Arts scene: (1/11/08): Arts

What "Riverdance" is to Ireland and "Stomp" is to Britain, "African Footprint" is to the Mother Continent, says one critic. The high-energy performance piece tells the history of Africa with powerful dance and succulent melody, exciting footwork, percussion, song and spectacle.

"African Footprint" emerged from actor-producer Richard Loring's work with disadvantaged children. His concept moved from orphanage to stage and became the longest-running show ever in South Africa. It's since traveled around the world. It came to North America in November, the first major show to open in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.

Next week -- en route to New York, Toronto, Philadelphia and other major cities -- "African Footprint" will flash through Alaska, with four performances split between Anchorage and Fairbanks. Showtimes at Fairbanks' Carlson Center are 7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

Anchorage performances will be in Atwood Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. Anchorage tickets are $45-$62.50 at centertix.net.

View video footage of the show at www.africanfootprint.com.

-- Mike Dunham

theater

<30 x 4 = ?

Under 30 returns today with tales of time machines and polar bears, 9/11 and the 1960s.

Out North's annual showcase of monologues by local writers/performers has expanded from three to four offerings this year: B. Hutton's "20th Century Man and Other Stories," Wendy Withrow's "Finding My Voice," Allison Warden's "Ode to the Polar Bear" and Gabrielle Barnett's "Ground Zero."

The works in this Under 30 (named for time limits, not age limits) stretch the definition of monologue to include multimedia, live sound and audience participation.

Performances begin today and run through Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays at Out North, 3800 DeBarr Road. Tickets are $17 online, $18 door. (279-3800, www.outnorth.org)

See an audio slide show of Barnett's piece online at adn.com/arts.

-- Sarah Henning

theater

Battle of the sexless

Could sex -- or, more accurately, the withholding of sex -- be the solution to global warming?

In the 2007 one-woman show "The Boycott," first lady Lyssa Stratton is frustrated that her presidential husband won't do more to stem global warming. Her solution: a bedroom boycott.

That's right. No reductions in carbon dioxide emissions? No nookie.

Vermont playwright-actress Kathryn Blume will perform this modern, tongue-in-cheek interpretation of Aristophanes' "Lysistrata" at Cyrano's Off Center Playhouse today through Jan. 27.

Performances are 7 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays at 413 D St. Tickets are $17.50, with discounts available. For more on the play, go to www.kathrynblume.com. (263-2787, www.centertix.net)

-- Sarah Henning

music

Bach rocks Our Lady

The Alaska Chamber Singers had such a hit with their first all-Bach cantata program two years ago that for this weekend -- their fourth installment in the series -- they've had to move to a bigger venue and add an extra concert. "Basic Bach" features three of the master's edifying (and entertaining) cantatas originally composed as church music but mostly performed in secular settings for the past 200 years.

This weekend's programs, however -- at 8 p.m. today and Saturday -- will be back in church. Our Lady of Guadalupe (3900 Wisconsin St.) is a big, new building proven to have excellent acoustics for the singers and the orchestras accompanying them. Tickets are $20-$25 at 263-2787.

-- Mike Dunham

cinema

Indigenous movie fest opens with dancing

Dive into the minds of indigenous filmmakers at the Alaska Native Heritage Center's Indigenous World Film Festival, which includes 20 shorts and features made in Alaska, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the Lower 48.

The lineup boasts several buzzed-about feature flicks, including "Eagle vs. Shark," a tale of socially awkward misfits in love starring Jemaine Clement ("Flight of the Conchords"), and "Miss Navajo," a documentary that follows an unlikely beauty queen on her quest to win the Miss Navajo Nation crown.

Several films will be followed by Q&A sessions with filmmakers such as Chris Eyre, director of "Smoke Signals" and "Edge of America."

Today's free opening-night events begin at 6:30 p.m. and include dancing, films and trailers for Saturday's features. On Saturday, films begin at 10 a.m. The center is at 8800 Heritage Center Drive. Daily admission is $9.95 for adults, $6.95 ages 7-16, and free for ages 6 and younger. (330-8000, www.alaskanative.net)

-- Sarah Henning dance

Going to America tonight?

Tell us what you thought of the show and catch overnight reviews of other performances online Saturday at adn.com/artsnob. ?