RAW's March Santa Monica Showcase, "In Bloom" — a real potpourri of art. 

There's really no denying it, we sort of pride ourselves on our tendency to bring rather unconventional arts to the stage and, honestly, what's more marvelous than putting a tap dancer in a lounge? "In Bloom," RAW's March Santa Monica showcase (March 4, 2010)—what I would term a culmination of, more or less, a potpourri of artists—brought about a lot of unexpected acts.

Janet Huey and her crew of dancers shocked us all with her energetic marathon of moves, a mash-up of tap, contemporary, and jazz. And only in such an eclectic show as this would we find Nate Hogan, or Nature Dreamweaver, was an artist who made an in-site installation out of only organic materials, a sort of botanical mural on the floor of the art space. And, well, don't even get me started on Lorena Nicole, our Selena-esque Latin American pop singer (the gal doesn't speak Spanish) who belted out an impressive vocal set.

What with such a variety of artists, going to a showcase like "In Bloom" is like attending several different events ... well, without actually having to.