The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

PERFORMANCE
Lula Washington Dance Theater + Vusi Mahlasela

This weekend the Ordway is hotter than ever with back-to-back performances of fantastic proportions. Friday night be awed by the style and grace of Lula Washington and her theatrical band of dance marvels. Blending "high-energy modern dance with Jazz, Hip-hop, African movement and the intoxicating rhythm of drums," this invigorating physical performance is just the thing to heat up your Friday evening. Saturday is equally as fiery with the brilliant musical talent of Vusi Mahlasela, an globally-heralded African guitarist, percussionist, composer, arranger, band leader, and performer. It's hard to go wrong with either performance, so we say toss a coin, or better yet, go to both!

Friday, Lula Washington Dance Company, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Vusi Mahlasela, 8 p.m., Ordway Center, 345 Washington Street, St. Paul, $15-$35

READINGS
Loft Mentor Series Reading

Head to the Loft Literary Center tonight for a triple header of awesome authors. Honor Moore is a theatre critic for The New York Times and the author of the biography The White Blackbird: A Life of the Painter Margarett Sargent by Her Granddaughter, as well as a memoir entitled The Bishop's Daughter. Also an accomplished poet and playwright, Moore's list of accolades certainly earns her "mentor" status.  Joining Moore will be up-and-coming fiction writer Scott Bloom and non-fiction writer Rod Nelsestuen. The Loft Mentor Series in Poetry and Creative Prose offers twelve emerging local writers the opportunity to work with nationally acclaimed authors. Tonight's reading is the third in a series of six this season.

Friday, 7 p.m., Open Book/The Loft, 1101 Washington Avenue S., Downtown Minneapolis, $5 (free to Loft members)

ART
Art Ache

We're not sure if it's the fact that they are housed in a former beer plant, but the artists at the Grainbelt Bottling House sure know how to party! This weekend-long creative brouhaha covers all the bases with visual art from the Bottling House's numerous resident artists as well as almost 40 additional guest artists. Your weekend is practically complete when you factor in the many cool performance artists and live musicians such as Eliza Blue, Sara Pray, Stook and Peter Lochner, Acoustic Death Orchestra, Ben Cook Feltz, Aviette, and Rising Sides. We're going to go out on a limb and assume there will be beer -- it is the old Grainbelt Bottling House, after all.

Friday reception 6 p.m. to Midnight; Saturday, Noon to 8 p.m.; Sunday, Noon to 4 p.m., Grainbelt Bottling House, 79 13th Avenue NE, Northeast Minneapolis, Free

SPECIAL EVENT
Dessa's Spiral Bound Book Release

"Without me,
how would my headache
get around?"

Instead of giving a formal synopsis/review of the collection, we'll let this excerpt stand in for the rumblings about confidence of tone, strength of voice, wit, charm, and unforced (and therefore convincing) musings on Life that we would otherwise make concerning Dessa's book. Self-published under the aegis of her music label, Doomtree, the collection can - and should - be purchased here. SOTC got the chance to speak with Dessa - the local writer/rapper/poet - about Spiral Bound. The official release party occurs this Saturday at the Guthrie's Dowling Studio and will be hosted by Minneapolis/St.Paul Magazine's Steve Marsh along with appearances by special guests Jeremy Messersmith, Aby Wolf, and many others. -Max Ross

Saturday, 8:30 p.m., Guthrie Theater, Dowling Studio, 818 2nd St. S., Downtown Minneapolis, $14

BENEFIT EVENT
Ice Yourself

The most glamorous event of the evening is showering its guests with diamonds for a good cause. This benefit, held in the Chamber's Red White and F*cking Blue Lounge, will include an ice bar, music by sexy DJ Lenka Paris, a captivating fire dance performance, and a silent auction. The black tie gala will feature diamonds for its guests to wear and buy during the event, and even if you can't afford these luscious jewels, why not play Cinderella for the night? After all, diamonds are a girl's BFF! Along with the bling, cocktails, beer, and wine will be abundant throughout the evening as the $60 ticket includes all the booze you can drink. Proceeds will go towards the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, so it's a win-win. -Robyn Lewis

Saturday, 9 p.m., Chambers Hotel, 901 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, $60