University of North Carolina School of the Arts Choreographic Institute

Returning in 2023, the Choreographic Development Residency is a four-week program to foster the development of new work by emerging choreographers of exceptional promise. Through this initiative, UNCSA School of Dance looks to deepen its mission of developing original works, supporting artists and giving back to the broader community. Open to all U.S. residents.

Choreographic Development Residency – 2023 dates TBD

UNCSA Summer Dance will award four choreographers the opportunity to further their choreographic research and create new dance works by providing studio space, dancers and personal mentoring with Helen Pickett.

The residency will consist of an optional daily technique class, morning mentoring sessions, workshops and lectures led by esteemed Summer Dance faculty and guests. The afternoons are devoted to rehearsals with a cast of dancers from the UNCSA Summer Dance Intensive. Additionally, choreographers will have access to our studios for further choreographic research. The residency culminates in a performance of the work at the Stevens Center performance venue in downtown Winston-Salem.

Choreographers are chosen from an open call, and participants will receive room, board and a stipend.

Requirements
The program looks for emerging choreographers who exhibit a strong choreographic voice and exceptional promise. Two contemporary choreographers and two contemporary ballet choreographers will be selected. Choreographers must have five years of choreographic experience.

How to Apply
2022-2023 application submissions will open in January 2023.
Email application materials to UNCSAchoreoin@gmail.com.
Include the following attachments to your application email:

  • Your choreographic C.V. in PDF format
  • One letter of recommendation in PDF format
  • An artistic statement (one page maximum) in PDF format
  • A link to a 5-minute video example of one of your choreographic works from the past three years. Video should be a 5-minute consecutive section using 4 or more dancers.

There is no fee to apply. Partial applications will not be considered.

If you have questions about the Choreographic Development Residency or the application process, email UNCSAchorein@gmail.com.

Taja Will and Mathew Janczewski Seek Dancers for Two New Projects

Two-day audition process blending modern, contemporary and improvisational skills. We encourage you to attend both days, but it is not required. 

Saturday, March 25, and Sunday March 26 from 12:00-3:00pm

Auditioning for two project ensembles, ARENA DANCES seeks experienced dancers with strong technical, artistic, and creative abilities for Erased Steps. Choreographers Taja Will and Mathew Janczewski seek artists for a new “Merge” collaboration.

Erased Steps – ARENA DANCES’ artistic director, Mathew Janczewski, and fellow collaborators Dustin Haug, Leslie O’Neill, and Laura Selle Virtucio seek dancers for a new ensemble work of 12-15 dancers that will premiere August 24 and 25 at Union Depot in St. Paul and tour to Rochester, MN to perform August 26 at the Rochester Civic Center. Professional dancers of all ages, backgrounds, and experiences are encouraged to apply. Applicants will be asked to improvise, as well as learn phrase work. We are looking for diverse performers who are creative, collaborative, and expressive. Must be available starting May to August, 2023.

Callbacks Tuesday, March 28 from 6:00-8:00pm.
Rehearsals to be determined amongst the ensemble.

“Merge” – Choreographer’s Mathew Janczewski and Taja Will seek dancers for a new ensemble work that will premiere in March 2024 on the Goodale Stage, at the Cowles Center. Taja (they/them), is a QTBIPOC, disabled artist whose process is rooted in a restorative justice pedagogy, healing, and disability justice foundations and proposes structured improvisation as a performance modality in a collaboratively authored process. Their studio ethos is one of emergence and care work, focus and rigor, ritual and magic. Will and Janczewski meet at their shared passion for witnessing one’s self-expression through movement and their longtime friendship for the creation of this new work.

Participants will be asked to engage with rigorous attention to improvisation as a technique and performance modality as well as to work collaboratively on spontaneous choreographic choice-making. Must be available for an intensive 3-week rehearsal process September-November, 2023, and again February-March, 2024. 

No call back required, will follow up with conversations via email. 
Rehearsals to be determined amongst chosen cast within timeframe listed above. 

You may audition for one or both projects. In-person auditions are given priority. RSVP is appreciated, please do so by 5:00pm, Thursday, March 23 through this form. If you are unable to audition in person, you may submit a short video (under 5 minutes) in your registration form. Please include improvisation as well as performance footage.

