The contemporary dance scene in New Orleans just might be enjoying a shift in momentum. "There's been an increase in people who are passionate about their work," says director and choreographer J Hammons, a native son who returned home several years ago after touring internationally with Momix. Kettye Voltz, another prodigal dancer who moved back from New York, recently founded Tsunami, a company that presented its first concert at Tulane University this past fall. Their talents, along with those of other local choreographers, will be on display at CONFEDERACY OF DANCES 6: TABLE OF THE ELEMENTS, this Friday and Saturday at the Contemporary Arts Center (900 Camp St., 528-3800). An annual showcase for local choreographers, Confederacy of Dances is one of few invaluable opportunities for them to present work to the public. Hammons helped event founder and artistic director Gabrielle Pickard concoct the chemistry lesson theme for this year's concert, in which each dance takes inspiration from an element on the periodic table. The newest newcomer is John Allen, whose unlikely entree to dance occurred at Brigham Young University. Never having danced a choreographed step in his life, he auditioned on a whim for the school's sprawling folk dance club. After subsequently discovering his body was more at home in contemporary movement, he toured full time with Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company before landing a professorship at Tulane a year ago. Allen had hoped to create a piece for Confederacy, but schedule conflicts interfered. Instead, he will perform alongside Pickard and Monique Moss in a dance inspired by carbon. His most recent piece, a duet presented at Tulane in which he also performed, was about a relationship, a running theme in his dances. In that piece, he and his partner fling themselves at each other in an exquisite modern pas de deux, only to return to a more separate coexistence and then pull apart altogether. It represents, he says "a brief, heightened moment in a longer relationship." Speaking of longer relationships, he has high hopes for the evolving dance scene here. When will he be adding to it with a concert of his own? He's not sure, he says, but "it's safe to say that I will." Confederacy of Dances performances begin each night at 8 p.m. at the CAC. Call 528-3800 for ticket information. -- Olivia Jane Smith

Rick Trolsen CD-release party 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Sunday, May 30 Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696 Trombonist Rick Trolsen gets around in the best of ways. Here in New Orleans he has done stints with the U.S. Navy Band, the New Orleans Nightcrawlers, Bonerama, and his own jazz rock band, Neslort. More recently, Trolsen made his way to Brazil where he discovered choro music, a blend of European styles such as waltzes, minuets, and polkas, Portuguese songs, and African music. Trolsen loved the music so much that he learned it and returned to Brazil to record his new CD, Gringo do Choro. The album is a great mix of jaunty trombone, South American percussion and guitar, and romantic accordion. His reinterpretations of the standards 'Tico Tico' and 'Brasil' also illustrate Trolsen's witty and energetic playing. With local stalwarts like bassist Andy Wolf and drummer Doug Belote setting the groove, Trolsen should be rolling like the sweat off your back on a hot Rio night. $10 cover. -- David Kunian

The Rules of the Game (La Regle du Jeu) 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 27 New Orleans Museum of Art, Stern Auditorium, 488-2631 'I learned the rules of the game from The Rules of the Game,' Robert Altman once said of the master, Jean Renoir, and returned the favor with his homage to the classic, 2002's Gosford Park. It should be noted that 2002 was also the year the British Film Institute's Sight and Sound magazine tabbed the 1939 Renoir film as the No. 3 movie of all time in its critics' poll. (The directors' poll ranked the film No. 9, but what do they know?) You can see a lot of Rules in Altman's work: class difference and indifference, self-delusion, self-satisfaction, and a healthy dose of cold, hard cynicism. Indeed, set and released on the eve of World War II, Rules paints the real Old Europe, unwilling to face myriad realities and one stark future. As relevant and majestic as ever in its exploration of class denial and self-satisfaction, Rules (recently spiffed up for DVD release by The Criterion Collection) also is the crown jewel of Henri Schindler's ongoing Classic Film Series over at NOMA. Don't forget the cash bar. For more on this series, visit www.noma.org. Admission free to NOMA members, $5 non-members. -- David Lee Simmons

Gina Laguna: Works in Steel Through June 1 Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, 841 Carondelet St., 522-5471 Gina Laguna, a 15-year veteran of the local and regional art scene, is known for her quintessentially modern-looking sculptures. Made from linear steel fashioned in proper rectangles and occasional starbursts, her works can seem as austere as an international-style building at first. Look a little closer, and you may see where they really come from. 'My sculpture represents visual cues to places I have been, things I have seen and feelings I have felt. Common occurrences are exciting to me. Droplets on a vine, a spider hanging on a silken thread... give me a chance to see the symmetry in its structure and to capture that moment. I am not interested in imitating what I see but capturing a simple moment in time. Each sculpture is a journey and holds memories of the simple moments that enlighten me.' -- D. Eric Bookhardt

