Archive: Workshops, Intensives, Master Classes, and Open Houses

Join us for our Summer Intensive!
Monday, July 29 through Friday, August 2
9:30am-2:00pm
Daily Schedule

Classes include Ballet Barre, Jazz Barre, Strength and Conditioning, Yoga, Non-Traditional Partnering and Advanced Jazz and Modern taught by Artistic Director Jolene Konkel along with Concerto company members.  In addition to daily technique class, dancers will learn company repertoire including sections of our newest jazz work On Our Way.

Open to all advanced, pre-professional and professional dancers ages 16 and older. Intensive concludes with optional company auditions Friday, August 2, 3:00-5:30pm.

Full Intensive: $275
A la carte option: $60/day
Register by July 21.

The TU Dance Pre-Professional program is an intensive course of study integrating Modern, Ballet, African Dance, and creative workshops for students ages 11-24. Click to download the daily schedule: 2024 Advanced Intensive Daily Schedule.

Advanced Level: July 29-August 10
This 2-week summer intensive program is designed for advanced/pre-professional students typically aged 17-24 who are interested in pursuing careers as professional dancers. It is recommended that students have four or more years of formal training and a solid grounding in Ballet and Modern dance techniques. Students will participate in daily workshop classes with TU Dance Center teaching artists and guest artists. Students can enroll for 1 week or 2 weeks. Each week culminates with a work-in-progress sharing in the studio.
Registration Deadline: July 24, 2024. Single-week registration is available.

For program details, level placement, and to register, you can either click here, email education@tudance.org, or call 651-724-9708. Level placement can be done by attending in person (by appointment only, class fee applies), submitting a video link (modern and ballet phrases), or during the first day of classes of the intensive. Scholarships available!

View the TU Dance Summer Programs information more efficiently on a mobile device by clicking here.

Join international educator Sten Rudstrom for a weekend dive into Action Theatre – an improvisational performance technique developed by American performance artist Ruth Zapora (called by Gia Kourlas of the New York Times “an improviser truly living in the moment).

Be Here Now! is for all those who wish live more in the present, make clearer momentary decisions and instantaneously compose stunning expression.

Starting with physical and mental exercises of the Action Theater™ method, you expand your perception of the present. You integrate the experience of space into your perception. Your body awareness refines, you become aware of the different qualities of attention. The more you become aware of where your attention goes, the deeper you dive into the present. Once you learn to stay present in challenging moments, the unexpected happens.

Change becomes possible, not because you wanted it, but precisely because you have abandoned the desire to change.

Friday, August 2: 7:00-9:30pm
Saturday, August 3: 10:00am-5:00pm with 1-hour lunch break
Sunday, August 4: 10:00am-5:00pm with 1-hour lunch break

Cost: Sliding scale, $150-350.
10% discount for BIPOC.
Fee can be paid online via PayPal to stenr@aol.com.

For more information, or to register, please email info@stendrudstrom.com.
Local organization assistance: Non Edwards, non.edwards@gmail.com.

We can’t wait to move and play in the studio!

Friday, July 5
6:30–8:00pm
Center for Performing Arts, Studio 105w – next to 38th Street entrance.

This event is open to people of all ages and abilities. Enjoy being present in the moment, responding to other dancers, finding new ways of moving, and discovering form as it emerges during this fun evening of creative movement. We’ll begin with an informal warm-up, then improvise together based on movement ideas offered by participants.

Come to move, to dance, to observe, or some of each!

Suggested donation $5-$15.
No one turned away for lack of funds.

The TU Dance Pre-Professional program is an intensive course of study integrating Modern, Ballet, African Dance, and creative workshops for students ages 11-24. Click the respective level group to download the daily schedule: 2024 Intermediate Program Daily Schedule and 2024 Advanced Intensive Daily Schedule.

