Photo By Carol Rosegg

Shifting Cultural Landscapes
In case you missed Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company at NKU recently (or even if you didn't), here's a chance to catch another touring Chinese-American modern dance company with a rather different approach.

Founded in 1978 by Shanghai-born, Taiwanese-raised Julliard alum Hsueh Tung Chen, H.T. CHEN & DANCERS has developed a reputation for outstanding outreach work alongside its commitment to creating exquisitely crafted choreographic works steeped in Chinese influences.

The New York City-based modern dance ensemble returns to Cincinnati for the fourth time in an 18-year span. They're keeping busy this week with a pair of all-ages public performances Friday and Saturday at the Aronoff Center's Jarson-Kaplan Theater,, a handful of lecture/demonstrations for schools and a host of other residency activities.

Works bearing the fruits of the company's teachings will be presented: local youngsters from Families of Children from China (FCC) and students from the College Hill Fundamental Academy appear onstage in respective works that celebrate Chinatown culture and give tai chi and other martial arts a nod. They even maxxed out on the number of performers allowed backstage! Much has changed since their first visit here.

Chen's Associate Director Dian Dong explains how, in 1988, local people told them, "Oh, no, Chinese people live here."

"We thought, 'OK, maybe there's a Chinese takeout in the area where we can find them.' The next time we came, there were more Chinese people, but the next time there was actually a Chinese school started because the college students had settled and had families."

Now there are a few Chinese language schools and the FCC. "This is incredible," Dong continues. "Actually, our concert is going to reflect where the demographics and the population in Cincinnati (have shifted) and it also reflects the community building."

Fittingly, the program's second half brings the five-part contemporary work "Shift," featuring abstracted influences from Chinese opera and classical dance conventions with minimalist props maximized to dramatic effect. Figures dressed in black and white handle newspapers and simple benches. Look for ubiquitous themes open to interpretation: urban landscapes, dreams, ghosts, fantasies, places where spiritual fulfillment or enlightenment might be found. As the dancers connect, move and shift, perhaps we'll sense shifts in our own consciousness. $22-$27. 513-621-2787. (See Onstage.) -- JULIE MULLINS

THURSDAY 16
At noon Thursday a man in a mirrored suit will be standing in the middle of Fountain Square with four video cameras attached to his person. Performing "Remote Control: Cincinnati," ROBERT LADISLAS DERR will receive directional commands via headset while inside a chalk-drawn square that approximates the floor space of the Art Academy's Pearlman Gallery. At the other end of this headset will be a viewer inside the gallery. The viewer will roll a die that indicates whether Robert moves forward, backward, right, left, spins or stands in place in his chalked-off square. He'll repeat these movements for 30 minutes. "Just as Henri Cartier-Bresson photographed his decisive moments, my video cameras will record many decisive moments in the framework of linear time, capturing the banality of existence between the moments," Derr says. Get a new perspective on boring old banality. Free. 513-562-6262. (See Art and Onstage.) -- MAIJA ZUMMO

THURSDAY 16
Ever notice that every television program seems to cut for commercials at the same time? Yeah, that's called the Universal Clock, a practice used by television broadcasters so that their "product" is compatible with any TV station in the world. Iconoclastic British filmmaker Peter Watkins (pictured in headset) has been fighting against such standardization/industrialization of TV programming his entire career. THE UNIVERSAL CLOCK: THE RESISTANCE OF PETER WATKINS gets to the heart of his concerns. Filmmaker Geoff Bowie's strangely poetic, often illuminating documentary tracks the creation of Watkins' six-hour opus, La Commune, a film that rejects convention in every way. As a complement to the Contemporary Arts Center's recent screenings of Watkins' ode to the 1871 Paris Commune, Bowie is in town to present and discuss his documentary and the filmmaker it celebrates at 7:30 p.m. at Union Station Video Café downtown. Free. 513-861-2255. (See Events.) -- JASON GARGANO

Photo By Timothy Saccenti

FRIDAY 17
CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER's Bunch Alliance and Dissolve and Experimental Personalities: Kate Gilmore and Angie Reed offer performances that envelope the investigation and formulation of personas in addition to the examination of how group exhibitions are formulated, which focuses on the spontaneous connections that arise out of creativity. Kate Gilmore is infamous for her creations of post-feminist video work, while Angie Reed focuses on the lighter side of pop culture. After viewing the work, both artists guarantee that what you see will resonate long after you leave the gallery. The exhibition is free and open to the public. 513-345-8415. (See Art.) -- JACQUELYN VAUGHN

FRIDAY 17 SATURDAY 18 SUNDAY 19
Comic SOMMORE's elegant looks belie a sometimes raunchy sense of humor. "Women are hard on other women," she says. "A lady can walk into the club looking just perfect. Another woman will check her out from head to toe, turn around and say, 'The bitch's toenail polish is chipped -- she ain't all that!' " And she can be just as hard on men. It was D.L. Hughley who helped the former employment consultant gain national attention by bringing her on the Oprah Winfrey Show. She's so well regarded that Busta Rhymes even wrote a song about her called "Gimme Sommore." Sommore performs Friday through Sunday at The Funny Bone on the Levee. $25. 859-957-2000. (See Onstage.) -- P.F. WILSON

