The WU Jan 30-Feb 1

Featured Artist: Flora Leptak Moreau

Flora Leptak Moreau is a dancer and choreographer from the Island of Dominica. She is the founder/director of Kai Kweol, a local dance and music company that promotes the understanding of Caribbean culture and the performing arts to help bridge the gap among people of different backgrounds. The word Kai Kweol means “Creole House” and refers to the multicultural world we all live in. Flora is also owner/instructor of Ballet Caraibes, offering private and small group dance lessons for both children and adults. On top of all this, she choreographs and produces shows! Please look below for a big dance show she will be directing and starring in this Saturday. It is called Breaking Barriers and fits right in with her mission of bringing people together. What better way to kick off the new year?

Friday Jan. 30: Party intelligently at the Milk Money volume 4 release! Milk Money is a local literary magazine put together by Maija Zummo and Ian Wissman. Every issue’s cover is designed by a local or regional artist and serves as a theme piece to the title of each volume (this latest volume is “Weird Workouts”). Each issue is also hand made. The goal of Milk Money is to publish the unpublished, attract new interest in print, and deliver some high quality fiction, prose, and poetry that might have otherwise never seen the light of day. This event involves readings from contributors and live music from the Electric Owls and Matthew Shelton. 7:30 p.m. – midnight, FERALMADE Gallery, 4573 Hamilton Avenue. $2 donation. Info: Website and MySpace.

Saturday Jan 31: Get ready to think about how you can break unwanted barriers in yourself and the world around – at this engaging dance performance, called “Breaking Barriers.” Produced and choreographed by Flora Leptak-Moreau, Fanchon Shur, Bill Donnelly and Lisa Schechtman and performed by a host of talented dancers, this contemporary piece combines storytelling and beautiful costumes to both delight audiences and cause them to think. The show begins at 7:30, Fairfield Community Arts Center Theatre, 411 Wessel Drive, Fairfield, OH 45014. $15. Info: 513-867-5348 or 513-867-6070

If you’re ever looking for something to do on Sunday, you can always swing by Awakenings in Hyde Park Square. They host a wine tasting (which includes four 3 oz. glasses of high quality wines and a cheese plate) for $20 from 6-10 p.m. They also serve a wide variety of wines by the glass and espresso drinks. On Sundays, you can hear Loop Man Dan play guitar and sing starting at 7:30 p.m. Check it out! If you miss it this week, they will be doing it next week, and the next … Awakenings Coffee and Wine, 2734 Erie Ave. 513-321-2525

***If you would like to share info on an upcoming cultural or artistic event you believe is of note, or would like to nominate an artist for recognition in the blog, please email liz@zeitproductions.com