THREE-DAY FORECAST

MOVIES

The barre and beyond

Director Nils Tavernier blends a behind-the-scenes look at an elite group of artist-athletes with footage of classical performances in “Etoiles: Dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet.” Tavernier, son of French filmmaker Bertrand, captures the dancers in rehearsal, working and at rest, as well as on the road, showing the artistry and effort that go into continuing a nearly 300-year-old legacy.

“Etoiles: Dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet,” unrated, opens Friday at the Laemmle Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. (310) 274-6869.

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POP MUSIC

The Conga crescendo

Asian music has always had its trance qualities, from classical Indian ragas to the passionate vocals of qawwali. But percussionist Karsh Kale (best known for his work with Tabla Beat Science) and the Asian Massive movement have taken the concept to a new level. Performing with cutting-edge DJ Cheb i Sabbah and other special guests, Kale and the group Realize will envelop the entire Conga Room in an ambient melange of house, hip-hop and sheer groove surging beneath the plangent sounds of flutes, tablas and vocals.

Karsh Kale, Asian Massive. Conga Room, 5364 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Saturday, 8 p.m. $25 in advance; $30 at the door. (323) 938-1696.

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ART LECTURE

Critique of Owens

The Laura Owens exhibition at MOCA is drawing positive but qualified reviews, and the museum’s chief curator, Paul Schimmel, will weigh in tonight with his own thoughts. The Times’ Christopher Knight looked at the show this way: “A lovely and engaging exhibition of 31 paintings and 26 works on paper by Owens from the last six years. Often big, sometimes mawkish and always very smart, Owens’ paintings are hugely ambitious. They are also eminently reasonable. They don’t posit painting as a grandiose struggle with life-and-death forces. They don’t pretend art is the most important thing going. The only story in her work is the painting’s story -- its jabs, its feints, its allusions and, yes, illusions.”

Paul Schimmel speaks on Laura Owens, Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Today, 6:30 p.m. Admission free on Thursdays. (213) 626-6222.

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DANCE

Livingston’s new work, we presume

Award-winning locally based contemporary choreographer Loretta Livingston picked up another honor last May with her selection for a city of Los Angeles (COLA) Individual Artist Fellowship. Now, in a work she titles “Leaving (Evidence),” she introduces the project that COLA commissioned, combining her career-long interest in formal choreography with her recent experiments in dance improvisation. Her seven-member company includes 2003 Lester Horton Dance Award winner Patrick Damon Rago, and the accompaniment will be composed and played live by Robin Cox, another 2003 Horton honoree. One hour before each performance, pianist Larry Karush performs his COLA project in Theatre 2.

“Leaving (Evidence),” Loretta Livingston and Dancers. L.A. Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., L.A. Saturday, 9 p.m.; Sunday, 4 p.m. $10. (213) 473-0660.

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THEATER

‘Hunchback’ set to rock

Kevin Saunders gives his signature “Vox Lumiere” theatrical treatment to the 1923 silent film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” starring Lon Chaney, with a screening of the classic in a rock-concert setting, augmenting the action on the screen with a cast of eight singers and a four-piece band.

“The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Coronet Theatre, 366 N. La Cienega Blvd., L.A. Opens Friday. Runs Thursdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 6 and 9 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m.; indefinitely. $35. (213) 365-3500.

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JAZZ

Sax man gets around

Some people have described Kenny Garrett as the most influential jazz alto sax player since Julian “Cannonball” Adderley. The multi-Grammy nominee can be heard on recordings by artists ranging from Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis to Sting and Bruce Springsteen. Additionally, he’s recorded about a dozen CDs of his own, his latest being “Standard of Language,” released in March. Garrett’s quartet will perform two shows per night through Sunday at Catalina Bar & Grill.

Kenny Garrett Quartet. Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. Today-Saturday, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. $17 to $25. (323) 466-2210.

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ART

Master prints: becoming a collector

A display of signed master prints by Jim Dine, Henri Matisse, David Hockney, Pablo Picasso and other eminent artists opens today at Leslie Sacks Fine Art in Brentwood. On May 17, the gallery’s director, Lee Spiro, will speak on the financial aspects of collecting such prints.

“Selected Master Prints,” Leslie Sacks Fine Art, 11640 San Vicente Blvd., L.A. Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends June 17. Lecture, “The Art of Collecting Modern and Contemporary Prints,” May 17, 2 p.m. (310) 820-9448.

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MUSIC

Prokofiev weekend

While in residency at UCLA, Anne-Marie McDermott will play all nine of Prokofiev’s piano sonatas over three consecutive days in honor of the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death. The lineup, which includes a few other works, is Sonatas Nos. 1, 8 and 9 on Friday; Nos. 4, 5 and 6 on Saturday; and Nos. 2, 3 and 7 and “Visions Fugitives” on Sunday. She’ll also play the piano version of “Peter and the Wolf” on Sunday, a children’s matinee.

Ann-Marie McDermott. Schoenberg Hall, UCLA, Westwood. Friday-Sunday, 7 p.m. Also, children’s matinee on Sunday, 1 p.m. $40 each concert; $20 for children 12 and under, Sunday matinee only. (310) 825-2101.

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ART FESTIVAL

Up the coast for art, music

The Santa Barbara Outdoor Art Festival will feature more than 100 juried works by Santa Barbara County artists and live acoustic music of varying stripes. Work by members of Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment (SCAPE), the Channel City Camera Club and the Santa Barbara Sculptors’ Guild will be featured in the show. Proceeds benefit the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County and the Santa Barbara Channelkeeper.

Santa Barbara Outdoor Art Festival. La Arcada Plaza, State and Anapamu streets, Santa Barbara. Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Free. (805) 962-1402.