1) Aslyn performs at Smith’s Olde Bar.

2) The Beam hosts its 2007 Emerging Artist Concert with choreography by Molly Schneider Perez.

3) Merle Haggard performs at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

4) Ben Jones signs and discusses Redneck Boy in the Promised Land at Manuel’s Tavern.

5) A Common Space by Charlotte Foust and Melissa Stern continues at Barbara Archer Gallery.

(Photo courtesy Aslyn)

1) Comedian Bill Burr finishes his three-day run at the Punchline.

2) Sha’ni and the Tiger’s Eye Collection host A Midsummer Night’s Dream with world-renowned dancer Ava Fleming at Sketchworks Theater.

3) Lakewood Amphitheatre strikes a fun trifecta: R.E.M., Modest Mouse and the National perform.

4) Leslie Jordan reads and signs My Trip Down the Pink Carpet at Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse.

5) Blues Traveler and more perform in Candler Park for the Midsummer Music Fest.

(Photo courtesy APA Agency)

2) Urban wear brand Sol Munki celebrates street culture with its shoe release party at MJQ.

3) Decatur ships in 60 tons of sand for the annual Decatur Beach Party.

4) Beep Beep Gallery hosts a closing reception for Double Feature: New Works by Blink and Rene Arriagada with DJs, a cookout and music performance by All the Saints.

5) Melissa Etheridge performs at Chastain Park Amphitheatre.

(Photo courtesy Less Than Jake)

If I could, I’d post the whole movie as a tribute, if only to see her in the upbeat Commie number “The Red Blues,” or to hear her say, “Where is the little comrades’ room?” when she has to powder her nose. She was a beautiful and incredible dancer, and she has no contemporary equal. She will be missed. UPDATE:Turner Classic Movies will honor Charisse with a screening of three of her films on Friday, June 27: 1952’s Singin’ in the Rain (8 p.m.); 1953’s The Band Wagon (10 p.m.), directed by Vincente Minnelli and co-starring Fred Astaire; and 1957’s Silk Stockings, the popular musical remake of Ninotchka that also features Astaire. “Cyd Charisse was one of the few who managed to have it all: a great career, a place in movie history, respect from her peers and a husband who adored her,” TCM host Robert Osborne said in a press release. “My last time seeing her just a few months ago in New York said it all, with photographers snapping pictures of the movie star while she smiled brightly on the arm of her husband of 60 years, Tony Martin.”

Tickets to the performance at Pace Academy Fine Arts Center (966 West Paces Ferry Road) are $20 in advance, $25 at the door; call 404-877-0005 or visit the website.

Edwards (pictured) took some time to discuss the upcoming production.

What makes you most excited about the upcoming production? Which numbers will you be dancing, and what will your role be?
I am very excited about this upcoming production because I’ve choreographed my first full-length ballet, “Graduation Ball.” Even though it’s considered at “short ballet” at under a half hour, I still feel like it’s a personal accomplishment for me as an emerging choreographer! Also, I will be dancing in Pamela Dionne’s “The Lady Sings.”

Explain the theme “Earthly Paradise,” and how the music was chosen for it. What’s been the most fun part of preparing for this production?
“Earthly Paradise” is a children’s ballet danced to the music of Johann Strauss II. Pamela and I wanted to connect both the children’s ballet “Earthly Paradise” and the adult’s ballet, “Graduation Ball.” So, we chose one of Strauss’ beautiful waltzes to create a garden scene before the beginning of “Graduation Ball.”
“Earthly Paradise” will feature two young lovers later dancing in “Graduation Ball” who are surrounded by an enchanted garden of children dancing as butterflies, bees, birds, bunnies, and a fairy. It’s been a lot of fun working with the children who, for some of them, will be performing for the first time on stage. It’s fulfilling to see the amount of improvement and confidence these kids have attained since the beginning of the school year.

