The MLKBallet recital set to happen today at 2 p.m. will still happen today at 2 p.m., only the location has change.

It’s been relocated to the SOTA Theatre at 1118 Commerce Street.

Come see what the hard workers have accomplished, and catch the energy of Tacoma’s new dance kids in town. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

There was some twitching in discomfort at the Mandolin Café Summer Solstice celebration last night when Chiara, our goddess moderator of the evening, told us we’d be holding strangers’ hands and looking deeply into their eyes, being present. For 30 seconds!

It’s wedding season for Chiara, and the time of the honey moon, that golden summer celestial body, for the earth (hence, honeymoon time.)  Handfasting being one of the rituals that is, yes, associated with weddings, is also appropriate in this time of disconnection from humanity, as we sit on the Internet and drive in our cars and our only connection is the occasional text message.
So Chiara’s point, to get us to leave the café friends, through a physical, personal connection, was welcome, though I’ll admit to being one of the most visible twitchers present (but a 20-ounce latte will do that to you, I guess).

At the end of it all, I walked away feeling... lighter.  There was something about Chiara’s message to slow down, go with the rhythms of the earth, and celestial bodies that gave me permission to let go of some of the rapid-rabbit running I’ve been doing lately.

And there was something about being present with strangers, reaching out and touching them without the fear of being decked, that made me feel connected, even more than the festival-going, interviewing, hanging out with others that I’ve been doing.

There was also something in the music, as well as connecting with friends, that made the evening that much more worthwhile. I ran into John from high school, and his three kids and sweet (and lovely!) wife, who was there supporting her co-worker who was playing with the jazz band  Near the Beat jazz trio who entertained us as, and after we supped. They did a wicked cool "Ruby Tuesday" cover!)

I ran into Sonja and her lovely friends Lisa from Russell days, who helped Calla come up with the name “heel!” for that now-closed mecca of fabulousness in downtown Tacoma, as well as her friend Paige who runs the most intriguing-sounding outside exercise program, ever.

Running into former pro tennis player Caroline, whose daughter my wee one had daycare with several years ago, made me catch her intoxicating and contagious wanderlust; her husband’s kind eye-lock was disconcerting at best, though his kind words hit me the same way, I suppose, that my words might have hit others.

Lastly, there was Chiara herself, resplendent in her floral headdress like many others of the staff at the Mandolin; Chiara, though, emanated a sense of warmth, love, and peace, just as she was surrounded by it.

Lovely evening, lovely people, lovely Solstice.

Namaste. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

Whoever says Dorkbot consists solely of computer-science freaks and geeks who can mentally compute the velocity of their own pee is a big fat liar. Believe it or not, they also have artistic talents as you will see tonight at Dorkbot #4.

They?

• Weird Science Salon Founder and mad professor emeritus William J. Beaty demonstrates his Crooke's cathode ray tube, and knowing Bill, other possible surprises as well.
• SolarRichard will bring a working model of the LEDs he proposes to put on the Tacoma Narrows bridge, and will explain how the solar "Ecotricity" will power them.

There will also be an open dork after the presentations where anyone can take the floor for about 10 minutes to dork out on science stuff.

[Club SOTA, Tuesday, June 19, 7 p.m., no cover, 1117 Broadway, Tacoma]

Friday night’s Museum of Glass Night Blow event brought a huge crowd to the museum.  This was a great thing for the museum, though there was some grumbling in the resultant lines for tickets, drinks, food, and to get into the cone to view Stephen Rolfe Powell’s impressive team leadership and artwork execution. Watching the final moments of the making of the piece was truly breathtaking, and speaking with Powell I was impressed, too, with his laid back manner and southern charm.

More fun, to see the faces of Daniel Blue, Laura Malone, DJ Broam, spinning classic '70s lounge (hey, was that the theme for 2001 I heard?) DJ Lulu Spice, sweet pea, Chiara, Gretchen, Cheryl, Pete, Denise and Michelle (whose Tempest Lounge signature cocktail truly was divine!), and all manner of other friends and familiar faces gathered with a diverse group of art lovers and MOG supporters.

And then there was the best of times, and the worst of times: my culture babe friend warned me about karaoke, how you think you know a song until you get to the mike and blank out. 

Meh, I said, I laugh in the face of danger; then I threw back a shot of Patron.

So there was me feeling no pain. I selected a song I thought the Significant One might appreciate, especially given my state, “Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw.”

I apologize profusely for the crimes against nature I committed Friday night, with my caterwauling.

I don’t apologize for what happened next: culture babe, her husband, the Significant One and I headed off to Masa, to see what the Salsa party would entail.  Wisely avoiding the hard stuff, I stuck to Coronas, and had a blast watching the dancers as they showed their stuff.

