farragut High School. Bring your old computers, televisions, phones, electronics, etc. to Farragut High School and dispose of them properly. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

Includes artists Eric Arensbak (wood), Ian Arensback (wood), Bob Bolinger (photography), Tammy Bullman (ceramics), John Fancher (mixed media), Peggy Haupt (mixed media), Mary Louise Hunt (drawing), Susie Nugent (mixed media), Doreen Prakshot (fiber), and Nelson Ziegler (painting). Opening reception Friday, January 8, 6:00-8:00 PM. 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Info: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

The Art Market Gallery of Knoxville will spotlight two member artists, Harriet Howell, featuring her hand painted silk and Brian Hodges, mixed media. The Gallery will host a First Friday Reception for the Featured Artists on Friday, January 8 from 5:30-9 p.m. with music by “One Way Street” playing soft rock. The Art Market Gallery is located at 422 S. Gay St. in downtown Knoxville. Gallery Hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 6 pm & Sunday 1 – 5pm. For more information, call 865-525-5265 or visit www.artmarketgallery.net

A new show performed by an award winning troupe new to the Smoky Mountain Palace. The cast offers the traditional Chinese cultural acrobatics but in a very fast paced, and at times breath taking, manner. The costumes are absolutely gorgeous; the music selected not only is appropriate for the acts but actually enhances them, and the skill of the acrobats is extraordinary. There are traditional acts such as the Chinese Yo-yo, and these ladies not only show off their skills but their stunning costumes as well. The men hoop divers take it to the extreme by diving through hoops that are in motion. A simple schoolyard seesaw, or springboard, is the vehicle that catapults a young lady from the board to the shoulders of another acrobat three people high in the air. A new act that is rarely performed outside of China is the Face Off or Mask Changing. It is a form of Chinese expressionist theater that is documented to be at least 300 years old and is impossible for the audience to explain after seeing it. The face mask on the beautiful young lady changes from one mask to another, without being touched, in the blink of an eye. To the absolute joy of everyone who has seen them, The Jungjo Drums all girl ensemble is back after spending last year preparing for, and participating in, the Beijing Summer Olympics. After two extremely successful seasons of Chinese acrobats, the third version has been highly anticipated and has proven to be exciting and entertaining beyond expectations. It again reinforces the opinion that the Smoky Mountain Palace’s Cirque de Chine is the best theatrical production west of New York and east of Las Vegas.

Cirque de Chine, 179 Collier Dr, Sevierville, TN 37862. For information: 865-429-1601, www.smokymountainpalace.com

Throughout January - St. Joseph School
Throughout February - Garden Montessori School
Throughout March - A.L. Lotts Elementary

Free admission. Hours: Tues-Thurs 10-5; Fri 10-8; Sat 10-5; Sun 1-5. 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37916. 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org, info@knoxart.org

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission announces line-up of events for the 2010 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration. The MLK Celebration programs are designed to increase awareness of Dr. King’s work and to bring all races in our community into closer harmony. For 2010, all celebration events relate to the theme of “Realizing His Dream Through Service: It Is Up To Us” and there are several new programs that underline that theme. Month-long exhibit of MLK-related works of art on display at the Bijou Theatre Gallery. The gala opening of this meaningful exhibit will be from 5:00PM – 7:00PM on January 8th as part of the First Friday events.

803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For additional information: www.mlkknoxville.org, or contact Michael Combs, mcombs@utk.edu.

Wood-fired clay vessels at the O'Brien Art Gallery. For specific dates and updates to exhibits: 865-882-4649, wilkersonbs@roanestate.edu, or www.roanestate.edu/art/gallery

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 9-5; Saturday-Monday, 1-4. For more information, visit the Web site or call (865) 482-1441.

Interested in the links between art, science, and technology through the ages, New York artist Devorah Sperber deconstructs familiar images to address the way the brain processes visual information versus the way we think we see. "As a visual artist," she says, "I cannot think of a topic more stimulating and yet so basic than the act of seeing—how the human brain makes sense of the visual world." Using ordinary spools of thread, Sperber creates pixilated, inverted images of masterpieces, which appear as colorful abstractions to the naked eye. When viewed with optical devices, however, the works becomes immediately recognizable as the famous paintings. The thread spools works are hung upside down in reference to the fact that the lens of the eye projects an inverted image of the world onto the retina, which is corrected by the brain. A clear acrylic sphere, positioned in front of each work, functions like the human eye and brain, not only inverting but also focusing the image so that it appears as a sharp, faithful, right-side-up reproduction of the famous painting. 1050 World's Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 10am-5pm, Friday 10am-8pm, Saturday 10am-5pm, and Sunday 1pm-5pm. FREE admission. For more information: (865) 525-6101, www.knoxart.org

Knoxville artist Russell Briscoe's paintings reflect the work of a historian, as well as an artist, and cover some 190 years of the region's past. Subjects include "Clinch and Gay, 1896," "Christmas Morning," "First Train in Knoxville, 1855," and "The 1897 Gay Street Fire." Information: 865-215-8830, www.east-tennessee-history.org