WEEKEND TEN
1 SAUT DE CHAT
Ballet Arkansas spins into the new year with its first winter show, Tour de Force, including classic choreography by George Balanchine and Marius Petipa and new works by Ballet Arkansas’ Michael Fothergill and Kiyon Gaines, 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Center for Humanities and Arts, University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College main campus, 3000 W. Scenic Drive, North Little Rock. A champagne toast with the 12 professional company dancers follows Friday’s performance. Tickets are $18-$35. At 2 p.m. Saturday at the same venue, the company presents Young Person’s
Guide to the Orchestra, with Fothergill choreographing to music of Benjamin Britten, with arts and crafts before and a chance to meet the dancers after. Tickets are $13-$20; the show will also stream live into individual rooms at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Call (501) 223-5150 or visit balletarkansas.org. or uaptc.edu/ballet. See story on Page 4E.
2 STEPPING OUT
World-champion dancers will display some fancy footwork as Dublin Irish Dance performs Stepping Out (with a singer and an eight-member traditional Irish band), 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the University of Central Arkansas’ Reynolds Performance Hall, 201 S. Donaghey Ave., Conway. Tickets are $30-$40; $27-$37 for senior citizens, alumni and military, $10 for children, free for UCA students with valid student ID. Call (501) 4503265 or (866) 810-0012 or visit uca.edu/reynolds.
3 SIDE-SPLITTING
A dozen four-person teams pit their robotic combatants in “a rip-roaring, side-splitting, fast-paced robot wrestling competition” at the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, 204 E. Fourth St., North Little Rock, for what will now be the annual Beer, Burgers and Bots (formerly Beer, Brats and Bots), noon-4 p.m. Saturday. Spectator tickets — $10 in advance, $15 at the door — include one food ticket and two beer tickets; free for children 6 and younger (no beer tickets). Visit tinyurl.com/burgersnbots for details, including a complete list of competition rules and regulations. 4 SINGER
Kris Allen headlines We AR One: Rock
the Rock, a fundraiser for Independent Case Management, 6-10 p.m. Saturday at the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. There will also be food, wine and local craft beer. Tickets, $60, support ICM’s programs for people with developmental disabilities. Call (501) 228-0063 or visit eventbrite.com. 5 SYMPHONIC
Three members of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra — Meredith Hicks, piano, also a member of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock faculty; Tze-ying Wu, viola; and Ethan Young, cello — join guest pianist Jaeyeon Park to play the
Piano Quartet No. 1 in c minor, op.15, by Gabriel Faure as part of a chamber
music concert, 7:30 p.m. today in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, Fine
Arts Building, UALR, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. Hicks and Park will play the Violin Sonata No. 35 in A major, K.526, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Admission is free. Call (501) 569-3294.
6 SHARP
Things are looking sharp at the Statehouse Convention Center, Markham and Main streets, Little Rock, during the
Arkansas Knife Show. The event, which features vendors and exhibitors, is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $10, $25-$50 for VIP passes that include 9 a.m. admission and banquet tickets. Call (870) 279-7329 or visit arknife.com.
7 SUPERHEROES
Fans can take part in cosplay contests, attend panels and get autographs from writers and artists at Not Just
Another Comic Con, 10 a.m.-midnight Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at the Little Rock Airport Holiday Inn & Conference Center, 3201 Bankhead Drive. Admission is $10 per day, $15 for a weekend pass, free for children 12 and younger with a paying adult. Visit notjustanothercomiccon.com.
8 ‘SOMEDAY SOON’
Singer-songwriter Lindi Ortega performs at 8 p.m. today at South on Main, 1304 Main St., Little Rock. The show is part of
Oxford American’s 2017-18 Americana Series. Doors open at 6 p.m.; food and drinks will be sold. Tickets are $25-$32. Call (800) 293-5949 or visit Metrotix. com. See Music Scene on Page 5E.
9 (A)SLEEP
Country-western swing band Asleep
at the Wheel — recent additions Katie Shore (fiddle, vocals), Dennis Ludiker (fiddle, mandolin), Connor Forsyth (keyboard, vocals) and Josh Hoag (bass) joining founder Ray Benson and veterans David Sanger (drums), Eddie Rivers (steel guitar), and Jay Reynolds (saxophone and clarinet) — performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Eureka Springs Auditorium, 36 S. Main St., Eureka Springs. Tickets are $20-$40. Call (479) 253-7788 or visit the website, theaud. org. 10 SHIRELLES
The Shirelles, including original and founding member Beverly Lee, perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Fine Arts Center, East Arkansas Community College, 1700 Newcastle Road, Forrest City, part of the college’s 2017-18 Performance Season’s Spotlight Series. Tickets are $39. Call (870) 633-4480, Extension 352, or visit eacc.edu.