Hatch Dance and HoneyWorks Offer Open Class

Open classes Tuesdays and Thursdays with Hatch Dance and HoneyWorks in preparation for their annual collaboration Live @ The Shed, July 30-31, 2022.

Guest instructors rotate each week along with class from directors Helen Hatch (contemporary ballet) and Berit Ahlgren (Gaga-based improvisation).

Classes take place at St. Paul Ballet, Studio 4. These 75-minute classes are open level and welcome to all. Pay-as-you wish sliding scale $5-15 to either Hatch Dance or HoneyWorks. Please reach out if you have questions.

Summer Adult Classes at Hopkins Dance Company

Adult Classes at Hopkins Dance Company – Summer Schedule:
Ongoing adult classes for the summer at Hopkins Dance Company in ballet, tap and yoga.

Start anytime – drop ins welcome! Class cards available.

Adult Beginning Ballet – July and August
Wednesdays, 7:00-7:45pm

Adult Intermediate Ballet – June, July and August
Wednesdays, 10:30am-12:00pm

Adult Tap – July and August
Wednesdays, 7:45-8:30pm

Yoga – June, July and August
Wednesdays, 12:00-1:00pm

James Sewell Ballet – Open Company Class and Coordi™ Class

Open Company Class – Ballet unless noted otherwise:

June 1
Wednesday, 10:00-11:30am CT – Leah Gallas, with Eric Jensen on piano

June 6-8
Monday, 10:00-11:30am CT – Eve Schulte
Tuesday, 10:00-11:30am CT – Kerry Parker, with Pat Lyles on piano
Wednesday, 10:00-11:30am CT – Leah Gallas, with Eric Jensen on piano

Coordi™ Class
Virtual-only at this time:
Ongoing – Wednesdays, 10:00am-11:00am CT taught by James Sewell

What is Coordi™It’s a movement study based on multiple kinetic patterns happening at once. Physical brain teasers combine with ballet for unexpected pathways and alignments that challenge both your mind and body! Learn more about Coordi™ here.

Sign up for in-person company class or virtual Coordi class at: www.jsballet.org/classes

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 10-15 hours per month 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
ARENA DANCES seeks mission-aligned marketing minds with a heart for contemporary dance to join our actively growing board! Utilize your public relations skills to strengthen the presence of one of the most successful dance organizations in Minnesota.

Two-three years of progressive experience with print and digital marketing campaigns, social media strategies, and public relations is required. Previous board experience, project management, and word press knowledge are a plus!

Finance Focus
ARENA DANCES seeks talented financial minds with a heart for contemporary dance to join our actively growing board! Use your financial prowess to assist our current Board Treasurer to strengthen one of the most successful dance organizations in Minnesota.

At least two years of progressive experience in budget management, financial aptitude, and strategic planning, along with knowledge of Quickbooks Online is required. Previous board experience, as well as knowledge of grant funding cycles, are a plus!

Event/Benefit/Fundraising  Member
ARENA DANCES seeks creative souls with a heart for contemporary dance to join our actively growing board! In this position, you will be able to utilize your event management skills to execute fundraising and donor stewardship events for one of the most successful dance organizations in Minnesota.

At least two-three years of progressive experience with cultivating in-kind donations, corporate philanthropy, donor development, and community engagement are required. Previous board experience, nonprofit experience, and event certification(s) is a plus!

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!

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.

Mathew Janczewski

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.

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.

Many exercises will be performed seated – chairs are provided. Students should bring a mat to class if possible.

Photo courtesy of Armour Photography.

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

ARENA DANCES’ Seventh Season of Studio Stories with Mathew Janczewski

Join ARENA DANCES for our weekly Studio Stories podcast, where each week we reminisce on Twin Cities dance history with a new special guest. This week, Megan Mayer interviews the Studio Stories producer, Mathew Janczewski of ARENA DANCES, to launch the seventh season!

Tune in this Thursday, June 2 at 12:00pm

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.

Shortly after receiving his degree in dance from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, and performing internationally, Mathew founded his own non-profit dance company, ARENA DANCES, in 1995. His practices are profoundly inspired by music, architecture, self-expression, and an ongoing collaboration with dancer’s opposition of distal extremes while pushing the edges of space within the body’s potential. ARENA serves as the vehicle for his body of work and provides young, aging and underserved segments of the Twin Cities community with opportunities to experience the transformative power of dance.

Available on our website or wherever you get your podcasts!

Photo courtesy of Aaron Warkov.