Art Hounds: A big red ball and classical Indian dance

This week Art Hounds discuss a classical Indian dance ballet, an international competition for young pianists, and a very large red ball.

Bhakti Sugandham: The Fragrance of Devotion, Minneapolis

Pavithra Radhakrishnan just moved to Minnesota from India two months ago, but the classically trained singer is already digging into the local art scene.

This Sunday she plans to attend "Bhakti Sugandham: The Fragrance of Devotion" at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. Radhakrishnan says it's a unique, classical Indian dance ballet based on Srimad Bhagavatam — the story of Krishna — with a narrative in English. The performance is accompanied by live music.

Big red ball, Rochester

Michael Wojcik is charmed by the appearance of a large red ball in downtown Rochester. The enormous inflated ball is a public art piece that has shown up in Paris and Barcelona, inspiring all sorts of people to behave foolishly.

Wojcik says he's already taken photos with it, pretending to be Atlas. The ball is in Rochester through Saturday, at a different location each day.

E-Piano Junior Competition, Minneapolis

Tadeusz Majewski, programming director of the Frederick Chopin Society, says while he's not a big fan of competitions, he does love the E-Piano Junior Competition, which features an international line-up of classical pianists aged 13 to 17.

Majewski wonders if it's their youth which gives their performances such intensity; many of the contestants go on to have distinguished careers in classical music.

Solo performances take place at Ted Mann Concert Hall through Sunday, finalists will perform with the Minnesota Orchestra on Tuesday.