Whether you're a little tyke in tights or a full-grown mama in a tutu, the Ballet Theatre of New Mexico will soon be putting up two productions, and they're looking for someone just like you. Auditions for The Nutcracker and A Midsummer Night's Dream will be held Saturday, August 27, at the Ballet Theatre of New Mexico offices at 6913 Natalie NE. Dancers ages 9 to 14 will audition from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Older dancers from 15 to adult will audition from 3 to 4:30 p.m. You must have a minimum of two years of ballet training and be currently enrolled in at least two classes per week at any studio. For more details, call 888-1054 or go to btnm.org.
Over the past two years, Trevor Lucero Studio has been host to a broad spectrum of art, as well as music and video performances. Unfortunately, the space will soon be closing its doors. "It's really expensive to do free things for the public," Lucero said about the studio's closing. The last exhibit opens this Friday, August 26, with a reception from 7 to 9 p.m. and will feature Santa Fe artist Eli Levin who is best known for his satirical bar and dance hall scenes. At the reception, Levin will be signing a book called Scenes of Santa Fe Nightlife consisting of his etchings done over the past 20 years. Lucero calls it Levin's lifetime achievement. Trevor Lucero Studio is located at 500 Second Street SW. 244-0730.
Some of us smoke. Some of us drink. Some of us cultivate elaborate perverted fantasies involving gigantic purple bunnies. Even the most straitlaced people in the world have a bad habit or two they wouldn't mind discarding. Of course, getting rid of bad habits is like getting rid of the in-laws; sooner or later, they'll almost certainly be back—with a vengeance.
Nighttime is prime time to get creative. On Friday, August 26, from 10 p.m. to midnight, Gorilla Tango (519 Central NW) will be holding a contest for playwrights. Writers have two hours to write a play, which will then be performed the next day. If you want to participate but don't care for writing, they also need directors and actors. Auditions for those positions will be on Saturday, August 27, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. You'd better be a quick study, because the performance of these plays will be at 8 p.m. that same night. Prizes will be awarded to the plays that get the most votes from the audience. Playwrights must pay a $5 entry fee. For details, call 245-8000.
In addition to being one of America's finest prose stylists, Michael Cunningham has an uncanny knack for making himself a vessel for other writers. He did it with his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Hours, which conjured Virginia Woolf, and he does it again here, brilliantly and with great delicacy, in Specimen Days, which grows out of Walt Whitman's unsung masterpiece like a beautiful orchid.
Chasing the Rodeo: On Wild Rides and Big Dreams, Broken Hearts and Broken Bones, and One Man's Search for the West
American sports culture is as diverse as it is divergent. NBA hopefuls, competitive cheerleaders and freestyle BMXers can prosper and fail in states of mutual obliviousness. Indeed, the world of sports has never been wider. Still, it's odd that a seemingly home-brewed sport like rodeo should be considered marginal. But facts must be faced: Does any rodeo icon living or dead enjoy half the recognition of the most obscure member of Paris Hilton's entourage? I don't think so.
