6. Abraham.In.Motion at the August Wilson Center: November 10 & 11, 8 p.m.
At age 36, he won a prestigious MacArthur Genius Award. He founded his own company in NYC, has been praised by Dance Magazine and has presented works around the globe from Miami to Okinawa. The prolific dancer and choreography Kyle Abraham — a Lincoln-Larimer native who got his start at Pittsburgh’s CLO and Creative and Performing Arts High School — is returning home to present a bold trio of works that have never been produced locally. “The Quiet Dance” is a quintet set to an expressive rendition of Leonard Bernstein’s iconic song, “Some Other Time,” arranged by jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans. Featuring music by Grammy-winning jazz pianist Robert Glasper, “The Getting’” is augmented by stirring projections depicting the Anti-Apartheid Movement and the recent death of Eric Garner. The provocative piece showcases Glasper’s reworking of the 1960 album, “We Insist! Freedom Now Suite,” by legendary jazz drummer Max Roach. Created in collaboration with jazz artists Kris Bowers and Otis Brown III and filmmaker Naima Ramos Chapman, “Absent Matter” examines race through dance. Created in 2015, the piece integrates samples by Common, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar. Buy tickets.
7. Third Thursday: Intimate Subjects at Carnegie Museum of Art: November 16, 8 – 11 p.m.
How would it feel to walk in someone else’s shoes? What’s it like to attend a live performance alone? Ever wanted to experiment with virtual reality? You can do all of this and more — inside a world-class art museum. For the next installment of its popular Third Thursday series, Carnegie Museum of Art is getting intimate, and you’re invited to play along. The museum is teaming up with game design company, City of Play, and multidisciplinary performance duo, slowdanger, to host an evening of interactions and immersive adventures — both real and virtual — exploring the “meaning of intimacy.” Sit at the “long spoons table” to “feed and get fed” in accordance with an old parable about heaven and hell. During “sole,” you’ll be guided away from the crowds to a secluded space to participate in an experiential performance alone. Meander throughout the galleries, encounter musical performances in unexpected places and head to The Café Carnegie for late-night fare. Sound intriguing? You need to be there in person to find out more. Buy tickets.
8. Comcast Light Up Night in Downtown Pittsburgh: November 17, 4:30 – 10 p.m.
For nearly six decades, that proverbial switch in the sky — make that the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership — has turned Pittsburghers on to the holidays at the city’s annual Light Up Night celebration. The third Friday in November is your cue to grab the entire clan and head Downtown for the year’s biggest and brightest party. For its 57th installment, Comcast Light Up Night will illuminate and animate the Golden Triangle with free events and activities for all ages. Check out live music on four stages, get into the yuletide spirit at seven tree lighting ceremonies and participate in holiday crafts. Watch dazzling ice carving demonstrations, visit with jolly old St. Nick and his reindeer, and be the first to glide along the iconic PPG ice skating rink. Get a jump on your holiday shopping at the distinctive Peoples Gas Holiday Market, which will be open through December 23. Watch this space for full details to come, including national headlining acts, on November 3.
9. Applaud the Light at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church: November 17, 7:45 – 10 p.m.
Looking for a more intimate take on the Light Up Night tradition? Preservation, prose and performance will merge for a magical evening in Millvale. See one of Pittsburgh’s top cultural masterpieces in an entirely new light when the doors to St. Nicholas open to the public. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the landmark houses Maxo Vanka’s breathtaking “Gift to America” murals, created in 1937 and 1941 by the Croatian immigrant as part of a groundbreaking commission. Watch as several Vanka paintings “light up” for the first time following months of rigorous conservation. Enjoy spirited readings, concerts and performances by local literary, theater and music luminaries, including Bach Choir of Pittsburgh, David Conrad, Rikke Foulke, Wali Jamal and Charlie McCollester. The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka will unveil a special announcement about new developments in the works. Experience a tranquil, behind-the-scenes tour as you help preserve a local treasure, enjoy a delicious cookie table catered by Tupelo Honey Teas, and meet the conservationists, lighting designers, artists and historians spearheading efforts to protect Vanka’s paintings. Buy tickets.
10. Winter Flower Show and Light Garden at Phipps: November 24 – January 7
When the gray and gloom settle in across Western PA, we can all seek light, recharge and find tranquility without having to trek to a beach. Switching on the lights to one of its most anticipated displays, Phipps will sparkle and glow with 40,000 LEDs, 2,000 poinsettias, luminous orbs, fantastical fountains, decked-out trees, and more. Bigger and brighter than ever, Pittsburgh’s must-see holiday spectacular is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. — and it’s well worth experiencing at different times of day. Wander into the whimsical Winter Flower Show to stroll amidst nostalgic vignettes of extravagant winter feasts, Santa’s workshop and a shimmering New Year’s Eve fête. Encounter majestic fir and pine trees, vibrant amaryllis, orchids and poinsettias and oversized ornaments, toys and books. Inside Phipps largest Winter Light Garden ever, walk through a tunnel of lights simulating a twinkling winter sky and be illuminated by gift-wrapped boxes. For high seas adventure, head to the newly designed Garden Railroad to hunt for treasures, laugh at pirate jokes and push interactive controls to send locomotives chugging through a tropical island. Buy tickets.
Check out more terrific events every week, including these coming up in November in NEXTpittsburgh:
Home Movie Day at Carnegie Library: November 4
Gimme Danger screening with Jim Jarmusch at Carnegie Museum of Art: November 5
Nick Offerman at the Benedum Center: November 5
Tastebuds at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center: November 8
MF@40: Then + Now at the Mattress Factory: November 9
The Frick Pittsburgh’s Adorning the Boudoir Party at the Ace Hotel: November 10
John Edgar Wideman in Conversation at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: November 14
2017 Artist of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year openings at Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts: November 17, 2017
I Made it! Market at The Waterfront: November 24 & 25
David Blaine at the Byham Theater: November 30
