Flamenco a way of life for Los Farruco

Stormy, soulful, inspired, extemporaneous and often temperamental, flamenco gitano or gypsy flamenco is considered by some to be the highest form of the art. To see flamenco puro is to experience more than just a performance - it is an entree into a conversation in which the singers, the musicians and the dancers have myriad sentiments and convictions to share - with each other, with us and with a higher power.

"Gypsy flamenco is very much a real transmission of emotion and the culture that they live and breathe," says Nina Menendez, the organizer of the Bay Area Flamenco Festival, which begins Monday.

Read more: Flamenco a way of life for Los Farruco 

Carlos Molina highlights new ballet 'Fausto'

There's a laconic ease to Carlos Molina's demeanor as the former soloist from American Ballet Theatre works with a willowy Annabelle Henry in a pas de deux from "Fausto," a new work that Napoles Ballet premieres this weekend at the Cowell Theater.

For a moment, his economy of movement might be mistaken for passivity. It's the end of a long day of rehearsals at the Shan Yee Poon studios in the Richmond district, and beside the sharp, almost adamantine shapes and trajectories that choreographer Luis Napoles demonstrates for them, Molina's small nods and quiet comments suggest a certain lassitude.

Read More: Carlos Molina highlights new ballet 'Fausto'

Autumn Moon Festival: Chinatown tradition

Lions, dragons and mooncakes are highlights of the 22nd Autumn Moon Festival, which takes place this weekend along Chinatown's Grant Avenue.

This year's festival is dedicated to May Louie, who started the festival in 1991 and who passed away in February at age 87, says entertainment coordinator Cynthia Yee.

Working with merchants in Chinatown, Louie hoped the celebration would help draw visitors back to Chinatown after the devastation of the Loma Prieta earthquake. The tradition of a moon festival around the time of the autumnal equinox, however, dates back thousands of years in China.

Read More: Autumn Moon Festival: Chinatown tradition

Sumo wrestling: Champions exhibition

Entertainment for the gods will come to the people Saturday, when the ancient art of sumo wrestling takes center stage in a free exhibition in Japantown's Peace Plaza.

Three professional wrestlers will take part in the day's events, including the imposing Mongolian-born Byambajav "Byamba" Ulambayar, a three-time world sumo champion who stands 6-foot-1, weighs 370 pounds and was featured in the movie "Ocean's Thirteen." He'll be joined by Kelly Gneiting, a 6-foot, 430-pound native of Idaho who trained in Japan and has not only been a U.S. sumo champion, but - after running the Los Angeles Marathon in 2008 and 2011 - also became the Guinness world record holder as the heaviest person to run a marathon.

Read More: Sumo wrestling: Champions exhibition