The last weekend in February is full of dance, beginning with the performances of Ballet Fantastique’s The Odyssey: The Ballet at 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27-28, and 2:30 pm Sunday, March 1, at the Hult’s Soreng Theater. Expect to see many of Homer’s classic characters — Odysseus, nymph-goddess Kalypso, Queen Penelope, Athena, a siren and the cyclops — on their twinkle toes, but in true Ballet Fantastique fashion, the dance company has put its own spin on the Greek epic poem: Hermes, the messenger god, is now a female character. “Many of Homer’s female characters are either dangerous seductress or must wait and pine. We love the idea that our Hermes [now “Mercury,” danced by principal dancer Leanne Mizzoni] is a female force in The Odyssey to be reckoned with,” writes Donna Marisa Bontrager, artistic director for BF.
The 2nd Annual Eugene Salsa Festival kicks off at 8 pm Friday, Feb. 27, and runs through Sunday, March 1, at the Vet’s Club Building. “This is an event that promotes awareness of other cultures through dance,” says Jose Cruz, the event’s manager and artistic director for Salseros Dance Company, in a press release. The fest will feature a beginner’s boot camp, workshops on dances from Zumba to Afro-Cuban rumba, and performances by internationally renowned dancers such as Liz Rojas and John Narvaez along with music by top Northwest salsa bands, Seattle’s Orquesta Cambalache and Portland’s Orquesta Pura Vida. Visit eugenesalsafestival.com for full schedule.
The UO student-run professional development in arts and culture organization, Emerging Leaders in the Arts Network (ELAN), hosts its 6th annual Beats & Brushstrokes silent auction of “art from re-purposed vinyl records and record sleeves” 7 to 10 pm Saturday, Feb. 28, at Sam Bond’s Brewing Co. at the Foundry with live music, a photo booth and art-making.
Art and taxes: Lane Arts Council announced that Portland’s Michael Davidson, of Portland’s A&E Tax Service and Oregon Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, is hosting the “Tax Tips for Artists: Demystifying Tax Law & Filing Taxes for Your Arts Business” workshop 4 to 6 pm Monday, March 2, at the Hult Center studio; sliding scale $15-$25. Visit lanearts.org/workshops to register.
If these walls could talk: The Cannery, a pub in downtown Eugene, has announced the addition of an outdoor mural frame, allowing for rotating art panels by different artists. The first mural, by local artist and graphic novelist Erik Roggeveen, will be officially unveiled in the first week of March.