Friday, May 18, 2007

Call it Art-a-Twirl


It's Art-a-Whirl weekend, and we can't say enough about all the great gallery events and Club 331 shows (JoAnna James! Martin Devaney!) going down in Northeast.

But on Saturday and Sunday evening, as a delightful break from the art-hopping (and the tornado of a wine hangover that's likely to ensue), art fans, jazz and dance lovers, and friends of the heart, body, and soul can head down south where the honeysuckle sings to the Clara Barton School, at 4237 Colfax Avenue South in Minneapolis. Because just 60 or so blocks away from the event of the weekend is this other twirling world, a dancing planet featuring a lovely intergenerational group (from ages 6 to 87) of dancing souls.

"Body and Soul II" is an evening of dance and jazz music, featuring pianist Peter Schimke and saxophone great Irv Williams (Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine). The Kairos Dance Theatre, who debuted a few pieces from this weekend's show at the East Harlem Nursing Home in November, will be showcasing their soulful and moving movements that include the art of classically trained dancers and dancers in walkers.

It's about engaging elders in the arts," says Kairos dancer Elinor Genne-Anderson, daughter of Kairos artistic director Maria Genne. "Sophie is our youngest, and she's six. And she hangs out with Moses, and he's 83. We hear all this talk about condos and communities. But this is actually community happening."

Genne-Anderson and company will be performing with the Irv Williams Quartet at the Clara Barton School on Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on a sliding fee, from $10 to $24.

Kairos Dance Theatre: http://kairosdance.org/