Sights & Sounds is your weekly guide to the Bay Area arts scene through the eyes and ears of local artists. This week, guest host Truc Nguyen sits down with musician and choreographer Carina Ho, also known as Onikho, to talk about three arts events happening this weekend in the Bay.
- Tango dancing at Ashkenaz in Berkeley, Thursday night at 9 p.m.
- Aretha Franklin’s Amazing Grace film screening at BAMPFA on Friday at 4 p.m.
- House classical music show with Group Musein Oakland on Saturday at 7pm
Ashkenaz is a great music venue in Berkeley, and their new Ashkenaz Milonga series brings tango music and dancing every fourth Thursday. Each month, there’s a new band, rotating DJs, all there to celebrate tango music and dance, and this week is the Mariano Barreiro Tango Trio. There will also be an all levels dance lesson.
Aretha Franklin’s performance of Amazing Grace at Watts church was filmed in 1972, and this iconic performance will be screened at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive this Friday. The film was released for the first time in 2018, and the performance is Aretha’s best selling record, as well as the highest-selling live gospel music album of all time.
For those who like classical music but aren’t into the big concert hall (and expensive tickets), Group Muse is a fun alternative, where small concerts are held in personal homes. This time it will be held at a home in the Montclair neighborhood of Oakland and will feature works by Mozart, Kodaly and Handel for violin and cello in a fun and intimate setting. The event is BYO, and exact location is provided after signing up online.
Carina Ho is a Fulbright Scholarship recipient and recently completed a film project featuring dancers with disabilities called We Sleep No More. She also performs music under the name Onikho.
