Archive

Join us for an informal in-studio showing featuring CULTIVATE, A Trainee Program and students from Level 4 and 5 of the Pre-Professional Program at The School at TU Dance Center, in anticipation of our live performances at The Southern Theater from December 8-10. We invite you to attend this event and get an up-close and personal look as CULTIVATE will share self-choreographed solos, as well as premiere works by Gabrielle Abram, Davente Gilreath, Anna Pinault, and Christopher Ralph.

Wednesday, November 15, 2023
5:30-6:30 pm (CST)
In-person only at TU Dance Center.

This event is free. Registration is required.
Space is limited. First come, first served.
To RSVP to the In-Studio Showing, click here.

For more information, directions, and parking, click here.

This is your last chance to join us for one of our biggest collaborative shows to date.

Let America Be America is a progressive series of shorter, intimate salon performances, hearkening back to the Harlem Renaissance, culminating in an evening-length exploration of what it means and will mean for America to truly be America.

Prophetically, Black poet Langston Hughes’ words written in 1935, still ring true today. Hughes’ words, along with poems by spoken word artists Jandeltha Rae and Theo Langason and an original musical score by Queen Drea, are part of this new collaborative work that seamlessly combines spoken word and dance.

Let America Be America, inspired by chants of “Make America Great Again”, explores the premise that America has never been great…for all. The piece comprises a series of spoken word/dance vignettes that highlight the joys and challenges of “the America that is” and “the America that could be.”

See the encore performance at Bloomington Center for the Arts on November 16 and 17.
Thursday, November 16 at 7:30pm
Friday, November 17 at 7:30pm

Please join Noelle Awadallah, Dienae “D” Hunter, and Río Saúl García Ramírez for a sharing of their work along with a reflection of their time in residency, moderated by me, José A. Luis.

This free sharing will be held at MOVO at the Ivy Arts Building.

Friday, November 17
6:30-7:30pm
Street parking and elevator accessible. If there are any other accessibility requests or questions, please let us know and RSVP using this link.

The “Solo Perspectives” residency emerged from my experiences in residencies and trying to find new ways to re-inform them, trajectory in solo work and the desire to highlight its significance with community, and a desire to uplift the historically marginalized communities I am a part of.

Off-Leash Area presents its second annual Off-Kilter Cabaret, an ongoing community program designed to highlight and support artists with disabilities in the creation of original performance work. The 2023 Off-Kilter Cabaret explores the theme “Inside, Outside, Inside-Out,” which asks artists to center a performance work around their hidden self and perception of their personal identity in the larger world, and which will showcase seven unique artists from a range of artistic disciplines including dance, comedy, puppetry, musical composition, spoken word, and storytelling.

This year’s cabaret, curated by the Off-Kilter Leadership Team, includes returning artists Braille, Scott Sorensen, and Young Dance and features AJ Isaacson-Zvidzwa, Desdamona, Houa Moua, and Tessa Longshore for their Off-Kilter debuts. It will be emceed by returning artist Amy Salloway.

Off-Kilter Cabaret will occur November 17, 18, and 19 at the fully accessible TEK BOX Theater in the Cowles Center for Dance. The event includes accessibility accommodations such as American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, Audio Description, and Live Captioning.
​
Off-Leash Area, under co-artistic directors Jennifer Ilse and Paul Herwig, has a 24-year history of presenting original interdisciplinary performance work. The Off-Kilter Advisory Group and Selection Panel from the disability community also include writer and storyteller Amy Salloway, multidisciplinary artist Gabriel Rodreick, arts accessibility consultant Jon Skaalen, and Sam Jasmine, host of the Disability and Progress program on KFAI. Off-Leash Area is excited to continue our partnership with Young Dance, whose mission is “transforming lives through movement.”

November 17, 7:30pm
November 18, 7:30pm
November 19, 2:00pm

Price: suggested donation of $5-30

The University of Minnesota’s University Dance Theatre performs REACH, featuring choreography by faculty member Joanie Smith and visiting artists Maria Bauman and Jordan Demetrius Lloyd, performed by University Dance program students.

Mixing joy, sadness, and anger into one show, REACH encompasses themes such as bodily autonomy, reaching towards the future, and back to the past.

Saturday, November 18 at 7:30pm
Sunday, November 19 at 2:00pm
$5-35, pay as you can

Joanie Smith, a faculty member at The University of Minnesota’s Theatre Arts & Dance department and founder of Shapiro & Smith Dance, brings original pieces Moonlight and Ferdouganal to the stage. With a heavy emphasis on reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, Smith sheds light on the power of coming together and demanding change through imagery of marching, protests, and speaking up for what you believe in.

Based in Brooklyn, New York, Jordan Demetrius Lloyd and award-winning Maria Bauman bring fresh choreography. Bauman and collaborator Audrey Hailes address the question, “How can being better stewards of this planet help us become better stewards of our own bodies and of each other?”. Lloyd, who is known for his postmodernism work, seeks a range beyond a “unidirectional career,” leaving his audiences with something fresh, memorable, and impactful every time.

Ballet Minnesota celebrates the holiday season with its 35th outstanding production of The Classic Nutcracker at The O’Shaughnessy, plus a special performance at the MSP International Airport.

This winter, Ballet Minnesota introduces three new sparkling cast members to the production. First, Abigail Lange will premiere as Clara, the heroine of the story. Abigail, 15, lives in Shoreview and attends Mounds View High School as a tenth grader. The two guest stars include Kaitaro Kodama as Cavalier and Nicole Fedorov as the Sugar Plum. Kaitaro is currently a company member of the First State Ballet Theatre and the Connecticut Ballet. Nicole Fedorov, in her role, will take center stage, exuding a captivating blend of sweetness and elegance. She is a principle with the First State Ballet Theater in Wilmington, Delaware.

November 19, 2:00-4:00pm
At the Mpls/St. Paul International Airport.

December 15, 6:30pm
December 16, 1:30pm
December 17, 1:30pm
At The O’Shaughnessy.
Ticket prices range from $5 to $45 with discounts for seniors and groups.
To purchase tickets, visit The O’Shaughnessy’s online box office or call 651-690-6700.

December 15, 10:30am
A free livestream will be broadcast to the wider community to provide the ballet experience to those who might not otherwise be able to attend a performance.
Register for the livestream here.