Dancers are paid $20/hour for rehearsals and a flat performance run of $500. 

Questions about Erased Steps? Please contact Mathew at arenadances@gmail.com.
Questions about “Merge” project? Please cc Mathew at arenadances@gmail.com and/or Taja at tajawill@gmail.com.

Twin Cities Ballet: Openings for a Company Dancers, Apprentices and Trainees

Twin Cities Ballet has two open company positions for our 2023/24 season. One contract for male/male-identifying dancer, one for female/female-identifying dancer. Soloist and Principal level, competitive salaried position, 34-week season. Strong classical ballet, partnering, and contemporary skills required. You must be eligible to work in the United States. 

We also have limited openings for unpaid apprenticeships and student trainee positions for both male and female dancers.

Please submit the following audition materials by email to audition@TwinCitiesBallet.org. We will contact you after we have reviewed your audition materials to schedule an audition.

  • Your resumé.
  • Two photos: First arabesque and a headshot showing at least 3/4 face. Either attach small format photos or provide a link.
  • Video link showing classwork or performance clips, clearly demonstrating your classical ballet technique.

About TCB
Twin Cities Ballet (TCB) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit professional dance company that creates original full-length and shorter story ballets, a rare and nearly lost art, as well as more abstract contemporary ballet-based works. An emerging gem in the Twin Cities, TCB has carefully built a financially solid and growing organization that is making its mark both regionally and nationally through its creative and innovative artistic endeavors. Our mission is to connect and enrich communities by making ballet approachable, relatable, and fun, through professional and original productions and educational outreach.

TCB prohibits discrimination against any employee, applicant for employment, or patron because of race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, veteran status or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

Young Dance Seeks Teaching Artists for 2022–23 Session and Beyond

Young Dance is seeking teachers, assistants, and substitutes for 2022-23 and beyond. Teachers with experience in the following styles are encouraged to apply: Hip Hop, Jazz, Musical Theater, Afro-Modern, Modern/Contemporary, Ballet, Percussive, and Creative Movement. Experience working with dancers of all abilities is a plus, but not required.

Founded in 1987, we believe young people are artists with something important to say and that working across differences is a benefit to all. Our mission is to transform lives through movement. We are an inclusive community where creativity flourishes and healthy risk-taking is encouraged. Our classes are open to everyone of all levels and abilities. Participants enjoy our collaborative and student-led approach to dance education. Our curriculum emphasizes technique, improvisation, and choreography through the elements of dance: Body, Action, Space, Time, and Energy. Dancers develop skills in observing, participating, and reflecting in a safe and supportive environment that values a commitment to self, to the group, and to lifelong learning.

The pay rate is $48/hour for lead teaching, and $24/hour for assisting.

Contact Anat Shinar, anat@youngdance.org, with a resume and brief introduction.

Collide Theatrical Seeking Box Office Attendant

Collide Theatrical Dance Company is looking to hire a box office attendant for the remaining two shows of our 2022-2023 season. SKOL! is a full-length show that will be performed in March and April at the Southern Theater, and Our Stories is a cabaret performance at our St. Paul studio in May. For a full list of show dates and times, click here.

Duties include:

  • Checking in attendees
  • Marking reserved seating and distributing VIP bags
  • Helping with set-up and take-down
  • Working with the Southern Theater’s box office staff
  • Other tasks as needed

Pay is $20/hour, 4-hour minimum per show. Paid training. For each performance, the box office assistant needs to arrive two hours prior to the show (showtimes are generally 7:30pm on Thursday-Saturday and 2:00pm and 5:00pm on Sunday).

Interested applicants should email a resume and cover letter to admin@collidetheatrical.org. Please only apply if you are able to commit to at least half of the dates for a show. Priority will be given to those who can be at every performance.

Choreograph Your Classic: Reimagining Stories for the Stage

Join Ashwini Ramaswamy, lead choreographer of Invisible Cities, and Will McGrath (author of Everything Lost is Found Again and Farewell Transmission) as they discuss her process of adapting Italo Calvino’s book as a multi-faceted dance performance premiering January 27 and 28, 2023.

