Our picks of this week's events

DANCE

Break it down

Lux Boreal, the Tijuana dance company famous for its controversial “Flower of Seven Petals” piece about the city’s drug trafficking problems, has put together a new, socially relevant piece for the upcoming Blurred Borders Dance Festival, happening at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 30 and 31, at the Saville Theater at City College (C Street and 14th Avenue, Downtown). Lux Boreal’s “Natural Breakdown” will touch on how mass media bring us closer to loved ones far away but distance us from those closest to us. Presented by San Diego’s own Patricia Rincon Dance Collective, the festival will also feature new choreography and two new dance video works influenced by Patricia Rincon’s recent trip to Buenos Aries, plus a cross-cultural work by Yolande Snaith, a UCSD dance professor, that includes everything from baroque harpsichord to tribal didgeridoo. $16 for advanced tickets, $20 at the door. www.rincondance.org or 760-632-5340.

Step it up: Gone are the days when a simple headspin and some pop-locking on a flattened cardboard box would get you praise from B-boys and B-girls. Today’s best crews need to come equipped with fully choreographed performances if they want to get serious respect. At 7 p.m. Saturday, May 31, local hip-hop promoters Consensus Entertainment will present the Body Rock Hip Hop Dance Competition, giving dancers from California a chance to test their skills. Scheduled performers include America’s Best Dance Crew competitors KABA Modern, Team Millenia, Boxcutter Assassins and GRV, as well as superhuman beatboxer Leejay Abucayan. It’s like You Got Served, but not ridiculously terrible. The dancing goes down at the San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., Downtown. Tickets are $13-$19, and details can be found at www.myspace.com/bodyrockcompetition.

DESIGN

Buy-in to buying

Not all consumerism has to be empty. The three guys behind Objects USA, an online resource for mid-century art and design, make sure each object they sell comes with at least a brief bio of the maker, so not only are you purchasing a product, you’re also purchasing a person’s work of art. The “Rock Box,” for example, a gorgeous little rounded box made of walnut wood for sale in the company’s online gallery, was made by Dean Santner, an East Bay designer, who, according to Objects USA, “is known for his finely crafted line of wood products from the late 1970-80s.” Sure, it’s just a tidbit, but it means a hell of a lot more than purchasing a wooden box from Pier 1, which was likely made on a Taiwanese assembly line. At 7 p.m. Friday, May 30, Objects USA will host a reception for its first sales exhibition of the year at Ronis & Associates, 1946 Broadway in Golden Hill. More than 100 pieces of fine art and crafts from the 1950s through the 1970s will be available. Expect a special exhibition of paintings by San Diego painter Sheldon Kirby and Los Angles artist Charles Arnoldi. The show will be on view from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 31, and Sunday, June 1. Free. www.objectsusa.com.

BOOKS

Mr. Dimples

If you’re a girl or you’re gay and you watched every episode of Saved by the Bell ever made (and there are a lot of us out there), you either had a crush on Zack Morris or AC Slater. Those who lean toward lean-bodied men helped turn Mario Lopez (the guy who played AC, as if you didn’t already know) into the B-movie and reality-television star he is today. But Lopez isn’t satisfied with his level of fame. At 7 p.m. Thursday, May 29, the curly-haired, dimpled man will be in San Diego, at the Mira Mesa Barnes & Noble (10775 Westview Parkway), signing his first book, Mario Lopez’s Knockout Fitness. Yes, it’s a fitness book, and, yes, it’s coauthored, but give the guy some credit. He’s just trying to expand that handsome and hot profile of his. 858-831-0446.

Duly noted: It can be difficult to convince intellectuals that popular music should be taken seriously as a scholastic discipline. Sure, performers like Flo Rida and Soulja Boy may not have anything particularly enlightening to say, but music scholar and UCSD professor Jann Pasler would argue that discerning listeners can become engaged with the most seemingly asinine of pop phenomena. At 7 p.m. Saturday, May 31, Pasler will sign and discuss her latest book, Writing Through Music: Essays on Music, Culture and Politics, which examines how aesthetic tastes signify important historical factors in current social and political relations, among other topics. She probably won’t address “My Humps,” but Pasler’s book should inspire some serious rethinking of how we interpret music. The signing is free and takes place at D.G. Wills Books, 7461 Girard Ave. in La Jolla. 858-456-1800 or www.dgwillsbooks.com.

SPECIAL EVENTS

What women want

“We figured, what girl doesn’t like cheese, chocolate and wine,” said Ashley Gardner, director of San Diego’s Women’s History Museum, when asked about the motivation behind the museum’s first-ever Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Festival being held in the courtyard of Casa del Prado in Balboa Park from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 30. Gardner’s right, especially when the cheese is provided by San Diego’s Currant Restaurant, Trader Joe’s and local food purveyor SweetStacks; chocolates are coming in from Big Kitchen, Marci Sweets Von Euw and more; and the wine is compliments of Fallbrook Winery, Amira Winery and others. The wine tasting and nibbling will be made even more fun by Sue Palmer, San Diego’s “Queen of Boogie Woogie.” $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Proceeds benefit the museum. www.whmec.org or 619-233-7963.

NIGHTLIFE

Cat call

Seeing San Diego’s burlesque troupes perform together is a rare occurrence. It’s not that they absolutely hate each other; it’s just that they’re competitors—burlesque is a business, after all. At 9 p.m. Saturday, May 31, however, the laws of competition will be put aside when the Fishnet Follies come to San Diego Sports Club, 1271 University Ave. in Hillcrest. The traveling burlesque and variety show has convinced the talented and lovely ladies of San Diego’s own Hell on Hells, a bit o’ Burlesque and Sultry Savage to share a stage. And if that weren’t enough, Fishnet Follies is bringing along San Francisco’s Bombshell Betty and Mynx d’Meanor, as well as Los Angeles’ Flame Cynder. Don’t go looking for silly cat fights, though—this night is going to be all about lady love. $10. www.mynxdmeanor.com/presents.

Got a super cool event coming up? Write to kinseem@sdcitybeat.com