The Arena – Space for Rent

Located in the heart of the Lyn-Lake community, The Arena is available for your rehearsal, class, and event needs!

Hourly rates range from $15-$25, with discounts/special offerings available to BIPOC and LGBTQIA2+ communities and to MNFringe artists. Inquire for savings.

Our space offers:

  • 1,305 square feet (30×40) of sprung, Marley dance flooring
  • Wall-length mirrors with curtains for covering if preferred
  • Changing room
  • Free parking on side streets (Aldrich, Bryant, Colfax, 31st, etc.)
  • Access to multiple bus lines, including the 21, 4, 23, 612, and 18

To request space, please email Mathew at arenadances@gmail.com.

The Arena – Drop-in Moving Practice with Taja Will

Moving Practice is a weekly class series for professional dancers. Classes prioritize rigor, diversity of contemporary aesthetics, variety of class content, and commitment.

Taja Will teaches Moving Practice in August
Tuesdays, 10:00-11:30am

Professional-level dancers of all styles are welcome.
Pre-registration and payment beforehand are encouraged.
Suggested price of $17 per class. Pay-as-able option on all classes – we would rather you join us than not be able to attend due to financial limitations.

Improvisational Structures as Fertile Ground
Improvisation is a technical skill, it requires specificity, listening, discernment, and strong internal connections.
Chaos is a useful tool.
Limitation serves specificity.
Restraint makes choice legible.
Freedom is a vibrant dream.
Improvisation is a personal poetic.

My approach to improvisation blends somatics, score building, ensemble cohesion and soloist impulses. There are more proposals than we will ever have time for and we’ll land together on weekly investigations. For me, improvisation serves various lineages and forms of dance, and offers a place of co-existence. I believe a community class can be populated by folks new to movement, those familiar and all those in between.

This class will start with a somatic or conditioning warm up and continue into complex structures and proposals. Participants are invited to self regulate and instigate research at the edge of their practice. As a facilitator I aim to offer meaningful reflections of class moments as affirmation and points for skill growth for all participants.

Class specifics:
The instructor will speak English. If you need language justice assistance please let us know.
The instructor may use dance field jargon specific to contemporary dance and lineages of modern dance, post modern dance, performance art eras and European/Western avant-garde.
Participants are welcome to question, disagree and suggest pivots for class facilitation even if it means complete interruption.
The floor is Marley and can be very sticky during hot, humid weather. Socks and clothing that covers skin can be helpful for this.
The instructor suggests bringing a full water bottle, a notebook and something to write with.
The building offers an elevator and stairs, and several restroom options, with the accessible restroom on the 2nd floor, one floor away from the studio.
Please communicate any additional access needs to tajawill@gmail.com.

Studio Stories: Reminiscing on Twin Cities Dance with Matthew and Brittany

Studio Stories airs Thursday, July 27 at noon with husband and wife team, Matthew Keefe and Brittany Fridentstine-Keefe for Season 11, Episode 132.

Matthew Keefe and Brittany Fridenstine-Keefe – husband and wife dancers, choreographers, teachers and co-artistic directors of DanceCo Performance Company. Each have a depth of stories to share dancing throughout the country and internationally, and most know them as performers with James Sewell Ballet. 

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts!

Collide Theatrical Announces 10th Season

Collide Theatrical Dance Company announces its Tenth Anniversary Season, featuring an exciting lineup of innovative dance theater.

The 2023/2024 season opens in September with The Great Gatsby. Originally produced by Collide in 2018, the company will present an updated version this year. Re-imagined through a modern lens, this timely tale explores the dark underbelly of the American dream, a story no less poignant a century later.

In February 2024, Collide will stage the world premiere of Hollywood, which tells the compelling and hopeful story of a Hollywood starlet and a political eco-activist struggling for survival in a climate-ravaged near-future California.

Collide continues its tradition of spotlighting underrepresented voices with the next installment of their St. Paul–based cabaret series. In the show, titled Journeys, Collide Theatrical dancers will collaborate with local refugees to tell their stories through dance and music.

Collide will also bring back its hit production of Wonderland and tour the mental health–themed production to middle and high schools throughout Minnesota.

On Saturday, December 2, 2023, Collide will celebrate its Tenth Anniversary with a fundraising gala. The evening will feature silent and live auctions, cocktails, and heavy appetizers, and will culminate with a performance highlighting favorite dance excerpts from the past decade.

Season subscriptions are available for purchase now, with individual tickets going on sale August 1, 2023.

For more information, including show dates and locations, please visit Collidetheatrical.org.

Studio Rentals at Collide Theatrical in St. Paul

Need space to rehearse, choreograph, teach, or hold an event? Collide Theatrical has two studios available for rental in our beautiful St. Paul location.

Studio 1 has 1700 square feet of sprung floor, full wall-length mirrors, Rosco Adagio Marley dance floor, high ceilings, skylights, and 3 chandeliers.

Studio 2 has 550 square feet of sprung wood floor.

