All the critics love you in D.C.New York Times dance critic Alastair Macaulay, often a Mr. Crankypants, hearts Ragamala Dance, the Minneapolis troupe that performed March 9 at Kennedy Center as part of the "Maximum India" festival, which continues in D.C. through Sunday. Ragamala's program in D.C. included a solo by Aparna Ramaswamy and a piece for five women. "No sooner had Ragamala begun, than every moment seemed precise, specific, focused," Macaulay wrote in his review. "From those sharply defined beginnings arose complexities both rapturous and profound," he went on. Other adverb-laden characterizations included "movingly meditative," "enchantingly beautiful" and "thrillingly three-dimensional."
CLAUDE PECK
Next big what?Minneapolis stand-up Cy Amundson should get a nice prize for being named "CMT's Next Big Comic." If only we knew what it was. Amundson survived five weeks of online competition to win the title. Hundreds of thousands of votes came in, according to the network and Rooftop Comedy, which co-sponsored the event. But strangely, a network publicist said it couldn't reveal at this time what Amundson was getting "due to legal reasons." What could it be? A collection of Alabama albums on vinyl? One of Reba McEntire's shoes with a broken heel? A kiss from Taylor Swift -- followed a week later with a song about how he's a bad kisser? Let the speculation begin! Meanwhile, Amundson performs March 29-April 2 with Chad Daniels at Acme Comedy Co. in Minneapolis.
NEAL JUSTIN
Ode to a poet laureateMinnesotans like the notion of a poet laureate. We have Sheila Packa in Duluth, Ken McCullough in Winona and Carol Connolly in St. Paul. Robert Bly is the state's grand poobah poet laureate. Billy Collins, who used to be U.S. Poet Laureate, is coming to do what poet laureates do -- read poems and speak -- on April 25 at Century College in White Bear Lake (it's free). All this poet laureate talk makes I.W. wonder: Why doesn't Minneapolis have one?
LAURIE HERTZEL
60-second encoreLeila Josefowicz's bravura performance Tuesday night left St. Paul's Schubert Club audience clapping and stamping for more. After her challenging program of Shostakovich, Messiaen and Kurtag (lightened with just a whiff of Brahms and Schubert), the violinist was gracious but reluctant to oblige. So accompanist Tamara Stefanovich announced they would perform "Pantomime," a new work "about the nature of music." Then they did a 60-second duet, each silently mimicking the theatrical thrusts, runs, lunges and emotive gestures that turn classical music into performance art. Bemused Schubert patrons left chuckling, very quietly.
MARY ABBE
