Archive: Performances and Events

James Sewell Ballet performs as special guests with the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus.

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.

Friday, June 21, 7:30pm
Saturday, June 22, 7:30pm

Purchase tickets.

For more information about this inspiring collaboration, click here.

The Summer Sound Garden returns to Silverwood Park for the first time since its premiere on the island in Silver Lake in 2018. Dancers Sarah Baumert, Suzette Gilreath, Erika Hansen, Megan Mayer, and Leslie O’Neill perform their roving site-specific scores along the shorelines, boardwalks, and amidst the majestic trees of this enchanted place. Designed and directed by composer JG Everest, the event will also feature site-specific poetry by Chavonn Shen, Teresa Ortiz, and many more, along with site-specific photography and visual art.

The Summer Sound Garden is a free, family-friendly, self-guided durational event that features a site-specific sound installation of 60+ small, wireless speakers, each playing a different part of the whole piece of music and distributed throughout the entire island, with live accompaniment by roving musicians and dancers, site-specific poetry, and a summer song by Blue Lady and the Free Range Orchestra & Choir. Each small speaker is housed in various handmade vessels – wooden birdhouses, felt sculptures – creating a dynamic, immersive experience that is described as “a concert you can move through.”

Saturday, June 29, 12:00-4:30pm
Rain date: Sunday, June 30
Event is free, but registration highly recommended in order to share weather and program updates.

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.

Created and performed by Kayla Schiltgen.

Saturday, June 29
4:00pm and 7:00pm

Performances are approximately 45 minutes and followed by an artist talkback.
Tickets: $18, before fees

“is this magic?” is a new experimental dance solo blending live performance and screendance to examine anti self-curation as a radical act of personal acceptance. Unfolding through a movement score prioritizing intuition, desire, resourcefulness, and play, each iteration of “is this magic?” is a unique manifestation, offering nuance and fresh meaning.

This activity is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to appropriations from the Minnesota State Legislature’s general and arts and cultural heritage funds.

A cornerstone of the Twin Cities arts landscape, Red Eye’s New Works 4 Weeks Festival is an annual gathering for inter/anti/transdisciplinary performance. Each year, a cohort of ten artists develops new performance works that cross disciplines of dance, theater, and music, pushing artistic form and interrogating the contemporary world. The 2024 festival contains a throughline of futurisms, bringing together many lineages and approaches to imagine how we might be otherwise.

Running through June 15

May 30-June 1: Noelle Awadallah, Or (Laura) Levinson
June 6-8: Masanari Kawahara, Benny Olk
June 13-15: Marcela Michelle, Dameun Strange

$15-50 sliding scale.

Zenon Dance Zone Spring Showcase and MN Made Benefit is this week! New works by Zone choreographers Benjamin Johnson, Anna Pinault, Roxane Wallace, and Mary Willmeng with the Zenon Zone dancers.

Immerse yourself in the magic of local dance and support a great cause. By joining us after the performance on May 31 for our first MN Made Benefit, you are directly contributing to Zenon Dance School’s adult and youth programs and making a significant difference.

Together, we play a vital role in the Twin Cities’ vibrant dance scene, and this showcase celebrates our dance community. As we explore new material and share choreographer voices with you, Zenon Dance School is proud to be part of 41 years of dance performance, education, outreach, and community. Join us and be a part of the Zone program that welcomes dancers and choreographers of all levels and provides a unique and supportive community for their journey. Get ready to groove with us!

Friday, May 31, 7:30pm
MN Made Benefit following the performance at Kieran’s Irish Pub.
$10 show only. $25 show and benefit.

Saturday, June 1, 7:30pm
Pay-as-able. Suggested donation of $10.

On-demand viewing available June 5-12, registration required.

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.

Come see Hopkins Dance Company’s Spring Recital!

Saturday, June 1
12:00pm and 6:00pm

Get tickets here.

Saturday, June 1
12:00-2:00pm
Free. 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

If you missed The Awe Factor, have no fear. Watch it from the comfort of your own home from June 1-15, 2024.

The Awe Factor, 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 10th Season Performance.

At once dreamlike, unsettling, and absurd, Off-Leash Area’s new show, The Knave of Knives – The Duchess of Dawn, introduces two strange and haunting figures from an otherworldly court who engage in a fantastical struggle for power over the multiverse. Taking place in an immersive installation surrounding both stage and audience, the show is performed with movement and music/sound, inspired (loosely) by string theory, and is populated with melancholy stuffed animals and mysterious trophies, dispersed among the fragile threads of a clandestine karmic history.

Created and performed by Jennifer Ilse and Paul Herwig, co-artistic directors of Off-Leash Area.

June 7-9, 7:00pm
Tickets on sale now.

Admission is by suggested donation between $10-$30. Seating is limited to approximately 40 seats and the garage fills up fast, so make your reservation early! You can also make your donation at the door by cash or card via Square.

Stick around afterward for popcorn, drinks, and conversation by the fire!