Arts Orbit

John Munger—dancer, choreographer, teacher, writer, philosopher, raconteur, researcher and historian—invested everything he did with passionate intensity. He illuminated the field of dance with his droll and sophisticated dances, his wizardly statistical analysis of dance trends, and his passion for making dance accessible and available to everyone. His untimely death on April 30, 2013, at age 67 has left his family and his many colleagues, friends, students, and supporters heavy of heart and full of praise for this man of many parts.

It’s great to see another product of the Minnesota music scene gaining some national recognition on NBC’s hit singing competition The Voice. Eden Prairie’s Mark Andrew (whose formal last name is Pudas) did Minnesota proud choosing the Bob Dylan classic “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” for his blind audition that landed him a spot on Team Shakira. Mark’s voice has a unique tone that makes him stand out from most other singers who get lost trying to emulate a sound people already identify with another artist. He is also an experienced songwriter and knows his way around a six-string, having studied at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood.

Since I grew up in St. Paul, James J. Hill's mansion has long provided a fantasy backdrop for how I'd hope to live...someday. (Haven't quite made it, but you just never know!) I, along with oodles of young gals, toured this landmark as a Camp Fire Girl; we volunteered to be "servants" during MHS seasonal events. As grade-schoolers, we'd tour the house and then be quizzed on the history of St. Paul. In high school we worked catering parties, getting a chance to investigate the more functional rooms in the house. We grew up passionate about F. Scott Fitzgerald and the gilded mansions of Summit, and learning about the legacy families that built St. Paul. We loved having opportunities to physically surround ourselves in history—especially "high society" history!