Friday, May 19

Rhythmic Bodies in Motion present its spring show “Life is a Stage… Dance!” tonight and Sunday. The performance features a variety of dance, including modern, jazz, belly dancing, African, and ballet. (Mandel Hall, 7:30 p.m., $7)

Check out Muslim American hip-hop and Maghribi-Jazz fusion artists— including Tyson and the Mo’Rockin Project—at MESSA Music Festival. (I-House, 6 p.m., free)

How can people submit themselves entirely to another’s sexual desires and still be fulfilled human beings? How does one begin to explore bondage? Jack Rinella, author of Becoming a Slave and The Master’s Manual, answers these questions and more in BDSM 101: The World of Kinky Sex. (Ida Noyes Third Floor Theater, 7 p.m., free)

Even though the Scav Hunt party went terribly awry (let me repeat my oft-spoken mantra: Damn you, Chicago weather!), you can still party on the quads tonight. Kick off Summer Breeze with a screening of PCU, featuring George Clinton—who will bring his all-star psychedelic funk to campus in concert tomorrow night. A dance party follows. (PCU: Main Quads, 9 p.m.; dance party: Classics Quad, 11 p.m.–4 a.m., free)

For a mere $2, you can see a grand total of seven new movies dealing with the possibilities and problems of creating movies in the city. Fire Escape’s Chicago Imaging Festival will feature 75 minutes worth of movies, followed by a discussion with Professor Danielle Allen, Kartemquin Films’ Jerry Blumenthal, and other guests. (Doc Films, 3 p.m., $2)

Saturday, May 20

The quads are your playground today, with the Summer Breeze Carnival taking over. Enjoy lots of free and cheap food (including bubble tea!), carnival games and inflatables, wall climbing, and music. Watch your comrades stuff their faces in the Culinary Club’s third annual pie-eating contest, and for a mere $1, take your chances at dunking Ted O’Neill. (Main Quads, noon–5 p.m., free)

George Clinton, Dar Williams, and RJD2 make for MAB’s most eclectic Summer Breeze concert line-up since…well, last year’s Julie Roberts, Ted Leo/Pharmacists, and Nas. (Hutch Courtyard, 6 p.m., doors at 5 p.m., $15, $20 at the door)

And now for something completely different: The University of Chicago Chamber Orchestra presents Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major and Brahms’ Serenade No. 1 in D Major. (Fulton Recital Hall, 8 p.m., free)

If carnivals aren’t your thing, enjoy the weather anyway with a stroll through Washington Park. Munch on coffee and donuts while your friendly tour guides lead the way through this scenic, underappreciated landscape and discuss the park’s importance for urban class and race. (entrance to Classics, noon, free)

Today and tomorrow also mark the city’s Great Chicago Spaces and Places, a celebration of art, architecture, and design. Check www.cityofchicago.org/specialevents for times and locations. (various locations and times, free)

Sunday, May 21

Before March of the Penguins, there was Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life. This 1925 documentary covers the migration of the Bakhtiari tribe and their livestock—that’s 50,000 people and half a million animals—over turbulent rivers and steep mountains to reach green pasture. The recently restored silent film includes subtitles and a new Iranian musical score. A discussion will follow. (Oriental Institute Museum, 2 p.m., free)

Join the UC Folklore Society for the annual Fiddlers’ Picnic: six hours of folk, including a closing set by the popular, local swing-folk band Devil in the Woodpile. Can’t get enough of ’em? The band will also play a two-hour set at Jimmy’s afterwards. (Hutch Courtyard, noon–6 p.m.; 1172 East 55th Street, 6–8 p.m., free)

Rockefeller’s bells do way more than warn you when you’re late for class. Rockebellers, the student carillon organization, will put on a concert as well as lead tours up the tower. The carillon is the second largest in the world and, in my humble opinion, one of the University’s most under-acknowledged charms. Plus, the view from the top of the tower is the best you’ll ever get of campus. (Rockefeller Chapel East Lawn, 6–7:30 p.m., free)

Monday, May 22

The U of C Presidential Fellows in the Arts present Bill T. Jones and his world-acclaimed fusion of dance and theater tonight at Court Theatre. The company he founded with his late partner Arnie Zane recently celebrated its 20th season, and Jones himself has received such honors as the MacArthur Foundation’s 1994 “genius award” and honorary degrees from the Art Institute of Chicago and the Juilliard School. (5535 South Ellis Avenue, 7 p.m., $15, $5 with student ID)

Tuesday, May 23

Aaron Ansell and Greg Beckett from the anthropology department analyze current democratic movements and political change in Latin America and the Caribbean over a pizza dinner this evening. (Stuart 101, 7–8:30 p.m., free)

For alternate dinner plans, stop by “Off the Wall: Art Beyond the Gallery” to listen to artist and professor Stephanie Brooks discuss the role of contemporary art in society. A question-and-answer session will follow, and refreshments will be served. (Smart Museum of Art, 7–8:15 p.m., free)

Wednesday, May 24

There’s nothing like a little existentialist black comedy to get you through ninth week. UT presents Sartre’s No Exit tonight through Saturday. (Reynolds Club Third Floor Theater, 8 p.m., $10)

Christine Matthews, Sarah Paretsky, Barbara Collins, Susan Ledbetter, and Vicki Hendricks present selections from their mystery anthology Deadly Housewives at Women and Children First. (5233 North Clark Street, 7:30 p.m., free)

Thursday, May 25

What if Picasso were Polish? (OK, OK—insert dumb Polish joke here.) Seriously, though: Here’s your chance to see an oft-neglected branch of modern art, with examples ranging from symbolism and synthesism to cubism. “The Colors of Identity,” including works in all media by Polish artists living in Poland and abroad, opens at the Smart Museum today, with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. (Smart Museum of Art, 10 a.m.–7 p.m., free)

Have an event you’d like to see in STD?

E-mail steffers@uchicago.edu