BETROFFENHEIT Two of Canada’s most renowned companies, Kidd Pivot and Electric Company Theatre, are in town for two showings at Cal Performances of Betroffenheit. Betroffenheit – the German word for concern or consternation – is described as “an emotionally visceral dance-theater experience that examines the shock that besets you in the wake of a disaster. While the work’s extended metaphors encompass weighty concepts like the inability of words to express suffering and the labyrinth of addiction, the overarching message is one of hope and the human capacity to endure.” A critic for The Examiner in Dublin called the work “utterly compelling.” Friday, March 10 and Saturday, March 11, 8 p.m., Zellerbach Hall.
FOREVER YOUNG Every two years Berkeley Art Center celebrates and honors the students of Berkeley elementary and middle school students through an exhibition of juried works selected by BUSD art teachers. In conjunction with Alameda County’s Art IS Education Month, the exhibit aims to increase public awareness, ownership, and interest in the importance of art in our schools. The exhibition which opens on Saturday features the work of students from Berkeley Art Magnet, Cragmont Elementary, Emerson Elementary, John Muir Elementary, LeConte Elementary, Malcolm X Elementary, Oxford Elementary, Rosa Parks Elementary, Thousand Oaks Elementary, Washington Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Longfellow Middle School, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, and Willard Middle School. The exhibition will run through April 9, with a special family day from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 19. Opening reception, Saturday, March 11, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St.
A YEAR OF BAKING DANGEROUSLY (Full disclosure: I couldn’t resist the name of this club or the title.) Baking Bad is a baking club that supports civil liberties, reproductive rights, immigrants and refugees, and environmental protection. Formed by a group of friends from the Bay Area (motto: “Making the world a better place, one cookie at a time”), their first sale in January in the Gourmet Ghetto netted $2,600 for Planned Parenthood. Next up is a bake sale at Shattuck and Vine on Saturday (and they are expanding to San Francisco and Duboce Park on March 19). All proceeds will benefit the ACLU. High-quality homemade baked goods (including gluten-free and vegan items) will be on offer. Saturday, March 11, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 1491 Shattuck Ave.
OBRIGADA TANIA MARIA It’s not too late to celebrate last Wednesday’s International Women’s Day. Tammy Hall is performing the music of Brazilian pianist Tania Maria on Friday night at the California Jazz Conservatory. What they say: “Tania Maria is a great and unfortunately overlooked influence in music, especially in Latin jazz. Her rhythmic approach to the piano is innovative and engaging. Before Eliane Elias, there was and IS Tania Maria.” The all-women line-up: Tammy Hall, piano and voice, with Ruth Davies on bass, Daria Johnson, drums, Michaelle Goerlitz, percussion, Kristen Strom, sax, Angela Wellman and Sarah Cline, trombone. Friday, March 10, 8 p.m., California Jazz Conservatory, 2087 Addison St.
STEPHANIE BRUCE Stephanie Bruce is a singer/songwriter/arranger who will be performing a program of newly composed and arranged songs, along with a few favorites from her previously released CDs at The Back Room on Sunday. Her music is informed by many styles, including jazz, pop, folk, classical, and Brazilian. Featured on Sunday will be material soon to be recorded on her fourth CD, and songs from a musical theater piece she is co-writing with pianist/composer Jonathan Alford. Bruce will be singing with Jonathan Alford, bassist Aaron Germain, and drummer Kendrick Freeman. Sunday, March 12, 7 p.m., The Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave.
Don’t miss these other events featured on Berkeleyside:
Poignant, impressive: UC Berkeley students perform ‘Polaroid Stories’
Big Screen Berkeley: CAAMFest 2017 highlights films from Asia and Asian diaspora
Bobí Cespedes, high priestess of Cuban soul, plays Ashkenaz
