Art Hounds: Stories of Dance, River Jazz and Cosmic Art

From MPR News Art Hounds are members of Minnesota’s arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are slightly modified from the audio heard in the player above.

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Theatrical collision “Little Women”

Rene Guitar is a Twin Cities dancer, actor, and choreographer. She has performed in the past with Collide Theatrical Dance Company, and she is looking forward to being in the audience to see it.Produce an heir “Little Women”. The show runs February 6-15 at the Luminary Arts Center in Minneapolis.

Rene says: I love watching Collide shows, because the dancers are so impressive and athletic, and the shows are full of stories that are accessible to all types of people, whether you’ve ever seen a dance show before or you haven’t.

Yes, you see the cool dance moves and the lifting and the twirling and all that stuff, but there’s a reason why the dancers do all those moves, and it’s because of the story. And I’ve always loved that as a dancer, but also, since I’m an audience member, it’s so much fun to watch.

– Rene Guitar

Rochester City Jazz Festival

Eric Heukshoven is a composer and jazz musician in Winona, and he says it’s worth the trip to Rochester on a Wednesday night to enjoy jazz. Rochester City Jazz Festival. Every Wednesday in February, a different jazz band will perform at Thesis Beer Project from 6 to 8 p.m.

Heukeshoven has this rundown: Next Wednesday (February 11) will be a relatively new group from Rochester called Snacklebox. I would call it a kind of funk band, something along the lines of Corey Wong or even Tower of Power. Really fun – almost all musicians in Rochester or musicians in the Rochester area.

And then on February 18th, Zach Harris, an amazing guitarist from the Twin Cities, is coming down. He is a composer and bandleader who has been on the Minneapolis scene for many years." He performs as part of a trio.

And then wrapping it up on the 25th was Aaron Lohmer from Winona, and he formed a trio with a pianist named Mark White and a drummer from Rochester named Alex Ortberg. Aaron has lived in different parts of the United States, always being close to the Mississippi River, so his music reflects the different cultures (along the river).

-Erik Heukshoven

“Stardust and Soul” by Sarah Bester

Charles “Corky” Reynolds works in the historic Fournette Building in downtown Crookston, Minn., so he can see the art gallery on the second floor. That means he recently had the opportunity to enjoy an exhibition by Crookston artist Sarah Bester “Stardust & Soul: It’s in everything.

The series of 41 paintings in watercolor, oil, and mixed media point outward to the planets and inward, and relate to Bester’s work as a yoga teacher and energy practitioner. The exhibition continues until mid-April.

Corky says: You get a sense of amazement that we’re such a tiny part of the whole concept of the universe, and you kind of think and say, “You know, the situation we’re in now, maybe it’s just a tiny speck in the entire universe.”

-Charles “Corky” Reynolds