Patricia Anderson of Rochester is a choral director who teaches voice. She is excited about a forthcoming concert by Resounding Voices Chorus, “a wonderful organization that is part of a growing worldwide movement to improve the lives of people living with some sort of dementia and with their support partners through musical participation.”

She explains that artistic director Suzy Johnson ”gets a wonderful mix of music … and then she arranges them so that they really fit very well with the people that are singing in the choir.”

The concert is called “Rain or Shine” and will take place May 14 at Calvary Evangelical Free Church in Rochester.

Louise Robinson of Minneapolis has a career managing professional dance companies in Minnesota.

“I grew up in Winona in the 60s and never imagined finding a connection with the South Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam,” she says. “But years ago, my paths crossed with Ranee Ramaswamy, artistic director of Ragamala Dance here locally, and I have been captivated by the form ever since.” 

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Saturday the Fitzgerald Theater will host Ragamala’s Dance Company’s “guru” (as they describe her on their website), Indian dancer and choreographer Alarmel Valli.

“Miss Valli’s style of Bharatanatyam is particularly emotional in its intentions and fluid in its movement style,” Robinson says. “Her performances are captivating, and that's not easy to command a stage for an entire evening as a solo performance. But that's her forte.”