Archive: Performances and Events

Experience unique storytelling through ballet performance, choreography, solo piano and two-piano works, and the world premiere of an original composition. Award-winning choreographer Yuki Tokuda will showcase her choreography presented in a program inspired by Japanese folklore, “The Legend of the Feathered Robe – 羽衣伝説,” featuring a new work created especially for this project by internationally recognized composer Asako Hirabayashi.

Program

• “The Legend of the Feathered Robe” by Asako Hirabayashi – world premiere
• “The Firebird” by Igor Stravinsky
• “Signes de Blanc” by Edison Danisov – presented under license from G. Schirmer Inc. and Associated Music Publishers, copyright owners
• “Daphnis et Chloé Suite No.2” by Maurice Ravel

Artists
Choreographer: Yuki Tokuda
Dancers: Andrew Lester and Yuki Tokuda
Pianists: Rie Tanaka and Koki Sato

Saturday, June 1
2:00pm

This show is free to the public, but please register ahead of time for arts board verification of audience attendance.

Yuki Tokuda is a fiscal year 2023 recipient of a Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Saturday, June 1
12:00-2:00pm
RSVP is appreciated.

This June Floorwork will continue the March 4, 2024 Dance Town Hall conversation with emphasis on creating a specific advocacy group for the dance community! Please come prepared with developmental needs and action steps in response to the recent survey, March 4 Dance Town Hall, and previous Floorwork discussions.

Floorwork: a communal conversation and shared meal. 
Conversation will be held over a communal meal – bring your own dish to share in our potluck! ARENA DANCES will supply beverages, plates, napkins, and utensils. Floorwork was developed to hold conversations, knowledge-sharing, and a supportive space for dance artists and people who like to move. Attendees are asked to fill out a new RSVP form for each monthly Floorwork event.

Can’t attend, but would like to join in the conversation?
Join us via Zoom
Meeting ID: 828 9636 5545
Passcode: 341960

BRKFST Dance Company presents two wildly different works of art in celebration of their 10-year anniversary. BRKFST continues to “show us the future of dance” (Star Tribune) with STORMCLUTTER, a world premiere co-commissioned by The Cowles Center and Northrop, with composition by company member Renée Copeland. Their unique style of breaking and storytelling shines through in a restaging of Dancers, Dreamers, and Presidents by composer Daniel Bernard Roumain. 

STORMCLUTTER is an exploration of relationships and ongoing efforts to resolve opposing states of interpersonal tension. Misunderstanding, compassion, resentment, egoism, love, loss, betrayal—moving through or attempting to compartmentalize complex dynamics between family and friends and the emotional baggage collected over time becomes an overwhelming task, while maturation requires people to accept that which they cannot change. BRKFST members illustrate the efforts individuals may take when working to resolve the inner chaos that triggers feelings of dissociation, paralysis, and isolation.

BRKFST interprets Dancers, Dreamers, and Presidents as a commentary on American life that is filled with a mix of ambition, passion, blame, justice, hope, and love. And while this country is deemed the “land of the free,” it is riddled with systemic problems that seem impossible to overcome. For many, the “American Dream” remains just that—a dream.

Saturday, June 8, 7:30pm
Sunday, June 9, 2:00pm

Rescheduled from April 27-28 at The Cowles Center.

One year after its official launch, Amez Dance is proud to present its debut production choreographed by Nieya Amezquita with an original music score composed by internetjunkhound:

De Mi Corazón is a love letter to the black family, specifically black fatherhood, created to explore the complexities and nuanced dynamics in the African American community. Because only through reflection and empathy can we begin to truly appreciate the intricacies of our familial connections and heal from the traumas of the past.

In addition to the performance of De Mi Corazón, Amez Dance will feature a new work from guest choreographer, Javan Mngrezzo. Connect during a post show Q&A after the June 15 performance.

Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 at 7:30pm.

$25, with a pay what you can performance on June 15.

JSB performs as special guests with the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus, June 21 and 22, 7:30pm.

Step into a world of inclusivity, artistry, and self-expression with This is Me, a captivating concert experience brought to you by the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus (TCGMC) with special guests. Set against the majestic backdrop of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, this event promises to be a celebration of diversity, acceptance, and the transformative power of music.

James Sewell Ballet is thrilled to be performing as special guests in Every BODY, a groundbreaking commission led by TCGMC featuring over 200 singers on stage and professional dancers, exploring the complexities of body image, identity, and self-acceptance.  From the graceful movements of a dancer to the soaring melodies of a choir in harmony, Every BODY celebrates the inherent worth and dignity of every individual. It challenges societal norms and embraces the idea that our bodies are not something to be ashamed of, but rather, gifts to be cherished and celebrated.

For more information about this inspiring collaboration, click here.

Purchase tickets.

