mc-arts-culture

Our arts picks this week include Nevada Ballet Theatre’s “The Nutcracker” and photographer Edward Burtynsky’s “Oil” exhibit.

Painter Pablo Picasso once described the purpose of art as “washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” Whether your preferred method involves art, literature, music or theater, here are a few culture-related gift possibilities to make the washing — and wallowing — more memorable.

Our arts picks this week include the Springs Preserve’s Holiday Express and Deana Martin’s “Holiday Cheer.”

Lawson created jazz-flavored arrangements of “The Nutcracker” for a performance at the Winchester Cultural Center. But when he became too ill to organize the concert, fellow musicians stepped in to put together Saturday’s show.

Animal handlers at the Springs Preserve and Las Vegas Natural History Museum bring people up close and personal with living, breathing creatures.

In Cirque Musica shows, the music is provided by local symphony orchestras — including 45 members of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, who will accompany acrobats, aerialists and other circus performers as they show off their skills.