Three-day forecast

DANCE

In step with a cause

Expanding to three performances in its fifth year, the annual Los Angeles Dance Invitational offers eight new pieces by a constellation of dance-makers -- all to benefit GLASS, the Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services agency. Works by guests Kelly Kemp and Jennifer Backhaus McIvor will be seen for the first time on any Southland stage. Local choreographers include Terry Beeman, Patrick David Bradley, Maggie Danielsen, Maria Gillespie, Liz Imperio, Marie de la Palme, Erica Rebollar, the Tweaksters, Kenneth Walker and Steve Zee. Winners of the Music Center Spotlight Awards will perform and Michele Simmons will be honored for distinguished teaching.

Los Angeles Dance Invitational, El Portal Theatre, 5269 N. Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m. $100, Friday only; $8, Saturday matinee; $12, Saturday evening. (323) 655-8587.

JAZZ

Get your Rankin fix

Singer-guitarist-songwriter Kenny Rankin has been pleasing his fans for more than 35 years, but critics don’t always know what to make of him: Is he a jazz artist or a folk-flavored pop singer who just uses jazz-like harmonies in his arrangements of familiar pop material? You can decide for yourself, as Rankin is slated for two shows per night through Sunday at the Jazz Bakery. His most recent CD, 2002’s “A Song for You,” has Rankin reaching into a bag of gold filled with classics ranging from Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields’ “The Way You Look Tonight” and Rodgers and Hart’s “She Was Too Good to Me,” to Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector’s “Spanish Harlem,” and the title track, written by Leon Russell.

Kenny Rankin, Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. Thursday-Sunday, 8 and 9:30 p.m. $25. (310) 271-9039.

MUSEUM

An eye on our vistas

California’s mountains and deserts bear scant resemblance to the cabarets of fin de siecle Paris, but “California’s Native Grandeur: Preserving Vanishing Landscapes” reflects an interesting parallel. A generation of artists used natural light on outdoor subjects in California in much the way French artists used it in portraits of city dwellers at play. You might call it Sylvan Impressionism. The exhibit of more than 40 oils opens Sunday.

“California’s Native Grandeur: Preserving Vanishing Landscapes,” Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., L.A. Mondays-Fridays, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; ends Sept. 1. $8; $5.50 students, seniors. (213) 763-3466.

POP MUSIC

Lanois and friends

In his years as a studio maestro, Daniel Lanois has picked up a few tricks from such collaborators and clients as U2, Bob Dylan, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris and others. They all come through in some form on “Shine,” the producer’s third album as a performer. The long-simmering, pedal-steel-drenched music will get a live airing when Lanois teams with drummer Brian Blade.

Daniel Lanois and Brian Blade, with Lisa Germano, Henry Fonda Theatre, 6126 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. today, 7:30 p.m. $25. (323) 464-0808.

MUSIC

A glittery program

The Pacific Symphony and its guest pianist, Van Cliburn medalist Christopher O’Riley, will build a bridge between Chopin and Liberace, performing the great composer’s “Andante Spianato” and “Grande Polonaise” as well as Michael Daugherty’s tribute to the glittery dresser, “Ode to Liberace.” Music director Carl St.Clair also will lead the orchestra in Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 and Wagner’s Prelude to Act 3 of “Lohengrin.”

Pacific Symphony, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. today, 8 p.m. $19 to $59. (714) 755-5799.

FESTIVAL

Up, up ... and aloft

About 50 multicolored hot-air balloons will fill the sky early each morning just to get things sailing at the 20th annual Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival this weekend at Lake Skinner. Starting at noon, a continuous entertainment lineup on two stages will include the Gin Blossoms, Edgar Winter, Starship with Mickey Thomas, and Blood, Sweat & Tears with David Clayton-Thomas. Wine tastings, arts and crafts and other attractions are also on tap. Balloon flights will be available Saturday and Sunday for $145 per person; reservations are required, (800) 965-2122.

Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival, Lake Skinner Recreation Area, Rancho California Road, 12 miles east of Interstate 15, Temecula. Friday, 5-10 p.m.; Saturday, 6 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 6 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends Sunday. $5 to $17, general; 12 and younger, free Friday; 6 and younger, free Saturday and Sunday. (909) 676-6713.

STAGE

Twin anxieties

Taper, Too presents the West Coast premiere of “Slide Glide the Slippery Slope,” Kia Corthron’s new drama about African American twin sisters in search of common ground after being separated in childhood and reunited as adults. Valerie Curtis-Newton directs.

Ivy Substation, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. Opens today. Performances Thursdays-Fridays, 8 p.m., Saturdays-Sundays, 2 and 8 p.m.; ends June 22. $20. (213) 628-2772.

MOVIES

Chiefly speaking

A Maori girl struggles to assert herself within her tribe’s patriarchal society in “Whale Rider.” This New Zealand drama, written and directed by Niki Caro, has been a crowd-pleaser at film festivals around the world.

“Whale Rider,” PG-13 for brief language and a momentary drug reference, opens Friday in selected theaters.