TOP TEN - Photos, music, dance and more are on tap in the area in January and February

Thursday

The late W. Eugene Smith had a thing for jazz.

So much so that in 1957, he left his job as a photographer at Life magazine and moved into a loft in New York's wholesale flower district. While there, he filmed, photographed and recorded rehearsals and jam sessions involving such icons as Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus and Chick Corea.

Local jazz fans can see and hear Smith's work Jan. 6 when Sam Stephenson, who has collected much of it in book form, presents "The Making of the Jazz Loft Project" at 7 p.m. at the Community Arts Café, 411 W. Fourth St. Smith will sign copies of his book, "The Jazz Loft Project: Photographs and Tapes of W. Eugene Smith From 821 Sixth Avenue, 1957-1965." After that, the trio of legendary jazz drummer Ronnie Free will perform, opening the evening's final set up to a community jam.

The "Jazz Loft Project," a presentation of the Piedmont Jazz Alliance, is free and open to the public. Call the alliance at 505-9752. Beginning Jan. 9, WSNC (90.5-FM) will present "The Jazz Loft Project" radio series at 8 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 30.

Friday and Jan. 9

It will be violins galore during the Winston-Salem Symphony's first 2011 "Classics" concert that Robert Moody conducts at the Stevens Center, 405 W. Fourth St.

The program, called "Scheherazade," will feature three works for solo violinists. Charles Dimmick, the concertmaster of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, will solo in Berg's Violin Concerto. Corine Brouwer, Winston-Salem Symphony's concertmaster, will handle the solo work in Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade."

Fabrice Dharamraj, the symphony's principal second violinist, will join Dimmick and Brouwer in Chris Brubeck's "Interplay for Three Violins." Sibelius' "Finlandia" will complete the program.

Tickets are $15 to $55, with $6 rush tickets for students; see www.wssymphony.org or call 464-0145. Note the unusual concert times: 7:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Jan. 9.

Jan. 15

The N.C. Black Repertory Company will present its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration at 7 p.m. in the Arts Council Theatre, 610 Coliseum Drive. Expect eclectic performances.

Admission is free, but reservations are mandatory. Call 723-2266. Those making reservations are asked to donate at least three nonperishable food items to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina. The items will be collected at the door before the performance.

Jan. 21-24

Alban Elved Dance Company will present "Facettes of the I: An Evening of Dance, Film and Visual Art" in Drama Workshop of the Salem Fine Arts Center at Salem College.

The presentation, which will feature new works, will begin the company's three-year residency at Salem College.

All performances begin at 7 p.m. Admission to the opening-night performance is $25. After that, admission is $12, or free for Salem faculty, staff and students.

Reservations can be made beginning Wednesday by e-mailing culturalevents@salem.edu or by calling 917-5493.

Jan. 26, 28 and 30

"The Times They Are A-Changin'" for "Così fan tutte."

Find out how when the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute presents Mozart's comic masterpiece beginning Jan. 26 at the Stevens Center.

In the age of free love, Professor Alfonso doubts that the girlfriends of two students can remain faithful. Will the girls cry "Gimme Some Lovin' " with the two hippies who show up? Or will they sing "My Boyfriend's Back"? Either way, everyone will find "Somebody to Love" as Fletcher's singers from UNC School of the Arts go mod with Mozart.

Shows are at 8 p.m. Jan. 26 and 28, with a matinee at 2 p.m. Jan. 30. Tickets are $10 to $20; see www.uncsa.edu/performances or call 721-1945.

Jan. 27

The Secrest Artists Series will offer up a klezmer-funk dance party, thanks to Abraham Inc., which will perform at 7:30 p.m. in Wait Chapel at Wake Forest University.

Abraham Inc. celebrates the eroding of musical boundaries. It features David Krakauer playing klezmer on clarinet; Fred Wesley, a legendary funk trombonist and arranger; and Socalled, a hip-hop renegade and beat architect.

Tickets are $22, or $16 for seniors and non-WFU students, and $5 for ages 12 and younger. Admission is free for WFU students, faculty and staff. Call 758-5295. Note: Dean Franco, an English professor at WFU who specializes in ethnic American Literature and Jewish Cultural Studies, will present a Secrest Signature pre-performance talk at 6:40 p.m. Jan. 27 in the Balcony Room of Wait Chapel.

Feb. 5, 6 and 8

The Winston-Salem Symphony will collaborate with actors from UNC School of the Arts in a presentation of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," playing Mendelssohn's incidental music for — you guessed it — Shakespeare's play of the same name.

There will be three performances at the Stevens Center. Robert Moody will conduct the orchestra as the actors do their thing under the direction of Gerald Freedman, UNCSA's drama dean. Others contributing to the presentation will be soprano Carla LeFevre, mezzo-soprano Janine Hawley as well as the women of the Winston-Salem Symphony Chorale, directed by Carole Ott.

The performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 and 8, with a matinee at 3 p.m. Feb. 6. Tickets are $15 to $55, with $6 rush tickets for students. See www.wssymphony.org or call 464-0145.

Feb. 17-20

Prepare to be dazzled when UNC School of the Arts presents "Winter Dance" at the Stevens Center.

The program will include George Balanchine's "Symphonie Concertante," Alwyn Nikolais' "Gallery," James Kudelka's "Gazebo Dances" and a world premiere by Diego Schoch.

"Winter Dance" shows will be at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17-19, with a matinee at 2 p.m. Feb. 20. Tickets are $13, or $11 for seniors and students. See www.uncsa.edu/performances or call 721-1945.

Note: In a free "Dance Dialogues" sessionat 7 p.m. Jan. 20 in De Mille Theatre at UNCSA, Alberto Del Saz and Dianne Markham will discuss "Gallery." Del Saz is the artistic director of the Murray Louis and Nikolais Dance Company, and Markham danced with the company before becoming an instructor at UNCSA. Their session will give audiences a behind-the-scenes look at "Gallery," usually performed in black light, helping them see what is happening with the lights on.

Feb. 18

The photographs of O. Winston Link document the last years of steam power on the Norfolk & Western Railway. They will be on view Feb. 19-June 19 at Reynolda House Museum of American Art.

A party celebrating the opening of "Trains that Passed in the Night: The Photographs of O. Winston Link," will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 18 at Reynolda House.

Admission to the party is $5, or free for students and Reynolda members. See www.reynoldahouse.org or call 758-5150.

Feb. 22

Anthony McGill, who will perform in Dillard Auditorium at Winston-Salem State University, has become one of the finest players of classical music.

He's the principal clarinetist in the famed Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. And at the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009, McGill and three other virtuosos — cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman and pianist Gabriela Montero — performed "Air and Simple Gifts" by John Williams.

The concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m., is free and open to the public. Call 750-2530.

kkeuffel@wsjournal.com

727-7337