Critics' picks for the week of Oct. 17-24
Dance
An evening with Kent Stowell and Francia Russell
Wednesday: The soon-to-retire co-directors of Pacific Northwest Ballet take time out to look back at their years with choreographer George Balanchine, and ahead to the future of ballet. Joining them on Town Hall's stage will be their sons (one directs Oregon Ballet Theatre in Portland; another runs the downtown Seattle restaurant Union) and company dancers. 7:30 p.m., Eighth Avenue and Seneca Street, Seattle, $10 (www.ticketweb.com or at the door; information, www.townhallseattle.com).
Lynn Jacobson, assistant A&E editor
Lecture/performance
lone twin
Wednesday-Oct. 24: The British duo of Gregg Whelan and Gary Winters, also known as lone twin, gather most of the material for their original shows by climbing on their bicycles and hitting the road. The pair are doing that for several days in Seattle, journeying along the route of the proposed monorail expansion. Their adventures will feed into a full-length, lecture-style performance, which opens at 8 p.m. Wednesday at On the Boards, 100 W. Roy St., Seattle. Included will be material about lone twin's previous site-specific shows set along particular roads and routes in Norway, Brussells, Lisbon, Chicago and elsewhere. Tickets are $12-$18 (206-217-9888 or www.ontheboards.org).
Misha Berson, theater critic
Jazz
Raw Materials
Thursday: Pianist Vijay Iyer and alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa — aka Raw Materials — improvise jazz in Indian modes and rhythms. No, not in that transcendent, '60s way but with a lively, present virtuosity full of unexpected twists and turns and break-your-heart lyricism. This extraordinary duo performs on the Earshot Jazz Festival at 8 p.m. at Consolidated Works, 500 Boren Ave. N., Seattle, $12 (206-547-9787 or www.earshot.org).
Paul de Barros, jazz critic
Visual art
Goya in the 21st Century
Thursday: Art history professor Andrew Schultz of Seattle University talks about what makes Goya's paintings and prints seem so modern. The slide lecture is in conjunction with the current Seattle Art Museum exhibit "Spain in the Age of Exploration, 1492-1819." Free with museum admission. 7 p.m., Seattle Art Museum, 100 University St., Seattle (206-654-3100 or www.seattleartmuseum.org).
Sheila Farr, art critic
Rock
Van Halen
Friday: The reunited rock band, made up of Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar, brings its national tour to KeyArena, Seattle Center, at 7:30 p.m. Friday; $35-$125, 206-628-0888, www.ticketmaster.com or www.cc.com; information, 206-684-7200, www.seattlecenter.com
Patrick MacDonald, music critic
Books
Legacy: A Celebration of James Welch
Friday and Saturday: Richard Hugo House celebrates the life of the late James Welch, a distinguished Blackfoot/Gros Ventre novelist and poet who died last year. Welch's many friends and admirers, including Sherman Alexie, Ivan Doig, Debra Magpie Earling, Gretel Ehrlich, Jim Harrison, Gerry Howard, Ripley Hugo, William Kittredge, Frances McCue, Simon Ortiz, Leslie Marmon Silko, Annick Smith, Paul Stekkler, James Tate and Lois Welch, will appear. Advance tickets covering the entire two-day event are sold out, but tickets to single events may be available at the door: Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., Seattle (206-322-7030; www.hugohouse.org).
Mary Ann Gwinn, book editor
Visual art
Collaborations with Elizabeth Tapper
Saturday : Master printmaker Elizabeth Tapper works with top Northwest artists to translate their work into multiples, using etching, engraving, dry point, mezzotint or various relief print methods. A show of prints Tapper produced in collaboration with artists Gwen Knight, Michael Spafford, Fay Jones, Elizabeth Sandvig, Jay Steensma, Susan Bennerstrom and many others opens Saturday at the Museum of Northwest Art. At 2 to 5 p.m., Tapper will be present, along with many of her artist friends. "Collaborations from the Elizabeth Tapper Print Workshop" continues through Jan. 9 at 121 S. First St., La Conner (360-466-4446 or www.museumofnwart.org).
Sheila Farr