Festival of Animation

At the Somerville Theater

Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday at 7 and 9:30 p.m.

The bi-annual Festival of Animation returns to the Cambridge area at the Somerville Theater this weekend for a two-week run. To be featured at this sampling extravaganza of animated subjects will be the Canadian award-winning The Crow and the Canary, 25 Ways to Quit Smoking, Bill Plympton's look at how to shed the deadly habit, and award-winning graphicist John Lasseter's computer-generated Knick Knack. The Festival of Animation is known internationally as one of the best showcases for the most recent creations in animation. This year's show also highlights The Hill Farm, which took the Grand Prize at the Annecy France Film Festival and which displays a realistic look at British country life.

Dance Umbrella

With Angelika Oei

Tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m.

Cambridge-based Dance Umbrella presents the work of Angelika Oei, Dutch choreographer and filmmaker, in her first American tour this weekend, both tonight and tomorrow night. Oei will mark her first East Coast performance with a presentation of "Oidan Skroeba," a visually arresting evening combining both dance and film on a bed of white sand. Composer Rutger Van Otterloo has blended a '40s "noir" sound with medieval music and Latin rhythms to enhance this "Fellini-esque" evening of dance, theater and film.

Learning from Performers

John Zorn, composer

Sunday at 3 p.m.

This Sunday composer John Zorn will appear at the Adams House Lower Common Room to give a Rehearsal/Performance/Open Reading of his latest piece, Cobra, from 3 until 5 p.m. At this weekend's session, Zorn will work with undergraduates from varied musical backgrounds, including jazz, classical, rock and experimental, teaching them about improvisational experience. Zorn is recognized internationally for his unusual music which combines voiceovers, screeching tires, rap music and jazz. The Museum of Fine Arts will present a retrospective of John Zorn's music on Thursday.

Capturing an Image: Collecting 150

Years of Photography

At the Fogg Museum