Long an inspiration for artists of many disciplines, Calvino’s 1973 novel is a meditation on the environments all around us. The Invisible Cities performance will evoke the book’s themes through movement communicated via four dance traditions: Bharatanatyam (Classical Indian), Modern/African Diasporic, Breaking, and Gaga, as Syrian-American digital artist Kevork Mourad fills the space with live illustrations.

Hear from Ramaswamy and the other lead choreographers – Alanna Morris, Berit Ahlgren, and Joseph “MN Joe” Tran – as they describe their process of finding cohesion and harmony among the myriad perspectives they bring to their work.

January 19 at 7:30pm

Critical Conversations Series – Art of Business: The World of Grants

Grants are a substantial part of maintaining one’s self as an art business, that is unique to Minnesota. With that process arises a lot of questions: How do you fit yourself into the application process? How do you make sure you are reading the requirements right? How do you put together work samples, what different types of work samples? What makes a strong resume? How do you articulate yourself as a person, artist, and your vision in a digestible way? What grants are you eligible for and how can you understand if you are not?

Join us in conversation as we gather to unpack the world of grant writing. This discussion will be open to all. Come to share your thoughts or just listen.

Art of Business: The World of Grants
January 22, 2023
2:00-3:30pm
The Cowles Center, Tek Box, Second Floor
Free and open to the public. Refreshments provided. Transportation stipend available.

Moderators
Jessi Fett, The Cowles Center Director of Programming and Education
Colin Edwards, Programs Coordinator and McKnight Artist Fellowship Programs Assistant for Dance and for Choreographers

Participants will include:
Dana KasselMcKnight Artist Fellowship Programs Director for Dance and for Choreographers 
Mirella EspinoMetropolitan Regional Arts Council

Au, The Film

Please join Hatch Dance and HoneyWorks on January 22 for the showing of Au, The Film.

Directed by Berit Ahlgren (HoneyWorks) and Helen Hatch (Hatch Dance), this live performance was captured and edited by Arlo Myren (Endless Page Productions) at its August 2022 premiere in St. Paul. Refreshments will be available for donation. Please arrive early for socializing. The film will start at 5:30pm and runs just over an hour. A discussion with the ensemble will follow the screening.

Sunday, January 22
5:00pm

Au, a dance in two acts, brings 26 dancers together for a highly physical contemplation of learned and innate coping mechanisms. Through vulnerable acknowledgment of how each artist manages life in the face of adversity, Ahlgren, Hatch, and the ensemble look at how these behaviors transform and reform, shaping who we are, and how we show up for ourselves and others. Set to a collection of various and recognizable tunes, a multi-talented and multi-generational cast bring their energies and experiences together in this timely work.

Tickets: $10-15.

Can’t make it in person? AuThe Film is available on demand starting on January 23, 2023. Select an on-demand ticket to see the film on your own device!

Ashwini Ramaswamy and Kevork Mourad: Invisible Cities

Ashwini Ramaswamy and Kevork Mourad: Invisible Cities reimagines Italo Calvino’s metaphysical novel through a stunning synthesis of kinetic and visual storytelling. Featuring 13 dancers, Invisible Cities is grounded in four distinct forms led by a dynamic group of artists—Ranee, Aparna, and Ashwini Ramaswamy (Bharatanatyam), Berit Ahlgren (Gaga), Alanna Morris (Modern), Joseph ‘MN Joe’ Tran (Breaking)—and visual artist Kevork Mourad, who creates Invisible Cities’ interactive, immersive projections and illustrations.

January 27 at 7:30pm
January 28 at 7:30pm
Price: $35

Cumar – “Confluence” Fusion of Music and Dance from West Africa and Ireland

Cumar (“confluence” in Irish Gaelic) brings together the complex rhythms and fluid, expressive movement of West Africa with the flowing melodies, percussive footwork, and intricate dance figures of Ireland, in an exuberant celebration of multi-cultural collaboration. The group features an outstanding ensemble of Twin Cities dancers and musicians, ranging from internationally recognized masters to dedicated young artists carrying these traditions into the next generation.

January 27 at 7:30pm
January 28 at 7:30pm

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.