• Austin choreographers David Justin and Gina Patterson will be in New York this weekend both taking part in BalletBuilders, an annual choreography competition presented by New Choreographers on Point Inc. As only seven dance makers from across North America were selected for this year’s contest, it’s quite a coup to have two be from Austin. Justin, who in addition to being a professor of dance at UT-Austin is also artistic director of UT’s Dance Repertory Theatre and artistic director of dance for American Repertory Ensemble, is presenting at BalletBuilders for the first time. Patterson, a principal dancer with Ballet Austin, is making her fourth appearance. If you happen to be in New York, BalletBuilders takes place Saturday, March 31, 8pm; and Sunday, April 1, 3pm, at Florence Gould Hall, 55 E. 59th. For more information, call 212/355-6160.
• Happy fourth birthday to Arts on Real! The Eastside theatre that’s been home to the hit musicals Pageant, When Pigs Fly, and Debbie Does Dallas, as well as such serious fare as K2 and The 24th Day, is marking the occasion with a party, naturally, following the closing-night performance of its current production, Mambo Italiano. Get in on the fun, and go to see the show for $50, a special price that will help ensure that the theatre sees its fifth birthday. For more information, call 472-2787 or visit www.artsonreal.com.
• The city’s Art in Public Places program is dedicating two new pieces of public art this Saturday. Philippe Klinefelter’s Hour Glass Seating Arbor, a large hand-carved granite block with seating bays and a steel trellis that offers support for wisteria for shade, will be dedicated as part of the Spring Celebration Health Fair, 10am-1pm, at the Rosewood-Zaragosa Neighborhood Center, 2800 Webberville. Eastside resident Klinefelter spent a year and a half carving the work, which is now the largest carved granite sculpture in Central Texas. Also at 10am, AIPP will dedicate Souls of the Trees in conjunction with the opening of the renovated Spicewood Springs Branch Library, 8637 Spicewood Springs Rd. The work, consisting of 11 bent pine sculptural forms, will be installed above the window wall in the library reading room. Its creator, Wimberley artist Heather Carter, calculated how much carbon was emitted during the creation of the work and planted three trees outside the library to absorb this carbon dioxide. For more information, visit www.cityofaustin.org/aipp.
This article appears in March 30 • 2007.