Founded in 1993 by Venezuelan dancer Maria Eugenia Barrios and Israeli dancer Offer Zaks, the Ballet Contemporaneo de Caracas is becoming one of the most innovative dance companies in South America. And it’s not surprising, considering both of its founders have worked with dancers such as Alvin Ailey and Anna…

Contemporary dance can inspire confusion and panic in the average viewer. But now it’s time for us all to get over it, and Rayn Hookala is here to help. A graduate student in Arizona State University’s department of dance, Hookala works overtime with her own dance company, Rayn Dance Theatre…

9/20-1/4 Artist Sloane McFarland has one foot in the art world and one foot in the real estate world. One must wonder what his closet looks like: equal parts smock and yellow blazer? Regardless, he is being talked about as one of the most exciting artists in Arizona. A third-generation…

9/18-9/20 It is fitting that September marks not only the opening of an inspiring exhibition in Scottsdale, but also the month that Frida Kahlo endured a horrific accident. In 1925, Kahlo woke up with a disabled body she hadn’t counted on and would have to live with for the rest…

9/12-10/5 Putting the “community” in community theater, Teatro Bravo launches its Triple Rep Fest this weekend, addressing “important contemporary, even urgent issues of concern to various segments of our community,” according to artistic director Guillermo Reyes. Arizona’s only bilingual theater company opens the curtain Friday, September 12, with an 8…

Fri 9/12 During its heyday in the late ’60s and early ’70s, the sport of women’s roller derby proved that ladies with skating skills and a penchant for foul play made for great entertainment. Some 30 years later, the derby keeps a lower profile, a condition that a group of…

9/13-1/4 For as long as civilizations have existed, artists have shined a telling light on the social and political issues at play in their homelands. In Mexico, the folk artist has long filled the role of social commentator, documenting the struggle of a resilient people in overcoming adversity and achieving…

Dino Hawkins, a.k.a. “Volume 10,” has dedicated his life to the art of hip-hop in its purest form. Spending late nights at the Good Life Café in Los Angeles’ Crenshaw district, Dino saw bands such as Jurassic 5, The Pharcyde, and Freestyle Fellowship take off and make names for themselves…

Sat 8/30 When Jonathan Swift suggested in his famous work A Modest Proposal that the Irish eat their own young, he was being sarcastic. So when comic Ryan McKee began a local humor magazine in January and called it Modest Proposal, he knew he had picked a title that would…

Sat 8/30 Impact Zone Wrestling, the state’s only full-service training school for professional wrestlers, celebrates its first anniversary at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, August 30, with a full card of local wrestlers at its Phoenix facility. For $8, fans can check out the next generation of pro wrestling heroes, who…

8/23-12-6 Can’t tell the difference between a Renaissance and a Baroque painting? Be not afraid. The ASU Art Museum happens to own some of the best examples of art from both periods, and, beginning Saturday, August 23, brings them out for all to see. “The Painters’ Craft: Renaissance and Baroque…

Thu 8/14 Got a weakness for good wine? Then flight for your right to party starting Thursday, August 14, when Furio hosts Flight Night, a new wine event featuring flights of three boutique wines and chic eats prepared by executive chef Jagger Griffin. A different local wine lover hosts the…

Sat 8/9 If ever there was a group of athletes putting it all on the line for the love of the game, it would be the ladies of the Women’s Professional Football League. Even though money, fame and glory on the gridiron seem reserved for the testosterone set, these mothers,…

Giligin’s in Scottsdale has good old-fashioned entertainment all figured out, and all of us lemmings will eventually jump into owner Mike Field’s arms — it’s just a matter of time. Giligin’s Wheel of Fear Factor game on Wednesday nights is one of the best-kept secrets in the greater Phoenix area…

With a star-studded roster including George Clinton, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, India.Arie, Kansas, Naughty by Nature, Billy Bob Thornton, and the Village People, it’s either a benefit concert or a Sweeps Week episode of The Simpsons. This weekend, it’s the former, as Off the Hook Productions sponsors a concert benefiting…

7/18-8/20 Thanks to a Valley pioneer in lace exploration, adventurous theatergoers soon will see London, France and beyond. Beginning Friday, July 18, On the Spot Productions presents Skimpies, a brief treatise on underpants. The cheeky comedy, which swept the Zoni awards after its 1990 première, returns with new music and…

Mon 7/21 “I hadn’t really thought about doing thrillers for adults,” says best-selling children’s author R.L. Stine. He’s speaking of his new book, The Sitter, a creepy summer read aimed at the twentysomething set that grew up reading Stine’s Goosebumps series. “I thought maybe I’d try to grow with my…

7/3-8/23 Lions and tigers and a buffet? Oh, my. Starting Thursday, July 3, Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre West, 5247 East Brown in Mesa, presents The Wizard of Oz. No word on whether the production will be timed, like the film, in synch with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon,…

Wet Paint Art Supply & Gallery could be one of the best things to happen to Tempe’s underground culture since Mill Avenue went corporate. Located in downtown Tempe, right across the street from Arizona State University, Wet Paint is the brainchild of artist Jess Jordan. It didn’t take Jordan long…

If you experienced a sugar high between the years of 1956 and 1989 from Twinkies and candy stuffed into a Ladmo bag, it’s time to give back. The Arizona Historical Society Museum’s Wallace & Ladmo Fan Convention is your chance to relive the days of The Wallace & Ladmo Show…

ONGOING Oil up that arm and get ready to show some strangers just how tough you really are. In homage to the old-style roadhouses of the Wild West, Iguana Mack’s, 1371 North Alma School in Chandler, can guarantee you a good time — if you have the elbow grease. The…

6/5-7/20 We are supposedly the sum of our experiences. If we all had the experiences of Michel Sarda, we’d be pretty damn interesting. Equal parts architect, artist, photographer and designer, Sarda hails from France originally but holds Arizona close to his heart. “Dance in Motion,” Sarda’s collection of photographs of…