Ballet Royale: Summer Classes for Young Dancers

Ballet Royale is offering two different opportunities for young dancers to move and learn throughout the summer.

Each month, we are offering a different Creative Story Ballet Workshop! Give your young dancer the joy of dance and performance! The workshops include a short performance at the end of the workshop, with a different Disney-inspired story each month. Take one, two, or all three workshops!

Saturday, June 18: Encanto Inspired Workshop
Saturday, July 16: Tangled Inspired Workshop
Saturday, August 20: Frozen II Inspired Workshop

Recommended ages: 4–9.

We also have a 6-week session of Summer Evening Classes for all ages, from Mommy & Me and up! These classes run July 11- August 18, 2022. Please see our website for more information and the complete schedule.

Drop-In Classes at Hothouse

Open dance and fitness classes seven days a week! Class offerings include ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, heels, yoga, 305 Fitness, bodyART, and more.

Hothouse is a multi-purpose studio space in Minneapolis featuring drop-in classes for teens and adults. Whether you’re already involved in the local arts scene, an aspiring dance professional looking to bolster your training, or just a human who loves to move, Hothouse offers classes that celebrate the bliss of movement, and embrace you for who you are.

Come as you are, leave as more.

Visit our website or find us on MINDBODY to view the full schedule and book your next class! Free lot and street parking.

Erin Thompson Teaches Advanced Contemporary Classes In Person and On Zoom

A light-skinned dancer in her 60s tosses her arms in a curve to the left while she rises on her toes

Erin’s advanced level contemporary hybrid class through Zenon Dance School includes floor work, standing warm-ups, and phrase work, all designed to enhance the healthy use of joints and muscle groups as dancers release their weight fully into the support of the ground. Experiential awareness, body mapping, improvisation, and creative work are included as dancers channel their own expressive artistry within the movement. The delightful Dean Magraw will accompany on guitar.

Thursday mornings, 9:30-11:00am. 

Registration is open through Zenon’s MindBody portal and closes ten minutes before class.
See you in person or virtually soon!

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 available between the hours of 9:00am–3:00pm Monday through Friday, after 4:00pm on Saturday, and all day on Sundays.

The studios are newly equipped with sprung Harlequin Marley flooring, a Bluetooth speaker system, and wifi. There are no mirrors. The studio has a clear COVID safety plan including regular disinfecting of all floors and surfaces, as well as 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 kathleen@youngdance.org or call 612-423-3064. Payment is required upon confirmation of rental with a signed rental agreement and liability waiver.

ARENA DANCES Seeks Board Members

ARENA DANCES seeks dance lovers and talented individuals to join our current Board of Directors!

Founded in 1995 by Mathew Janczewski, ARENA DANCES premieres cutting edge contemporary dance, innovative programming – from educational outreach to activism panels and arts development meetings – and brings dynamic vision to the Twin Cities’ vibrant arts community.

Our board members contribute 5-10 hours per month with a 2-year contract towards the development and support of ARENA DANCES’ mission to make dance accessible to all through the presentation of contemporary dance, educational outreach, and community gatherings to inspire, promote dialogue and diversity. Come join us to network, share and build your knowledge and skills.

Requested roles to be filled are:
Marketing Specialist
Finance Focus
Event/Benefit/Fundraising Member

Space for Rent – The Arena

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

Hourly rates range $15-$25, with discounts/special offerings available to BIPOC and LGBTQIA+2 communities.

Our space offers:

  • 1,305 square feet (30×40) of sprung floor
  • Marley dance flooring
  • Full wall-length mirrors (with curtains for covering if preferred)
  • Free wi-fi
  • Changing room

We are situated on multiple bus lines, including the 21, 4, 23, 612, 18, with plenty of FREE street parking around the building.

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

The Arena – Contemporary with Elayna Waxse

Wednesdays, 6:00-7:30pm at The Arena
Contemporary with Elayna Waxse

Drop in: $17. Buy a 10-class card and save!
Summer Session: May 11-July 27
Register

This class contextualizes contemporary dance technique as an ongoing process of body awareness within larger ecological systems. How we exist in our bodies replicates how we exist in the world. Utilizing improvisation, set phrasework, somatic exercises and conversation, we will explore physical prowess, sensitivity and authenticity of movement experiences.

