Former ballerinas, holiday traditionalists and general romantics can agree - the Christmas season doesn’t truly begin until The Nutcracker is staged. For Austin, that means this weekend marks the beginning of it all, as Ballet Austin opens the curtains on this beloved and historic ballet for the 48th year. more ›

As usual, December’s events calendar is overflowing with festive possibility, so the time has come to pick and choose your diversions carefully. Ballet Austin’s The Nutcracker, taking place at The Long Center for the second year in a row, clearly ranks as one of the more classic and sure-to-please options available; we caught the show last weekend and found it a fun beginning to the next few weeks of holiday shenanigans. more ›

Ballet Austin artistic director Stephen Mills is well-known for his innovative (and sometimes controversial) choreography, and over the past few years he’s proven that even a classic Christmas show can offer a few surprises. We sat down with Mills between rehearsals to chat about the upcoming show, what he's working on next, and why he never wants to leave Austin. more ›

To those who shun holiday traditions and know no other form of dancing than grinding on your friends at Creekside Lounge, we invite you to consider an intriguingly classy alternative. You may not realize it, but Austin has a hard-working, ambitious and innovative ballet company in its midst, and they have bestowed upon us one of the greatest gifts of all—a fresh, energetic rendering of a classic Christmas show. more ›

We've heard rumors that a soon-to-open performance venue won't be such a swell place to work for the folks behind the scenes. Scant room backstage, an eensy fly space, and a tricky loading dock with an 8' door, aren't exactly the makings of a stagehand's dream job. more ›

Lick Lick and The Invincible Czars head up an evening of eccentric rock n’ roll tonight at Room 710. Self classified as “prunk”, the former concentrates on post-punk assembled with catchy guitar riffs and per their MySpace page, “Lick Lick are sure to make prunk a household term in 2007.” The band is set to join the likes of Tia Carrera, Gorch Fock, and Attack Formation on the local Australian Cattle God Records for... more ›

SATURDAY [23] music • Wintershow Benefit for SafePlace and Capital Area Food Bank with Bill Callahan (SMOG), Shearwater, Nick Hennies (Weird Weeds) and Brian Sookram at The Mohawk (Doors at 3pm, Music at 5pm) film • Sinus Show: Die Hard at Alamo Downtown (7 & 10pm, $12.50) music • Everyone Knows Everyone Winter Party, with music by Visitors, Rory + the Artificial Hearts, Pompeii, and Mars Wars; art by Carlos Rosales-Silva, Justin Cox, Jay... more ›

THURSDAY [21] fashion • Dirty Librarian Chains Trunk Show with DJ Chicken George and Daetron Vargas at FactoryPeople (5-8pm) film • The Christmas Pop! Sing-Along at Alamo Downtown (7pm, $10) film • La Femme Nikita at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) film • old Joy at Alamo Downtown (9:45pm) film • Terror Thursday: Blood Beach at Alamo Downtown (11:55pm, Free) music • Ugly Beats, Bellfuries, The Deadly Companions at Emo's music • "A Parish Christmas," featuring... more ›

WEDNESDAY [20] film • Super Happy Fun Monkey Bash 5 at Alamo Downtown (9:45pm, $5) film • Danielson: A Family Movie at Alamo Downtown (7pm) film • Unknown Passage: The Dead Moon Story at Beerland (7pm, Free) film • Delicatessen at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) film • Weird Wednesday: The Magic Christmas Tree at Alamo Downtown (11:55pm, Free) food • Austin Farmers Market at Whole Food Parking Lot, 525 N Lamar (4-7pm) music •... more ›

FRIDAY [15] ballet • Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker at Bass Concert Hall (Check website for details) music • Baby Robots, Horse + Donkey, Foot Foot, DJ Blip at Emo's Lounge music • Moonlight Towers, The Fall Collection, Buttercup at Emo's music • Mice & Rifles CD Release, Texas Sapphires, Adam White (The Personals) at Stubb's music • Crawling with Kings, Ian Moore, Lossy Coils, Future Clouds in Radar at The Parish Room music • Papa... more ›

Our favorite posts for the week:

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If you're a fan of ballet, or just happen to be at Barton Springs this Friday or Saturday evening, you might want to check out Austin Dance Ensemble's "Ballet Under the Stars". The free production takes place at the Zilker Hillside Theatre (next to Barton Springs pool) at 8:30 each night, and features works by Mike McKinley, Ernest Gildon, Arletta Howard-Logan and John Logan - none whom we even pretend to have heard of (we're guessing they're affiliated with ADE), but we wholeheartedly support the Arts in Austin. more ›