​​Young Dance invites you to Mind:Body, a thought-provoking exploration of the mind-body connection through dance. These innovative performances feature work by Young Dance classes and original pieces created by guest artists Emily Gastineau, Gabriel Rodreick, and Meridian Movement Collective (Colin Edwards, Cecil Neal, and Alex Arce) in collaboration with the Young Dance Performing Company dancers, ages 7-18.

Young Dance Performing Company Shows
Friday, May 17 at 7:00pm – Audio Description Services Provided
Saturday, May 18 at 7:00pm – ASL Interpretation Provided
Sunday, May 19 at 5:00pm

Young Dance School Showcase
Saturday, May 18 at 11:00am and 2:00pm
Sunday, May 19 at 11:00am and 2:00pm

Tickets
$15 General Admission
$10 Students 3–18 and Seniors 65+
Free lap pass for ages 2 and younger

A free live stream is available. Please contact brittany@youngdance.org at least 24 hours before the performance to request the link and specify which performance and dancer you’d like to see.

Don’t miss this opportunity to witness the power of movement and the inspiring talent of Young Dance!

Final weekend! Don’t miss this opportunity to join Minnesota Dance Theatre for the company’s parting performances.

Witness the Minnesota premiere of And yet here we are, by Seattle-based choreographer Nia-Amina Minor. This piece, originally created on Pacific Northwest Ballet, lives in an imaginative space propelled by rhythm. Set to a soundscape that is both turbulent and reflective, this work urgently explores what is and the possibilities of what could be.

The performance is rounded out by world premieres from local choreographer Javan Mngrezzo, MDT company member Zachary Tuazon, and MDT Interim Artistic Director Elayna Waxse. With music from Chopin to jazz to indie rock, this program displays the diversity and power of our remarkable dancers.

Friday, May 10 at 8:00pm
Saturday, May 11 at 8:00pm
Sunday, May 12 at 2:00pm

Tickets: $32. Student: $20.

Analog Dance Works presents: The Awe Factor

World premiere!
May 16-19 at the TEK BOX Theater

This work, choreographed by Artistic Director Brenna Mosser, interweaves single-use plastic waste with the science of awe. In this fantastical and surreal world, 10 dancers examine how we access awe, what we do when we are confronted by it, and how we can harness this emotion to better our collective lives.

Portions of choreography presented in The Awe Factor were commissioned by Threads Dance Project for their Tapestries 7.0 program and by Alternative Motion Project for their Tenth Season Performance.

Thursday, May 16 at 7:30pm
Friday, May 17 at 7:30pm – post-show reception
Saturday, May 18 at 7:30pm
Sunday, May 19 at 2:00pm – post-show talkback

Tickets: $15-$30, pay as able.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Join us for TU Dance’s annual Spring Showcase featuring students from The School at TU Dance Center and dancers from CULTIVATE, A Trainee Program. The program will include CULTIVATE trainees’ self-choreographed solos as well as a work entitled “A Voyage in 4” by Christopher Ralph which premiered at the 2023 Winter Showcase. Students from the Children and Teen and the Pre-Professional Programs will share technique demonstrations in modern, ballet, hip hop, and African dance as well as perform in works by TU Dance Center teaching artists Daonna Lewis, Sa’Nah Britt, Davente Gilreath, Laurel Keen, and Gabrielle Abram (CULTIVATE Trainee). Please join us in celebrating these inspiring dancers and their dedication!

Friday, May 17 at 7:00pm  
Saturday, May 18 at 1:00pm and 6:00pm
Sunday, May 19 at 1:00pm

Matinee Performances will include all students from the Children and Teen Program (except Creative Movement), Pre-Professional Program, and CULTIVATE.

Evening Performances will include the Teen, Pre-Professional Program, and CULTIVATE.

Purchase Tickets
General admission. In-person only.
$20 Adults
$10 Children 3 and Under

Concerto Dance presents The Adventures of Peer Gynt, a new theatrical jazz dance work that follows the story of the self absorbed Peer Gynt in search of meaning and significance through his wild adventures, only to return home to realize he wasted his life searching for something he already had…the love he was longing for.

Don’t miss this spin on a classic tale set in the American jazz era told through Concerto’s signature style of theatrical and classical jazz dance, featuring Doug Hooker playing the role of Peer Gynt, Rush Benson in the role of Death, and Betsy Nelson playing Solveig, along with the full company of Concerto Dance.

May 16-18 at the Bloomington Center for the Arts, Black Box Theater.

Thursday, May 16 at 7:30pm – Preview Performance, pay-what-you-can
Friday, May 17 at 7:30pm
Saturday, May 18 at 2:30pm and 7:30pm

Tickets: $25-$30 – on sale now.
Run time: 60 minutes with no intermission.