8 - 14 March, 2010

A FUN mix of stuff on this week. Follow LUCILLE DAVIE'S selection of the most interesting city activities.

Shaolin Wheel of Life
The masters of kung fu, the Shaolin monks, are making their way this week from China's Henan province to Joburg to defy death in the Wheel of Life. Wheel of Life showcases the practising monks' martial arts skills. There are ferocious stunts and awe-inspiring feats, such as breaking iron bars with a bare head, being hoisted up on razor-sharp spears, smashing bricks, lying between beds of nails and swords - all with no ill effects. The show runs at the Teatro at Montecasino, from Tuesday, 9 March until 22 March. Read more.

Brixton Cemetery tour
Go and walk through the Jewish section of the Brixton Cemetery, on Sunday, 14 March, with the Parktown & Westcliff Heritage Trust. Many founders and followers lie buried here and much of Joburg's history involved these men and women. Men should wear hats. Park inside the Brixton main cemetery (Krause Street entrance), go to the coffin rest and turn right, then left and keep straight until you see the tour leaders. Meet at 2pm. Cost is R80, tickets from Computicket. For more info call Eira on 011 482 3349.

Ephraim Ngatane
The exhibition of Ephraim Ngatane's work at the Standard Bank Gallery is in its last week, so get down town by Saturday, 13 March, when it closes. Cecil Skotnes said that Ngatane "put his thumbprint on the history of South African art". The gallery is open Mondays to Fridays 8am to 4.30pm, and Saturdays 9am to 1pm.

Poverty, charity, justice
The Wits Centre for Ethics (WiCE) and the Philosophy Department invite you to an interdisciplinary conference from Friday to Sunday, 12-14 March, under the theme "Poverty; charity; justice". Speakers include Thad Metz (UJ), Gerald Lang (Leeds), prof Tommie Shelby (Harvard), Dr Lucy Allais (Director: WiCE), Pedro Tabensky (Rhodes) and prof Thomas Pogge (Yale). Get more info on the website , and RSVP to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Storytelling at Love Books
Take the kids (3 to 8-year-olds) to Love Books in Melville, for storytelling on Saturday, 13 March at 10am. The store is at 53 Rustenburg Road.

The JPO concert
The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra is again in full blast this week, on Wednesday and Thursday, 10-11 March, at the Linder Auditorium. Go and enjoy Stephenson's A Johannesburg Overture; and Takemitsu's Riverrun. The soloist is pianist Noriko Ogawa. The conductor is Yasuo Shinozaki. The concert starts at 8pm. Tickets are available from Computicket.

Samson Mnisi
Samson Mnisi's exhibition "White City", opens this week at the UJ Art Gallery from Thursday, 11 March. The exhibition of abstract work, entitled "White City" will include new work inspired during a fresh sojourn at the house in White City, Soweto where Mnisi spent his childhood. Mnisi is the grandson of two sangomas. His art represents his life as a youth coupled with an ancient tradition of sangoma empowerment marks. His complex and unique abstract paintings offer a pleasing visual experience projecting a much deeper meaning. The gallery is open 9am to 6pm during the week, and from 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.

Race, poverty and justice
Get to the last two lectures of a 3-part series on race, poverty and justice. On Thursday, 11 March attend "The Ethics of the oppressed: lessons from Uncle Tom's children". Be in CB 15, Central Block, Wits East Campus at 4.15pm. And on Friday, 12 March attend "Justice, self-respect and the culture of poverty". Get to the Graduate Seminar Room, South West Engineering Building, Wits East Campus at 4pm. For more info contact Yhesmien Hill on 011 717 4345 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Flamenco and gumboots
Fancy some foot-stamping, hand-clapping, skirt-swirling flamenco dancers? Fusion Flamenca is on at the Joburg Theatre this week, and should be good. It runs from Thursday to Sunday, 11-14 March. It is an unusual blend of flamenco with other forms of dance, including gumboot dancing. Book with Computicket. Read more.

Sustainable energy solutions
Get to a discussion on sustainable energy solutions including ocean wave-energy conversion. The guest speaker is Danson Joseph, an electrical engineer currently completing his PhD at Wits. His focus is in the field of sustainable energy solutions. His electrical specialities are in the field of electrical power systems and electric machines, to give us a presentation on this fascinating topic. This takes place on Wednesday, 10 March at 7pm in Room H7, Ground floor, Hillman Building, Wits East Campus. For more info call Pierre de la Motte on 082 375 0607 or Patrick Camps on 082 884 2984.

Dance Umbrella
The annual FNB Dance Umbrella finishes this week, so make sure you tune into the programme. On until Sunday, 14 March, it takes place at various Joburg venues: the Wits Theatre complex, UJ's Centre for the Arts, the Dance Factory, and the Market Theatre.  Get all the details from the Joburg website.

Global justice and health
Get to two talks by prof Thomas Pogge, Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University and Professorial Fellow at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Australian National University. His book World Poverty and Human Rights is widely regarded as one of the most important works on global justice. On Friday, 12 March the talk is entitled "The Health Impact Fund", and takes place at 10am in the Umthombo Building 2, Wits East Campus. On Sunday, 14 March the talk is entitled "Poverty and justice", and takes place at 3.40pm in the CB 8, Central Block, Wits East Campus. For more info contact Yhesmien Hill on 011 717 4345 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Military lectures
The SA National Museum of Military History has two lectures on this week, on Thursday, 11 March. At 8pm you can catch "The Perils of Pearl Harbour", followed by "Pickett's Charge". Be there for 8pm. Cost is R10, which includes refreshments. Call Allan on 011 646 5513 for more details.

Melville Koppies
Take a walk at our superb Melville Koppies on Sunday, 14 March at 8.30am. Park in Marks Park, Judith Road, Emmarentia, and enter at the main gate.

Conversations with Pierre Bourdieu
Wits is hosting a series of 8 lectures by prof Michael Burawoy (the Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley and Mellon Distinguished Visiting Professor, Wits), aiming to surface conversations between sociologist Pierre Bourdieu and diverse social theorists working in the Marxist tradition. There are two lectures this week. On Monday, 8 March the lecture is entitled "Pedagogy for whom? Freire meets Bourdieu", and on Wednesday, 10 March "Antinomies of feminism: Beauvoir meets Bourdieu". The lectures take place between 4pm and 6pm in the Graduate Seminar Room, Southwest Engineering Building. RSVP to : This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Get all the details from the website.

Creepy crawlies at Kloofendal
Go creepy crawly hunting at the Kloofendal Nature Reserve on Saturday, 13 March at 6.30pm. You'll hear all about them, then go searching for scorpions with a UV torch. Bring along your picnic basket and blanket. Cost is R50, kids R20. Booking is essential – phone Karin on 072 595 6991, or SMS her with the name of the event, your name and the number of people attending. The garden is in Galena Street, Kloofendal.

Sundowners at UJ
Take in the free Monday Sundowner Concerts at the Kingsway campus of UJ in Auckland Park. This week you can listen to flautist Isabel Bradley and pianist Michael Watt, who will be playing Schubert's Variations on Trockne Blümen and Widor's Suite for Flute and Piano. The show starts at 5.30pm. The concert takes place at the UJ Art Centre, Entrance 1 on Kingsway Road. For more info call 082 876 0406.

Note: events are subject to change without notice.