Both studios have the following amenities:

  • Ballet barres for up to 18 students
  • Free and accessible parking and access to public transportation line
  • Gender-specific bathrooms (non-gender-specific bathroom available in the adjacent building)
  • Free Wi-Fi
  • Bluetooth room speakers
  • Cubbies for holding shoes and clothes
  • 2 long folding tables
  • Access to up to 30 folding chairs
  • HVAC heated and cooled spaces with temperature control
  • Hallway drinking fountains
  • Access to kitchenette area available upon request

Single Rental:
Studio 1 – $30/hour
Studio 2 – $20/hour

Long-Term or Multiple-Day Rental:
Studio 1 – $20/hour
Studio 2 – $15/hour

Payment for rental bookings must be made 48 hours prior to your booking to hold your reservation. A signed rental agreement and certificate of insurance must be provided prior to your reservation. Please contact us at 651-395-7903 or grace@collidetheatrical.org to schedule a visit.

South Minneapolis Studio Available for Rent

The Sabathani Community Center in South Minneapolis has a dance studio available for hourly rental. The space includes mirrors, ballet barres, hardwood floor, and free parking.

Dimensions: 39′ x 23′ x 9′

Rates
Rehearsals and photo shoots: $15/hour
Classes and auditions: $20/hour

Available for rent Monday through Friday between 7:00am and 9:00pm, and Saturdays between 10:00am and 4:00pm. Closed Sundays.

To reserve: Contact ReNée Pettis
rpettis@sabathani.org or 612-821-2308

Young Dance Offers Summer Classes and Camps

Young Dance’s Summer 2023 programming runs through August 31. Creative Movement and Dance Together classes will be offered in 3 sessions, meeting once per week on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. We’re also offering camps for 4-7-year-olds, or half-day and full-day camps for dancers ages 8–18.

Camp offerings include Music as Movement, Dance + Social Justice, Dance + Photography, Choreography, Dance a Story, All Abilities Dance + Stories, and a unique collection of dance styles in each Variety Dance Camp.

More information and the full brochure can be found on our website.
Registration is open!

Young Dance Announces the 2023-24 Session

Since 1987, Young Dance has worked to transform lives through movement. We are an inclusive community where creativity flourishes, encouraging personal and artistic excellence through diverse forms of dance.

Young Dance is committed to offering a fun and developmentally appropriate curriculum. Our Teaching Artists are some of the best in cities, bringing their experience and expertise to various styles and techniques. The 2023–24 Session includes Afro-Modern, All Abilities Dancing, Ballet, Breaking, Creative Movement, Choreography, Dance Together, Hip Hop, Modern, Musical Theater, and the Young Dance Performing Company. Plus, we added Adult/Teen Somatics, Yoga, and Adult Modern!

Classes begin Thursday, September 14, and continue through Sunday, May 19, 2024. The final weekend of the session culminates in performances.

Registration is now open. Some classes fill quickly, so enroll today!

Rent the Young Dance Studios

Young Dance has two large studios available for rent in the Midway neighborhood of Saint Paul. Easily accessible by the Green Line light rail, the 16 and 67 Bus Lines, and with ample parking in the Fairview Business Center parking lot. The space is fully ADA accessible, with ramps to the sprung studio floor and automatic door openers. 

Rentals are currently available:
Monday-Thursday, 8:00am–3:30pm
Tuesday, 6:30–9:00pm
Wednesday, 6:30–9:00pm
Friday, 11:00am–9:00pm
Saturday, 3:00–9:00pm
Sunday, 8:00am–9:00pm

The studios are newly equipped with sprung Harlequin Marley flooring, a Bluetooth speaker system, and wifi. A projector with AV adapters is available by request. Studio 2 has ballet barres and a mirror. The studio has a clear COVID safety plan, including regular disinfecting of all floors and surfaces and a new HVAC system that refreshes the air 7-8 times per hour.

Studio 1: Measures 41′ x 38′ and rents at $25/hour
Studio 2: Measures 38′ x 38′ and rents at $20/hour

To book the space, email jules@youngdance.org or call 612-423-3064. Payment, signed agreement, and liability waiver are required with rental confirmation. 

TU Dance Center: In-Person Open Classes for Intermediate/Advanced Dancers

Join TU Dance for a series of open classes this summer, July 24-August 12. C

lasses will be posted weekly. Teaching artists include TU Dance Founder & Artistic Director Toni Pierce-Sands and Wendy Anderson, Hassan Ingraham, Herb Johnson, Laurel Keen, Anna Pinault, Laura Pratt, Abdo Sayegh-Rodriguez, and Peggy Seipp-Roy.

Week 1

Monday, July 24
9:30-11:30am: Contemporary with Christopher Ralph

Tuesday, July 25
9:30-10:45am: Floorwork with Anna Pinault
11:00am-1:00pm: Ballet with Peggy Seipp-Roy

Wednesday, July 26
9:30-11:30am: Contemporary with Christopher Ralph

Thursday, July 27
9:30-10:45am: GYROKINESIS® with Wendy Anderson
11:00am-1:00pm: Ballet with Laura Pratt

Friday, July 28
9:30-11:30am: House with Herb Johnson

Saturday, July 29
9:00-10:30am: Contemporary Community Class with Christopher Ralph

Please check the Open Class Calendar as classes and/or teaching artists might change.

Cost: $15/class or $140/10-class pass

More info and pre-registration.