Archive: Performances and Events

Sensible Existence: A Project Choreographed by Marcus Jarrell Willis

Join us as TU Dance returns with live performances at The O’Shaughnessy featuring the expanded, evening-length presentation of Sensible Existence, a TU Dance project originally choreographed by award winning choreographer Marcus Jarrell Willis in 2017. Sensible Existence is a dance work inspired by Descartes’ writings on Self and the World. The work explores the questions surrounding its namesake. Existence is the fact or state of living or having objective reality. Sensible is an adjective describing something that is done in accordance with wisdom or prudence. The new Sensible Existence will draw from its original production elements and will feature new writing compositions uniquely crafted to this work.

May 13 and 14, 2022 | 7:30pm
The O’Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University
Adults $25, $30, $35 | Students $18 | Seniors $20
(includes $2 theater restoration fee)
651-690-6700

Analog Dance Works Presents Tellus

After postponing for two years due to the pandemic, Analog Dance Works presents its inaugural event, Tellus. Two premiere dance works bring the company’s commitment to the exploration of the intersection of dance and science to the pressing theme of climate change, moving from Minnesota backyards by means of whitetail deer to a broad look at the psychological effects of the global crisis. These choreographies are accompanied by an interactive exhibit from the University of Minnesota’s Outreach through Science and Art Group that reveals the science behind the art. The theater becomes a laboratory as Tellus embraces experimentation and play, investigating the rapid shifts shaping the world today.

May 13 – 7:30pm (post-show reception)
May 14 – 7:30pm
May 15 – 2:00pm (post-show artist talk)

Interactive Exhibit open 6:00–9:00pm, May 13 and 14; 1:00–4:00pm May 15.
Tickets: $5-$20, sliding scale in advance and at the door.

Photo credit: Bill Cameron

Riverside Park Sound Garden

Dancers Sarah Baumert, Suzette Gilreath, Erika Hansen, Megan Mayer and Leslie O’Neill perform in a new, site-specific Sound Garden installation at Riverside Park. This premier performance directed by composer JG Everest will also feature poetry by Chavonn Shen, Nimo Farah, Teresa Ortiz, Lisa Yankton, and many more.

The Riverside Park Sound Garden event is a free, family-friendly, self-guided event that features a sound installation of 50+ small, wireless speakers, distributed throughout a section of the park, with live accompaniment by roving musicians and dancers, and live poetry and site-specific visual art. Each small speaker is playing a different part of the whole piece of music, creating a unique, immersive experience that is described as “A Concert You Can Move Through”.

This activity is part of the Peoples Center & Clinics’ “Because Your Health Matters” community wellness initiative in partnership with Wavelets Creative.

Ballet Co.Laboratory presents Firebird

Celebrate the soaring score of Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird with a reimagined tale of a powerful bird whose spirit and magical feathers provide beauty and protection upon the earth. Performed by 85 dancers, this radiant tale will take you into the depths of an enchanted forest where virtuous and malicious forces hide. 

Choreography by: Flavia Garcia

Performed by: The Company Dancers of Ballet Co.Laboratory and Students of The School of Ballet Co.Laboratory  

DATE / TIME
Friday, May 20 at 7:00pm
Saturday, May 21 at 7:00pm
Sunday, May 22 at 2:00pm

LOCATION
E.M. Pearson Theatre
Concordia University Campus
312 Hamline Ave N /Saint Paul, MN 55104

Tickets start at $22 https://bit.ly/FirebirdBCL

COLLIDE Theatrical Dance Company presents Class of ’85

COLLIDE Theatrical Dance Company presents Class of ’85, a revised and reimagined version of our original 2014 production. New dancers, new music, new stories…same nostalgia fun!

Class of ’85 explores the secrets hidden behind high school stereotypes, while celebrating the need for inclusion, acceptance, and friendship.

Featuring dancers Jarod Boltjes (James Sewell Ballet), Renee Guittar (Chanhassen Dinner Theater), Rachel Seeholzer (Ballet Co Laboratory), Patrick Jeffrey (Ordway Music Theater), Javan Mngrezzo (Black Label Movement), Grace Kidder, Megan Carver and Ben Siglin.

Created by Regina Peluso and assisted directed by Heather Brockman, the production runs for three weeks at St. Paul’s Gremlin Theater.

Saturday night costumes contests – dress in your favorite 1980s attire and win prizes!

