How fitting that this fourth installment of A Confederacy of Dances should be called "Humid," a perfect synopsis of this annual mid-summer showcase of the cutting edge of the local dance scene. With performances Friday and Saturday, A Confederacy of Dances will expand on a tradition that includes a 1999 Big Easy Classical Arts Award for Best Modern Dance Production, along with nominations for Best Dance Production in 2000 and 2001. The event is the brainchild of local dancers and choreographers Gabrielle Pickard and Nicole Boyd, who both serve as organizers, producers and directors. Pickard has been active in the New Orleans dance and music scene during her 12 years here, and Boyd, a native, was awarded the 1998 Classical Arts Award for Best Choreography. The duo attracts a list of choreographers that reads like a who's who in modern dance, with Anne Burr, Monique Moss (winner of the 2000 Classical Arts Award for Best Choreography with her Confederacy of Dances contribution, "Jezebel"), Jeanne Jeubert and Kettye Voltz joining Pickard and Boyd in creating works for this summer delight. In addition to shared talents, the collected artists share a vision to present their work -- generally encompassed in the non-traditional, experimental molds -- as art transcendent of just the actual movement, rather, creating a tapestry that is both thought provoking, entertaining and original. In addition, Confederacy of Dances strives to illustrate the creative chemistry produced when artists of diverse backgrounds and disciplines are brought together in one venue. Backing the dances will be live music from Permagrin, Electrical Spectacle and Potpie. Still want more? On Sunday, a showcase of new works by local choreographers will be presented at 2 p.m. Suggested donation is $5. Confederacy of Dances 4: Humid will be held at the Contemporary Arts Center's Freeport McMoRan Theater (900 Camp St.). Tickets are $12.50 general admission, $10.50 seniors and CAC members. Call 528-3805 for tickets or more information. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m. -- Frank Etheridge

Phantom 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, July 11-13 with matinees 2 p.m. Saturday & Sunday, July 13 & 14 Dixon Hall, Tulane University, 865-5269 In the early 1980s, composer-lyricist Maury Yeston and playwright Arthur Kopit wrote and produced a musical version of Gaston Leroux's story of a disfigured musical genius who haunts the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera. Twenty years later, Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane celebrates its 35th year with a production of the play. Yeston and Kopit's Phantom is an opera singer whose facial deformity keeps him from achieving a singing career. He lives in isolation in the opera until he meets Christine Daee, a singer who rekindles his belief in his music. Michael Howard will direct, while Diane Lala will choreograph the production. Richard Hutton, who played Daddy Warbucks in last season's Annie, will play the title role, with Melissa Marshall as Christine. Tickets are $29 for orchestra and first balcony, $22 for second balcony, and are available at the box office. -- Campbell

Snooks Eaglin and Frankie Ford 9 p.m. Thursday, July 11 Mid-City Bowling Lanes, 4133 S. Carrollton Ave., 482-3133 The heyday of classic New Orleans rhythm & blues might be long gone, but local legends Snooks Eaglin and Frankie Ford are still going strong, transporting fans back to the era when jumping anthem's like Ford's "Sea Cruise" ruled the airwaves and jukeboxes. Guitarist extraordinaire Eaglin recently released his superb new CD, The Way It Is, chock full of soulful Eaglin versions of classics like "The Chokin' Kind." And Ford has a commanding set of pipes (not to mention underrated piano-playing skills) that take him on national and international tours. This intriguing double bill featuring both performers should be musically stellar, but could be priceless considering that Eaglin and Ford can be two of the most politically incorrect live performers around, cutting up at every opportunity. What happens when both men share the stage is anyone's guess, but it should be hilarious. Admission TBA. -- Scott Jordan

Butthole Surfers 10:30 p.m. Friday, July 12 Tipitina's, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-8477 When the Butthole Surfers played Tipitina's last October, there were no shotguns, no Texans in mu-mu's, no naked women defecating onstage -- unlike some of their previous infamous tours. However, there was a repeating loop of circumcision and penile/genital mutilation movies in the films playing behind the band. The Surfers aren't just musicians, they're full-on art-terrorist punk rockers, and their music reflects their mission. It's rock and punk and avant and grunge, filled with lyrics that seem like they bubbled up from a toxic waste dump, like the classic line "They were all in love with dying and they were doing it in Texas." Last time around, the Surfers pulled out a searing version of "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave." Their lights and set are still trippy, but not in the jam-band-flowers-hippy-love-will-save-us-all trippy way -- it's dark and nightmarish, like a lot of the world these days. Tickets $18. -- David Kunian

