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LA Contemporary Dance Co. at the Ford tonight. | Photo: Ford Amphitheater
JAM SESSION
Tonight kicks off the summer season at the Ford Amphitheater--a great little venue across the way from the Hollywood Bowl--with its first J.A.M. Session. Dance in the Making is a participatory program that begins at 7 pm. “Create movement, develop character and explore the creation of dances from professional dancers' perspective with the talented members of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company with music composed and performed live by SONOS a capella group.” The workshop serves as prep for the artists, leading to a world premiere of Gods and Marionettes at the Ford on June 18.
LIT
Zócalo partners with the city of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs to host an evening with author Carlos Ruiz Zafón. The Barcelona-born and LA-based author Carlos Ruiz Zafón mixes his influences of 19th century British, Russian, and French giants —Dickens, Tolstoy, Balzac--with American crime fiction—including LA’s Raymond Chandler—to create the words in his novels. Zafón, author of The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel’s Game, visits Zócalo to discuss his “work, fiction in a global age, and why great books transcend borders.” Free event, but reservations are recommended. The discussion will be held at Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) on Grand Avenue. Parking $9 w/MOCA validation at the Walt Disney Concert Hall garage.
Melinda Doolittle signs her new book tonight.
BOOKS
Former American Idol contestant Melinda Doolittle--the shy backup singer from a few seasons back--promotes her new book Beyond Me at Barnes & Noble on the 3rd Street Promenade tonight at 7 pm. Doolittle shares stories from her personal hardships (did you know she was tone-deaf as a child?) and stories from her time with the American Idol machine. TALK
The [ALOUD] at the Central Library series presents Hampton Sides for the program Hellhound on His Tail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin. Journalist Lynell George interviews Hampton Sides (author of Ghost Soldiers) on a “cross-cut narrative of King’s assassin’s flight, and the massive, desperate search to find him ironically led by the same FBI which had hoped to hound King to death.” 7 pm. Downtown Central Library: Mark Taper Auditorium. Free, but tickets required.
*Pencil pick of the day
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