The music proved just as intoxicating as the Patron I’d earlier consumed, and culture babe and I got out there and shimmied a bit, which even enticed the significant one to join us â€" shocking, that, since he’s even more shake-it aversive than I am.

Good times must end, and since the Sig One had a date at the KeyArena pick up his Master’s Degree in the morning, we called it a night.

Good glass, good friends, good tunes, good times. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

When I first met Josephine and Paul Zmolek, they had a "Masks of Thespis" art display up at their Barefoot Studios, and I felt an itching need to get on their stage and learn something about movement; I yearned to be “in” my body, and their studio seemed to be my ticket to greater self-awareness.

But I have a nuts life, and it got in the way of my following through on my urge.

I might have missed my chance to learn with two amazing, enigmatic teachers, though I hope I’m wrong.

At last night’s "10x10," a varied assortment of performers hit the stage, from two strong and expressive dancers, Katherine M. Stricker and Stephanie Kriege, joined by Jeanne Douville in one of piece, to the never-say-quit (despite the CD skips) 7 to 12- and 12 to 17-year-old performers from the D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts, to the mime-ist dancing/acting stylings of Jamie Pederson, with help in conception and direction from Ron Gilbert, who also produced and directed some quirky, riveting, experimental, moving film for the night.

I stood by a window and the breeze carried occasional train sounds in with the cool on the back of my neck.  It was a peaceful, intimate, engaging, thoroughly pleasant (though that word seems so weak) evening, capped off with insightful and thoughtful conversation intended to help provide feedback to artists work-shopping pieces.

Yeah, it was all idyllic and perfect, except that the last, peppy little piece, conceived by Klair Ethridge, written directed, and performed by “many people” (per the program), a fun peek at a dance studio, with some spoken word by Ethridge and ending on a familiar "Sound of Music" song.

So Long? Farewell?

My heart jumped in confusion.

As each performer stood in line and expressed words of gratitude to the Zmoleks, and Barefoot Studios, I felt something akin to a rising hysteria.

What?  So Long?  Farewell???

With a sad smile that conveyed warmth and soul as only Josephine can manage, she told me, “we don’t know.”

She continued to tell me, “it’s been a rough year.”

Over a year ago, in April, a bus crashed through the office, then Dome District construction began, and then the landlords approached the Zmoleks with a 50 percent rent increase, and implied that at any moment, the Zmoleks may get their 30-day notice.

So classes have been interrupted, and the Barefoot Studios, and "10x10," may be on the endangered list.  Will the Zmoleks leave Tacoma? Will they continue Barefoot in another location?
All Josephine could tell me with her sad smile was, “We don’t know.”

Before I heard the familiar, “So Long” song, I remember standing back with a profound sense of peace, feeling like this space in Tacoma was just as it should be, with the bright walls painted creatively with care; with the huge scarves that hang like banners, colorfully flirting with the mayhem outside the doors of the studio, working their diagonal design against the horizontal of the building seen out the windows.

In her words to the Zmoleks, Kriege said, “a building serves as a vehicle for a community.”

In this building, the Zmoleks have served up Beauty, Joy, Integrity, and Kindness, per one performer, and have been like the best kind of warm pie that makes ice cream perfectly melty, as Pederson analogized.

So now what?

I keep hearing Josephine’s “we don’t know.”

And it makes me profoundly sad. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

If our stylist spent 10 minutes on our hair, or our favorite chef 10 minutes on our meal, we might be upset. But we always have time for the 10x10 at Barefoot Studios, which happens tonight at 7:30 p.m.

The show features hip-hop, contemporary dance, mixed media, mime and film by the Reality Check Dance Troupes from the D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts, Stephanie Kriege, Katharine M. Stricker, Jeanne Douville, Ron Gilbert, Jamie Pederson, Callous Physical Theatre and Klair Ethridge with various guest artists, all performing pieces not to exceed â€" can you guess? â€" 10 minutes. â€" Suzy Stump

[Barefoot Studios, Friday, June 1, 7:30 p.m., $5, 311 Puyallup Ave., Tacoma]

I was tired by the time I arrived at the 100th Monkey Party.  I had had a long, full day, complete with early morning wake-up to get the house â€" and laundry â€" ready for the Significant One’s imminent return, some last minute deadline stuff, a trip into the office for some more stuff that helps me earn my paycheck, a trip in to Vin Grotto to meet the smart and fun Rock Zombie gang (and get the sacrificial Monkey wine), a trip in to Corina Bakery to pick up a welcome home “Mow the Grass” carrot cake, a trip back home to let puppy boys get some relief and to feed them â€" only to discover they’re out of food, and so then, to cook for them, a trip to the mother in law’s to hang out with me sweet though sad kid, and to bring sweet though sad kid PJs and her partially disemboweled Squishy, a stuffed dog Bill tried to kill that grandma said she would mend, and then, finally, a trip to Bamford and Bamford Pottery where said 100th Monkey Party was held.