Performance Dates/Times:

  • Friday, April 15 – 7:30pm
  • Saturday, April 16 – 7:30pm
  • Sunday, April 17 – 2:00pm
  • Friday, April 22 – 7:30pm
  • Saturday, April 23 – 7:30pm
  • Sunday, April 24 – 2:00pm and 5:00pm
  • Friday, April 29 – 7:30pm
  • Saturday, April 30 – 7:30pm
  • Sunday, May 1 – 2:00pm

Urban Bush Women Creative Process Class at The Shawngrām Institute

Urban Bush Women @ The Shawngrām Institute
Creative Process Class
Wednesday, April 20
6:30-8:00

Free admission and ticket discount to UBW’s Performance at O’Shaughnessy (4/23)

Join members of Urban Bush Women in a Creative Process Class using UBW methodologies, a mix of contemporary dance movement practice, improvisation techniques, phrases from company repertory, and movement creation by participants. Each individual has a unique and powerful contribution to make! We welcome EVERY BODY to come and explore and discover their level of rigor and comfort.

*Pre-registration for class is required, in order that we can maintain covid-related safety. All class participants must also provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination, wear face masks at all times inside the Institute. Registration Link: http://bit.ly/UBWatADT

*Currently this is an in-person only class. If you would like to participate via zoom please let Kealoha know and we will create a list. If the list gets big enough, we can open a zoom option.

This Creative Process Class is part of UBW’s presence in the Twin Cities, culminating in a (one-night-only!) concert performance at The O’Shaughnessy. GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Urban Bush Women
Legacy + Lineage + Liberation
Saturday, April 23
7:30 p.m.
Tickets & Info

$5 Discount for the Dance Community (Select a seat, then enter “DANCE” in the Promo Code field at Checkout. )

Students attending in-person classes must provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination and must wear face masks during class. No exceptions.

Dance and Climate Change: a Roundtable Discussion

In honor of Earth Day and while waiting for Tellus (May 13–15 at the Tek Box Theater), join the choreographers of Analog Dance Works for a roundtable discussion on the role art can play in responding to, representing, and coping with climate change.

Wednesday, April 20, 2022 from 6:30 – 7:30pm CST. This is a free event held via Zoom.

Zoom link will be sent out 24 hours before the event begins.

Rochester Dance Company’s Hansel & Gretel

Get your breadcrumbs and witch-hunting gear ready because Rochester Dance Company will be performing their Spring production of Hansel & Gretel for one day only!  Come see local youth dancing this classic fairy tale in creative costumes and among beautiful backdrops and sets at Rochester Civic Theater. 

Performances are on April 23rd at 2 pm and 6 pm

Tickets ($18/each) available on the Rochester Dance Company or Rochester Civic Theater website or at: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/rochester-civic-theatre/hansel-and-gretel-50245/tickets

Threads Dance Project Presents Tapestries 6.0

Threads Dance Project is excited to present this year’s three emerging choreographers commissioned as part of its Tapestries Choreography Program. Each of the women – Nieya Amezquita, Ruby Josephine Smith, and Yuki Tokuda – have set entirely new works on the company. The unique and poignant perspectives offered by these pieces will be rounded out by Artistic/Executive Director, Karen L. Charles’, We Will Make It There. Originally choreographed in late 2020, this expanded version of We Will Make It There is a triumphantly hopeful ode to our collective resilience.

PERFORMANCES: Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30 at 7:30pm | Sunday, May 1 at  2:00pm

TICKETS: $22-25 fees included; purchase online at https://bit.ly/Tap6Tickets

VENUE:

The TEK Box
The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts, 2nd floor
528 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55403

Young Dance Board of Directors Present a Menu of Great Gatherings

As part of the spring fundraising campaign, the Young Dance Board of Directors will offer multiple events for donation. Select one – or many – of the gatherings from the menu to join in the fun!

Virtual Pilates Mat Class
April 30, 10:00–11:00am
Join an all levels mat Pilates class led by Abby Frank Taylor! We will go through a series of gentle movements and build some heat as we go. Modifications and support will be provided throughout using things you can find around your house. Zoom link sent upon registration. Suggested donation $10-20/person

Dance Celebration
May 15, 4:00–6:00pm
Following the final Young Dance Spring Performance, celebrate with an opportunity to dance together! Paul McCluskey will lead an Irish Ceili dance experience. Suggested donation $5-10/person

Virtual Cooking – Goat Cheese
May 21, 10:00-11:00am
Learn to make goat cheese from home with Soph Myers-Kelley! Impress friends and family with simple skills and in less than an hour. Zoom link sent upon registration. Suggested donation $20/person

Virtual Cooking – Sushi Making
May 28, 10:00-11:00am
Learn the basics of sushi making from home with Soph Myers-Kelley! Your new skills will save you money and you are guaranteed to laugh at how silly your first rolls look! Zoom link sent upon registration. Suggested donation $20/person

Register by emailing info@youngdance.org. Donations can be made online here, or by check to Young Dance, sent to 655 Fairview Ave North St. Paul, MN, 55104.

We are so excited to gather with you in 2022, and thank you for supporting Young Dance.