Pop dyslexia

Listening to Tammy Forsythe describe her dyslexic dance creations is much like seeing them in action. "I'm sort of non-sequituring all over the place here," she digresses amidst a torrent of words, right before jumping onto something about a horse - one thing she rarely strays far from is her fascination with the Wild West. "In old cowboy towns, every time they yelled, ‘Smile!' it meant ‘Let's have a drink.'" Back come visions of opening night at Forsythe's show last fall, The Backtrack, where she sat in the front row, one hand gripping a beer and the other on the make-believe reins, laughing and egging on her dancers.

This week, Forsythe takes a pace forward with The Backtrack Part 2: Slink down one sexy step at a time, a trial run of sorts before she and the four other performers (Alyson Vishnovska, Helen Simard, Claudia Fancello and Miguel Faulkner-Carrière) take the show to the Dancing on the Edge Festival in Vancouver. It runs on Sunday, July 4, 8 p.m., at le Local (7154 St-Urbain), free.

But as chaotic a creation process as Forsythe's may be, she's going for something more domesticated this time. I want it to be like a good pop song," she says. "You know: here we go, it's over, there ya go." » Matthew Woodley

Air-borne arranger

Far-out furniture designer and artist Jon Erik Johansen came upon his craft in an original enough way: squeezed in the dark nooks of airplanes that only technicians and maintenance workers get to see. "I was a ‘cleaner,'" he writes, "crawling way up inside the wings and crammed down underneath the cockpit floor. Scraping sealant as hard as a car tire with a plastic scraper. Alone. In the dark. For hours. No music. Wearing a respirator. Cleaning with Methyl-Ethyl-Keytone, a solvent so strong it melts plastic."

Choosing a fascination with airplane parts over insanity - something he developed even further when he landed his present job as structural technician (the fascination, that is) - Johansen began collecting scrap airplane parts around hangars. These jet fuel valves, rivets, screws and engine bits and bites he fashions with other materials into simple and striking pieces of furniture and art. His sculptures, lamps and wall hangings are on display at Java U Lounge (191 St-Paul W.) until Aug. 1. » Matthew Woodley

Halting Hitler

Unproductive is one word that doesn't apply to Sherwin Tjia. "I've been making comics and writing lo-fi sci-fi," says Tjia. "Lately, I illustrated a kids' book of poetry by JonArno Lawson called The Man In The Moon-Fixer's Mask that's coming out in September, and the second volume of Pedigree Girls comics is coming out in February next year." You can catch Tjia at Thursday's Insomniac Press night at Zeke's Gallery (3955 St-Laurent), where he performs with Toronto scribe Noah Leznoff. There'll be pages from Tjia's graphic novel in progress, some poems and a time-travel story about going back to intercept Hitler's mom before she can conceive. July 8, 7:30 p.m., free. » Vincent Tinguely

Call the doctor

"I go to the doctor to get help," Torontonian Nell Tenhaaf said in her artist's talk last week at the opening of her exhibition Fit/Unfit. She made the statement to clarify her position in relation to the medical community - a relationship she says has mutated over time from opposition to affinity.

Lauded as an artist who blends the worlds of art and science, a survey of her artistic production from the past 15 years is currently on view at the Leonard & Bina Ellen Gallery (1400 de Maisonneuve W.). But no matter what the hype, this is not work that incorporates a scientific perspective. Sure, she mentions Leonardo da Vinci, genetic engineering and DNA strands, but as far as I can tell (unlike Leonardo), Tenhaaf's knowledge of the world of science remains the level of someone who visits the doctor. Call it art, but don't confuse it with current work that really combines said field with science. Fit/Unfit runs until July 31. » Christine Redfern

Is it Art?

HEY, HEAD HONCHOS: Are the slackjawed lackies who never show up on time and spend their workdays doing nothing but nursing their hangovers and tending to their blogs giving you insane aches all over, even though you make enough to buy their parents? Looking for a counterpunch to the "Fly Below the Radar" technique they've acquired from Shaun Belding's Winning With the Boss From Hell book? Blowing more wind at the workplace fire, Belding's companion guide, Winning With the Employee From Hell (ECW Press) may be the ultimate antacid. The author separates troublesome worms into two categories, Performance Challenges and Personality Challenges, and lays out a strategy for developing and dealing with both types. It's in bookstores for $19.95.

ArtsHole

SILENT SOUND SUMMONS: Though we're surrounded by electromagnetic energy, it's imperceptible to the ear. Local artist Jean-Pierre Aubé's Save the Waves sets out to change that, though, with his giant installation, capable of receiving super-low frequencies such as the fluctuations created by the Earth's magnetic field, the Northern Lights (not the band) and the Hydro-Québec transformer next to the Darling Foundry (745 Ottawa), where the exhibition runs from July 9–Sept. 5. • HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS: Shedding a little light on the new Quebec jig, Les Sortilèges danses du monde present Attache ta tuque, a modern, urban take on age-old moves with live music, multimedia projections and plenty of funky costumes. It's followed by Benjamin Hatcher's India-inspired Om Namaha, July 2–3, 8 p.m., at Parc LaFontaine's Théâtre de Verdure.

ARTISTAT: Average number of people who, on a given night, take in the fresh air, food and African flicks at the annual Vues d'Afrique Ciné-spectacles, taking place in Parc Lafontaine's Théâtre de Verdure this year from July 8–11, 7 p.m., free: 3,000

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