ENTERTAINMENT: Jazz concert aids foundation; ‘Gatsby’ opens ballet season | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

MUSIC

Lupus Jazz Concert

Saxophonist Merlon Devine headlines the Lupus Jazz Concert, benefiting Lupus Foundation of Arkansas Inc., 4-6 p.m. May 17 at the Space With Grace Venue, 2005 Main St., North Little Rock. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $40. The fundraiser supports the foundation’s efforts “to spread lupus awareness, advocate for lupus warriors and raise research dollars to find a cure for lupus.” Visit lupus4arkansas.com.

ART

‘Craft in Common’

The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts is putting tickets — $40, $32 for museum members — on sale for “Craft in Common,” which a news release bills as “a one-day program exploring collecting, connoisseurship and one of today’s most transformative art forms: craft,” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 29 at the museum, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock.

Artist, collector and arts advocate Robyn Horn and Stefanie Kirkland, the Windgate Foundation’s curator of contemporary craft, will discuss what it means to collect craft for a session titled “Collecting That Matters.” It will draw on “Material Nature: John and Robyn Horn Collection,” an exhibition examining how artists are transforming traditional materials into contemporary art.

Following will be a screening of E. Vincent Martinez’ documentary “Iron Pearls,” titled in reference to blacksmith Elizabeth Brim’s signature habit of wearing a string of pearls while working at the forge. Brim, ironwork instructor at the Penland School of Craft in Bakersville, N.C., and Andy Moon, director of the museum’s Windgate Art School, will discuss Brim’s work and creative process in a career field long dominated by men.

The daylong event will also include hands-on studio demonstrations in ceramics, wood, glass, metals and other disciplines in the Windgate Art School.

Visit arkmfa.org.

DANCE

Ballet Arkansas season

Ballet Arkansas will open its 2026-27 season with the world premiere of “The Great Gatsby,” Oct. 23-25 at a venue to be announced.

Set on a jazz score, it’s a full realization of a ballet the company first staged in 2021, with “immersive theatrical elements,” according to a news release.

The rest of the lineup:

◼️ Dec. 11-13: “The Nutcracker Spectacular,” Peter Iliich Tchaikovsky’s ballet with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in the pit at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, with updated first-act costuming and choreography.

◼️ Feb. 19-21: Tchaikovsky’s “The Sleeping Beauty” in what the company is billing as a “world premiere production” at Robinson.

◼️ April 15-16: “re:MIX” at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, blending contemporary innovation with classical influence in “a curated series of works that pair symphonic music with electronic soundscapes — a first-of-its-kind experience for Ballet Arkansas audiences.”

◼️ April 17-18: The Arkansas premiere of Ludwig Minkus’ “Don Quixote,” also at AMFA.

The company is also starting a new, in-studio series it’s calling “SPOTLIGHT,” that will feature “artistic talkbacks, behind-the-scenes previews and exclusive special events.”

The company will reveal details on gala events, guest collaborators, musicians, choreographers, community-cast auditions, student matinee performances and SPOTLIGHT programming on June 15, and full production details, collaborators, guest artists, musicians, and choreographers for its main stage productions will be announced July 1, when tickets officially go on sale. Visit balletarkansas.org/tickets.

 

TICKETS

‘Your Favorite Cousin’

Actor, comedian, podcaster and entrepreneur Desi Banks brings his “Your Favorite Cousin” tour to Little Rock, 7 p.m. Nov. 21 at Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St., Little Rock. Tickets — $49.85-$127.45 — are on sale; call (501) 244-8800 or visit Ticketmaster.com.