Spring is creeping in, and so is a collection of shows that refuse to play it safe. On the Twin Cities art scene, dancers take the stage with improvisation rooted in Black and Afro-diasporic tradition, eight women and gender-nonconforming artists experiment with form and feeling through sculpture, and a trans-centered comedy night pushes back against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

Dance festival draws on Black and Afro diasporic improvisation

Mixed Blood Theatre is co-presenting the Black Dance Improvisation Festival this weekend, showcasing experimental and solo improvisational dance rooted in Black and Afro-diasporic traditions. Dancers Khary Jackson, Heaven Sha’Rae, Andrea Potter, Taylor West and Monet Slade, along with musician and composer Queen Drea, will perform. 

The festival, in collaboration with Pillsbury House and Theatre, Leslie Parker Dance Project, and Center for Performing Arts, is inspired by Leslie Parker’s dance series “Call to Remember,” first performed at the Walker Art Center. 

The Leslie Parker series brought together dancers, musicians, visual artists, composers, writers, activists, and organizers for community workshops, residencies and performances, exploring both historical and contemporary Black improvisation.

Sculptures inspired by myth, motherhood and music

The N.E. Sculpture Gallery Factory is hosting “Hardly Soft,” a group exhibit of works by women and gender non-conforming artists. Featured in the show is Indigenous artist Julie Buffalohead, whose art explores racial injustice, Indigenous rights and abuse of power through animal characters. 

Buffalohead will debut an experimental womb-like sculpture crafted from rawhide, leather, beadwork and quillwork, inspired by Native birth mythologies. Works by other exhibiting artists explore queer experiences in conservative households, music, artificial intelligence, ancestral connections, and the complexities of motherhood.

Open mic spotlights trans comedians

As many pieces of legislation targeting LGBTQ+ communities are proposed in Minnesota and across the country, Uproar is creating a space for trans joy and resistance. The comedy collective, co-produced by Devohn Bland, Comrade Tripp and Madeline Tentinger, will celebrate trans voices at Monday’s Comedy Open Mic at Bryant Lake Bowl and Theater. 

The idea for the show came from a regular Uproar attendee who asked if the collective had plans for Transgender Day of Visibility, observed on Monday, March 31. 

“With everything going on in the world and the terrible things the current administration is doing, it just sounded like they needed a space specifically for them. So we were like, of course,” Bland said.

Founded in 2018 by Bland and trans musician and former comedian Xochi de la Luna, Uproar was created to uplift Black, Indigenous, comedians of color, LGBTQ+ individuals and women — groups historically underrepresented in stand-up. 

Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the collective organized outdoor open mics at Phelps Field Park, providing free entertainment and food. 

“It felt like comedy could be healing,” Bland said. “When we first started, we had a little bit of backlash. People would say ‘Oh, this is just a woke space.’ But since then we’ve continued, and what’s happened is that spaces like ours aren’t out of the ordinary anymore. It’s becoming the norm to see diversity in comedy lineups.”

Monday’s open mic will be hosted by Elliot Thursday and Corina Lucas, and headlined by Guatemalan and Cuban actor and comedian Sabrín K’at Feels. 

“I got into standup specifically because it was the place that gave me the most agency on stage without having to wait around for someone to give me a role,” K’at Feels said. “When I kind of feel like not doing it anymore, Devohn at Uproar is really the one who’s alway like, ‘you have a home at Uproar.’”

K’at Feels, originally from Miami, Florida, said the city’s art scene also keeps him coming back.

“Minneapolis has a lot of socialist values. I think that shows in the art scene here, and that’s a huge reason why I came back because I want to live a fulfilling life as an artist,” he said. “Minneapolis always offers you a space. They always want you to get up on stage and share yourself even if you don’t know who that fully even is yet. They’re with you on the journey.”