Dance Kaleidoscope: World Carnaval

"Play Mas" from Dance Kaleidoscope will be on stage at the Indiana Repertory Theatre 7-10 January. Billed as "a vibrant up-beat collection of dances inspired by Brazilian and Trinidadian Carnavals featuring large costume sculptures like those in a Carnaval parade, and the return of Food of Love, an exotic blend of international music, sensual dancing and sumptuous costumes," it features music from Argentina, Pakistan, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Africa.

Tickets are available IRTLive.com, and range from $6 (for the "mini-matinee at noon Thursday, 7 January) to $37 for the performance on Friday (8 January) January.

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Lotus Festival: World Music & Arts

The Lotus World Music & Arts Festival, set for 24-27 September in Bloomington, has so much going on it's hard to settle on just one aspect.

For example, here are just some of the performers scheduled to appear:

# Rahim AlHaj / Friday
Virtuoso Iraqi oud

# Bajofondo / Saturday
Electrotango from Argentina

# BLK JKS / Saturday
Psychedelic, Afro-futuristic rock from South Africa

# Cara Dillon / Friday, Saturday
Irish traditional song

# Forro in the Dark / Saturday
Northeastern Brazilian party music

# Hanggai / Saturday, Sunday
Folk music from Inner Mongolia & China

# Huun Huur-Tu & Carmen Rizzo / Friday
Electronica meets throat-singing from Tuva

# Kinobe & Soul Beat Africa / Friday, Saturday
Ugandan song, dance, & drumming

# Srinivas Krishnan & Madras Broadcast / Saturday, Sunday
Indian fusion

# Little Cow / Thursday, Friday
Ska/rock/funk/Gypsy fusion from Hungary

# Los de Abajo / Friday, Saturday
Salsa, punk, and rock from Mexico

# The Megitza Quartet / Friday
Roma and East European world fusion

# Occidental Brothers Dance Band International / Friday
Central & West African dance music

# Orchestra of Tetouan / Friday, Saturday
Traditional vocal & instrumental music of Andalusia & North Africa

# Parno Graszt / Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Hungarian Gypsy music

# Salaam / Saturday
Middle Eastern & North African traditional music

# Väsen / Thursday
Contemporary instrumental folk music from Sweden

# Vishtén / Saturday, Sunday
Acadian traditional music, song, and dance

# Watcha Clan/ Friday, Saturday
Global fusion from France

# The Zolfonoon Ensemble of Iran / Saturday
Classical Persian

Did you know that the festival honors Lotus Dickey (1911-1989)? The folk singer, songwriter, and musician from rural Orange County, Indiana, wrote tunes and songs that drew from his family and community, as well as from country singers and fiddlers he heard on the radio. Each year, the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival honors Lotus Dickey's memory with a set of music or an interactive workshop that introduces new audiences to his music and the old-time traditions of the United States.

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Cine Latino Debuts at IMA in September

"Cine Latino: films from Latin America" includes four Thursday evening screenings in the DeBoest Lecture Hall of the Indianapolis Museum of Art featuring films from Latin America. All are in Spanish or Portuguese with English subtitles.

Here's the lineup for the 6:30 p.m. showings, for which tickets are $5 each:

4 September: "Golope de Estadio / Time Out"
(Colombia, 1999, 120 mins., dir. Sergio Cabrera)
As the nation teeters on the brink of civil war, most citizens are mesmerized by a championship soccer match. This includes a pilot whose excitement about Columbia scoring a goal causes him to crash into an American-owned oil tower at the center of a standoff between Colombian military guards and insurgent guerrilla forces. Golpe de Estadio is a scathing political and social satire of all the parties involved in one nation’s seemingly insurmountable problems. Shown in collaboration with Sociedad Amigos de Colombia.

11 September: "Eu Tu Eles / Me You Them"
(Brazil, 2000, 104 mins., dir. Andrucha Waddington (pictured))
Waddington’s gently ironic and seductively picturesque tale of female empowerment centers on an impoverished mother of four children by four different fathers. Based on a true story, Waddington explores how her heroine navigates an intensely patriarchal environment, as three of the fathers end up sharing a house with the mother and children. Shown in collaboration with the Association of International Women.

18 September: "La Zona / The Zone"
(Mexico, 2007, 97 mins., dir. Rodrigo Plá)
When an electrical storm disables security for a wealthy private community, three teenage boys from the slums sneak in with a plan to rob the homes and make a quick getaway. A bungled robbery results in the death of two of the teens, a security guard and a woman. While the third teen hides, the community declares martial law to prevent losing its privacy and protection. At once a taut thriller and a portrait of a society willing to give up its own humanity in the name of security, La Zona won the De Laurentis Award at the Venice International Film Festival and the International Critics’ Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.

25 September: "Encarnación / Erni"
(Argentina, 2007, 93 mins., dir. Anahí Berneri)
Encarnación (Erni) is a fiercely independent woman. The former pin-up model and showgirl, now in her fifties and happily single, still has enough sex appeal and determination to keep her career going despite the passage of time. But when she receives an invitation to her favorite niece’s 15th birthday party, Erni puts herself to a harder test: returning to the small town she left behind. Encarnación won the Innovation Award at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. Shown in collaboration with the Association of International Women.