TODAYDANCEIn a state of passionWith the dance...

TODAY

DANCE

In a state of passion

With the dance drama “The Tale: Npinpee Nckutchie and the Tail of the Golden Dek,” Reggie Wilson and the Fist and Heel Performance Group present the West Coast premiere of a work exploring the eternal mating dance, at REDCAT at Disney Hall. Using traditional African music as well as accompaniments drawn from Caribbean and African American cultures, eight performers conjure up a universal state of passion using stepping, stomping, shouting and strutting as their basic vocabulary. “Infectiously joyous,” wrote the Village Voice. “The sacred and the secular inform each other, and dance and music become a single art based on pulse and breath.”

Reggie Wilson and the Fist and Heel Performance Group, REDCAT at Walt Disney Concert Hall, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. Opens 8:30 tonight. $16 (students) to $24. (213) 237-2800, www.redcat.org* Also 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday.

THEATER

Just a moment

“Hold Please,” Annie Weisman’s comic portrait of American work life, chronicles two generations of executive secretaries battling the corporate infrastructure, technology -- and one another. Kirsten Brandt directs.

“Hold Please,” Old Globe Theatre, Cassius Carter Centre Stage, Balboa Park, San Diego. Opens 8 tonight. $19 to $56. (619) 234-5623, www.theoldglobe.org

* Runs 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays; 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays; 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Ends

May 6.

JAZZ

Funky yet traditional

Two-time Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove released two albums simultaneously last year: “Distractions,” a collection of funk- and hip-hop-flavored numbers by Hargrove and the RH Factor; and “Nothing Serious” featuring more traditional, straight-ahead jazz tunes by the Roy Hargrove Quintet. The 37-year-old Texan will perform in Hollywood through Sunday evening.

Roy Hargrove Quartet, Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. 8:30 and 10:30 tonight. $18 to $30. (323) 466-2210.

* Also 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

BOOKS

Boy soldier speaks out

“A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” is the harrowing account of Ishmael Beah, who at age 12 was forced to fight in a roving army of children, all preteen boys and girls wandering among the atrocities of an early ‘90s civil war in Sierra Leone. He was brought to a rehabilitation center in Freetown run by UNICEF and affiliated groups at 15, and later became a spokesperson for the organizations’ efforts. He fled once again -- this time to the U.S. -- when war overtook the capital city. Beah, now 25, will be joined by Louise Steinman, curator of the ALOUD at Central Library series and co-director of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities at USC.

Ishmael Beah, ALOUD at Central Library, 630 W. 5th St., L.A.

7 tonight. (213) 228-7000.

FRIDAY

POP MUSIC

Rockin’ like in the ‘60s

The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium doesn’t get rocking very often these days, but in the ‘60s and ‘70s it was one of the area’s top venues, hosting Bob Dylan, Elton John, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Pink Floyd and many more. It was also closely tied to the nearby Pacific Ocean with its frequent showings of “Endless Summer” and other surf films. Those two traditions come together when L.A. band Bad Religion tests the Civic’s circuitry, headlining a benefit concert for the Heal the Bay organization.

Bad Religion, with Tiger Army and the Briggs, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main St., Santa Monica. 7:30 p.m. Friday. $29. (310) 458-2288.

MOVIES

‘Killer’ to be released

Charles Burnett’s 1977 film “Killer of Sheep,” a beautiful and anguished documentary-like account of several days in the bleak life of an L.A. slaughterhouse worker (Henry Gayle-Sanders, in a remarkable portrayal) gets a long-overdue theatrical release. The rarely screened, critically acclaimed film marks its 30th anniversary with a new print, restored and enlarged to 35 millimeter by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

“Killer of Sheep,” unrated, opens Friday exclusively at the Landmark Nuart, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A. (310) 281-8223.

SATURDAY

EVENTS

Blessing of the Animals

Saturday on Olvera Street, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony will bless a parade of dogs, cats, cows, horses, snakes, pigs, sheep, goats, hamsters and all kinds of brightly outfitted animals along with their human companions. Continuing a Mexican tradition, Olvera Street has held an annual Blessing of the Animals ceremony since the 1930s. Originally held on Jan. 17, the feast of San Antonio de Abad, the blessing in recent years has been performed on the Saturday before Easter. All Angelenos are invited to bring their pets. Additionally, there will be live entertainment, information booths and a petting zoo.

Blessing of the Animals, El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, 125 Paseo de la Plaza, L.A. The animal procession begins at 2 p.m. Saturday; festivities run from noon to 5 p.m. Free. (213) 625-7074.

ART

Paintings by a pair

The first pairing of Southern California-based Daniel Dove and New York-based Tom McGrath presents large-scale oil paintings that incorporate chance elements -- scrapes, scratches and drips -- set off against subject matter drawn from traditions of American landscape painting, all rendered with a facile, dramatically illuminated conventionality.

“Daniel Dove & Tom McGrath,” Cherry and Martin, 12611 Venice Blvd., L.A. Opens Saturday. (310) 398-7404.

* Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Ends May 12.

THEATER

‘Beauty’ with a twist

Center Theatre Group and Deaf West Theatre present “Sleeping Beauty Wakes,” a musical modern twist on the fairy tale set in a sleep disorder clinic, with book by Rachel Sheinkin and music and lyrics by indie pop/rock band GrooveLily’s Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda. This premiere production, directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun, features professional deaf and hearing actors -- as did Deaf West’s previous musical outing, the Tony Award-honored “Big River.”

“Sleeping Beauty Wakes,”

Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Opens 8 p.m. Saturday. $20 to $50. (213) 628-2772, www.CenterTheatreGroup.org

* Regular schedule: 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Exceptions: 7 p.m. only this Sunday. Added weekday shows: 8 p.m. April 27, May 4, May 8-11. Ends May 13.

EVENTS

Show me the green

The Guacamole Festival, a family-oriented street fair with a Latino flavor in the city of Maywood, will feature carnival games and rides, live music, exhibits, free health screenings, prizes and recipes for dishes featuring the avocado, including burgers, salads, tacos, dips and sandwiches.

Guacamole Festival, Slauson Avenue and Atlantic Boulevard, Maywood. Noon to 10 p.m. Saturday. Free. (818) 734-2744.

* Also noon to 10 p.m. Sunday.

MUSIC

Jacaranda returns to home base

The adventurous series Jacaranda had to find other venues for nine months while its Santa Monica home, the First Presbyterian Church, was undergoing renovation. But now it’s coming back with a “special return concert” called “Amazing Grace,” featuring selections by Scott Joplin, Frederick Rzewski, Ben Johnston, Charles Ives, Morton Feldman and Steve Reich. Producer Patrick Scott says the church’s acoustics are much improved, and he notes that the series has stopped promoting itself with the term “chamber music” partly because that didn’t accurately reflect the scale of some programs. To wit: “Amazing Grace” will employ 28 instrumentalists (including an organist) and a chorus of 18.

Jacaranda, First Presbyterian Church, 1220 2nd St. (at Wilshire), Santa Monica. 8 p.m. Saturday. $25. (310) 451-1303.