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

A unique exploration into the vast realms of horizontal and vertical movement/stillness. The workshop aims to cultivate a deep sense of awareness through mindfulness practices rooted in Buddhism, providing participants with the opportunity to come back home to the joy of dance. This workshop is designed for individuals who currently dance, used to dance, or aspire to explore movement/stillness as an art form. It is also open to anyone seeking to enhance their artistic expression through embodied practices. Everyone is encouraged to use a gentle and exploratory approach to movement, valuing quality over quantity, and promoting a sense of connection with one’s body through movement, dialogue, and writing.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
March 8, 9, and 10
10:00-11:30am
$10 per class, $30 for the entire series.
Attendance on all three days is recommended.
We offer a sliding scale to accommodate diverse financial situations.
Register here.

Kei Tsuruharatani (she/they) is a transgender dance artist and educator from Osaka, Japan. She has performed on Broadway in Jagged Little Pill, The King and I, and Miss Saigon, and has appeared on TV shows such as Good Morning America, Harlem, and the Tonight Show. She danced at the Metropolitan Opera for 6 seasons and performed with Eastman Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui in Belgium. With a B.A. in Dance and Theater, Kei has dedicated herself to the art of mindfulness education. Holding a qualification as a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction facilitator, she has diligently crafted and delivered programs that weave mindfulness practices into both everyday life and the performing arts. Her personal practice is deeply rooted in the Buddhist tradition of Burma.

“One of my primary intentions is to provide a workshop environment that is not only welcoming but actively celebrates diversity. As a transgender woman myself, I understand the importance of creating queer-safe spaces where everyone feels seen, respected, and embraced.”

Fall Prevention
Tuesday, March 12, 2:00-3:30pm
Cost: $50

Learn more about what you can do to prevent future falls by working on core strength, stability, and balance in this 90 minute workshop. The workshop will include a lecture, a balance class with exercises to take home, and a Q&A session.

Instructor: Rose McKernon, PTA, NSCA-PT. Rose is a physical therapist assistant, Pilates teacher, and nationally certified personal trainer.

Register through our website, or call or email the studio for more information.

Please join us at TU Dance Center for two open classes with Leslie Parker! The classes are focused towards intermediate to advanced experiences although all bodies and dance experiences are welcomed.

Contemporary Experiment is a class session in improvisation. The focus of the class is primarily the individual body as a site/map for exploration. It is an embodied practice that expands capacity for a more nuanced, rigorous, and sensory approach to space, time, and energy to integrate the thinking-body with real-time presence; and to play with physical range while increasing flexibility of the spine for a deepening in awareness of strength and endurance. In this class, empathetic exchanges using collaboration in movement studies are significant to amplify grounded power, intuitive connection to the body and place, navigating dissent, and honing clarity in timing and rhythm.

Wednesday, March 13
Monday, March 18
9:30-11:00am
$16/class or $140/10-class card.
Online registration required.
More details and registration.

Leslie Parker is a dance artist, director, choreographer, improviser, and performer born in the traditional homeland of Indigenous people, mostly the Dakhóta and Ojibwe people, also known as the Twin Cities, Minnesota. She has home art bases in both Brooklyn, NY (traditional homeland of Lenapehoking people) and in St. Paul, MN. Her deep roots in the territory also known as the St. Paul, Rondo community led her to a dance practice that emphasizes an organic aesthetic in experimental movement derived from the Black and African diaspora. Growing up in the Rondo community inspired her towards socially engaged art. Read more.

Balanced Body® Reformer 2 Instructor Training
Friday, March 15: 4:00-8:00pm
Saturday, March 16: 11:30am-6:00pm
Sunday, March 17: 9:30am-4:30pm

Fee: $499 + $60 materials

Reformer 2 expands the potential of the Reformer with intermediate and advanced exercises and includes associated safety protocols and modifications. Reformer 2 also explores programs designed for specific populations including pre and post–natal clients, clients with osteoporosis, and clients with lower back issues. Class design, dynamic assessment and correcting common dysfunctional movement patterns are also included.
Prerequisite: Reformer 1

Instructor: Matthew Hodge-Rice

A child and parent/caregiver Creative Movement class, this 8-week workshop is designed for children ages 2-4 and their parent/caregiver who are interested in a shared movement experience that engages the senses of curiosity and play.

Both child and caregiver will participate in developmentally appropriate movement exercises that incorporate elements such as effort, shape, and tempo. Music will play an essential role in the class as students will be asked to respond to sounds as well as make sounds themselves. Participants will be encouraged to join at their own comfort level with the understanding that observation is often the best form of learning with younger children. This class will give children and caregivers the opportunity to learn more about themselves and one another through the art form of dance.

March 16-May 4
Saturdays, 9:00-9:45am
No class on April 6 and April 13.
At TU Dance Center.
Register here.

March 22-April 19
Fridays, 10:00-11:00am

Dance 101 with Roxane Wallace
In this class for adults 55+, we will explore elements of dance (body, action, space, time and energy) using low-impact, fun, modern dance-based sequences in these drop-in sessions with dance artist and instructor Roxane Wallace. Participation will result in increases in kinesthetic awareness, flexibility, balance, ease of movement and general health.

Please bring a small blanket, towel or yoga mat for floor work that will include stretching and strengthening at the beginning and cooling down at the end of each session.

Roxane Wallace has been active in the arts as a performer, instructor, choreographer and teaching artist since graduating from UC Berkeley in 1993 with a BA in Philosophy and a minor in Ethnic Studies. She was seen nationally and internationally as a principal artist with Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater Company for 15 years and has been working with Paula Mann/Time Track Productions for over 10 years. Mrs. Wallace  was voted “Best Dancer” in the City Pages “Best of the Twin Cities”, awarded a Minnesota Sage Award for Outstanding Performer, and honored to be named as a 2008 McKnight Artist Fellow in Dance. Currently, she provides inspiration and dance instruction through Zenon Dance School and Lundstrum Performing Arts, and as a teaching artist for the VocalEssence WITNESS Program and the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts.

Calling young movers and families! 

Youth ages 8-12 are invited to join us at Threads Dance Nexus for a dance sampler of our NexGen/Youth Dance Project classes. Try out abbreviated Ballet and Modern classes, discover what we’ll learn in Nutrition, and enjoy an hour of mindfulness in a Gratitude and Resilience workshop. While the kids dance, families can learn more about our program and register for Summer Dance Camps. Our one and two-week dance camps are for kids ages 7-12 during July 8-19. All Dance Sampler attendees will receive a 10% discount on summer camps.

Register here for the Dance Sampler.

Saturday, April 13
10:30am-12:30pm
$15 per dancer.
Need-based scholarships are available. Email Angela at aericson@threadsdance.org to learn more.

We can’t wait to see you at Threads Dance Nexus! Click here to learn more or call us at 612-354-3978.

Improve your technique and advance your artistry in a positive and welcoming environment! Classes include Musical Theatre Jazz, Classic Jazz Technique, Ballet, Leaps and Turns, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, and more. Students may register for individual weeks, or sign up for all 3 weeks and save!

July 8-26
9:30am-3:30pm

The Intensive culminates in our Collide Showcase (only for those who register for all 3 weeks of the intensive). Video will be taken so students have a professional-grade copy to use for future auditions and submissions. Local students are also invited to perform excerpts from the Intensive at the MN State Fair in August!

Level placement requires a referral from a teacher or Collide company member, or a 2-minute video submission. Please send video (1 minute Ballet Adagio with pirouettes and 1 minute Jazz) or referral name and contact information to Nathan@collidetheatrical.org.