Nearly a year after domestic partnerships became legal in Nevada, the GLBT community is learning to wield its newfound cloutWhen Senate Bill 283 passed last year, it provoked little more than a shrug from many Nevadans. Now, a year into the life of the Domestic Partnership Act - with interest groups planning their strategies for the 2011 Legislature - its far-reaching effects on individuals and institutions are coming into focus.

The dancer - Bernard GaddisHe's leaping outside the box with his visceral - but disciplined - approach to danceIt's a waltz, to be sure, but, oh, how we get there: Snapping their fans open with a confidence that startles, the female dancers confront the audience with a supermodel strut and a sensual roll of their bodies. This recent rehearsal at the Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater studio in Holsum Lofts is for a historical piece about Henry VIII's reign.

Niki Sands' paintings can be vibrant (cubistic portraits that hum with a sanguine stillness) or ethereally morose (her works in which a gloom-clouded face ponders some grave idea). But what binds the two dominant moods of her work is their overriding silence.

When Las Vegas turns 100 next year - really turns 100, not play-pretend turns 100 at the whim of a history-fudging mayor - it'll also mark the 100th birthday of culture in Southern Nevada. The Mesquite Club will mark its 100th anniversary in February.

Why should New York City get to have all the fun? Last year's Fashion's Night Out event featured parties, special appearances and lots of champagne. This year, cities around the world - including Las Vegas - get in on the Vogue-sponsored fun.

We have reliable intel that every girl's crazy about a sharp-dressed man. Sartorialists in training can always fall back on a classic suit, but when you need to stand out, turn to San Giorgio Shoes (770-3597), a men's accessories boutique at the Wynn Esplanade.

The ever-evolving roster of shops at the Caesars Palace emporium gets a new addition this fall with fast-fashion retailer H&M taking over the 60,000 square-foot space formerly occupied by FAO Schwartz. This flagship location will be the largest H&M in the United States.

Dennis Oppenheim on a Las Vegas aesthetic, the mystique of art-making and those giant paintbrushesDennis Oppenheim's Paintbrush Gateway is slated for completion this fall: two 45-foot tall steel paintbrushes have already been planted along the sidewalk on East Charleston Boulevard. One brush rises from in front of a dilapidated Siegel Suites franchise at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard, while a second brush sits four hundred feet west in front of the Brett Wesley Gallery and across from the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC).

This season, convert hot fall runway trends into a truly Vegas styleLadylike SilhouettesLuck may be a lady in this town, but the chignon-and-gloves aesthetic can be hard to pull off in a sea of hard-bodied models-slash-cocktail waitresses. The key to this fall's iteration of a ladylike silhouette is keeping it quirky with details, such as Prada's off-the-wall glasses or the full leather skirts that showed up at Louis Vuitton.