Art Hounds: Opera by the lake, jazz-inspired dance and a graffiti legend

*From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art.* *Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.* ## A world-class music festival in the Brainerd Lakes Hedy Holmberg spends the summers by Bay Lake in the Brainerd Lakes Region. In the past five years, she's been attending the Lakes Area Music Festival, which she calls a hidden gem. The series kicks off Friday and runs through Aug. 23 with a series of concerts. Some of the highlights, Holmberg says, are Friday night’s gala opening and a performance of Carmen Aug. 14 and 16, both at the Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts. She also loves bringing her grandchildren to the family-friendly Sound Garden event at the Northland Arboretum in Baxter, in which musicians perform throughout the gardens; that free event is Saturday, Aug. 1, at 10 a.m. Many of the concerts are also livestreamed. **Holmberg says,** "It is an absolute hidden gem to have these world-class musicians from all over the world come to Brainerd, Minn., and put on these amazing, high-quality, very professional concerts and other events. It's absolutely astounding to me. “And part of it is when we talk to the musicians, they talk about how much they love to come up here, how welcoming the community is. They stay with people in their lake homes. They develop a relationship with them over the years. I just can't say enough about it." ## Jazz dance takes center stage Susana di Palma is the founder and advisory artistic director of Zorango Flamenco Dance Theater. She wants dance lovers to know about Rhythmically Speaking's new show, Groovers & Makers, in which four choreographers will premiere new works with their takes on jazz dance. Rhythmically Speaking focuses on jazz, tap and American social dance styles, and di Palma says you'll leave wanting to dance yourself. The show runs Thursday through Saturday at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. Di Palma is a big fan of artistic director Erinn Liebhard: "Erin's piece will be \[about] time, good times and time travels. She is joined by three other choreographers that are all amazing. One is a great angel of a choreographer, Karla Grotting, and she is a master. And then there are two other choreographers: from New York, Maiya Redding, and Alexis Robbins from Connecticut." ## A graffiti pioneer steps into the gallery Installation artist Eric Rieger, who works under the name Hot Tea, started graffiti writing in 1996 and "immediately gravitated" to the work of George Thompson (aka EWOK). Thompson's exhibit "Zigged When I Should've Zagged" opens Friday and focuses on his studio practice as it has evolved from his graffiti writing. The exhibit includes nine works on paper created since 2020 as well as a print of his 2019 work "Cop Car." The exhibit is presented by Burlesque of North America, which is also launching a limited-edition zine featuring photographs of decades of Thompson's graffiti. The show at the Southside Preservation Society in Minneapolis runs through Aug. 28. Friday's launch from 7-10 p.m. includes a chance to screen-print a t-shirt with one of Thompson's designs. Rieger describes Thompon's style: "I would describe the artwork as almost, like, otherworldly, but also very familiar. It's almost like you're looking at a still life, but from like the year 30,000."