This week at Center for the Arts

Tonight at 8 p.m. is "A Dance Concert with Incendio" - a name that in Italian and Spanish means "fire." This moniker is fitting.

At the heart of Incendio's energetic and passionate sound is the Latin or Spanish guitar, which can conjure up romantic, as well as powerful and bold, images. Group members refer to their music as "Latin Guitar World Fusion," which gives a strong mix of song craft and improvisation couched in a variety of musical contexts. The music of Incendio is an amalgamation of flamenco, classical, Middle-Eastern, Celtic, jazz, rock, trance and pop.

Incendio's recordings include "Misterioso," "Illumination" and "Incendio," released in 2003. WIND & WIRE called the group "one fiery bunch of musicians." Amazon.com said they "generate some gratifying Latin guitar fusion."

Tickets, which are $15, can be purchased in Nevada City at Yabobo or Love Shack Records; in Grass Valley at BriarPatch or The Book Seller, and in Auburn at Cherry Records.



<B>Sunday</B> at 1 p.m., the second annual Drummers' Showcase of Grass Valley's Drum Studio features students playing rock 'n' roll songs from the Beatles to ZZ Top, as well as drum set solos. Joining them will be special guests Mad Dash and Street Beat, an alternative percussion group that plays on buckets, hubcaps, tires and lost auto parts. Also drumming will be an Army drummer and the local Taiko drumming group.

Some of the R&B tunes played by students include "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles and "I Feel Good" by James Brown.

Door prize drawings include a drum, drumsticks and the grand prize, a Sabian 16-inch AA Rock Crash Cymbal valued at $200.

John Basa, who has 20 students at The Drum Studio, said in an e-mail, "I teach the students reading and playing of basic percussion music, the 40 International Drum Rudiments (used in marching and concert music) and drum-set beats and fills used in rock, blues, jazz funk and Latin music. We hold workshops on how to play the blues, funk, jazz and how to work with other musicians in a band situation. Each year in the spring, I have a Drummers' Showcase where all the students perform on the drum set in front of a crowd of friends and family."

Tickets are $8 at the door; $7 adults in advance in Grass Valley at The Drum Studio, 984 Plaza Drive, The Book Seller; in Nevada City at Yabobo, and in Auburn at Cherry Records. $5 students, 5 and under free. Call The Drum Studio at 271-0992.

<B>Saturday</B> at 7:30 p.m., a capella harmony will ring from the rafters in a "Barbershop Quartet Extravaganza."

The full chorus of Sierranaders will present new melodies and old favorites, woven into a script titled "Time Tunnel" by chorus Director Roger Perkins. An exciting new quartet, Playback, will headline the show.

The Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, which is sponsoring the event, has 32,000 members nationwide, as well as subsidiaries in Great Britain, Sweden and New Zealand. Barbershop singing, like jazz and the spiritual, is a truly American style of music.

For $12 tickets, call 273-4200 or 823-5533.

<B>Saturday</B> at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. is the Advanced Drama Actor's Showcase, an array of classic to modern monologues by the students of Forest Charter School. One is a seething speech delivered by Susan B. Anthony in the 1800s during her campaign to help women get the vote; another is a touching piece from "Mutiny on The Bounty" and also comedic pieces ranging from Shakespeare to Broadway.

Suitable for audience members age 8 and up, the event includes complimentary hors d'oeuvres at a reception following each performance. Adults $5; 8-18, $3; tickets at the door. Call 432-4344.