Art Hounds: Haunted Basement, ARENA Dances and one-liners with line breaks

This week the Hounds introduce us to a truly frightening haunted factory, an athletic dance company and the funniest man in Minneapolis.

(Want to be an art hound? Sign up!)

Betsy Maloney, a dance teacher at the Main Street School of Performing Arts, will be taking her students to see "not so good at standing still" by ARENA Dances. The company gets its name from the intersection of athletics and arts, and this is evident in their physical, kinetic style. There will three performances this weekend at the LAB Theater in MInneapolis, with a Q&A following Friday night's show.

For writer John Jodzio, there is no funnier man in Minneapolis than Brian Beatty. His very dry sense of humor is showcased in his "one-liners with line breaks." Beatty is a performer as much as a writer, sometimes showing up to readings in a bear costume. Beatty will be reading at Magers and Quinn this Saturday, along with poet John Tottenham.

Looking for a truly frightening experience to get you in the mood for Halloween? Videographer Ben McGinley highly recommends you pay a visit to the Haunted Basement at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis. This artist-designed haunted house contains shocks, but plays with your mind more than anything else. And don't worry -- you can always cry uncle if it gets to be too much. It's open every weekend through the end of the month.

For more Art Hounds' recommendations, check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

And you can get an early sneak peek at the Art Hounds' picks every week by texting the word ART to 677-677.

• After five years, State of the Arts comes to a close
• Park Square’s second stage to open Friday
• Most critics find ‘Romeo and Juliet’ a dreamy delight