Hear your favorite characters come alive in "The Calvin & Hobbes Suite." In his senior thesis, Pat Savage '07 combines so-called low and high art: the popular comic strip by Bill Watterson with classical music. The original composition features the Zumbyes, the Blue Stockings, the Funk Department and the Amherst College Jazz Ensemble; "Ode to Tigers," his delightful take on Beethoven's "Ode to Joy," ends:

So treat music like Calvin & Hobbes

Take it up to the limit

Play by your own rules

And love every minute.

(Fri., 8 p.m., Buckley Recital Hall, Arms Music Center. No admission charge.)

Shall we dance? Join the Argentine Tango Club with renowned dancer and instructor Daniel Trenner for beginner tango lessons. Trenner has been called the "Johnny Appleseed of Tango," for his tireless promotion of the dance outside of Argentina. Having danced for decades, he created "Bridge to the Tango," "The Tango Catalogue" and BttTV, which has produced more than 100 instructional videos. (Sun., 7 p.m., Seelye Ballroom. No admission charge.)

Political journalist Joe Klein will lecture on the "War in Iraq and the U.S. Presidential Election." His impressive titles include former columnist for Newsweek and Time as well as author of the best-selling novel "Primary Colors." In 2006, Klein wrote "Politics Lost: How American Politics Was Trivialized By People Who Think You're Stupid" on the growing influence of political consultants in presidential campaigns. (Thur., 4:30 p.m., Babbott Room, Octagon. No admission charge.)

Hungry for more drama? Check out "Dreamscape," a fresh, hip-hop-infused theatrical production written by Rickerby Hinds and directed by Manu Mukasa, assistant professor of theater and dance. This striking show is based on the tragedy of 19-year-old African American Tyisha Miller who was shot to death by four California police officers in 1998. Acting as coroner, the deejay cuts records while he cuts up scenes from Tyisha's life. Tyisha pops and locks her way between life and death as she reclaims those past memories. (Fri. and Sat., 8 p.m., Kirby Theater. No admission charge.)