Eduardo Zuñiga of Luna Negra Dance Theater in rehearsal for CARMEN.maquia

Photo: Alberto March

It was announced yesterday that Luna Negra Dance Theater is ceasing operations "due to financial constraints." Established in 1999 by Cuban-born dancer and choreographer Eduardo Vilaro, the Latino-focused company was one of the boldest and most artistically exciting contemporary dance ensembles in Chicago, even more so when Gustavo Ramirez Sansano came onboard as artistic director in 2010 (following Vilaro's departure). We remember being mesmerized by the Picasso-inspired Carmen.maquia—all the athletic, emotive movement—among his other brave choreographic feats. 

Navy Pier Ferris wheel

Lots of completely unnecessary Guinness World Records have been set by Chicagoans or in Chicago. On Friday, Clinton Shepherd hopes to set another. The 32-year-old South Sider will board the Navy Pier Ferris wheel at 2:30pm. If all goes according to plan, the Pier Park operations manager will ride the wheel in the sky and keep on turning continuously (save for five-minute breaks every hour) until Sunday at 2:30pm. The 48 hours spent onboard would shatter the time for Longest Marathon on a Fairground/Theme Attraction, which the Guinness Book of World Records' website says is 25 hours (though there is a Canadian claim on a 30-hour record). Of course, all of this would be a more impressive test of stamina were the ride Raging Bull at Six Flags instead of the Pier's sluggish Ferris wheel. But over the phone this afternoon, Shepherd said slow-jamming his way to a record has its own set of challenges.

Is your life one big training montage right now? Yeah, I'm trying to stay up as long as I possibly can. If I do take a nap, it's usually five or ten minutes, because I do get five-minute breaks every hour. So my goal is to stay up four to five hours straight, so if I do need a break, I can save up the time and use it when I need it. I'm also trying to get my body prepared to take care of the proper...bladder issues. Outside of that, it's just a big mind game.

Vampire Weekend

That Lollapalooza lineup is looking better and better. When Phoenix and Vampire Weekend were first announced, my initial thought was, Them again? But damned if the two haven't released my two favorite pop albums of the year. So far. Until next week. Both singers have a way with an exotic place name and take different shots of the upper class. Thomas Mars writes with an extra dry wit. He's French. Ezra Koenig thinks a lot about death amid the Upper West Side. Death creeps into every new Vampire Weekend track. Which is not to say it isn't a blast. Read my album review.

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper

Photo: Shervin Lainez

COMEDY
Tuesday Night Thing The Annoyance assembles an explosive amount of talent for this new weekly improv showcase. Performers include Tom Blandford, Bill Boehler, Chris Day, Nancy Friedrich, Beau Golwitzer, Noah Gregoropoulos, TJ Jagodowski, Jared Larsen, Beth Melewski, Linda Orr, Mark Piebenga, Jim Scheidhauer, Rebecca Sohn and Rich Sohn. Annoyance Theatre. 9:30pm. $8.

FILM
Cremaster 1 + Cremaster 2 Dir. Matthew Barney. Barney's five-part, six-and-a-half-hour film cycle is about, among other things, gender, the nature of creativity and the amazing versatility of Vaseline. Shot out of sequence (4, 1, 5, 2, 3) over ten years, the cycle has been compared to everything from Star Wars to Wagner. Barney has called the Cremaster cycle a "narrative sculpture," so watch them in any order and look for visual motifs. In 2 (1999, 79 mins) Barney uses the Columbia Icefields (a glacier in the Canadian Rockies) as a piece of sculpture or character in the film, and its creamy, textured surface resonates with the molten Vaseline that Richard Serra scoops and splatters in 3 (2002, 182 mins). In 5 (1997, 55 mins), the rising white doves tethered with ribbons to Barney's testicles (in one of his many guises) chime with the Y-shape of American football goalposts in 1 (1996, 40 mins). Gene Siskel Film Center. 8pm. $11, $7 students, $6 members, $4 students and faculty of the School of the Art Institute, and staff of the Art Institute.