Arts Notes (Feb. 21)

Amour Danzar Ballroom, 9355 County Farm Road, Gulfport, will offer dance lessons and classes during February. Programs include quick dance steps with Al DeSalvo and Salsa and West Coast Swing with Ernest Gibson.

Schedules and costs vary for each class. Details: 324-3730.

'Piano Lesson' playing at Center Stage in Biloxi

"The Piano Lesson" is at Center Stage Theatre, 2670 Rue Palafox, Biloxi during February.

The shows are at 2 p.m. today, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Feb. 28. Cost: $18 general admission and $15 seniors, students and military. Details: 388-6258 or centerstagebiloxi.org.

7th annual Birthday Party at Gallery 782 is Saturday

Gallery 782, 782 Water St., Biloxi, will host a Seventh anniversary with a Birthday Party from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Saturday. The party will feature food, drinks, music and raffles. New art will be displayed by Gulf Coast artists.

Live Oak Arts Festival seeking artists for April

The seventh annual Live Oak Arts Festival will take place on May 14 in downtown Pascagoula. The festival features live music, arts and crafts, local cuisine, kid activities and more. Artists may submit vendor applications until April 30. Details/instructions: 219-1114 or pascagoulamainstreet.com.

Fourth Sunday at Four in Bay St. Louis is Feb. 28

Fourth Sunday at Four will take place at Christ Episcopal Church, 912 S. Beach Blvd., Bay St. Louis, on Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. The Fourth Sunday at Four will feature the Prodigal Players presenting "The Soldier's Story" and visual artist Bonnie Thompson Vallery. Music begins at 4 p.m. and the art and reception begins at 5 p.m. Details: 467-0106.

MS -- Arts Commission awards jewelry artist

Elizabeth Veglia has received a mini-grant from Mississippi Arts Commission for the purchase of supplies for her new line of jewelry. This grant is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

MGCCC art students celebrate Black History

The fine art students of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Jefferson Davis campus in Gulfport have collaborated with the college's library to celebrate Black History Month with an art exhibit. The students were assigned to draw and paint historical African-Americans, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks Grace Jones and Eartha Kitt.

Art instructor Cecily Cummings is displaying her oil painting series "Dancehall Dames" featuring African-American women jazz singers of the 1930s and 1940s along with her students' works. Students also depicted iconic scenes of African-American travelers in the 1950s and 1960s.

The exhibits are in the library during February.

Details: 897-3880 or shake.delozier@mgccc.edu.

Finnish artist's work will be featured at Tradition campus

Mary Pyle of Gulfport will have artwork shown at William Carey University Tradition campus in Biloxi beginning Thursday until March 31. The exhibit and reception will feature memories and work of Osmo Visuri along with Visuri's unique watercolor paintings.

The opening reception is 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday on the second floor of the B Building at the Tradition campus. In addition to the unveiling of the art, a presentation about Visuri is planned. Keijo Karjalainen, a cultural counselor from the Embassy of Finland in Washington, will attend the reception as a representative of Visuri's native land. The exhibit will be closed for spring break from March 14-18.

Pyle met Visuri, a Finnish artist and photographer, in June 1988. Visuri stayed with the Pyles for nearly a month. He brought with him 20 of his watercolor paintings depicting things of interest to the artist, including Finnish landscapes, in the hopes of finding a place to exhibit them in the United States.

Volunteers needed for 'Old Blues at Old School'

Volunteers are needed for "Old Blues at the Old School" at the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center, 1600 Government St., Ocean Springs, 6 p.m. Thursday. The event will be a piano concert featuring Laurie Carpenter. The show begins at 7 p.m. Positions available for box office cashier, greeters, art gallery host, ticket takers and concession sales. Details: 818-2878.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Arts Notes (Feb. 21) ."