From Calcutta With Love 7 p.m. Thursday, July 11 Maple Street's Old Metairie Bookshop, 200 Metairie Road, Metairie 832-8937 Few genres of literature are quite as gripping as the nonfiction love letters composed during wartime. From the battle lines to the home front and vice versa, published accounts of letters are compelling in their portrayal of a personal story that, considering the extreme nature of the situation, provides a microcosm of the elusive emotions of death, love, lust, longing and fear. In this spirit comes From Calcutta With Love: The World War II Letters of Richard and Reva Beard (Texas Tech University Press, $29.95), documenting the correspondence of Lt. Richard Beard from the tumultuous 142nd General Hospital in exotic Calcutta, India, to his wife, Reva, in Findlay, Ohio. Lt. Beard served as a psychologist, removed from combat, but is credited as an acute listener and observer as he is charged with the daunting task of healing the mental wounds of soldiers. Elaine Pinkerton, daughter of Richard and Reva, edited the book upon her father's death and appears at both locations to read and sign From Calcutta With Love. Free admission. -- Etheridge

The Housekeeping Olympics 3 p.m. Thursday, July 11 Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Hall J, 900 Convention Center Blvd., 523-4443, ext. 13 Perhaps the toughest vertebra in New Orleans' economic backbone is tourism -- and the city's hotel and motel housekeepers undoubtedly face sticky situations to keep rooms clean and make the city proud. In recognition of these efforts, the Greater New Orleans Hotel-Motel Association has organized The Housekeeping Olympics. Now in its sixth year, the competition is part reward and part talent showcase, with teams put together by local hotels to gather for games, music, prizes and friendly competition. Some of the contests include the balloon sweep, mop bucket shuffleboard and a bed-making contest. The public is invited and encouraged to cheer on the housekeepers; admission is free. For more information, call 523-4443, ext. 13. -- Etheridge

Complicated Math Problems 10:30 p.m. Thursday, July 11 Hi-Ho Lounge, 2239 St. Claude Ave., 946-9344 Complicated Math Problems is all about going against the grain of typical New Orleans music. It's not about the rhythm or the party, but the lyrics and grit. Playing no-frills Lou Reed-style melodic indie rock, the four-piece band was founded by brothers Dan and Eric Leninger (both guitarists and vocalists), who have played together since their childhood. Eric is the songwriter of the group, and a prolific one at that (the band now has hundreds of original songs to choose from). With songs on subjects from archeology to Hollywood, the band explores the ins and outs of everyday musings. And, like every good rock band, CMP does songs about love. The more instrumentally focused rock band Statue opens the show; the two bands share drummer Adam Garland. Admission $5. -- Cristina Diettinger

2002 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Friday through Sunday, July 12-14 Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Hall H, 900 Convention Center Boulevard Though gymnastic competitions are placed on their grandest stage every four years with the Olympics, intense and spirited competitions are held in between. The 2002 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, hosting athletes from 40 countries, will identify the names to remember come the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. This event is also significant in that it's the first time it has been held in the United States, with New Orleans and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center earning host honors. The rhythmic competition differs from what is traditionally thought of as gymnastics and is known as a crowd pleaser for tests of precision and grace. Competitors are judged in five-man teams according to how well they work together as a harmonized and synchronized unit. Tickets for the 2002 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships range from $15 to $25. For more information or tickets, call (317) 829-5666 or visit www.usa-gymnastics.org. -- Etheridge

Home Front Days 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 13-14 The National D-Day Museum, 945 Magazine Street, 527-6088 This summer, the National D-Day Museum brings the war home with "Home Front Days," a two-day event introducing children and adults to life on the home front during World War II. Fun and educational hands-on activities will be held in the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion. There will be 10 stations at the event, each hosting a different activity. Activities include planting seeds in a victory garden, plane spotting, building Higgins boats, a mini boot camp, and swing dancing. The museum will also host two free evening lectures on New Orleans' and Louisiana's home front experiences. Local historian and author Mary Lou Widmer will speak at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 12, while historian Shane K. Bernard speaks on the Cajun experience during the war at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 13. Admission is free with regular museum admission; for more information call 527-6012, ext. 229. -- Tomarra Campbell

