Art Hounds: Remembering dancers lost to AIDS

This week Art Hounds share their love for Boy Kisses comedy show, remember the "Lost Voices of Jazz" and revel in a classical retelling of a Persian fable.

Dance maven and writer Linda Shapiro says the Twin Cities used to be home to a thriving jazz dance community, but sadly many of the dancers and choreographers succumbed to AIDS. This weekend Eclectic Edge Ensemble and guest artists are restaging dances by four of those choreographers in a concert titled "Lost Voices of Jazz." Shapiro says to come prepared for complex rhythms, sassy attitudes and amazing physical dexterity. Performances are Friday and Saturday at The O'Shaughnessy in St. Paul.

Comedian Maggie Faris loves Boy Kisses, a weekly comedy showcase put together by a group of local "boys." Each week has a different theme, and Faris digs that the show is fast-paced and rapidly changing. Yes, she says there is often kissing — sometimes of audience members — so just be prepared for wacky weirdness. Performances are every Sunday at Universe Games in Minneapolis.

Al Behrends is the director of Fine Arts Programs at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. But each summer he heads up to his family's cabin just outside of Duluth, and he's gotten to know the art scene there. This week he's going to attend the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra's performance of "Kalileh," a classic Persian fable performed by shadow puppets and set to music composed by Iranian Hooshyar Khayam. Given current political tensions with Iran, Behrends thinks it's a great time to be reminded of the connecting power of music. Performances are Thursday and Friday at the Marshall Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of UMD.