BRIEFLY IN ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Laguna Dance Festival wraps up

The Laguna Dance Festival, formerly CaDance, continues throughout the weekend.

A workshop featuring Joffrey prima ballerina Jodie Gates and artist Rita Blitt, “Dancing Hands,” will be held today from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Neighborhood Congregational Church, 340 St. Ann’s Dr. Free; ages 6 and up.

The gala performance and reception are also tonight, with a performance at 7 p.m. at the Artists’ Theatre, 625 Park Ave.; tickets are $50. The following reception will be held at Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Drive; tickets are $100.

Saturday, join the Parsons Dance Company Repertory for a class in “humor, theatricality and rigorous athleticism” at Legion Hall, 384 Legion St., from noon to 2 p.m. The class is open to students and professionals of all ages, and is $25 per person.

A class by Elizabeth Parkinson will be held simultaneously at Legion Hall, where she will recreate and teach dances from Twyla Tharp’s “Movin’ Out.” Also $25 per person; open to students and professionals of all ages.

That night, the festival hosts “An Evening with the Stars of Dance,” including a pre-show talk with performers at 6:30 p.m. and a performance at 7:30 p.m.; at Artists’ Theatre, 625 Park Ave.; tickets $45 general, $35 seniors and students.

At 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, the Parsons Dance Company will dance in an encore performance at Artist’s Theatre, including a pre-show talk at 3 p.m. Tickets are $45 general and $35 students and seniors.

For more information, call (949) 715-5578 or visit www.lagunadancefestival.org.

Arts Alliance forum Saturday

The Laguna Beach Arts Alliance city council candidates forum will be held Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road.

Candidates Kelly Boyd, Toni Iseman, Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider and Verna Rollinger will address BID support, Art in Public Places, the Community Art Center, the Village Entrance, artists live/work spaces and how to keep arts organizations in town.

The event will begin with coffee at 9:30 a.m., followed by the forum at 10 a.m.

For more information, e-mail [email protected].

Crescent Bay Park to get sculptures

The City Council unanimously approved a proposal by the Arts Commission to have a competition to install up to three sculptural elements at the existing amphitheater at Crescent Bay Point Park.

The location was identified by Public Works because the center planter currently located at the site had become unsightly and had been used as a fire pit.

The recommended $45,000 budget includes a $42,000 honorarium to the artist, $2,000 for the removal of the existing planter and $1,000 for miscellaneous costs.

The current budget includes $19,000 of Business Improvement District funds; the Arts Commission recommended that $26,000 in unused BID funds from previous years also be appropriated.

Momen exhibition set to begin

Swedish-American sculptor and abstract painter Karl Momen will make a presentation on his life and art, “An Odyssey of an Artist,” at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 14. Admission is free, but tickets are required. Tickets are available at Marion Meyer Contemporary Art and Endangered Planet Gallery in Laguna Beach.

A solo exhibition of new Momen paintings is now on view at Endangered Planet Gallery, with a reception for Momen scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15.

At Marion Meyer Contemporary Art, epic Momen paintings and sculptures from the ‘90s will be exhibited, opening on Oct. 14 and continuing until Dec. 3. At 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, the gallery will host a reception for the artist.

Momen is an internationally noted painter and sculptor whose works are in public and private collections in Europe, Japan and the U.S. Here in America, Momen is best known as the creator of the epic 87-foot-tall “Metaphor: The Tree of Utah” sculpture that is located adjacent to Interstate 80 in Utah’s stark Bonneville Salt Flats.

Momen’s paintings and sculptures have been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries worldwide, including most recently The American Swedish Museum, The Tech Museum of Innovation, and the Nordic Heritage Museum. Earlier this year, Momen’s “Nexus” exhibition appeared at the Krasl Art Center, where it was sponsored by the Michigan Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. His 10-painting suite on the operas of Richard Wagner was purchased earlier this summer by Seattle’s Nordic Heritage Museum.

Momen speaks four languages and holds dual U.S. and Swedish citizenship. He currently lives in Stockholm, Sweden, and frequently works in the U.S. at his studio in Sausalito.

Endangered Planet Gallery is located at 384 Forest Ave., #13, in the Lumberyard Mall; for information, call (949) 497-5690 or go to endangeredplanet.org.

Marion Meyer Contemporary Art is located at 354 N. Coast Highway; for information, call (949) 497-5442 or visit marionmeyergallery.com.

College mounts Alumni Exhibition

The Laguna College of Art & Design’s LCAD@45 Invitational Alumni Exhibition runs through Oct. 31. The exhibition will be held at Seven Degrees, located at 891 Laguna Canyon Road. Exhibition hours are Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The exhibition will feature two- and three-dimensional works from accomplished alumni that include drawings, paintings, prints, sculpture, traditional digital, and multi-media presentations. All disciplines taught at the college will be represented: Fine Arts, Sculpture, Illustration, Feature Animation and Graphic Design. The event commemorates the 45th anniversary of Laguna College of Art & Design.

All-star Latin jazz show next weekend

Laguna Beach Live! presents Jose Rizo’s Jazz on the Latin Side All Stars at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14. The 16-piece all-star ensemble is made up of legendary figures, state-of-the-art studio musicians, and popular bandleaders, including Justo Almario (tenor sax), Danilo Lozano (flute), Sal Cracchiolo (trumpet), Bijon Watson (trumpet), Robert Incelli (alto sax), Scott Martin (baritone sax), Jimmy Branly (timbales), Freddie Crespo (lead vocals), Michito Sanchez (congas), and Marvin ‘Smitty’ Smith (drums).

The concert will be held in the Laguna Beach Artists’ Theatre, 625 Park Ave. Tickets are $25 and $20 for adults and $10 for full-time students, and are available online at www.lagunabeachlive.org or by phone, (949) 497-2787, through the Laguna Playhouse box office.