Gala Concert of Russian Music and Dance 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 13 Louis J. Roussel Performance Hall, Loyola University, corner of St. Charles Ave. and Calhoun Street, 286-1633 For a country once known for its military power and political strife, they sure know how to throw a party. For the next two weeks, Moscow Nights New Orleans will host the Balalaika & Domra Association of America (BDAA) convention. The gala concert, a culmination of the week's activities, is open to the public by admission and includes performances by balalaika ensembles from around the world; appearances by balalaika, domra and bayan artists; and a performance by the New Orleans Komenka Ethnic Dance and Music Ensemble. Russian duo Tamara Volskaya and Anatoliy Trofimov will perform domra and bayan music. Balalaika and bayan artists include Sergey Vashchenko from Ukraine and Vladimir Kalyazine from Latvia. Lastly, David Cooper from Atlanta, Ga. will conduct an 80-piece balalaika orchestra. General admission is $14 in advance, $15 at the door; children, students, and senior citizens $12 in advance, $13 at the door; group discounts available. Also, Moscow Nights' Russian Summer Festival will be held at O'Flaherty's Irish Channel Pub (508 Toulouse St., 529-1317). The evening will feature entertainment from the BDAA's top musicians, an open mic, three stages and bars, international food, and a Russian bazaar. The event is a summer version of Moscow Nights' Winter Festival. Admission $10. -- Campbell

Pop Tarts 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 12-13, through Aug. 4 The Shim Sham Club, 615 Toulouse St., 606-9903 For the theater troupe Running with Scissors, nothing is sacred. And in American culture right now, it seems as if nothing is more sacred than pop music. From boy bands to the art of the lip synch, pop has set itself up as a cultural icon and economic engine, all while being built on frivolity and without a foundation of artistic merit. All the more fodder for another searing, romping Running with Scissors satire. Written by Richard Read, Flynn De Marco and Dorian Rush, Pop Tarts follows the trials and tribulations of four young boys from the audition for their boy band, A La Mode, to hit songs, multi-platinum records and stardom. This trite formula for success is ruined when the lead singer, portrayed by De Marco, is consumed by the desire to be "the one true pop star." Tickets are $12-$15. Call 606-9903 for more information. -- Etheridge

Wild Magnolias CD-release party 10:30 p.m. Saturday, July 13 Tipitina's, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-TIPS The Wild Magnolias was the first Mardi Gras Indian group to commit its street sounds to wax in 1970. This Saturday, the group celebrates the release of a new CD (30 Years Š And Still Wild!) that includes outtakes from the early '70s sessions, as well as five new songs recorded with notable guest musicians. "Hell Out the Way" and "Wild Magnolia" feature contributions from nouveau swing saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr., who holds court as Big Chief of the Guardians of the Flame tribe, an honor inherited from his late father Donald Harrison Sr. "Saints" is a gem of a rediscovered track, with the late, great Professor Longhair on piano. The collection also includes old Wild Mags favorites: a couple of versions of "Handa Wanda" and a glittering live recording of "Ho Na Nae" from the 1970 Tulane University Jazz Festival. The soul shouter vocals of Bo Dollis still rule the Mags roost, and the party at Tip's will be a classic New Orleans-style jam session, with special guests Willie Tee, Henry Butler, Charmaine Neville and Allen Toussaint, among others. Admission $10. -- Diettinger

Les Yeux Noirs 8 p.m. Sunday, July 14 House of Blues, 229 Decatur St., 529-BLUE "World music" is an appellation too often used by cultural lazyheads to refer to any band not originating from the United States. But it is, however, a fitting way to describe the dynamo ensemble Les Yeux Noirs, which is born of France but draws its inspiration from the nomadic gypsy and klezmer traditions. Fronted by fiddling brothers Eric and Olivier Slabiak (both classically trained in violin at the Brussels Conservatory), the band blends haunting Russian, Yiddish and Roma vocals with raucous and diverse instrumentation (and a bit of Moby-style electronica) to create a live show that the Bangkok Post called "a brilliant performance of musical innovation, soaring passion and lyrical beauty." The band's accordion-fiddle combo, applied to laments and dance tunes, is the same basic formula used in the Cajun tradition, and it's no surprise that Les Yeux Noirs was the hit of Lafayette's Festival International last year. This Bastille Day show, sponsored in part by the French Consulate, comes on the heels of the new album Balamouk, and marks the band's long-awaited New Orleans debut. The New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars open. -- Michael Tisserand

Displaced: Documentary Photos of Public Housing Complexes Through July Barrister's Gallery, 724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 525-2767 "Housing project." The words have a certain ring. Outside "the bricks," as they are sometimes known, housing projects might conjure up visions of crime and social dysfunction, and the recent trend to tear down such complexes is applauded by much of the public. Yet project residents often have a different view. For them, being relocated means separation from friends and family as their generations-old communities are torn asunder. This human side can be seen at Barrister's in photographs by Harold Baquet, Keith Calhoun, Chandra McCormick, Linda Rosier, Jim Thorns and Michel Varisco, with interview text by Rachel Breunlin. These black-and-white images, taken over decades, portray the people who never made headlines, but who went about their ordinary lives in poor but vibrant and supportive communities now at the mercy of social experiments beyond their control. -- D. Eric Bookhardt