Art Hounds: B-Girl Be, Doubt and Sioux Falls jazz

Each week Minnesota Public Radio News asks three people from the Minnesota arts scene to be "Art Hounds." Their job is to step outside their own work and hunt down something exciting that's going on in local arts.

This week, our Art Hounds take us to a hip-hop block party in Minneapolis, a jazz bistro in Sioux Falls and a thought-provoking production in Anoka.

Find out how you can be an art hound.

This week:

Betsy Altheimer is the development program director at Springboard for the Arts in St. Paul. She's really looking forward to the B-Girl Be Block Party taking place at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis on Saturday, Sept. 19.

Betsy thinks this afternoon of music, dance, art and film will appeal to everyone, from b-girls steeped in hip-hop culture to newbies seeking an introduction. She also loves the strong sense of sisterhood created at this gathering of female hip-hop artists from around the world.

More info: http://www.intermediaarts.org/b-girl-be/block-party

Chris Bates is an engineer and visual artist in Sioux Falls. Chris wants to let you in on a little secret: Sioux Falls is home to some really fine jazz.

Every weekend, Touch of Europe features local and touring jazz musicians. Chris loves listening to the different styles of the artists who play there and the music helps him as he plans his own abstract visual artworks.

More info: http://www.toejazz.com/

Laura Bidgood is a spoken word artist, storyteller, and freelance director in the Twin Cities. She was blown away by the Lyric Arts' production of Doubt, A Parable, which runs through Sept. 27.

She was nervous that this production wouldn't be able to live up to the big names and big budget of the recent movie, but she was amazed by the skill and talent on display on this Anoka stage.

More info: http://www.lyricarts.org/on-stage/doubt-a-parable