A&E

Dance-heavy 'A Chorus Line' on stage now through Saturday

It was July 25, 1975, when "A Chorus Line" opened on Broadway, letting audiences know there was still life to be lived by big musicals. This big musical paid tribute to the thousands of chorus dancers called "gypsies" roaming New York City's cast calls. The IU Department of Theatre & Drama's season finale is a show about dancers trying to get a job in a dance chorus. The production opened Friday at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre with additional performances to be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Pakistani man dons dress, makeup to become praised talk-show diva

KARACHI, Pakistan -- Born a boy, Ali Salim long prayed to God to make him a girl. Years later, he is the most famous female TV identity in this devoutly Muslim, male-dominated country, even if his physiology remains unchanged.

Area dance troupe recalls Nirvana, The Rolling Stones in performance Saturday

Hoping to ignite a passion for dance in the community, Bloomington's Windfall Dance Company's spring show centers on the history of rock 'n' roll, said co-director Laura McCain.

Indian music concert aims to raise funds, celebrate diverse sounds this weekend

Mandawuy Yunupingu, founder of the Aboriginal music group, Yothu Yindi, once said that "music is a universal language without prejudice." IU's Association for India's Development intends to prove him correct when the organization presents "Maithreem: An Indian Music Concert" at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.

New Kinsey exhibit expands meaning of erotic art

Erotic art has a new home. The first annual Kinsey Institute Juried Erotic Art Show premieres at 5 p.m. Friday with a public reception. The show will feature almost 40 contemporary artworks created by artists from 19 different states, said organizer Garry Milius.

Lighthearted fun makes up for flimsy narrative in 'Mamma Mia!'

Campy and reminiscent, "Mamma Mia!" sure isn't the thinking man's ... or woman's musical, though Donna Sheridan (played by Laurie Wells) bears her femininity with stark ferocity, fighting "marriage, the institution for people who belong in an institution," as she and her on-stage friends put it. But what am I talking about? This isn't a musical with a plot. The thin veil of a story drapes the performers, reminding them to laugh or cry and throw out a dance move or two.

LOTS OF DOTS

'Holy Spirit on Grand Avenue' premieres tonight

A boy stabs a girl 22 times, killing her. Years later, three friends discuss her life, death and the changes that emanated from the tragedy. This is part of the premise of "Holy Spirit on Grand Avenue," a first-run play from the Bloomington Playwrights Project, which premieres at 8 p.m. Written by award-winning playwright Toni Press-Coffman, "Holy Spirit" centers around three friends who share a life-changing experience from their distant past. They discuss their feelings about the death and how it continues to change their lives. Also in the play are the ghost of the deceased girl, Diana, and her murderer, a 16-year-old boy.

Annual Union Board student film festival features 19 films this weekend

Student filmmakers will be able to showcase their talents tonight and Friday night at the Union Board's fifth annual Student Film Festival. The event begins at 8 p.m. in the Whittenberger Auditorium of the Indiana Memorial Union both nights. The event, free for IU students or $2 for nonstudents, will feature 19 films of all types: comedy, mystery, horror, science fiction, drama and artistic movies, Union Board Films Director and junior Dash Voorhees said.

SIDEWALK RUNWAY

Saying cheese on the street

The year was 1945 and the Allied forces had just learned of Japan's surrender; World War II was nearing an end. An anonymous sailor grabbed the first woman he saw, a pretty nurse, and tilted her back in a passionate, celebratory kiss. Alfred Eisenstaedt happened to be in Times Square that day and caught the spontaneous smooch on his camera.

Sight, smell, sip, summarize

Swirling, sniffing and swishing. Bordeaux, Pinot Grigio and Riesling. Who really cares what this lingo means? Chances are if you have ever swirled a glass of merlot, sniffed a flute of chardonnay or swished a goblet of port, then you've participated in a wine tasting. Wine snobs need not apply -- the art of tasting wine is based on using the senses to your advantage and being eager to appreciate the age-old practice. "There are two camps of wine drinkers," said Jerry Comfort, director of wine education at Beringer Blass Wine Estates in Napa, California. "There are beverage drinkers and drinkers (interested in) the historic growth of wine."

Market me happy

If you're reading this column, then chances are you are a prime demographic, and I've just tapped into the nirvana of corporate marketeering. Your hopes and dreams, insecurities and fears, they are all worth millions -- not to you, but in the boardroom.

Hip Hop Awareness Festival week aims to change views

A festival this week is using hip-hop as a way to change stereotypes on campus. It will bring people together and transcend gender, age and race, said junior Alex Pyatetsky, president of IU's chapter of Hip Hop Congress. He said hip-hop is a form where different perspectives can come together.

ARTIFACTS

Dance and music groups come together to 'Set It Off' at Willkie

Campus dance groups will groove together from 9 to 11 p.m. tonight in the Willkie Auditorium at the first annual "Set It Off." A pre-show dinner Smokey Bones BBQ and Grill is holding begins at 8 p.m. The $3 admission includes dinner and the show. Sequel Hip Hop Dance Co. is sponsoring the event that will feature InMotion Dance Company, IU Essence, IU Breakdance Club, Kicks Dance Studio, Seduction, Unknown, and musical groups Ladies First and Straight No Chaser. Sequel is the first co-ed dance group on campus and is able to incorporate more styles and techniques because of this, said Mark Clarke, the men's captain of the group.

'Tranny Roadshow' uses humor to educate

Wearing a debutante gown on a dress rack, Scott Turner Schofield wheeled down the aisle at the "Tranny Roadshow." "When you're coming out as a debutante," he said, "you pray for a summer gala to avoid being spotted in white after labor day. Isn't that what being queer is all about?" Union Board sponsored the 10-performer show from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday in the IMU Gallery. Fabric swatches, collage cutouts and colored pencil drawings plastered the walls with slogans.

IU alumnus returns with 'Mamma Mia!' tour

Two days after arriving in New York City, 2005 IU graduate Colin Donnell auditioned for the national tour of "Mamma Mia!" Donnell said he read from a couple of scenes in the show for the part of Sky. In the meantime, he was cast in an off-broadway production called "Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver," a tribute to Denver's life and music. "The day after they announced my other show was ending -- that Monday, I got a call from 'Mamma Mia!' asking me to come in one week," Donnell said. Donnell is a chorus member and the understudy for Sky in the musical's national tour, which happens to be making a stop at his alma mater. "Mamma Mia" will open at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the IU Auditorium and continue through April 16. Performances begin at 8 p.m., with two additional performances April 15 and 16 at 2 p.m. "It's really fun," Donnell said. "It's one of the first of that genre of taking pop music and putting it into a show."

Cultural knowledge, entertainment focuses of first ever Korea Night

When junior Josh Kim walked down Kirkwood Avenue with a camera crew, he asked Bloomington residents and IU students Korean trivia. He was surprised when most had no answers.

Hard to imagine

Twenty-five years ago today, then-IU graduate student Glenn Gass sat in front of his television when a friend called and told him to switch to ABC. The friend, who was watching Monday Night Football, heard from Howard Cosell in mid-broadcast that rock 'n' roll icon John Lennon was shot. "There was so much confusion and shock," said Gass, adding that news reports were conflicted as to whether Lennon was dead. "My friends and I were such big (Beatles) fans that it really hit us hard. It's hard to imagine the death of a pop star seeming so much like the death of a family member, but that was how closely we related to John and his music."