Red Rock Dance Festival
Dance has had to take on a wide variety of forms during the pandemic, and has inspired artists in different ways. This weekend, St. George Dance hosts the Red Rocks Dance Festival, incorporating both invigorating live performance and the creativity that has been made possible by filmed dance.

Thursday, June 10 kicks off the three-day schedule with the Screen Dance Film Festival, featuring three blocks of short works at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the Dixie State University Electric Theater. Tickets are $8 for individual 50-minute groups, or $20 for the full slate of offerings.

On Friday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Dixie State Eccles Main Stage, Houston Contemporary Dance Company (pictured) headlines a full-evening dance production titles Propel. The performance includes the new, socially-distanced work I Remember..., created for the four company members along with guest artist Shantelle Rush and guest dancer/choreographer Robbie Moore, which draws on the powerful feelings associated with living through 2020. New work from artistic director Marlana Doyle, a world premiere duet by Christian Denice and the short film Imagine round out the program.

Finally, Saturday, June 12 marks the Finals Showcase for the choreography competition, featuring 8-10 pieces selected by judges from the presented work, and the opportunity for audience members to vote for the Audience Choice Award, along with screening of the award winners from the Screen Dance Film Festival. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. on the DSU Eccles Main Stage. Visit stgeorgedance.com for tickets to all events, full schedule and additional programming information. (Scott Renshaw)

Ogden Arts Festival
There's a tremendous relief associated with knowing that larger summer events like the Ogden Arts Festival will even be possible in 2021. That doesn't mean that there haven't still been a lot of logistical challenges associated with navigating the shifting health and safety guidelines of recent weeks.

As the Ogden Arts Festival kicks off this week June 12-13 at Ogden's Historic Union Station (2501 Wall Ave.), festival director Danielle Bendinelli has had to think about preparing for potential confusion and uncertainty from attendees about the masking requirements, and a festival layout plan that was put in place based on different guidelines than we might have now. Guests are required to have a mask, but might only be asked by individual vendors to wear them in specific locations. "I still have to take into consideration vendors that did apply, regional artists from other states, their restrictions have been different," Bendinelli says. "We want them to feel as comfortable as they were when they applied. ... These are all individual businesses, and they might all have individual requirements as far as mask usage."

For the most part, however, there's the satisfaction of being to hold the combination indoor-outdoor event with artist booths, live music, kids' activities, food and most of the same features that guests would have expected from such an event two years ago. Tickets are $5 for adults, free for children, with only digital, touchless ticket purchases available. Visit ogdenartsfestival.com to buy tickets and for additional information, including performance schedules. (SR)

Shirley Ann Higuchi: Salt Lake City and the Japanese-American Community Past, Present and Future
Acts of bigotry and violence directed at Asian-Americans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic stirred up reminders of some of the uglier chapters in American history, including the forced internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. A virtual author event sponsored by The King's English Bookshop offers an opportunity to explore one story from that dark chapter, as a starting point for a conversation about the experience of the local Japanese-American community.

Shirley Ann Higuchi's 2020 book Setsuko's Secret: Heart Mountain and the Legacy of Japanese-American Incarceration tells the story of the author's own mother, Setsuko Saito, who as a child was an internee at the Heart Mountain facility in Wyoming. Higuchi—head of the legal advocacy office for the American Psychological Association, and chair of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation—grew up knowing only that her parents had met at Heart Mountain, unaware until later of the tragic historical reality behind the experience. Only after Setsuko, while terminally ill with cancer, expressed in an interest in establishing a museum on the Heart Mountain site, did Higuchi begin a journey that opened her eyes to her own family history, and the legacy of the internment camps.

On Saturday, June 12 at 3 p.m., Higuchi will be joined in conversation by several Salt Lake Japanese-American community leaders, including Judge Raymond Uno, Dr. Jeanette Misaka and Floyd Mori, all of whom are characters in the book. Streaming access to the event is free, but registration is required; visit kingsenglish.com for registration details and additional information. (SR)

Utah Juneteenth Events Kickoff
Strictly speaking, Juneteenth refers to June 19, commemorating the anniversary of the date in 1865 when the emancipation of American slaves was finally complete, after the announcement in Texas nearly two-and-a-half years after Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. But there's no reason not to get started on recognition of this auspicious occasion on the rest of June's teen (and tween) days, which make up part of Weber State's in-person and virtual Juneteenth festivities.

On June 11, things get rolling with the State of Black Utah Town Hall Meeting on the subject of "Education Equity & Justice," including a screening and discussion of the new documentary Beloved Community Project by local filmmaker Marian Howe-Taylor; the event takes place at Weber State's Davis D-3 Auditorium at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 15 brings another film screening, this one a virtual offering in partnership with the Utah Film Center. William Greaves' 1972 documentary Nationtime chronicles the historic occasion of the 1972 Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana, which brought together Black voices across the political spectrum from around the country to address the vital issues of the time. The screening takes place at 6 p.m., and free tickets can be reserved at utahfilmcenter.org.

To keep up with all scheduled events through June 19 and into the rest of the month, visit weber.edu/Juneteenth. Don't miss the virtual Excellence in the Community concert on June 19 itself, and the in-person festival at Ogden Amphitheater (343 E. 25th St.), which includes the Mr. & Miss Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant and Essay Contest presentations, musical performances by local and national artists, and more family-friendly activities. (SR)