Youth Intermediate Level: July 8-20
This level is aimed at students typically aged 11 and older with some dance experience who wish to experience focused dance training. During this 2-week program, students will be introduced to different forms of dance with a balance between building strong technique and exploring their artistry.
Registration Deadline: July 3, 2024

Teen Intermediate Level: July 8-20
This level is designed for students typically aged 14 and older with two or more years of formal training. During this 2-week program, students will explore their artistry through technique classes and workshop/choreography that will help to build their knowledge of dance.
Registration Deadline: July 3, 2024

Advanced Level: July 29-August 10
This 2-week summer intensive program is designed for advanced/pre-professional students typically aged 17-24 who are interested in pursuing careers as professional dancers. It is recommended that students have four or more years of formal training and a solid grounding in Ballet and Modern dance techniques. Students will participate in daily workshop classes with TU Dance Center teaching artists and guest artists. Students can enroll for 1 week or 2 weeks. Each week culminates with a work-in-progress sharing in the studio.
Registration Deadline: July 24, 2024. Single-week registration is available.

For program details, level placement, and to register, you can either click here, email education@tudance.org, or call 651-724-9708. Level placement can be done by attending in person (by appointment only, class fee applies), submitting a video link (modern and ballet phrases), or during the first day of classes of the intensive. Scholarships available!

View the TU Dance Summer Programs information more efficiently on a mobile device by clicking here.

Kate Slezak teaches Contemporary Technique and Improvisation
Tuesday, July 9
9:30-11:00am
Register by July 5!

$17 suggested donation; no one turned away for lack of funds.
Pay for class – add “Kate Slezak” in notes.

The Arena is situated on multiple bus lines, including the 21, 4, 23, 612, and 18; with plenty of free, street parking around the building.

In this class, we will move through a series of combinations from contemporary dance styles that have a release, spiral, and somatic focus. Warming up our bodies by moving in and out of the floor, dropping and sensing our weight, and traveling through space, we will work to activate mobility and sensation in our whole bodies to leave the class feeling energized and at ease. Alongside the set material, improvisation structures will be introduced throughout the class to allow participants to explore their own interests while remaining connected to the group.

Kate Slezak’s artistic practice is interested in how embodied frameworks and practices of presence inform artistic process and performance. In addition to facilitating spaces of collective connection through workshops and courses, a focus of Slezak’s work is on site-specific performance and the body and technology in processes of industry and digitalization. She has been based in Europe since 2018 after graduating with a BFA in Dance and Choreography from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and has been living in Leipzig, Germany since 2020.

Join us for a master class with Caili Quan!
Wednesday, July 10
10:00-11:30am

This advanced ballet class will use movement textures within the body to emphasize musicality.

Caili Quan is a New York-based choreographer who danced with BalletX from 2013-2020. As a seasoned choreographer, she has created works for Vail Dance Festival, The Juilliard School, BalletX, Ballet West, School of American Repertory Ballet, School of American Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, and many more.

Hawaiian Dance Workshop with Tiki Tasha of the Flowers of Tahiti

Wednesday, July 10
7:30-8:30pm
Ages 13 and older.
$5 per person.

Attire: Comfortable fitted clothing.
Footwear: socks, no shoes.

We are also looking for 2-3 dancers, minimum 18 years old, to join our performance group, Flowers of Tahiti. During the year we perform across the Twin Cities metro area at birthday parties, weddings, corporate events, graduation parties, and other family-friendly hula-themed events.

Need a little more rooted jazz dance in your life? Join long-time Zenon instructors Erinn Liebhard and Karla Grotting for a special summer workshop series featuring co-taught classes from Erinn and Karla and master classes from the 2024 guest artists of Erinn’s company Rhythmically Speaking. Classes are select summer Friday mornings from 9:30-11:00am. Remaining classes:

July 12: Maurice Watson, RS Guest Artist from Greensboro, NC
July 26: Eboné Amos, RS Guest Artist from Clarksville, TN
August 9: Jake Nehrbass, RS 2024 Local Guest Artist and RS Company Member
August 23: Erinn and Karla

Register ahead through Zenon or just show up! We’re thrilled to be back at it with Zenon, and hope you’ll #GetYourAssToClass and join us to experience #JoyThroughJazz!

Sunday, 1:00-2:00pm
July 21-August 11
Ages 7-10
$50 for 4 classes
Instructor: Kim Lewis

In this engaging 4-week dance session, students will expand their creative potential and deepen their kinesthetic awareness. Through playful exploration, they’ll delve into fundamental concepts related to the dance elements of Space, Time, and Energy. Throughout the course, students will be introduced to basic technical skills and movement vocabulary of Modern Dance. They’ll also have exciting opportunities to improvise and create their own dances, fostering artistic expression and collaboration. 

No prior dance experience is necessary—just a willingness to move and explore!