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To say that Pittsburgh's arts community hopes to shine as the host of the inaugural National Performing Arts Convention is like saying that Broadway has a few lights.

"The head of every opera company, every ballet company, every symphony in America is here," says Mark Weinstein, general director of Pittsburgh Opera and the de facto chairman of the local planning committee. "Number one, it's great we're all getting together. Even more important is the idea of re-branding Pittsburgh and helping people outside understand that it's vital."

Today through Sunday, Pittsburgh takes center stage before an audience that includes Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, the mayors of at least two major cities and a media contingent that includes the reporters from the Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio.

Conventioneers -- administrators and artists, critics and choreogaphers, attorneys and educators -- will spend an estimated $5 million on hotels, restaurants and other services, which could funnel $500,000 in tax revenue to the city's empty coffers.

Harder to quantify is the prestige of hosting a historic meeting of nearly every major arts organization in the country. In addition to addressing their own internal affairs at 10 simultaneous conventions and conferences, groups as disparate as Dance/USA and the American Association of Arts Presenters will come together for the first time, and take the measure of their collective clout.

"I think we're breaking all kinds of new frontiers, seeing what kind of crossovers we can effect," says Terrence Orr, artistic director for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, which will perform "Magnificat" with the Mendelssohn Choir on Wednesday at Heinz Hall.

But next week, when the last of the conventioneers fly back to Alaska, Hawaii, Finland and Australia, what will be the long-term benefits for Pittsburgh?

"I don't think people have any idea how active our arts scene is," says Kevin McMahon, president and chief executive officer of Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, which is co-hosting the opening-night reception at the Benedum Center. "I think, per capita, we probably have more arts-related activities than most other cities in America. I hope the convention will help to spotlight that."

McMahon and other arts executives also are using the convention to market the city to folks in their own back yard. A regional discount is available to residents from 13 counties surrounding Pittsburgh for the convention's two major events, Wednesday's opening "Performance Collage" and Saturday's cross-disciplinary sessions.

Both events will take place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Artists and directors outside the Cultural District also are watching closely to see whether the convention can break the bridge-and-tunnel jinx that allegedly discourages those outside the city limits from sampling a performance by City Theatre, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble or LabCo Dance.

"It seems foreign to me that it's so hard to get people to stay in town after work," says Tracy Brigden, who moved to Pittsburgh three years ago when she succeeded Marc Masterson as director of City Theatre on the South Side. "There are plenty of people who travel an hour and 15 minutes in New York to see a play. I'm not sure why the bridges and tunnels seem to be the barriers here. We spend a lot of time trying to figure that out.

"I hope a real effort is made to get some of these first-time visitors around to get the full flavor of Pittsburgh," Brigden says. "As a native New Yorker who never thought she'd like any other city, that's what wowed me about Pittsburgh, the neighborhoods that have such heart and soul and their own particular flavor."

For local artists, the convention also offers the chance to perform for a whole new audience. The Dance/USA convention, one of the four core gatherings that comprise the foundation of the National Performing Arts Convention, features a series of performance showcases at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty and Pittsburgh Playhouse in Oakland. Local companies such as Dance Alloy, LabCo Dance, Nego Gato, Pittsburgh Black Dance Theatre, Sreyashi Dey and Xpressions Dance Company will mix it up with guest performers Rennie Harris' Puremovement, Ronald K. Brown/ Evidence and Portables.

"I don't think it's going to change anything," says choreographer Beth Corning, who relocated to Pittsburgh last year to take over as artistic director of the Dance Alloy. "I think the purpose is to network. The purpose is to meet with each other, to touch base, to learn from each other, to discuss the state of the arts, to open new doors.

"It's very exciting to have all this energy -- theater, symphony, dance, you name it -- in Pittsburgh. In any place, it would have been exciting. But it's pretty exciting to have it here."

Resident discount

The National Performing Arts Convention, which runs Tuesday through Sunday, will feature numerous performances in and around the Cultural District. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Mendelssohn Choir, Pittsburgh Public Theater and Pittsburgh Opera have all scheduled shows to coincide with the convention. Other local dance, theater and musical groups will perform at convention showcases and special events outside the Cultural District. A free "Street Scene," organized by the Three Rivers Arts Festival, will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday on Penn Avenue, Downtown.

Regional residents can receive half off the $50 ticket price to Wednesday's "Performance Collage," which will run from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The reduced price of $25 also includes admission to a post-performance reception at the Benedum Center.

Saturday, the public can participate in the Cross-Disciplinary Session at the Convention Center from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Admission to the all-day session is $50 for local residents, reduced from $195 for others. The event will include a closing performance by Bobby McFerrin and others.

Tickets to both Wednesday and Saturday's events are available by calling Pro-Arts at (412) 394-3353 or visiting www.proartstickets.org.

Walk-up registration also will be available from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday in Hall B at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Details: www.performingartsconvention.org.

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