CITYWEEK

Lights out

There's no movie experience in San Diego quite like Cinema Under the Stars. The film series, which kicks off another season Thursday, May 10, with the original Pirates of the Caribbean, is still outdoors and still composed of proven crowd-pleasers (one third of which will be shown in hi-def). Showtime is 8:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, but the doors to the friendly neighborhood-type venue open at 6 p.m. Yes, it really is outdoors, and yes, there are heaters if you get chilly, and yes, the retro light show rocks. www.tops presents.com or 619-295-4221.

Plastic people

For the best anatomy lesson you never had, look no further than Bodies-The Exhibition. It sounds like science fiction, but it's all true; scientists have discovered a way to preserve dead bodies by essentially turning all the organs and muscles into plastic, allowing them to display how our inner parts fit together in colorful 3-D and to perfect scale. Creepy, right? It gets creepier. To better demonstrate how our bodies work in motion, some of the plastified people are displayed in the midst of lifelike activities, like playing basketball and riding a real-life dead horse. Truly amazing and guaranteed to change the way you look at beef jerky, the exhibition opens Saturday, May 12, at Westfield UTC, 4545 La Jolla Village Drive in La Jolla. $18-$32. 1-877-BODIES5 or www.bodiestheexhibition.com.

Silent night riders

Most group bike rides are all about noise. Hooting, hollering, cheering and jangling bells is not only fun, but it also raises public awareness about the local cycling community. But sometimes the opposite tactic can be even more effective, or at least that's what the folks behind the Ride of Silence believe. Organized in 2003 after endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz was struck by the rear-view mirror of a passing bus, thousands of cyclists all around the world now participate, riding in silence to honor those who have been injured or killed while riding bikes. The ride begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, at the corner of India and Washington streets in Mission Hills. Bring a black armband and a light, but leave your voice behind. www.rideofsilence.org.

The in-between

Guitarist and composer Derek Keller likes to play around the boundaries. A musical intellectual (he studied under Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Roger Reynolds at UCSD), Keller's compositions carry the distinct marks of both experimental avant-garde and classical music while somehow managing to cross into the popular channel from time to time. Hear Keller's musical blends at 9 p.m. Thursday, May 10, at the Kava Gallery, 2804 Kettner Blvd. in Middletown. The show kicks off UCSD's 2007 Spring Festival of New Music. $5-$10. http://music. ucsd.edu or 619-543-0933.

The battle

We all remember Michelangelo from his Sistine Chapel days. The man was totally a paintin' fool, having spearheaded the creation of the religious murals that line the building's interior walls. What you might not know is that Mike once worked alongside Leonardo da Vinci on a separate project, this time in Rome's Palazzo Vecchio. Human Resources must not have gotten the memo about the artists' very public rivalry; otherwise, somebody might have rethought the wisdom in pairing the two. The spat, in fact, may have been the reason that the murals were left unfinished. Vantage Theatre Company is so stoked at the prospect that it'll stage School of the World in an attempt to air those nasty ol' grievances about power, politics, religion and art. The world premiere by San Diego playwright Sal Cipolla opens in previews Friday, May 11, at the Centro Cultural de la Raza, 2125 Park Blvd. in Balboa Park. $15-20. 619-235-6135.

Imitating chaos

The Tijuana dance company Lux Boreal doesn't choreograph performances about the flight of a butterfly or children's stories. Instead, they let the chaotic border town they call home influence and inspire their work-one recent dance piece told the story of drug traffickers. So, it isn't exactly The Nutcracker. See more of Lux Boreal's dynamic work at the dance company's fifth-anniversary performance at 8 p.m. Friday, May 11, at Centro Cultural Tijuana, Paseo de los Heroes in Zona Rio. $20. 664-687-9638 or www.luxboreal.com.

Prancing princes: There's a large percentage of people who can't take men in tights seriously, but they're overlooking something really important-male dancers are incredibly freakin' sexy. Not only do they have better-sculpted bodies than most athletes, but they also have a sweet sense of rhythm. Hone your appreciation for the underdogs of dance at Mandance, a show featuring all choreography and dancing by male dancers, including Keith Johnson, Marcos Duran and San Diego State University dance professor Joe Alter. The performance starts at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 11 and 12, at SDSU's Don Powell Theatre. 619-594-6824 or www.sandiegodancetheater.org.

The progression

Much of what we've seen of Zuri Waters' art thus far has been large-scale paintings of society's forgotten faces-the homeless guy strolling down an alleyway, the crippled man sitting in his wheelchair or the old, tired blue-collar worker walking home alone. Waters' paintings are beautiful, but just like all great artists, he's getting a bit bored with simple brushstrokes. From 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 12, see new and completely different works by Waters in two installation pieces opening during North Park's Ray at Night. One is a solo show at Claire de Lune Coffee Lounge, 2906 University Ave., and the other is part of an underground group show called Alley to Iowa happening in four garages located in an alleyway behind 4440 Iowa St. www.zurizuri.30art.com.

Street theater

There's something about street performing that binds people beyond the boundaries of culture and time. Whether they're juggling on the corner, fiddling in the park or singing in the subway, people have been exercising their artistic abilities in exchange for spare pence pretty much since the dawn of time. Reconnect with this quirky but timeless tradition when dozens of acts convene for the Spring Busker Festival at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 12, and Sunday, May 13. Rumor has it that Dolly Parton, Beck, Bob Hope and even Benjamin Franklin dabbled in the art of street performance, so there's a chance you could catch a future superstar before they make it big. It's all happening at Seaport Village, 849 W. Harbor Drive, Downtown. 619-235-4014 or www.spvillage.com.