Arts & Entertainment

Let's Get Rowdy!

Cheerleaders are made, not born

By Paul Friswold  ,  Rose Martelli ,  and  Jedidiah Ayres

SAT 2/28

If your favorite movies are Bring It On and Donnie Darko (specifically, the scene in which dance troupe Sparklemotion poses along to Duran Duran's "Notorious"), then attempt to live vicariously through your child this weekend; sign her up for the Washington University Cheerleading and Dance Clinic.

From 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., first- through fifth-graders will learn the finer points of shimmying, pom-pom waving and the calling out of "Ready? OK!", courtesy of Wash. U.'s cheerleading squad and Jive Team (both groups perform regularly at the school's football and basketball games).

Students will work on a simple cheer and dance routine (how simple? Last year's cheer was largely about cookies), then perform it that day at 2:30 p.m. for their parents.

A pizza lunch and a T-shirt are included in the $25 enrollment fee. The clinic will be held at the university's on-campus Athletic Complex. To sign up, get directions to the site or gain more info, call 314-935-5128. -- Rose Martelli

A New Ice Age

There are certain things made for children that have no place in the adult world: teething rings, booster chairs, etc. Others, however, are left behind at adolescence for no good reason: onesies as acceptable everyday wear, regular naptimes, juice breaks -- and, of course, ice theater. For too long now, children have limited this art form with their Sesame Street and Teletubbies ice shows. Where is Saved By The Bell on Ice, or Dawson's Frozen Creek? A renaissance is due, in which we can break free from the mere pageantry of costumes and whirling and whooshing and whatnot and instead sink our teeth into challenging fare such as Love in the Time of Cholera or They Shoot Horses, Don't They? -- on ice! In the meantime, enjoy the spectacle of Disney on Ice Presents Disney/Pixar's Monsters Inc. There will be ten shows between February 25 and February 29 at the Savvis Center (14th and Clark streets, call 314-241-1888 or visit www.savviscenter.net for times). Tickets are $10.75 to $55. -- Jedidiah Ayres

Kids' Kutlery
Toys in the Field House

If you, too, endured the protective love of a mother who believed that you'd shoot your eye out if you had a BB gun, you're going to sigh wistfully over the new "Tribute to Lewis and Clark" toy exhibit at the Eugene Field House and Toy Museum (634 South Broadway). The display features toys and games of the Native Americans encountered by Messrs. Louis and Clark, and there's a goodly helping of wee bows-and-arrows, tiny tomahawks and little knives, along with some dolls and other girl junk. Oh, you might not have shot your eye out, but you certainly would've scalped your older sister's Barbies. Admission to the museum is $0.50 to $4; call 314-421-4689 for hours. -- Paul Friswold