Photography by Junseong Lee on Unsplash
Free Mat Pilates Class
Novel
Saturday, January 6, 2:30 p.m.
Well, it’s 2024. New year, new you? Eh? Maybe? You might have some new goals? Resolutions is what they’re calling ’em these days — well, that’s what they’ve been calling them for a good bit, I guess. Perhaps, you told yourself you’d get in shape this year. What shape you’ll get in, no one can predict. I’ve always been a fan of the octagon. But maybe you want your shape to be more rectangular, more linear. Maybe you want to protect your spine. And oh wait, what’s that? You can learn how to protect your spine through movement and work on your core strength and flexibility at Novel this weekend in a very much free mat Pilates class. Oh my! What are the chances! Register here to reserve your spot. Participants should bring their own mats, and they will receive a coupon for 20 percent off one item from Novel to use after the class.
Kaylyn Webster, Light Show in July, 2023, Oil on canvas, Courtesy of the artist.
“Commune (verb)”
The Dixon Gallery and Gardens
On display through January 7
Did you tell yourself that this year you’d become more cultured? Immerse yourself in Memphis’ rich arts scene? A good first step to take would be to visit Kaylyn Webster’s “Commune (verb)” exhibition at the Dixon, which closes this weekend. At only 24, Webster has created paintings that draw “upon memories and current experiences among her tight-knit family and circle of friends. The result is a body of paintings that project a sacred intimacy, a feeling that the viewer is in the presence of someone they know very well, but also someone so noble that they command respect,” the Dixon writes. It’s a great show (read more about it here), and admission to the museum is free.
Also on display is the museum’s “Black Artists in America: From Civil Rights to the Bicentennial,” a survey of Black artists responding to the rise and maturation of the civil rights movement, the growing activism and assertiveness of Black artists throughout the 1960s, and the battle for greater recognition and rights in the early 1970s.
Memphis Brooks Museum - Black American Portraits
Super Saturday - Music in Art with Opera Memphis
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
Saturday, January 6, 10 a.m. – noon
In the same vein as the last entry in this here “Five Things To Do,” you can immerse yourself in the arts at the Brooks, too, this weekend, especially since it’s their Super Saturday. This Super Saturday, Opera Memphis singers will lead tours through the exhibit “Black American Portraits,” exploring the connection between music and visual arts. The tours will also be complemented with art-making in the studio. Admission is free.
“Black American Portraits” also closes this weekend. Read more about the exhibition here.
Photography by emrecan arık on Unsplash
Viva Elvis Birthday Pops Concert
The Soundstage at Graceland
Saturday, January 6, 7 p.m.
Perhaps your resolution this year is to build a time machine. That’s a lofty goal, my friend, and not to discourage you, but I’m not so sure it’s achievable. But you can go back 55 years to Elvis’ return to the Las Vegas stage with the Viva Elvis Birthday Pops Concert, featuring the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Terry Mike Jeffrey. The fan-favorite concert will feature the music the King brought to the Las Vegas stage. Tickets ($40-$70) for the show can be purchased here.
Oh, and it’s Elvis’ birthday weekend, which means there are tons of other events to attend, including the Elvis Birthday Proclamation Ceremony on Monday at 8:30 a.m. at Graceland, which includes complimentary birthday cake and coffee. Find out more about this weekend’s events here.
Photography by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade
Company
Orpheum Theatre
Performances through January 7
Is your resolution to see our writer Michael Donahue in the wild? Well, you just missed him. Sorry. Legally, we’re not allowed to announce his current whereabouts, mostly because we have no idea where he is at any given time. But rumor has it he was at the Orpheum this week seeing Company, and he took a liking to it. So the best we have to offer is that you, too, see Company and breathe the same air that he breathed, walk the same carpet he walked. Oh, Donahue.
The Tony Award-winning Company revolves around Bobbie’s 35th birthday party. And all her friends keep asking, Why isn’t she married? Why can’t she find the right man? Blah blah blah … you get the gist. You’ve either been Bobbie or you’ve been one of Bobbie’s friends.
Company runs on Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets ($29-$125) can be purchased here.
