Ricardo Arjona offers more than songs in his concert

The Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona doesn't only make music in his concerts -- though only isn't a word you'd use for his songs -- but musical theater. His sold-out show at the AmericanAirlines Arena on Thursday night was a wonderful exercise in playful concept and passionate narrative. And richly captivating music as well.

Hialeah choreographer brings a unique South Florida mix to American Dance Festival

The grand pillars and ornate interior of Baldwin Auditorium here on the oak-covered grounds of Duke University are a world away from Rosie Herrera's native Hialeah. And the polyglot group of earnest dancers assembled onstage for rehearsal this steamy Southern afternoon -- from Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Spain, Thailand, Russia, and the American heartland -- know nothing of the pulsing Latin clubs and drag queen extravaganzas that have shaped her as a performer and director.

ENTERTAINMENT

Dancer soars after life on Haiti's streets

A performer who started out as an orphan dancing for pennies in Haiti is one of four South Floridians vying on a TV dance competition.

LATIN MUSIC

Father-son reunion a musical triumph

Both were born in Cuba on Oct. 9 -- Bebo Valdés in 1918, and his son Chucho Valdés in 1941. Both are extraordinary, renowned jazz pianists who have played major roles in developing their island's rich musical traditions. Chucho learned to play from his father, starting at age 3 when he began to pick out the music Bebo -- a bandleader and arranger who was one of the architects of Cuba's golden age of music in the 1940s and '50s -- played at home.

THEATER

Review | Shifting show puts the senses in a spin

Fuerza Bruta may mean Brute Force. But the show that opened at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday night is more surreal wonderland than bruising attack, a fabulously disorienting trip to a watery world where life rushes at you from all sides.

CONCERT REVIEW

Chirino maintains hero status in Miami

Singer Willy Chirino celebrated 40 years in music at the American Airlines Arena Saturday night in a concert that was as much a salute to Miami's exile community (and, by virtue of its many guests, the Cuban music community outside the island) and its passions as it was to his own career.

'Fuerza Bruta': Making the most of surreal ideas and high-tech theatrics

Call it theater of the surreal -- made spectacularly and disorientingly real: Women romping overhead in a pool of water. A man on a treadmill, crashing through walls and rooms as if the world were rushing past him. People dancing in tiny rooms until their flying limbs shatter the walls.

BEHIND THE SCENES

'Fuerza' producers aiming for extended party

The Miami production of Fuerza Bruta will stretch the Arsht Center's production skills and the show's concept of enveloping audiences in a mind-bending environment. Instead of starting and ending the fun with Fuerza, the center hopes to further entice audiences with an art-filled entry and in-house nightclub.

THEATER

Review | The sparks are gone from new Celia Cruz show

Celia Cruz may live on in the hearts of fans and music lovers, forever beloved for her spirit, her voice, and as a symbol of the vitality and possibilities of Cuban exile.

Matisyahu's intensity sometimes left audience disconnected

Matisyahu kicked off his U.S. tour at Pompano Beach Amphitheater Saturday night venturing, not always compellingly, into new musical territory, mixed with the reggae-dub style rap that the devout Jewish artist has become known for. Matisyahu's intensity in performance, and the way he addresses profound themes were impressive; musically, he sometimes left something to be desired.

MUSIC

Matisyahu keeps the faith while rapping

Matisyahu, the devout Jewish rapper, is making the kind of journey he makes all the time between his music and his religion. On this recent Friday afternoon, that consists of walking through Manhattan from a voice lesson to prepare for Shabbat, the Jewish holy day of rest. For Matisyahu, this particular passage is simply another step in his dual spiritual and musical odyssey.

`CUBAN PETE'

Famed Latin dancer Pedro Aguilar dies

Known for his innovative steps and body movements, Pedro Aguilar came to fame on the dance floor at New York's Palladium nightclub in the 1950s. He died Tuesday.