Best of the Week: Black Label Movement, Flobots, Tchaikovsky Marathon, more

With its intensely physical, almost acrobatic dance productions, Black Label Movement always brings a trusting, highly collaborative feel — making its shows extremely fun to watch. The 12-year-old Minnesota company's January concert features the premiere of artistic director Carl Flink's "Animal Velocity." Also on the program is "I Am a Rope Bringing This Down," a witty new work inspired by the late textile artist Anne Swan, and 2011's "HIT."SHEILA REGAN

7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. $20. Ends Jan. 21. Ritz Theater, Mpls. blacklabelmovement.com

Innovative purveyors of live hip-hop when they emerged in the mid-'00s, Flobots are now veterans of the indie rap world. Their topical tunes sound as relevant as ever in today's sociopolitical environment. The Denver band came back into vogue this past year with YouTube sensation Logan Paul's sendup of their 2005 hit "Handlebars," which they slammed for being sexist and stupid while unleashing their own mindful new tunes via the 2017 album "No Enemies."

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

8:30 p.m. Wed. $15-$18. Turf Club, St. Paul. eTix.com

What's life like for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals residents of the U.S.? The Guthrie and Mixed Blood theaters are collaborating on an event that will address that question, with readings from "Just Like Us," by playwright Karen Zacarias, and community dialogue about the DREAM (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act. Zacarias' play is about the friendship bonding four girls, two of whom are undocumented.

CHRIS HEWITT

New York-based artist Kenneth Tam challenges societal norms attributed to masculinity and the male body in his highly performative video works in the exhibit "Cold Open." In "sump" (2015), Tam and his father play with created rituals, from painting circles on each other's bellies to blowing up balloons. Their shared physicality reveals more about their relationship than dialogue could.

ALICIA ELER

Ends April 8. Minneapolis Institute of Art, Mpls. artsmia.org

The Minnesota Orchestra's Tchaikovsky Marathon continues with four more of his six numbered symphonies as well as the rarely heard Piano Concerto No. 3 (11 a.m. Thu.) and the much loved Violin Concerto, played by Canadian virtuoso James Ehnes (8 p.m. Sat.). The Piano Trio is offered as a "nightcap" (10:30 p.m. Sat.). Cellist Anthony Ross solos in the Rococo Variations between Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5 (8 p.m. Fri.). There's also a stand-alone performance of No. 6 (2 p.m. next Sun.).

TERRY BLAIN

The Twin Cities Chinese Dance Center rings in the Year of the Dog with "Dance of Joy IX," the troupe's annual Chinese New Year celebration. Founded in 2002, the center specializes in fusing traditional Chinese storytelling and dance with contemporary styles. Expect elaborate costumes, fancy video projections, large-ensemble numbers (featuring dancers of all ages) and plenty of sparkle. This year's production features Chinese tenor Jinxing Zhou.

SHEILA REGAN

7 p.m. Sat. & 2 p.m. Sun. $15-18. The O'Shaughnessy, St. Paul. oshag.stkate.edu

Explore "The 1968 Exhibit" and take inspiration from the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Take part in a spoken word activity and a service project of packing personal hygiene kits for the nearby Dorothy Day Center. Make a screen-print activist poster, and hear music by the students of Walker West Music Academy.

MELISSA WALKER

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra concertmaster Steven Copes steps forward this week as soloist in Beethoven's Violin Concerto, for which he also leads the orchestra. This typically stimulating SPCO program also features Beethoven's titanic "Grosse Fuge" — the composer's greatest quartet movement — and the Midwest premiere of New York composer Jessie Montgomery's "Records From a Vanishing City."

TERRY BLAIN

8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Ordway, St. Paul; 2 p.m. Sun., Benson Great Hall, Arden Hills. $11-$50, thespco.org

Christine Lavin could be described as a versatile New York folk singer, but that wouldn't do her justice. Take her 2017 album, "Spaghettification." It features a kids' tune ("Hole in the Bottom of the Sea"), hip-hop ("Sinkholes"), humor ("Getting Weighed") and poignancy ("It's Your Funeral. Discuss"). But the comical — and the political — always seem to rise to the top with the music vet. After all, she titled one of her albums "Folk Zinger," a most apt description.

JON BREAM