Trolley Dances Marks 25th Year Among a Busy San Diego Arts Weekend

San Diego's arts calendar for the weekend of Sept. 16-17 is led by the return of Trolley Dances, a touring, site-specific dance showcase that is marking its 25th year along the Blue Line.

The event was founded by Jean Isaacs of San Diego Dance Theater. Terry Wilson, the company's current director, has since taken over curation. Wilson was a professional dancer with the company when Isaacs launched the project. Both women are choreographing pieces this year, alongside Dr. grace shinhae jun of bkSOUL, Blythe Barton, Kim Epifano and DanzArts.

Wilson regards Trolley Dances as public art, since the performances happen outdoors in unexpected places and are tailored to each location. Passersby who come across a show without a ticket are, in Wilson's words, "really quite fun." Wilson also sees an educational value in bringing dance to people who "may not ever go to the theater to see dance." The project began partly for practical reasons: it let the company present work without renting a theater, and Wilson said few theaters in the city are within the company's budget. "And then it caught fire," Wilson said.

Ticketed guests are led by guides from stop to stop and back onto the trolley. Tours start at the Old Town Transit Center, with performances at several Blue Line stops including Old Town, Little Italy and Park and Market. The tours take several hours and include two to three blocks of walking at one stop. They run hourly from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. General admission is $35, with discounts for seniors, military, students and artists.

In poetry, Kazim Ali, who has also written novels, memoirs and essays, has released "Sukun," a collection that combines new poems with selections from earlier books. The title is an Arabic word for peacefulness or serenity, and also names a mark indicating a rest on a consonant. The book looks back over 20 years of Ali's writing and includes roughly 50 to 60 pages of new work. Ali described it as a "pause and reassessment" that will point toward what comes next. Ali joins Karla Cordero, Blas Falconer and Arthur Kayzakian for a free "Poetry Without Borders" reading at Verbatim Books in North Park at 7 p.m. Saturday, hosted by William Nericio.

Dance offerings also include "Heartbeats" from Ballet Collective San Diego, with contemporary ballet by Tylor Bradshaw, Reka Gyulai, Silken Kelly and Emily Miller. Miller's "Four Seasons" uses Max Richter's reworking of Vivaldi. Performances are at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in La Jolla.

In visual art, Quint Gallery in La Jolla opens Ryan McGinness: "Drawings," dozens of fragmented charcoal works made over the past three years, along with "Liquid Ecstasy: Dirty Dreams," a show of motel soaps and related art from an anonymous collector, including a shirt made from Motel 6 soap packets. A free coffee reception runs 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Trash Lamb Gallery in South Park opens Jason Sherry's "Leisurecraft," photographs sliced and mounted on old tennis rackets, on Friday evening. "Beyond the Elements," a look at San Diego hip-hop through immigrant communities, opened Sept. 14 at the New Americans Museum.

In theater, Diversionary Theatre opened its season Sept. 14 with Sara Porkalob's one-person "Dragon Mama," which runs through Oct. 8. The Old Globe begins previews of Alaudin Ullah's "Dishwasher Dreams," about the playwright's Bangladeshi-born parents, on Sept. 16.

Music and film events include Joe Cantrell's live electronic score to Alejandro Jodorowsky's "The Holy Mountain" at Bread and Salt on Friday. The Hausmann Quartet's Haydn series continues Sunday at the Maritime Museum with Ned Rorem's "Quartet No. 4," and Regina Carter and Xavier Davis open the Jazz at Scripps Research series that evening. SACRA/PROFANA opens its 15th season Sunday afternoon at First Presbyterian Church with Herbert Howells' "Requiem."