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BEST BETS: March 11 to 17, 2011

It's getting hot in here

Tango Buenos Aires steams up the Callahan Theater stage at Nazareth College with the passion and sensuality of the tango art form. The show is at 7 p.m. Sunday. Tango Buenos Aires is a spectacular concert dance performance with live music. Tickets are $30 to $60. Isabel Cordova, Nazareth College professor of history, presents a free pre-performance lecture at 6 p.m. in Room A-14 of the Arts Center. The Argentine tango has a mixture of African and Spanish antecedents and also a strong influence from the Argentine milonga, which is sung by gauchos, the Argentine "cowboys." In its beginnings, the tango was an ill-famed dance, being very fashionable in dance halls and cabarets, with choreography that called for the couple to hold each other very close. Visit naz.edu.

Get out your green

Everybody's Irish on Saturday during the St. Patrick's Day parade (and again next Thursday on the real St. Patrick's Day). The tradition, one of the biggest events in downtown Rochester, fills the streets with marching bands, traditional dancers, firetrucks and politicians. The parade begins at 12:45 p.m., traveling from Alexander Street down East Avenue, turning left on Main Street and wrapping up at Plymouth Avenue. Other events of the day include a flag-raising ceremony at the County Office Building, 39 W. Main St., at 10:30 a.m. and Johnny's Runnin' O' the Green, a five-mile race that begins at the same time at the Radisson Riverside. Visit rochesterparade.com for all the details.

How sweet it is

The maple sap harvest has begun. For the next three weekends, Genesee Country Village & Museum presents "Sap, Syrup & Sugar." The family event is a nice way for anyone who loves the outdoors (or pancakes) to break up the winter and get outside. Visitors can tap a tree, balance sap buckets on a shoulder yoke and a take self-guided walk to the nature center’s sugar bush. There will be demonstrations of 19th-century maple sugaring over an open fire, as well as modern syrup-making. And, of course, a pancake breakfast with real maple syrup will be served from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For admission details, visit gcv.org.

 

'Asbury Shorts' at Little

If you enjoy cinematic shorts, you know that some of the best stories can be told in less than 10 minutes. Asbury Shorts, New York City's longest-running short film exhibition, brings its New York Short Film Concert to the Little Theatre at 7 and 9:40 p.m. Saturday. The work of Rochester native Matthew Ehlers, a filmmaker now based in New York, will be in the mix. Three of his short films will be shown, including an international film festival favorite, “Lunch,” and “Autobank,” a finalist at the Sundance Film Festival. Ehlers will be in Rochester for the Little Theatre shows. Visit thelittle.org.

On the big screen

In "Battle: Los Angeles," Aaron Eckhart leads an ensemble cast of young Marines who are brought in to fight aliens, and they meet up with Michelle Rodriguez and Bridget Moynahan along the way. "Jane Eyre," based on the classic novel about a mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer but discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret, stars Mia Wasikowska, Judi Dench and Jamie Bell. "Mars Needs Moms!" is a 3-D animated flick about a boy who gains a deeper appreciation for his mom after Martians come to Earth to take her away. And "Red Riding Hood," set in a medieval village that is haunted by a werewolf, is about a girl who falls for an orphaned woodcutter, much to her family's displeasure. It stars Amanda Seyfried, Lukas Haas and Gary Oldman. Find movie times.

Behind the music
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Christopher Seaman leads singers from Mercury Opera Rochester in "Musical Milestones: 20th Century." This popular series goes in depth with Music Director Seaman as he fills in all the details about the stories behind the music. The RPO and Mercury Opera perform Vaughan Williams' "Serenade to Music," which will be recorded live in concert for release by harmonia mundi in 2012, in time for Seaman's 70th birthday celebration. The program also includes music by Ravel, Sibelius, Prokofiev and Bernstein. A live Q&A session follows each one-hour performance. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Visit rpo.org.

 

'Lord of the Dance' here Friday
Fifteen years after Michael Flatley created and launched "Lord of the Dance," the world's highest-grossing Irish dance show is still selling out arenas and theaters around the world. It comes to Rochester at 8 p.m. Friday. The elaborate show—which includes nearly 40 dancers, dramatic lighting, colorful costumes and exciting dance rooted in Irish tradition—is a classic tale of good versus evil, based on Irish folklore that brings a passionate love story to life. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.

 

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