Now See This

Get Out!

Drawing from sources as diverse as Br'er Rabbit and Butoh, the closing performances of Philadelphia Dance Projects' 2009 season are an appropriate finale to a series that engages new audiences in the varied — and often strange — world of contemporary dance. In an effort to establish a platform for an up-and-coming generation of dancers, SCUBA '09 National Touring Network for Dance brings together artists from different cities who are not yet nationally known. Look out especially for renegade Seattle group Salt Horse, which walks the line between dance and performance art with unsettling tableaux choreographed to original, semi-melodious soundscapes.

—Lauren Friedman

Fri., Feb. 27, 8 p.m.; Sat., Feb. 28, 2 p.m.; $15, Conwell Dance Theater, Temple University, 1801 N. Broad St., 215-546-2552, philadanceprojects.org.

Memories of overflowing coffers during 1996's Cézanne exhibition undoubtedly led PMA to topline his name again so soon. But in this show, Cézanne is an almost arbitrary entry point for a game of free association. Grouped by themes, the arrangement is undoubtedly literal-minded and seems to be more about the curators' cleverness than art. But even the most representative of pieces fade into the abstraction of color on canvas or hand-worked materials. Seeing so many different takes on similar subjects is akin to quantum-leaping through the perspectives of a century's worth of artists as they wrestle and play with the past — a time-lapse portrait of artistic evolution.

—Shaun Brady

Through May 17, $17-$24, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Ben Franklin Parkway, 215-235-7469, philamuseum.org.

Last fall, award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) waxed enthusiastic about the rising prominence of Asian theater companies and artists across the country — except, sadly, in Philadelphia. The Asian Arts Initiative steps forward to change that with Neal Dandade's one-man West-meets-East adventure. The Swarthmore grad, Chicago improv comedian and classical Indian dance-drama performer tells his immigrant grandmother's culture-clash story along with his own. "My cultural journey as an Indian-American did have some twists and turns," Dandade admits, "but when seen through my grandmother's eyes, it gains greater meaning."

—Mark Cofta

Fri.-Sat., Feb. 27-28, 7:30 p.m., $15-$20, Asian Arts Initiative, 1219 Vine St., 215-557-0455, asianartsinitiative.org.

Philly arts fixture Eileen Neff got a major solo show at ICA in 2007, but it was hardly a bookend on a career that's still very much in motion. The new pieces in "Things counter, original, and spare" use the natural world as a starting point for the artist's careful compositions and pointed manipulations of found environments. The works reference and borrow from each other while continuing Neff's core exploration of what is real, what is altered and whether we can tell the difference.

—Lauren Friedman

Opening reception, Fri., Feb. 27, 5:30-7:30 p.m., exhibit through March 31, free, Locks Gallery, 600 Washington Square S., 215-629-1000, locksgallery.com.

 Unintended Uses

Kathy Marmor should propose to someone with her Garden Variety installation, made of tiny whirling fans that spring to life when the solar sensor detects that someone is approaching. They spell out "U Want Me, I Know" and "I Love You to Death" in red and blue neon lights and emit various high-pitched sounds. The other installations, sculptures and photographs in this exhibit are less syrupy, but no less interactive. Many constructed by Hacktory members, the works allow you to play a first-person shooter game in an art museum, make music with a Coke can and even analyze your psychological well-being on an early computer.

—Holly Otterbein

Through March 6, free, NEXUS Gallery, 137 N. American St., 215-684-1946, nexusphiladelphia.org.