Lights, candle, clash

Almost six years since the company was founded by five women, contemporary dance collective Échine Dõ is now celebrating with the help of men. The collective's third production, Candela, is composed of new works by three male choreographers. In the intimate setting of the Studio du Monument-National (1182 St-Laurent), six dancers (Mireille Baril, Dominic Caron, Annie De Pauw, Kha Nguyen, Isabelle Marcotte and Daniel Villeneuve) animate their creations.

Former Mirror Noisemaker, and now dancer with O Vertigo, Patrick Lamothe stirs things up with a physical trio entitled Light Metal Clash. Also on the program is Le vent qui brûle by David Pressault, another choreographer familiar to the local scene. Finally, Roberto Campanella, a choreographer whose repertoire includes creations for Evelyn Hart and the National Ballet of Canada, contributes a duet entitled Perspective Variation. Runs March 25–27 and April 1–3 at 8:30 p.m., 871-2224. » Marites Carino

Rockin', shockin' stock

The subject matter of the short films by Montrealer Apostolos "Toly" Kouroumalis of Psychejunk Productions range, in his words, "from the esoteric to drunk, fat rockabillies and girls who smell like bubblegum and have Lucky Charms tattooed around their nipples, all the colours of the rainbow." In between all that is a frenzy of drugged-up, freaked-out, bloodsoaked rock 'n' roll surrealism, showcasing the multi-talented artist's knack with all manner of cinematic tricks and techniques. Think you can handle it? "If you like horror and dark comedy, you'll enjoy yourself," says Kouroumalis, "but if you're expecting big-budget effects and car chases, dream on - although the effects wiz from Steven Spielberg's Taken did the gore in Streaks in the Mirror."

The screening of Psychejunk's Cerce: Last Caress shorts anthology is at Concordia's VA Building (1395 Réné-Lévesque, #114) on Friday, March 26, 9 p.m., admission by donation. » Rupert Bottenberg

Treeplanting and invisibility

He's a publisher, an editor, a behind-the-scenes organizer and with the launch of his new collection of short stories, I Can See You Being Invisible, Andy Brown wears the writer's hat too. The collection features drawings, absurdist scenarios and characters with "nondebilitating handicaps," and includes a series of interconnecting stories about West Coast treeplanting culture. "Treeplanting can become like this drug you take every year to jack up your bank account," Brown quips. "The stories follow three or four characters between treeplanting camps and their life back in the city - the treeplanting diaspora." With music by Les Separatwists, graphics slide show by Marc Ngui, and a short film, Karma on the Corner, starring Andy Brown. Thursday, April 1, 9 p.m., at Casa del Popolo (4873 St-Laurent), free. » Vincent Tinguely

Devil's handiwork

The inspiration for Lalie Douglas's newest work, Frivolité, came from a 1753 painting by Louis Tocqué that hangs in the Louvre showing a woman making a type of knotted lace called tatting (la frivolité in French). A text accompanying the painting explains: "It is like needlework, yet it is not work at all. It filled no particular necessity… Its only purpose was to express a womanly aversion to total idleness and gracefully employ a lady's fingers. An idle woman was said to lose her femininity".

Douglas found the quote "pretty obnoxious." In response she learned the technique of tatting and created the performance/installation now on view at Art Mûr (5826 St-Hubert). The simple, archaic gesture, a performance of downcast eyes and busy hands, puts across a feminist rereading of the woman's straightjacket. Performances at the VAV Gallery (1395 Réné-Lévesque) March 25, 12:30–3:30pm and Art Mûr March 27 and 30, 1–4 p.m., 933-0711. » Christine Redfern

Is it Art?

INCOME IRRITANTS: There's a good month before the April 30 tax-filing deadline, but that doesn't make the prospect of pencil-chewing, number-crunching toil any less daunting. Prominent Massachusetts certified public accountant Bob Benoit of Benoit, Benoit Associates has just the cure; in addition to being an ace money guy, he's an incredible wind synthesizer player. With his recently released CD, Windmill, Benoit invites citizens to "enjoy the sax while you do your tax." The Christian musician has toured all over the east coast with his wind synth, an electronic, breath-sensitive device that emulates the tone of dozens of traditional instruments and throws in a few sounds of its own for good measure. Windmill can be previewed and purchased at www.heavensongs.com, $15 (U.S.).

ArtsHole

FRAGMENTS OF LA LA LANDS: 1960s and '70s architecture from Los Angeles and Las Vegas comes into focus at the CCA's new exhibition, Learning From… Ruscha and Venturi Scott Brown, opening on March 31. Edward Ruscha's '60s books of photographs documented L.A. sights from gas stations to swimming pools to cacti, inspiring Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown's bestselling book, Learning From Las Vegas. The show, which features several never-before-seen works, runs until May 30. • SCRIBE SUMMIT: Three anglo authors, Robert Glück, Peter Dubé and Gail Scott, convene at Galerie Clark (5455 Gaspé, #114) to discuss their latest works today, Thursday, March 25, at 8 p.m., 288-4972 .

ARTISTAT: Number of beaded prayers - amulets that contain participants' written hopes and dreams - in Sonya Clark's "Beaded Blessings," the culmination of her workshop and travelling Bearded Prayers Project exhibition, in Montreal until April 24 at the MAI (3680 Jeanne-Mance), 982-3386: 4,000

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