Haute Highlights


E-40

Thursday, April 26, at 9 p.m.

Key Club Hollywood

Seminal Bay Area rapper E-40 should be more than just the butt of jokes about how to “get stupid” and “ghostride the whip.” The prolific musician and entrepreneur has released 17 albums and earned critical acclaim for his signature flow. Perhaps it’s illustrative of E-40’s work ethic that his three most recent full-length efforts — the first, second and third volumes of The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil — dropped within the same year, 2012, and on the same day.

E-40’s trek down south for a show at Hollywood’s Key Club promises a great show. He’s joined by an assortment of guests, including contemporaries Young Lawless and Block Balling, who promise to keep the show unpredictably entertaining.

 

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet

Friday, April 27, at 8 p.m.

UCLA Royce Hall

Move over, Billy Elliot: There’s a new ballet production in town.

This Friday, the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet company will perform three productions: Simply Marvel, Grace Engine and Hubbub.

Regina van Berkel’s Simply Marvel kicks off the show with energy and chaos and is set to music by Paganini and Theo Verbey.

Famed choreographer Crystal Pite’s piece follows suit. Her West Coast debut of Grace Engine uses dance as a narrative tool to tell stories that unite mankind; the choreography strives to emulate elements of cinematic editing, such as montage and flashbacks, to convey the interwoven stories.

Alexander Ekman’s Hubbub concludes the night on a comical note. His story of participation and criticism looks at the performance rituals of a group of people, while a commentator offers potential meanings for the work.

Ticket prices vary and can be purchased through UCLALive.org.

It’s time to put on your dancing shoes, or at the very least, watch others do so.

 

Create:Fixate’s Snap Flash 2012

Saturday, April 28, 7 p.m.-2 a.m.

Premiere Events Center

With photography so accessible these days — take a snapshot with your iPhone, throw it up on Instagram, repeat — it’s easy to forget the wondrous possibilities the medium really offers when put in the hands of an artist with a vision.

Snap Flash 2012 is L.A. art organization Create:Fixate’s “all-photography” show, in which anything goes as long as it’s good. And there’s a lot to see: For only $15 before 9 p.m., and $20 after, you get access to the show’s Optical Lounge and Audio Lab, both of which offer innovative, entertaining installations and performances.

The Optical Lounge offers work from a multitude of media, including digital, film, 3-D and even interactive pieces. The Audio Lab, on the other hand, is a place to enjoy live music, with everything from electronica to jazz slated for the show. The two experiences undoubtedly add up to an intriguing night out.

 

I’m Going Somewhere With This: Coachella Stories

Sunday, April 29, at 8 p.m.

The Mint

Unfortunately, this year’s sprawling, three-day extravaganza of incredible music, hideous porta-potties and mild drug abuse known as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has come and gone.

Though Tupac’s ghost — or was it just a stage illusion? — may be rapping no more, that doesn’t mean the festival won’t live on. As anyone who’s gone to Coachella knows firsthand, the experience makes for a bevy of often-hilarious, sometimes-disgusting and always-entertaining stories. How much funnier would it be, however, if the stories were told by stand-up comics instead of your stoned roommate?

That’s the question that stands to be answered in this month’s installment of I’m Going Somewhere With This, local comedian Josh di Donato’s storytelling series. He won’t be alone on stage, either — previous surprise guests have included comics like Margaret Cho and Laura Kightlinger. And with tickets selling for only $8, this night of laughter is a steal.