SATURDAY-SUNDAY
>> Plastics presentation highlights Biennial
Honolulu Biennial continues with its second week of presentations, panel discussions and art installations. The international event is bringing 47 artists from around the world to present works inspired by the theme “To Make Wrong / Right / Now.”
Here’s a few of this week’s highlights. Visit honolulubiennial.org for a complete schedule.
>> “Umia ka hanu (Hold the breath)”: local artist Mark Kadota uses spoken word, live sound installations, video projection and dance to express the Hawaiian concept of patience and how it relates to environmental issues. 4 p.m. Saturday, The Hub, Ward Villages.
>> Hale Ali‘iolani Kamaaina Open House: Visit the Judiciary History Center and see artist Bernice Akamine’s “Kalo,” an installation of 87 taro plants with pohaku (stone) representing the pages of the Ku‘e Anti-Annexation Petitions of 1897. A walking tour of the Capitol District, which will include a treasure hunt, will also be offered. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Hale Ali‘iolani, 417 S. King St.
>> “Transparency”: An eight-minute video by pianist and performance artist Monika Haar. Produced by her parents, local photographer Tom Haar and ceramist Yoko Haar, the video presents a perspective on the issue of plastics in the world’s oceans. Monika Haar will then moderate a panel discussion on the topic. 4 p.m. Sunday, The Hub (former site of Famous Footwear), Ward Centre.
HONOLULU BIENNIAL
>> Where: Multiple locations
>> When: Now through March 31
>> Cost: Free
>> Info: honolulubiennial.org
SATURDAY
>> Dance collective L.A. Dance Project spins classic works at Blaisdell
There’s a saying that all of Bach’s music is based on dance. Now you’ll get a chance to see how dance can be inspired by Bach, when the acclaimed L.A. Dance Project makes its debut in Honolulu this weekend, courtesy of Ballet Hawaii.
The dance collective was founded in 2012 by former City Ballet (New York) choreographer/dancer Benjamin Millepied, whose work got its widest exposure in the Academy Award-winning 2010 film “Black Swan.” (Millepied choreographed the moves for its star, Natalie Portman; they would later marry.) L.A.D.P. made a splash in the dance world, attracting top dancers from around the world to Los Angeles.
The company will perform some of its most popular works. “Bach Studies” features Millepied’s take on the composer’s “Violin Partita in D Minor,” including its famous final movement, a lengthy Chaconne. The choreography sends dancers winding, unwinding and leaping across the stage in intertwining patterns reminiscent of Bach’s multi-voiced contrapuntalism.
Also on the program are a set of duets inspired by Martha Graham film “A Dancer’s World.” After a 2016 performance of the duets, the New York Times praised the dance as “brief, economical and intensely varied,” and “unusual views of Graham at her most unpredictable and enduringly contemporary.”
L.A. DANCE PROJECT
>> Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall
>> When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
>> Cost: $30 to $75
>> Info: 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com
SUNDAY
>> Saint Patrick’s Day Block Party features fun and fundraising
Go Irish for the day and head over to the streets surrounding Murphy’s Bar & Grill for its annual Saint Patrick’s Day Block Party. When you eat as the Irish do, you’ll help raise funds for local charities.
The party/fundraiser has been supporting charitable organizations for more than 30 years through its sales of corned beef. About 3,000 pounds will be prepared for this years’ event, with $2 donated for every pound sold. Corned beef and cabbage plates will go for $14, or get a corned beef sandwich and fries for $10. Bring your appetite.
Throughout the afternoon and evening, entertainment will be provided by Doolin Rakes, a mainstay of the Irish pub scene for 16 years, along with vintage soul band The Elevations. Starting at noon, there will be fun and games for kids. After 4 p.m., the adult revelry is expected to ramp up.
For more Irish-style celebrating, head to Waikiki earlier in the day for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, beginning at noon, heading down Kalakaua Avenue from Saratoga Road to Monsarrat Avenue. Roads will be closed to traffic beginning at 11:30 a.m.
MURPHY’S BLOCK PARTY
>> Where: Corner of Merchant Street and Nuuanu Avenue
>> When: 4:30 p.m. Sunday (keiki activities noon to 4 p.m. Sunday)
>> Cost: Free
>> Info: murphyshawaii.com
>> Note: Nuuanu Avenue from King Street to Nimitz Highway and Merchant Street between Nuuanu and Bethel streets will be closed from 10:30 a.m. to around midnight
MARCH 21
>> ‘Bad Feminist,’ great pundit Roxane Gay offers opinions
Roxane Gay, author of the 2014 New York Times bestseller “Bad Feminist,” has emerged as one of the most perceptive observers of America today. She brings her commentary to Hawaii Theatre on March 21.
Gay speaks to readers entranced by her essays examining the tensions between her positions, as both a feminist and admirer of “feminine” behavior. She’s both an advocate for women’s empowerment on issues such as abortion rights, and an admirer of the young adult “Sweet Valley High” romance novels.
Gay also has written about her upbringing as a Haitian-American growing up in Nebraska, coming out, sexual abuse and other cultural and political topics. Recently she’s become a powerful voice against fat-shaming.
Her career path reads like a travelogue and adventure series. She’s been a professor at Eastern Illinois University, Purdue and Yale. She wrote for Marvel Comics’ “World of Wakanda” series, an off-shoot from Marvel’s “Black Panther” franchise, and founded her own publishing house, Tiny Hardcore Press. She is also a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, where she offers advice to letter writers.
Her appearances have been described as blending stand-up comedy, political commentary and advice, laced with opinion.
ROXANNE GAY
>> Where: Hawaii Theatre
>> When: 7 p.m. March 21
>> Cost: $35 to $55
>> Info: 528-0506, hawaiitheatre.com