I was tired, by the time I arrived, but then the excitement of a Monkey Party, and the energy and open welcome of my friends there acted like a triple shot Venti latte.

The venue was awesome for the event, with beauty and (clay) art surrounding us, and more art and garden inspiration outside.  Organizer Sue Pivetta reported that right around 300 people showed up, and yet the space felt open and the music (awesomely spun, and later played live, with a middle-eastern flair when the belly dancer appeared) was loud enough to be heard through the entire space, and the set-up at the wine counter was well-organized, though I heard the odd grumbling about the two-cup maximum.  For me, it worked out well, since I had pictures and notes to take (tasks made more difficult, when spilling wine) and an airport to drive to after 11.  It also seemed to work out well in the long run, with less congestion in the hooch line overall, and an apparent better flow of people  throughout the venue.

I thought, as first I recapped the evening for myself, that I didn’t meet the requisite three new people for all the reconnecting I was doing with established friends I hadn’t seen in a while.  But then I remembered that I had, and as the evening took my car (and me driving it) to the Tempest Lounge after-gathering, I met even more.

The thing about this 100th Monkey Party that made me so happy was that it felt like the first Monkey Parties I had been to â€" as intimate as you wanted it to be for conversation and re-connection, yet as social as you wanted it to be.

Sue Pivetta’s done a great job of reinventing the groundwork for the party each time it comes around, with the 100th Monkey herself for this event â€" the awesomely cutely expectant Johanna Gardner â€" organizing a hella-good time.  The next Monkey, picked out by the lucky tile (created by Houston Wimberly, each very different and very cool looking) was shrouded in secrecy (or confusion,) while the next venue could possibly be the outside of the Tacoma Art Museum.

And it looks like the Monkey Parties are sprouting wings and flying beyond Tacoma â€" news spread yesterday that Sean Starr, formerly of Tacoma, moved to California and brought the idea to Big Bear, a sleepy SoCal mountain town.

Today Tacoma, tomorrow the world.

How fun is that? â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

The concept ranks alongside the recent "72-Hour Film Competition" in the Too-Busy-for-Culture- Give-It-to-Me-in-a-Hurry Hall of Fame. The first annual Double Shot Theatre Festival takes 12 playwrights, 12 directors, one choreographer, one composer and some 40 actors, then gives them a mere 48 hours to write, rehearse, and stage 12 new original plays. Not even George Bernard Shaw worked this fast. The 12 plays unfold in a leisurely two hours, twice, Friday and Saturday night, so you don't have to sweat â€" they do. The festival is a partnership between the Northwest Playwright’s Alliance and the University of Puget Sound.  Neat. â€" Suzy Stump

[McIntyre Hall, May 18-19, 7 and 9 p.m., $8-$10, 1500 N. Warner, Tacoma, 253.879.3419]

It turns out that my father lied when he told me that hard work would help me reach my career goal. I probably shouldn't be too shocked by this news. He also lied that time I asked where babies come from.

So I admire Broadway Center Executive Director David Fischer's hard work steering the Tacoma arts organization into greatness.  Judging by next season's shows (see below), hard work pays off. 

Fischer prompted a community focus group through series of questions tonight: What would they like to see the Center host?  What would they pay?  What do they wish was in Tacoma rather than Seattle?  Who invented Liquid Soap and why? OK, they last one was mine.  Ha!

There was banter.  There were drinks.  There were light bulbs bursting above Fischer’s head.

Before sending us back out into the rain, Fischer busted out a few highlights of next season:

• “100 Years of Broadway” featuring former Broadway stars;
• “Birdhouse Factory” starring former “Cirque du Soleil” stars performing acrobats, theater, and other “Cirque”-like stuff;
• Dark Star Orchestra;
• The popular “Striking 12” pop-rock musical comedy;
• “Peter Pan”;
• Pink Floyd Experience;
• Spoken word events orchestrated by local poet Luke Smiraldo (Vanilla Soul) including poet Billy Collins;
• “Operation Homecoming”;
• Garrison Keillor;
• Bobby McFerrin;
• Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”;
• Orson Welles’ “Moby Dick”;
• “Rush Limbaugh in Night School”;
• “Not A Genuine Black Man”;
• “Defending The Caveman”;
• “The Wonder Bread Years”;
• Theater of Illusion â€" old school magic;
• comedians Josh Blue and Craig Ferguson
• And much more.

When my editor complains that my work stinks like yesterday's Gorgonzola, I can simply tell him it sucks because he doesn’t work hard enough editing it.  Ha! â€" Suzy Stump