A&E

The Irvine Barclay Theatre came alive with a celebration of performances new and old, covering standout pieces in a variety of genres in "Dance Visions 2009." A showcase from the UC Irvine Department of Dance, "Dance Visions" was a tribute to Donald McKayle, a Claire Trevor School of the Arts professor of dance.

Everyone knows that Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is like that kid in the corner everyone picks on. Its sophomore album "Lonely Road" justifies every reason as to why the band is handed so much ridicule... Lily Allen caught many people's attention with her first album "Alright, Still," which discussed many personal situations as well as her true feelings and opinions about them. Her second album, "It's Not Me, It's You," also includes personal dilemmas with a fresh twist to her music.

Maybe Nintendo figured that there was a market for its latest casual title, "Personal Trainer: Math," in North America because our proficiency in the subject falls so far short from the rest of the developed world. Unfortunately, its title ranks just as badly against the rest of the Touch Generations series on DS.

t's fun to watch individual members of a successful band go on hiatus. Although lead singers tend to go on ego-boosting solo projects while the rest of the band melts into the background, members of The Strokes are too talented to take that route. Vocalist Julian Casablancas and stylish lead guitarist Nick Valensi have made their contributions to music since the band's break, but it's their more reserved bandmates that have made a splash with albums.

The Beatles passionately fantasized about this, Cassavetes' "The Notebook" (2004) was purely based on this, and Cinderella found this when she located her missing shoe. Can you figure it out?

The final crew to hit the stage last Sunday was the most anticipated and the most star-studded of Vibe XIV. Kaba Modern Legacy put it down with a set that featured some of the best KM dancers from recent years, including members from MTV's "Randy Jackon Presents America's Best Dance Crew" team. The all-star filled stage blew up with a combination of classic Kaba Modern choreography of meticulous detail and smooth transitions. With every new song in the set came a rumble of appreciation from the hyped crowd as KM Legacy shut the place down.

The critical part of my brain despises the movie "Taken." It has developed an annoying habit of whining about tired narrative clichés and predictable dialogue right after the credits start rolling. Despite the nagging voice in my head, there were many moments in Pierre Morel's new film – about ex-government agent Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) who is sent into brutal vengeance mode after his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) is kidnapped by Albanian flesh peddlers in Paris – that transcend the film's overall mediocrity and make the cost of admission somewhat worthwhile. But these moments are just too sparse to make this film more than a good way to kill an afternoon.

"Twelfth Night" is hardly as well-known as some of Shakespeare's other plays, such as "Hamlet" or "Romeo and Juliet." Yet that does not mean the play isn't good – especially when the UC Irvine drama department is putting it on.

On inauguration day, Acrobatics Everyday celebrated its one-year anniversary and kicked off the beginning of a historic new presidential administration with the music of High Places, Protect Me and 60 Watt Kid.

Sinking her teeth into the neck of an unsuspecting victim, Eli's actions are hardly those one would associate with a quiet 12-year-old girl. However, Eli has been a 12-year-old girl for a very long time...

Is it a blessing or a curse to be anointed the "next big thing" after your debut? While iconic alternative bands of the '90s, like Radiohead, Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins used their first record as the calm before the storm, plenty of bands in this decade have hit the floor running, and the attention is overbearing. Franz Ferdinand is another example in the laundry list that includes Coldplay, Interpol, The Strokes, Bloc Party and a few others.

Indie 103.1 has kicked the radio bucket in order to stay true to its mantra. Despite the rumors, it's not shutting down, just moving everything to online streaming. But why the sudden shift? Esteban Lopez Blanco, Entravision's (Indie's parent company) executive director of interactive relations, clarified the situation...