With “The Lady Swings” (pictured, above), talk about the connection between classic jazz tunes by folks like Dinah Washington, Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald, and what the allure is to interpreting such music.
As a dancer in “The Lady Swings,” I thoroughly enjoy the connection the ballet has to real life. Many people, at some point in their lives, experience the trails and tribulations of love. That’s what this ballet is about. In the beginning, I dance the solo role of a woman questioning love to the music “What is Love?” by Andrea Marcovicci. I feel like I’ve been in this woman’s place before, so I can honestly put my emotion into the pedestrian-influenced choreography. Further into the ballet, I find what I think is everlasting love when I dance a pas de deux to the song “Our Love is Here to Stay.” However, many times love is not here to stay. Our hearts are often broken.
The other soloist, Jane King, dances my other half to the song “You’ve Changed” by Billie Holiday. She is now broken-hearted and consumed with loss. Nevertheless, we as humans long for love, find love, lose love, and eventually recover from it as shown in the final group dance to “Ooh Child” by Nina Simone.

Let’s go back to your big debut. Talk a little more about your work, particularly the choreography, on “Graduation Ball,” and that use of Strauss’ music.
“Graduation Ball” is a one-act ballet musically arranged by Antal Dorati and set to selected works of Johann Strauss II. It’s a light-hearted, comic ballet that follows the happenings of a graduation ball in a Viennese young ladies college to which cadets from a military college are invited. In the first scene, the ladies bustle about trying to get ready for the ball. Three of the school’s youngest ladies are indecisive about their attire and find humor in a dancing race avoiding to get dressed.
The ball begins in the second scene with a mazurka danced by the evening’s guests. At first, the young ladies and cadets are timid but soon begin to dance with each other. A series of divertissements and waltzes ensue. Amidst all of the dancing, a young lady of the school and one of the cadets discover romance. The two dance a pas de deux slowly bringing the night to an end. Everyone dances a final waltz, which is soon interrupted by the sight of another romance between the headmistress and the military commander. They bashfully come forward as everyone finishes the exciting night of dancing. The young ladies and cadets reluctantly bid one another goodnight and the stage quiets.
Just before the lights fade, the young lady who found romance with her handsome cadet dreamily dances back into the room. As she’s dancing, her cadet sneaks back into the room to bid her one last farewell. However, the headmistress finds the two and sends the cadet quickly on his way!
Since I started working with the dancers several months ago, they’ve come a long way in terms of interpreting the comic nuances and technical detail. I really enjoy watching the dancers’ personalities come out when they’re rehearsing and I truly look forward to seeing the finished product on stage.

(Photos by Dean Hesse)

2) Syrens of the South performs Cabaret Noir at the Highland Inn Ballroom & Lounge.

3) CityDance Ensemble presents Earthly Paradise Saturday, featuring the Lady Swings, Graduation Ball and contemporary modern dance.

4) Virginia Willis signs Bon Appetit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking at Eagle Eye Book Shop.

5) Mamma Mia! continues at the Fox Theatre.

(Photo by Patrick Hoelck)

2) Rick Fowler performs at Smith’s Olde Bar with Mighty Orq, Brian Wright & the Waco Tragedies, and Quadrosonic.

3) Full Radius Dance presents Sideshow dance performance at 7 Stages.

4) Steven Raichlen signs and discusses The Barbecue! Bible at Wordsmiths Books.

5) Eyedrum Music & Art Gallery screens Bomb It!, a feature documentary about graffiti and street culture.

(Image by Ben Goldman)

1) The AVP Crocs Atlanta Open volleyball tour finishes its three-day stay at Atlantic Station.

2) Atlanta-based African-American Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra performs at Woodruff Arts Center.

3) Your last chance to gnaw on an oversize turkey leg: The Georgia Renaissance Festival finishes its final weekend of 2008.

4) Sweeney Todd closes the curtain after its last night at the Fox Theatre.

5) Steve Coffey performs at the Earl with the Rockin’ Pontoons.

(Photo by AVP/Holly Stein)

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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Katrina, Katrina: Love Letters to New Orleans (Photo by Steve Nealey)

1) Pearson Widrig Dance Theater’s Katrina, Katrina: Love Letters to New Orleans takes another look at Hurricane Katrina.

2) Abigail Washburn performs at Variety Playhouse with a superstar lineup including Bela Fleck, Casey Driessen and Ben Sollee.

3) Sideways Contemporary Dance Company’s Evolution: No Fixed Points explores male-female relations at 7 Stages Theater.

4) Alexandra Fuller reads and signs The Legend of Colton H. Bryant at Margaret Mitchell House & Museum.

5) Bell X1 performs at the Loft with Rantings of Eva.