FRIDAY 17
While Indie and Rock music today is largely of the "woe is me" variety or at least inspired by some sort of negative vibe (the war, love gone bad, etc.), L.A.'s quintet THE LITTLE ONES bring back a little light to Indie Pop with their fantastically sunshine-y debut, the Sing Song EP. According to the band's bio, their MO behind the lengthy, prolific writing periods for the EP was to "convince themselves that everything is going to be all right" -- and while the musical backing is fittingly up-beat, the band's sound is far from fluff, showcasing a sophisticated songwriting style. The Little Ones come through Northside's alchemize Friday to support labelmates Small Sins, who performed this past summer at the outdoor Desdemona fest. $7. 513-541-8999. (See Music.) -- MIKE BREEN

FRIDAY 17 SATURDAY 18 SUNDAY 19
The Cincinnati Women's Choir, MUSE, continues its 2006-07 Music Series with the fall concert and health fair event, SING, HEAL, CELEBRATE, featuring the breast cancer oratorio Where I Live. Presenting such an emotionally complex topic might not be easy, but this group is up to the challenge. Simply stated by MUSE Artistic Director Catherine Roma, "We decided to program Where I Live with other inspirational music, interjecting humor and love to create a concert experience full of gratitude and joy." This event will be just that, powerfully supportive of all women, especially those diagnosed with breast cancer. And don't miss out on the opportunity to become more knowledgeable about prevention, detection, services and support, as MUSE collaborates with local health care providers and organizations to host a health fair as part of your concert experience. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at St. John's Unitarian Universalist Church in Clifton. $20 in advance or $25 at the door. 513-221-1118. (See Onstage.) -- JENNIFER RIGGAN

SATURDAY 18
It might not be Ohio State-Michigan, but Saturday's UC- RUTGERS game will have almost as much impact on the college football landscape. Undefeated Rutgers are this year's media darlings, jumping into the national Top 10 rankings after a huge victory last week over Louisville. If the Scarlet Knights hope to make it to one of the glamorous New Year's Day games for the first time in school history, they can't look past the Bearcats, who have a lot to play for: It's their final home game of 2006, and the Cats become bowl eligible with a win -- plus it's on primetime national TV. 7:45 p.m. at Nippert Stadium on UC's campus. $7-$14. 513-556-CATS. (See Sports.) -- JOHN FOX

Photo By Mark Lyons

SATURDAY 18
Trained Monkey Press' latest addition to American letters, Any More Shit and I'll Have to Fuck the Moon, is officially unveiled on Saturday with a reading from its author, CLIFF SPISAK. Described as "pomes and little ol' stories," Spisak's collection of 32 works seems to have trickled from his cortex over a nine-year period and feature such lowercased titles as "you were running in the rain, clutching your bobbies," "george w. bush killed kurt cobain" and, my personal favorite, "testicular xanadu madness." Spisak's elemental, grit-encrusted prose gets it on with the best of 'em, dropping evocative, carnally-charged observations with just the right amount of sentiment. "schlitz a wonderful life" opens with this montage: "motorcyle exhaust! the souls of horses! this one woman one night -- eighth of a ton. biggest gal I ever had. oldest too." Ah, the holiday book-buying season has officially opened. The evening gets underway at 9:30 and also features musical performances from Tornado Trousers, Knife the Symphony and the Josh Dorsey Blues Band. $5. Southgate House Parlour. 859-431-2201. (See Literary.) -- JASON GARGANO

SATURDAY 18 SUNDAY 19
You're so important that, instead of going to Latin America, Latin America's coming to you with Cincinnati Museum Center's LATIN AMERICAN CULTURE FEST. Immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Brazil and more, as Latin American vendors, along with bands like Tropicoso, are taking over Union Terminal noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The Rotunda will come alive with Hispanic music, dance, arts, crafts and more, local Latino artists will be exhibiting some of their work, dancers will be dancing Flamenco and a community Day of the Dead alter will be created. It's Latin fun without the heartburn. Free, parking $4.50. 513-287-7000. (See Events.) -- MAIJA ZUMMO

SUNDAY 19
Every fall UC's College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) presents its mainstage musical around this time, and every fall it becomes one of the hottest tickets in town. That's the case with this year's staging of THE PAJAMA GAME, a revival of the classic 1954 musical comedy. It's a funny battle-of-the sexes story about heat generated between a fiery female union leader and a handsome new foreman. CCM offers only five performances at Corbett Auditorium, and they're pretty much sold out, although you might get lucky if you show up early and put your name on the waiting list. (Sunday's matinee is a good day to try.) CCM's musical theater program is considered one of the best in the country, and this production -- with a couple of tunes you're likely to recognize, including a recreation of Bob Fosse's Tony Award-winning choreography for the number "Steam Heat" -- should be one to remember. $10-$25. 513-556-4183. (See Onstage.) -- RICK PENDER

TUESDAY 21
The first time I saw THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, I didn't know a thing about it. I was in New York early in 2005 when it opened Off Broadway and thought it was c-h-a-r-m-i-n-g (adjective meaning "attractive" and "pleasant"). When I returned later in the year, it had moved to Broadway and earned Tony Award recognition. The story of six young people in the throes of puberty who are overseen by grownups who have barely escaped childhood themselves was just as good in a bigger theater. Touring this show to theaters the size of the Aronoff is another test, but I suspect Spelling Bee will f-l-o-u-r-i-s-h (verb meaning "succeed" or "grow"). $20-$60. 513-241-7469. (See Onstage.) -- RICK PENDER