John Jasperse

Bessie award-winning choreographer John Jasperse grew up a fan of magic tricks and his lifelong love of illusion is one of many influences driving "Truth, Revised Histories, Wishful Thinking and Flat Out Lies," a work co-commissioned by the Walker Art Center. The latest project from the New York artist is a collage of sorts, using movement, set design and an original composition from Hahn Rowe (performed live by a local string quartet) to explore the increasingly blurry boundaries between fantasy and reality, onstage and beyond. What is sincere? What is ironic? It's sometimes difficult to know, and it is within this uncertainty that Jasperse finds his inspiration.

'Renovate'

Choreographers' Evening at the Walker Art Center has been an annual highlight for decades, and it's good to see a similar tradition in the making at the Ritz Theater in northeast Minneapolis. "Renovate," curated by Lisa Conlin (Ballet of the Dolls) with the help of this year's panelists Mariusz Olszewski and Vanessa Voskuil, is now in its third year, and this weekend Conlin hosts 12 dancemakers hailing from a variety of movement disciplines. The program includes new work from experienced artists such as John Munger, Jennifer Isle and Denise Armstead as well as emerging voices Taja Will, Erin Drummond and Alanna Morris, plus many more.