Eek-A-Mouse 9 p.m. Thursday, May 27 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE Eek-A-Mouse performs Thursday at House of Blues. Never doubt that dancehall superstar Eek-A-Mouse is an original rude boy. Born Ripton Hylton and a product of Kingston, Jamaica's notorious Trenchtown, Eek-A-Mouse in the early 1980s teamed up with legendary producers Junjo Lawes and Linval Thompson to record a string of hit singles such as 'Once a Virgin,' 'Wa-Do-Dem' and 'Noah's Ark.' He quickly developed a global fan base, hooked on a unique style grounded in roots reggae but distinguished by elements of rock and delivered in flowing lyricism, swift, smooth beats and outrageous, seemingly schizophrenic live performances. Eek-A-Mouse is on tour in support of his first album in three years, Mouse Gone Wild (Ras/Sanctuary), a hip hop-infused effort that suffers from over-production with curious samples of police sirens, gunshots and cat calls. Still, the Eek-A-Mouse fans recognize emerges from the soundscapes periodically, and should be more front and center live. Tickets $15. -- Frank Etheridge

The Deathray Davies 10 p.m. Thursday, May 27 Mermaid Lounge, 1100 Constance St., 524-4747 You might expect a band with a name like the Deathray Davies to be a classic rock group in retro British Invasion fashion, or you might expect it to mock such a band. The Dallas-based sextet does neither, sticking closer to its Texas roots, ranging from the proto garage sound of ? and the Mysterians to the twisted psychedelia of the 13th Floor Elevators (or maybe Syd Barrett-era Floyd). In fact, 'The Medication's Gone,' from the group's second album, Day of the Ray, sounds like a long-lost Music Machine outtake. The band's four albums are filled with surreal and macabre observations from charter member John Dufilho, whose signature work is a multi-part song that has stretched across the group's recording history, 'They Stuck Me in a Box in the Ground.' In 'Part 2,' he sings, 'Monday started out wrong/Woke up with a coat and tie on &138; I can't even breathe in this thing!' Call club for cover. -- John Swenson

Amerigo 10 p.m. Friday, May 28 Mermaid Lounge, 1100 Constance St., 524-4747 Last fall, after nearly five years of gigging and recording in New Orleans, the members of Amerigo scattered. In Chicago, vocalist-guitarist Matt Martin and bassist Steve Eck found a music community more akin to their affinity for sharp dynamics and lush textures. New Orleans' rootsy bent never really meshed with their Radiohead-style epic rock. Still, the pair is looking forward to its first homecoming gig this Friday. Reunited with drummer Adam Bock and guitarist Steve Vallery, the band will play a set of songs from its 2002 album, Music for the Furniture, along with some new variations on older material. This, one of a slew of shows in the Southeast, will be the band's first New Orleans appearance in more than six months. Martin says he hopes to coax Bock, who still lives in New Orleans, to Chicago, where they can eventually reconvene as a three-piece. Former New Orleanian Casey Meehan and his band, The Delta Still, open with Mexico 1910 also on the bill. Call club for cover. -- Cristina Diettinger

Save Our Lake Fishing Rodeo Saturday-Sunday, May 29-30; Sunday, June 6 Lakeshore Drive by Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena, 836-2215 The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation gives open call to all fishermen (and fisherwomen) to catch the largest black bass, redfish, speckled trout, croaker, bream, flounder, sheepshead, white trout, catfish or black drum in the Pontchartrain Basin and help support a clean wetlands for Louisiana. This includes anywhere in the Basin, which includes Lake Pontchartrain, Maurepas, St. Catherine and Borgne, Breton Sound and all surrounding bayous, rivers and tributaries. There will be an awards ceremony June 6 with WWL 870 AM's Don Dubac and WWL-TV's Frank Davis at the podium. The ceremony takes place on day three of the Foundation's Back to the Beach festival, which includes Louisiana food, a hot rod show, and live music by Marcia Ball, Rockin' Dopsie Jr. and more. Registration $20 adults, $10 children 15-under, two tickets to the awards ceremony. Registration deadline May 28. -- Bryant

Don Caballero 10 p.m. Wednesday, May 26 The Parish at the House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE Don Caballero? Did they not play The Howlin' Wolf only months ago? That's absolutely correct, and this seminal math rock band still plays the same mind-blowing, layered, minimalist prog rock as always. Sadly though, the only remaining member of Don Cab's original lineup is drummer Damon Che. This scenario is as potentially dangerous as Guns 'n' Roses' current Axl-only lineup, but most New Orleanians who caught the band at The Howlin' Wolf show can testify that the new lineup keeps the songs astoundingly intact. And it's arguable that Don Cab could not have existed without Che's drumming in the first place. His innovative, odd-timed, pulsing drum beats were the glue holding the band's signature swirling, calculated, minimalist guitar patterns together, and he has always been the most admired member of the group. -- Rob Bryant

Synergy 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 29 UNO Downtown Theatre, 619 Carondelet St., 914-5666 In the fall of 2000, Meg Gavin formed New Orleans' first American Tribal Style (ATS) belly dance troupe, Devyani. The troupe performed at nightclubs such as Blue Nile and Cafe Brasil, the Contemporary Arts Center's DramaRama and other venues. Last fall, Gavin left for Birmingham, Ala., but her legacy continues. Former students Ali Arnold, Amy Hession and Lisa Lala now direct a new belly dance collective, n.o.madic tribal dance company. Paying homage to an artistic expression without borders, n.o.madic performs Friday nights at the Dragon's Den. The group is now looking to expand upon its initial success and secure a new studio space large enough to fit its needs. To raise money to obtain the space and requisite equipment, n.o.madic presents Synergy, a benefit performance featuring 14 member dancers. A silent auction of local artwork will also be held. Tickets are $5, but all donations are welcome. -- Etheridge