Plan Ahead: Next Weekend

* Dance. The perennially adventuresome Merce Cunningham Dance Company performs five local premieres of two programs, April 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. in Royce Hall on the UCLA campus in Westwood. $13 (UCLA students) to $40. (310) 825-2101.

* Pop Music. Rufus Wainwright, who some critics said was unfairly overlooked by the Grammys as the best new artist of 1998, plays at the Henry Fonda Theater on April 16. $21. (213) 480-3232.

* Theater. “Round and Round the Garden,” part of Alan Ayckbourn’s “The Norman Conquests” trilogy about a librarian’s efforts to incite a swinging weekend, opens April 16 at South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday matinees, 2:30 p.m. Ends May 16. $18 to $45. (714) 708-5555.

* Movies. The Los Angeles Independent Film Festival runs next Thursdaythrough April 20. The festival presents more than 30 films at the Directors’ Guild of America Theaters, 7920 Sunset Blvd.; the Laemmle’s Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd.; and the Harmony Gold Preview House, 7655 Sunset Blvd. $7.50. For schedule: (323) 937-9155. For tickets: (888) ETM-TIXS.