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MotionArt Adult Modern Dance Classes

A group of dancers jump on one leg in a large studio

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

The Arena – Space for Rent

An image of the ARENA studio, with black Marley flooring and yellow walls

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.

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: arenadances@gmail.com.

The Arena – Drop-in Moving Practice with April Sellers

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 all of May!
Tuesdays, 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, with 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.

The Arena – Drop-in Cunningham Technique with Benny Olk

Benny Olk teaches Cunningham at The Arena!

May 12 – 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.

Rent the Young Dance Studios

Two photos of the Young Dance Teal Studio. Each photo shows a different angle of the studio, with windows, white walls, and gray Marley flooring

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, 7:45–9:00pm
Wednesday, 7:15–9:00pm
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. Upon rental confirmation with a signed agreement and liability waiver, payment is required.

Young Dance Offers Summer Classes and Camps

Young Dance is excited to announce Summer 2023 programming June 6–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!

The Cowles Center’s 2023–24 Season

The Cowles Center announces their stellar 10-production season of shared performances, new work commissions, mainstage debuts, co-productions, world premieres, and a returning holiday tradition! Mark your calendar – tickets on sale August 1.

This season promises to showcase the artistic progression of all those that engage with The Cowles Center. We have a Generating Room artist making their Cowles debut, a 2021 MERGE artist now sharing the stage for the Fall Forward Festival, two artists from last year’s Fall Forward Festival presenting full-scaled productions, reimagined pieces featured at other venues, and of course a returning holiday tradition. Presenting a well-rounded season is at the forefront of our work, but so is professional and artistic development, and this season perfectly represents that momentum-building. We’re proud of the stepping stones we’ve built into our programming and will continue to be supportive players in accelerating the careers of artists throughout the state.

Learn more about the season.

Fall Forward Festival
October 21–November 5, 2023
Featuring Afoutayi Haitian Dance, Music, and Arts Company, Concerto Dance, Kaleena Miller Dance, Ballet Folklorico Mexico Azteca, STRONGmovement, Yuki Tokuda, Katha Dance Theatre, Shapiro & Smith Dance, and Alternative Motion Project.

Rhythm Street Movement’s
Who Brought The Humbug?
December 14–17, 2023

Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre
The Conference of the Birds
February 10-11, 2024

Crash Dance Productions
Domino
March 2-3, 2024

Mathew Janczeski’s Arena Dance & Taja Will
A Merge In March
March 23-24, 2024

James Sewell Ballet
April 6-7, 2024

The Cowles Center and Northrop Co-Present:
BRKFST Dance Company
April 27-28, 2024

Ragamala Dance Company’s
Avimukta: Where the Seeker Meets the Sacred
May 4-5, 2024

Adult/Teen Drop-In Classes at Ballet Co.Laboratory

Several dancers in a studio practice their second arabesque

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!

Rent Space at Ballet Co.Laboratory

Image of the BCL lobby with white walls and a benches for sitting

Come create at Ballet Co.Laboratory. Our artistic home is available for hourly rentals to independent artists and arts organizations. Book a single day to work on your artistry, secure a month to rehearse a show, or facilitate your weekly programming here – the choice is yours! We look forward to collaborating with you on your space needs.

Public Transportation
The studio is accessible via the Greenline into downtown Saint Paul and the 71A or 71B bus.

Parking
Free parking is available in front of the studio.

Facility
We have five studios at Ballet Co.Laboratory with sprung floors, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and barres, plus four gender-neutral restrooms, changing rooms, and comfortable lobby space with Wi-fi access and ample seating. The entire facility is HVAC heated and cooled.

Studio 1: 25′ x 50′ – 15-person capacity – $20/hour
Studio 2: 25′ x 50′ – 15-person capacity – $20/hour
Studio 3: 25′ x 30′ – 8-person capacity – $15/hour
Studio 4: 42′ x 50′ – 30-person capacity – Rental available via special request
Studio 5: 25′ x 28′ – 8-person capacity – $15/hour

Hours
Morning, daytime, and evening hours available.

To inquire about your rental, please email info@balletcolaboratory.org or call 651.313.5967.

Final Week of Concerto Dance Open Company Class

Concerto Dance will be hosting our last open company class this Friday, May 12:

Advanced Jazz, 9:00-10:30am

At Creo Arts and Dance Conservatory
$15/class, cash or Venmo: @concerto-dance
Pre-register or drop-in!

For questions, contact info@concertodance.com

Come groove with us for our last week of “Jazz Funk!”
Next open company class session starts in the Fall.