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Benny Olk teaches Cunningham at The Arena!
May 26 – June 9
Fridays, 9:30-11:00am

Professional-level dancers of all styles are welcome.
Registration and payment beforehand encouraged: pre-register.

Suggested price $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.

This class will offer an introduction to Cunningham technique, emphasizing rhythmic, directional, and physical clarity in order to organize movements with efficiency and at the same time making room for discovery. The class begins with exercises for the torso, then moves to legwork, then across the floor and finally to jumping. Each class will contain something everyone can do and something no one can do. “The only way to do it is to do it,” as Cunningham himself said.

Benny Olk (he/him) is a performing artist and teacher in Minneapolis with an interest in contemporizing and contextualizing American modern and post-modern dance. As a member of Lucinda Childs Dance Company, he performed reconstructions of pieces such as Dance and Available Light. He performed in reconstructions of Crises and Suite for Five among others by Merce Cunningham, and has premiered works by Maria Evans and Anthea Hamilton. Benny holds a BFA in Dance from NYU and an MA in New Performative Practices from Stockholm University of the Arts.

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

April Sellers teaches Moving Practice
Last chance – Tuesday, 10:00-11:30am

Professional-level dancers of all styles are welcome.
Registration and payment beforehand encouraged: pre-register.
Suggested price $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.

This class will be a laboratory for performance with an antiracist lens and an insistence upon accessibility. We will play with seeing and being seen – a chance to check in with yourself and your own sense of embodiment and engage with your inner worlds. There will be some work on the floor, improvisation, vocalization, and experiments with objects. We will engage connections, disruptions, and migrations. Each class will shape itself according to the people in the room and the inherent needs and themes.

April Sellers is a choreographer with a desire to lift and celebrate ignored streams in society, creating performance of movement, song, text, and sequins. She founded April Sellers Dance Collective (ASDC) in 2002 – a dance performance and teaching organization that celebrates complex expressions of gender and identity.

MotionArt’s mission is to share the art of dance and the joy of movement with people of all ages and abilities. We strive to enrich lives by fostering creativity, body awareness and self-expression in a fun, non-competitive, welcoming environment. We offer ongoing dance classes in-studio, on Zoom and outside (weather permitting).

Paying the regular rate helps keep our organization afloat; however, no one will be turned away for inability to pay. There is also an option to pay what you can.

Please go to motionartmn.org to sign up for classes, or contact Pam Gleason for info.

Ageless Dance
Monday, 4:00-5:15pm – Center for Performing Arts, Studio #105
Thursday, 4:30-5:45pm – Center for Performing Arts, Sunroom

Beginning Modern Dance
Tuesday, 5:00-6:15pm – Zoom only

Intermediate Modern Dance
Wednesday, 10:30am-12:00pm – Center for Performing Arts, Sunroom

Mixed Level Modern Dance
Tuesday, 7:00-8:15pm – Center for Performing Arts, Studio #105
Saturday, 4:00-5:30pm – Hybrid: Center for Performing Arts, Sunroom, and Zoom

MotionArt is happy to offer children’s classes again! Children’s teacher, Kim Lewis, is excited to share her expertise and love of dance with children of all ages in the following classes:

Creative Dance for ages 3-5
Wednesdays, 9:30–10:15am
Two three-week sessions:
June 14, 21, 28 and/or August 2, 9, 16
Cost: $35 per 3-week session – includes 3 classes

In these 3-week sessions, preschoolers explore dance concepts through playful, structured activities accompanied by acoustic instruments and a wide variety of music. Children expand their movement vocabulary, develop body awareness, and gain self-confidence in a fun, nurturing environment.

Creative Dance for ages 5-7
Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:30-11:30am
Two three-week sessions:
June 12, 14, 19, 21, 26, and 28 and/or August 7, 9, 14, 16, 21, and 23
Cost: $75 per 3-week session – includes 6 classes

This class facilitates an understanding of the dance elements of Space, Time and Energy through improvised and structured activities. Children explore multiple concepts within these elements while practicing movement skills and enjoying new challenges. Students at this age begin to create their own dances and share them with their peers. No previous experience necessary.

Creative Dance/Introduction to Modern Dance for ages 8-11
Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:45am–1:00pm
Two three-week sessions:
June 12, 14, 19, 21, 26, and 28 and/or August 7, 9, 14, 16, 21, and 23
Cost: $85 per 3-week session – includes 6 classes

In this class, students expand their creative potential and kinesthetic awareness as they explore a variety of concepts within the dance elements of Space, Time and Energy.  They are introduced to basic technical skills and movement vocabulary of Modern Dance and also have opportunities to improvise and create their own dances. No previous experience necessary.

No matter if you are a veteran dancer or slipping on your first pair of ballet shoes, Ballet Co.Laboratory is an artistic home for everyone. With 11 different adult drop-in classes offered each week, including conditioning and Pilates, we know we have the right class for you! 

Join us in person or virtually via Zoom.
All dancers must sign in on Mindbody – class sign-in will close 10 minutes before class begins.
Single-class and 10-class cards are available.
Parking is always free!

Learn more or sign up for a class.