Arts scene: (2/22/08): Arts

New works range from the classical ballet of Alice Bassler Sullivan to a Beatles rock ballet by Andrea Andresakis to the contemporary, vaudeville-and-whisky stylings of Leslie Kimiko Ward.

Guest artist Annie Arnoult Beserra of Chicago has imagined a contemporary Midwestern piece about schizophrenia.

The company, which is half professional adult dancers and half local high school students, will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday in the Discovery Theatre.

There will be a free discussion at 6:30 p.m. before each performance.

Tickets are $27 to $31, with discounts for students, seniors and military. (263-2787, www.centertix.net)

-- Sarah Henning

•music

Concert hall majesty

Classical music rarely gets more down-to-earth and all-American than Aaron Copland's Symphony No. 3.

Its most famous movement, based on his "Fanfare for the Common Man," has been riffed on again and again in pop culture, from the theme song for ABC's "Wide World of Sports" to the Rolling Stones' "Love You Live" album.

Copland's classic will be featured at the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra's "Statements of Grandeur" concert, which begins at 8 p.m. Saturday in Atwood Concert Hall.

The program also includes another familiar favorite: Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Most people know it from its original, eerie organ version: De-de-Deeeee, De-de-de-de-deee-De.

For those wanting something fresher, Anchorage will get its first chance to hear a contemporary composition, Lowell Liebermann's Piano Concerto No. 3. The work has played to mixed reviews since its premiere in 2006, but critics have unanimously praised its affiliated pianist, Jeffrey Biegel, who will also perform the piece here.

Concert tickets are $20-$42, or $10-$18 for youth and seniors.

Maestro Randy Fleischer will lead a free Lunch and Learn discussion of the program at noon today in Loussac Library. Ticketholders can also attend a pre-concert lecture by Susan Wingrove at 7 p.m. Saturday in Atwood Concert Hall. (263-2787, www.centertix.net)

-- Sarah Henning

•Visual arts

Making up for lost time

As we emerge from winter dens to mingle with others and see snow sculptures, car races and auctions, why not make up for lost time by seeing art founded in tradition?

"Alutiiq Creations -- Making Up for Lost Time" features work by father-and-daughter artists Jerry and LaRita Laktonen. Born and raised in Kodiak, the elder Laktonen worked as a fisherman before taking up carving. Now one of the most respected carvers in the state, he makes masks, paddles and pendants using old-growth cedar, abalone, goat skin, feathers, leather, paint and other materials.

His Alutiiq paddle, "Season," looks stunning because of its clean lines and startlingly blue design.

Another piece, "Chugach Dude," won a blue ribbon in the best-of-division category of the Heard Museum Guild 2006 Indian Fair and Market Exhibitors Juried Competition. White sheep hair shags around the face form in this mask of earthen hues.

LaRita Laktonen also finds inspiration from her home and culture, using materials like abalone, mother of pearl, Russian trade beads, glass beads, semi-precious stone beads and even crystal in her jewelry.

"Alutiiq Creations" continues until March 5 at the Alaska Native Arts Foundation, 500 W. Sixth Ave. (alaskanativearts.org)

-- Dawnell Smith

•music

Opera's hits and misses

If you like Verdi with your Mozart or Wagner with your Puccini, then "Opera's Greatest Hits (and a miss or two): The Sequel" just might be your cup of song.

The performance by local singing group Bel Canto will include selections from well-known operas such as "The Marriage of Figaro," "Don Giovanni," "Madama Butterfly", "Ghost of Versailles," "Die Walkure," "Carmen" and more.

The program "follows the same path as opera, starting with people being happy and ending with people dying -- a parody on a parody," said Carolyn Morris, president of Bel Canto.

The group of classically trained singers will perform opera's hits and misses at 7 p.m. Saturday in the recital hall (room 150) of the Fine Arts Building at the University of Alaska Anchorage and at 4 p.m. Sunday at First Presbyterian Church of Wasilla, 1375 Bogard Road. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and students. (696-0174, www.belcantoalaska.org)

-- Dawnell Smith

•visual arts

We're all famous

People have pondered the worth and meaning of fame for eons. Artists and thinkers from Confucius to David Bowie have fretted over the downside of celebrity.

"We're All Famous," a group show by students from the University of Alaska Anchorage, mines these same inquiries through multidisciplinary art that explores fame in its relation to mass media, identity, creativity and so on.

The show continues until Feb. 29 in the first-floor gallery of the UAA Consortium Library.

While in the area, head upstairs to the third floor to check out "Journeys," an exhibit that explores what it means to travel or wander, both literally and otherwise.

-- Dawnell Smith