Archive

March 6-April 24, 2024
Wednesdays, 8:00-9:30am

Price: $160
Pre-registration required – no drop-ins.
Registration closes: March 1
Register here.

Contemporary Forms
The core themes of this practice will include sensory exploration, movement as meditation, and engaging with the body’s intuition. In each class, we will move through improvisation and phrase work to engage the senses and awaken the body. Movement material will have an expansive, animal-like virtuosity. Over the course of the series, we will extend phrase work, using imagery and prompts from our research to explore individual choice-making. This series is designed for intermediate/advanced movers who are interested in researching their unique movement modalities in a space based in curiosity and joy.

Sarah McCullough (she/her) is a Minneapolis-based movement artist and educator. Originally from Virginia, she attended James Madison University and earned her BA in Dance and Mathematics. Since joining Minneapolis’ dance community in 2018, she has performed the works of Carl Flink, Mathew Janczewski, Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Berit Ahlgren, Helen Hatch, Marisol Herling, and more. Alongside her performance work, Sarah is an educator in contemporary forms. While at JMU, she served as Co-Director of JMU’s Associate Dance Ensemble where she led a weekly company class and mentored 20 first-year dance majors in the early stages of their collegiate dance journey. She has led classes at the Limón Twin Cities Intensive, ARENA DANCES’ Instinct Summer Intensive, The University of Winchester (UK), North Carolina State University, as well as several high school dance programs and studios across Minnesota and Virginia.

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.