Photo By Don Sherman

Main Event:Coming Home
It's homecoming season, and a host of local African drum and dance ensembles are coming together for HOMECOMING OF THE GREATER CINCINNATI AFRICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN DRUM & DANCE COMPANIES. Featuring Afrikan-American Drum & Dance Ensemble, Bi-Okoto Drum & Dance Theatre, C.I.C. Percussions and Essence of Africa, this event promises to bring the powerful excitement and theatricality of live drumming and dancing from Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Senegal, Brazil and Cuba to the stage.

In 1974 a group of young men and women in Cincinnati started the Afrikan-American Drum & Dance Ensemble (AADDE). Over the years members scattered, but Lateefah Kituku and Anita Lilly remained and currently direct the company, which teaches and performs traditional dances of the Senegal-Gambia and Guinea regions of West Africa. Look for the Kahki Lambe, Lengen and Dundunbah, each possessing its own distinctive rhythm and accompanying percussive instruments such as the sangba, agogô bell, the la-la, the djembe and the djun-djun.

In a timely program conceived and directed by the Cincinnati Black Theatre Company's Executive Director Don Sherman, AADDE will perform in a celebratory homecoming performance along with former members and other Queen City groups who maintain and perform the art of traditional African drumming and dance. Sherman believes "The Homecoming" will be wonderful entertainment for all. "The music, rhythm, colors and styles of the performances are breathtaking," he says.

But there's more. Like others, Sherman has been disturbed by events in Cincinnati over the past few years. He is convinced that the power of the art of traditional drumming and dance can uplift and inspire the community.

"It's another reason why it is so important to unite these ensembles," says Sherman. "The rhythm and beats of the drums and movements they perform were kept in the hearts of those brought to this country on slave ships. It is important that African dance continues to be performed and valued for its beauty, purity and power, but it is also a way to connect us as a people. If we are united in our hearts and souls in more ways, it will be more difficult for us to harm each other."

Photo By Dan Dion

2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at College of Mount Saint Joseph (5701 Delhi Pike, Delhi.) $20. 513-241-6060. (See Onstage.) -- KATHY VALIN

THURSDAY 12
Ah, tango! A mere mention of the word conjures images of a couple locked in a close embrace and moving with decisive direction, flirtatious hesitations and sweeping spins in a dusky nightclub. Argentina might be half a world away, but with Cincinnati World Cinema's and Dos Minas Crazy Arts Productions' TANGO!, locals can enjoy the dance's smoldering passion and cultural significance firsthand -- both in person and on the big screen. Covington's Madison Theater opens at 6:45 p.m. with an informal, interactive tango demonstration. Remarks and a screening of Carlos Saura's Tango -- featuring the theatrically elegant esthetics of Oscar-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (reference his masterful work in Last Tango in Paris) -- begin at 7:30, followed by a tango performance by Argentine stars Pablo Repun and Carina Losano. In a nod to Dancing With the Stars, audience participation is encouraged afterwards, so feel free to dress the part. The tango isn't for the faint of heart, but its power might possess you. $12 in advance, $15 at door, $9 for ETA/START members. 859-781-8151. (See Onstage.) -- JULIE MULLINS

THURSDAY 12
Tonight the WESTON ART GALLERY holds the highly anticipated panel discussion "Isolation: Is There Black Unity in Cincinnati's Visual Arts Community?" The moderated panel features artists KEVIN HARRIS, KYLE and KELLY PHELPS, BRIAN JOINER, TERENCE HAMMOND and TULIZA FLEMING (former curator of the Dayton Art Institute). The key topics of discussion will surround their individual perceptions of the artist community, emotional support and funding opportunities in relation to the African-American exhibitions in Cincinnati. The diverse backgrounds of these artists promise to deliver a stimulating dialogue. Free. 513-977-4165. (See Art.) -- JACQUELYN VAUGHN