Elayna Waxse (she/they) is a Twin Cities-based performer, dance educator, and choreographer who hails from Overland Park, Kansas. Professionally, Elayna has worked with Minnesota Dance Theatre, Colorado Ballet/Colorado Ballet Studio Company, Black Label Movement, BodyCartography Project, Hatch Dance, and with Cie. Ismael Ivo at ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival 2014. They were a member of TU Dance from 2012 to 2019, and were part of the original creation team of Come Through, the collaboration between TU Dance and Grammy-award winning musical group Bon Iver. Through this collaboration Elayna performed at the Hollywood Bowl (LA, CA), the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.), and at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival (Manchester, TN). Their choreographic work has been supported by Minnesota Dance Theatre, Threads Dance Project, University of Minnesota Opera Theatre, St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, Ballet Minnesota’s MN Dance Festival, Zenon Dance Zone, 9×22, and Future Interstates. She is a 2019 recipient of a McKnight Fellowship in Dance.

The Arena – Contemporary Flow with Mathew Janczewski

Mathew’s work is best described as contemporary, spanning an array of styles – from quietly evocative to physically demanding, full of spiraling momentum that draws energy into the core and spreads it out like disco ball beams of light. At times, movement focuses on the dancers’ bends and folds, creating shape as one shifts and moves, forging moments of connection.

Class focuses on opening up curiosity, finding internal pathways within the body and the contrast of those same pathways. An assortment of texture, speed, density, length, force and resistance will be taught to open these skills.

Fridays, 10:00-11:30am
Summer Session: May 13-July 29
Register
Drop-in rate is $17 with flexible pricing. Free parking on side streets Aldrich, Bryant, Colfax, 31st.

Originally from Illinois, dancer, choreographer, director, and creative Mathew Janczewski (he/him) has been residing in Minneapolis, MN since 1989. He was a company member, most notably with Shapiro & Smith Dance from 2007-2014 and JAZZDANCE! By Danny Buraczeski from 1992-97. As a dancer, Mathew has performed as a guest with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Bebe Miller, and Jacek Luminski of Bytom, Poland. Over the years, he has performed the works of Beth Corning, Sean Curran, HIJACK, Marge Maddux, Shawn McConneloug, Jane Shockley, Robin Stiehm, Morgan Thorson, Doug Varone, and Cathy Young.

The Arena – GYROKINESIS® Method with Non Edwards

Saturdays, 12:00-1:00pm at The Arena
GYROKINESIS® Method with Non Edwards

Drop in rate is $17.
Buy a 10-class card and save.
Register
Ages 16+

GYROKINESIS® Method offers exercises rooted in full-body movement that build skill in coordination and proprio/interoception. We will work on the seven spinal movements, joint articulation, and cultivating strength with coordinated breath while transitioning through sequences with fluidity. Many exercises will be performed seated – chairs are provided. Students should bring a mat to class if possible.

The GYROKINESIS® Method addresses the entire body, opening energy pathways, stimulating the nervous system, increasing range of motion, and creating functional strength through rhythmic, flowing movement sequences. Learn more through this short video or Non’s FAQs.

Photo courtesy of Armour Photography.

GYROKINESIS® is a registered trademark of GYROTONIC Sales Corp and is used with their permission.

ARENA DANCES’ Studio Stories with Georgia Stephens

Join ARENA DANCES for our weekly Studio Stories podcast – now in Season Seven – where each week we reminisce on Twin Cities dance history with a new special guest. This week we hear from Georgia Stephens.

Georgia Stephens was active as a Dance Theater choreographer, director, writer and sound designer from 1975 through 2009. She moved to the Twin Cities in 1980 to participate in the newly formed Independent Choreographer’s Alliance (MICA). Through this organization, she received numerous performance opportunities and financial support for her work.

Tune in this Thursday, June 16 at 12:00pm and listen here.

Available on our website or wherever you get your podcasts!

Photo by Ed Bock.