WEEKEND FORECAST

FRIDAY

Ballroom dancing: That’s hot

One of the unabashed hits of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the documentary “Mad Hot Ballroom” follows the entry of a diverse group of New York City schoolkids into the sophisticated world of merengue, tango, rumba, foxtrot and swing. The 11-year-olds from public schools in Washington Heights, Tribeca and Bensonhurst are profiled by director Marilyn Agrelo and writer Amy Sewell as they commit to something that challenges the concept of what is cool in an age of contradictions.

“Mad Hot Ballroom,” PG for some thematic elements, opens Friday at the ArcLight Cinemas, 6360 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 464-4226; Laemmle’s Monica 4-Plex, 1332 2nd St., Santa Monica, (310) 394-9741; and Landmark’s Westside Pavilion Cinemas, Westside Pavilion, 10800 W. Pico Blvd., (310) 281-8223.

Energetic rhythms

Grammy-winning jazz pianist-composer Michel Camilo will perform four shows this weekend in Costa Mesa. The Dominican-born artist has been praised for his wildly energetic multi-rhythms and great technique, with McCoy Tyner and Ahmad Jamal influences shining throughout. His latest CD, “Solo,” featuring tunes by George Gershwin, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Thelonious Monk, plus some original material, was released in January.

Michel Camilo, Orange County Performing Arts Center, Founders Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday. $50 to $56. (714) 556-2787.

* Also: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

The kitchen as refuge

Nine actors play 40 roles -- while cooking up recipes on stage -- in Robin Soans’ play “The Arab-Israeli Cookbook.” The work is based on Soans’ interviews with everyday Palestinians and Israelis, who find that traditions of food and kitchen offer constancy in a difficult world. Louis Fantasia directs this U.S. premiere.

MET Theatre, 1089 N. Oxford Ave., L.A. Opens 8 p.m. Friday. $15 and $20. (323) 957-1152.

* Runs 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Ends June 26.

SATURDAY

Power players

Wango Tango kicked things off last weekend, and now the radio-sponsored concert season is in full swing, with two top formats going head-to-head in Orange County. KROQ’s annual Weenie Roast brings an alt-rock all-star lineup, including Interpol, Jimmy Eat World, the Mars Volta and Queens of the Stone Age, to Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. KPWR’s Powerhouse fills the Arrowhead Pond with the hip-hop beats of Snoop Dogg, the Game and Busta Rhymes, among others.

KROQ Weenie Roast, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, 8808 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Sold out. (949) 855-8096.

Powerhouse, Arrowhead Pond, 2695 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $40 to $78. (714) 704-2500.

Exposing history

Artist team Nicholas Lowie and Sheridan Lowrey muse on the works of Marcel Duchamp and the Museum of Jurassic Technology in the show “One Hundred Sixty-One Year Exposure/One Hundred Twenty-Fifth of a Second Exhibition.” Featuring a book of essays, photographs and a video installation, the project explores the historical and theoretical aspects of photography, beginning with the year 2000 and reflecting backward to the first photograph taken.

“One Hundred Sixty-One Year Exposure/One Hundred Twenty-Fifth of a Second Exhibition,” Track 16 Gallery, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., Building C1, Santa Monica. Opens Saturday. (310) 264-4678.

* Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Ends June 11.

It’s time to take out the tamburitza

For 68 seasons the vibrant, versatile Tamburitzans of Duquesne University in Pennsylvania have been showcasing the cultures of Eastern Europe. Currently three dozen singers, dancers and musicians, the acclaimed student company makes two more Southern California stops on its latest tour. The current repertory offers richly costumed selections exploring the folklore of Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Transylvania, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, as well as brief detours to Greece and even Ireland. No, County Derry is by no means part of Eastern Europe, but it’s Tamburitzan territory all the same.

Tamburitzans, Servite High School, 1952 W. La Palma Ave., Anaheim. 7 p.m. Saturday. $10 (children) to $25 (adults). (714) 832-7470.

* Also 3 p.m. Sunday at San Pedro High School Auditorium, 1005 W. 15th St., San Pedro. $15 (students) to $30. (310) 831-2629.

A graphic look at life

Artist Robert Williams got his big break in the 1960s working with hot rod illustrator Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, and founded Juxtapoz, a “lowbrow” and graphic arts magazine in 1994. “Robert Williams: Through Prehensile Eyes” is his first solo L.A. show in 10 years and features provocative works from the 1980s to the present, including paintings, sketches and two custom hot rods.

“Robert Williams: Through Prehensile Eyes,” Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art & Design, 9045 Lincoln Blvd., L.A. Opens Saturday. (310) 665-6905.

* Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, except 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays. Ends July 30.

SUNDAY

Arroyo Seco bond

The five museums along the Arroyo Seco in L.A. and Pasadena -- the Southwest, the Heritage Square, the Gamble House, the Lummis Home and Garden, and the Pasadena Museum of History -- invite the public to enjoy a free day of art, architecture, exhibitions, music, storytelling, crafts and live entertainment. In addition to free admission and tours at each museum, there will be a free shuttle to take attendees from venue to venue.

The 17th Annual Museums of the Arroyo Day, Southwest Museum, 234 Museum Drive, L.A.; Pasadena Museum of History, 470 W. Walnut St., Pasadena; Lummis Home and Garden, 200 E. Avenue 43, L.A.; Heritage Square Museum, 3800 Homer St., L.A.; Gamble House, 4 Westmoreland Place, Pasadena. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Free. (323) 221-2164.