THURSDAY 12
Don't let anyone tell you that you have to wait 10 years for things to happen in Cincinnati. (This stems from an apocryphal remark attributed to Mark Twain that he apparently never really said.) Here's a piece of firm evidence: A year ago Michael John LaChiusa's new musical SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE had its premiere at New York City's Public Theatre. Where is it getting its second staging? Right here in River City, opening Know Theatre of Cincinnati's 2006-07 season this weekend. It presents three interwoven stories -- two lovers plot to kill each other in medieval Japan, a 1951 police interrogation looks at a puzzling rape and murder in Central Park and a priest's faith is shaken after 9/11. You might not know LaChiusa's name, but he's created more than 20 musicals, and his Jazz and Rock score for this show is not to be missed. The regional premiere will be onstage through Nov. 4; this could be a show you'll want to see more than once. $20, $15 students and seniors. 513-300-5669. (See Onstage.) -- RICK PENDER

SATURDAY 14
Still a few paving bricks shy of a full plaza, FOUNTAIN SQUARE nonetheless reopens for business Saturday with an eclectic entertainment lineup that emphatically announces a new direction for the city's highest-profile public space. The evening's concert features Cincinnati-based DJ Hi-Tek and influential Hip Hop artist Talib Kweli at 6 p.m., followed by Grammy Award-winning Los Lobos and capped off by the buzz Pop/Rock band OK Go. Local bands play on a separate stage beginning at 5:30 p.m. Rozzi fireworks round off the night. Earlier at noon, Bootsy Collins hosts an afternoon session featuring a poem written and read by Cincinnati native Nikki Giovanni and performances by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Ballet and Cincinnati Opera, among others. The Tyler Davidson Fountain will also be officially unveiled in its new location. Free. 513-621-4400. (See Music and Events.) -- JOHN FOX

Photo By Graham Lienhart

Bootsy Collins

SATURDAY 14
"I've made a bunch of errors in promoting what I do best," says comedian JOE ROGAN, perhaps best known as the host of Fear Factor. "It's a weird situation where a lot of these people are coming to see me in the clubs 'cause I'm famous from television. (They) come up to me and say, 'I had no idea you were going to be that funny!' I tell stories and talk about life. It's just commenting on things." Those things can include everything from daily annoyances to terrorism. "Osama Bin Laden is like a character in a Batman comic. He's a billionaire genius who hates us. He lives underground. He used to work for the good guys but then switched over to the dark side, and they almost capture him but he gets away and leaves behind a threatening tape. Is this a Stan Lee production?" Rogan (along with Charlie Murphy and John Herrfon) performs at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Taft Theatre as part of the REAL MEN OF COMEDY TOUR. $25-$45. 513-721-8883. (See Onstage.) -- P.F. WILSON

SUNDAY 15
As a theocracy -- a form of government in which a religion and the government are intertwined -- the CULTURE OF TIBET is inextricably linked with Buddhism. Prior to the religious repression imposed by the Chinese government in 1959, travelers such as Dr. Albert Shelton experienced first-hand the beauty and hardness of life in the Northern Himalayas. A renowned Cincinnati-based medical missionary and explorer, Shelton spent nearly two decades in the wild Tibetan borderlands. DOUGLAS A. WISSING will present slides and lead a discussion entitled "The Wild, Wild East: Dr. Albert Shelton and the Pioneer Missionary Collectors of the Tibetan Himalayas" sharing some of these amazing stories. Presented by the Cincinnati Asian Art Society, the talk is 2 p.m. Sunday at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Free. 513-721-ARTS. (See Events.) -- MARGO PIERCE

TUESDAY 17 WEDNESDAY 18
Local filmmaker John Parker -- who debuted his experimental flick about the Cincinnati music scene, Dead On, last year -- has a new project, and he's again looking to local music for inspiration. BLUES LEGEND: THE LIFE & TIMES OF H-BOMB FERGUSON, a documentary about the local Blues icon, debuts Tuesday (and shows again the next night) at Covington's Madison Theater. Produced by Parker's 13/8 Productions, the film features live performances from and interviews with H-Bomb, one of the few Blues "originals" left, known for his flamboyant wigs and over-the-top stage performances as well as his groundbreaking and deeply soulful take on the Blues. The film also features commentary from George Thorogood (who humorously recalls his first meeting with Ferguson), Chuck Berry, Michael Frank and Ricky Nye, among others. Tickets for Tuesday's world premiere -- which will feature a Q&A session with Parker and Ferguson, followed by a set from H-Bomb and his band, The Medicine Men -- are available now at cincyworldcinema.org. 800-548-3237. (See Events.) -- MIKE BREEN