Class + Connect with Guest Artist Jennifer Ilse at TU Dance Center

Please join us this spring for a series of three open adult class offerings featuring three different Twin Cities teaching artists. Each offering will include four weekly classes. Join for all three offerings or drop-in as your schedule allows. Each class will be followed by an optional time to connect with one another over coffee/tea provided by TU Dance – either socially distanced in our green room space or outside on the loading dock, weather permitting. We hope to create a space where people can explore movement and dance and also build community by staying to connect through conversation and reflection of their shared experience.

Starting this series, we invite you to join modern teaching artist Jennifer Ilse. Jennifer’s class approaches movement with a goal of balance – fluidity in strength and power in softness, centered on breath and economy of movement to teach internal and external body awareness, rhythm and phrasing, and ensemble dancing through modern dance patterns and improvisation. Open to beginning and intermediate level participants, age 18+.

Saturdays, March 19 and 26, and April 2
4:00-5:30pm
$12 or $15
In-person only at TU Dance Center.
Pre-registration required as in-studio space is limited!

Young Dance Summer 2022 Programs

Young Dance is excited to dance with you this summer. We are offering a full schedule of programs, including weekly Creative Movement and Dance Together classes, as well as an exciting menu of 4-day camps featuring a variety of styles with some of the Twin Cities best educators. 

Camps include:

Dance + Photography with Blake
Dance a Story Creative Movement with Denise
All Abilities Dance + Stories with Gretchen
Variety Camps with styles such as Hip Hop, Breaking, Ballet, Capoeira, Afro-Modern, Percussive, Afro-Brazilian, Modern, Jazz, and more, featuring a roster of phenomenal Teaching Artists.

Peruse the schedule and register now! Check the website for the most up-to-date information.

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 which refreshes the air 7-8 times per hour. Renters will also have access to a large lobby (25’ x 29’) and up to 50 chairs. 

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.

Friday Morning Jazz – Last Class of Winter Session with Erinn Liebhard

Come groove with Erinn Liebhard at the last Friday Morning Jazz class of Zenon Dance School’s Winter session, March 18!

Class runs 10:00-11:15am CT and remains hybrid, with space for 10 masked and distanced students in-studio and a high-quality Zoom option for folks joining from home/remotely.

Erinn’s approach to jazz emphasizes groove, interaction and improvisation, is inspired by both social and concert dance movement (particularly that with African diasporic roots), and is driven by jazz music. This week’s class will focus on how scholars Brenda Dixon Gottschild and Kariamu Asante’s concepts of Africanisms in dance can show themselves within jazz, culminating in a fast-paced and groovy combination to Randy Weston’s tune “African Cookbook”!

To get more regular updates about class content, guest artists and more, follow our Facebook page! Drop-ins encouraged. Register for class at zenondance.org, and #GetYourAssToClass!

The Arena – Contemporary Flow with AD 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, 10:00-11:30 am
Through April 8
Pre-register at https://www.arena-dances.org/the-arena/
Drop-in rate is $17 with flexible pricing and free parking!

Mathew Janczewski’s inquisitive, immersive and heartfelt approach to contemporary dance reaches beyond the surface and holds the viewer in its embrace. With over 35 works in his repertoire and more than two decades of experience as a choreographer, Mathew has cultivated a highly diverse and mesmerizing style of movement.

Mathew’s work has garnered praise in the Twin Cities and beyond. He has created commissioned works for companies such as Minnesota Dance Theater, Cleveland Repertory Co., aTrek Dance, and Zenon Dance Company. He was the Bates Festival choreographer (2001), received the Sage Award for Outstanding Performance (2005), and won the McKnight Choreographers Fellowship (2005). In 2008, Dance Magazine named him as one of their “25 to Watch.”

Shortly after receiving his degree in dance at the University of Minnesota and performing internationally, Mathew founded his own non-profit dance company, ARENA DANCES, in 1995. 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.

The Arena – GYROKINESIS® Method with Brittany Fridenstine-Keefe

The GYROKINESIS® Method is a movement method that addresses the entire body, opening energy pathways, stimulating the nervous system, increasing range of motion and creating functional strength through rhythmic, flowing movement sequences. It is an original and unique method which coordinates movement, breath and mental focus.

Tuesdays, 4:00-5:00pm at The Arena

Brittany Fridenstine-Keefe teaches March 22-April 5.

Pre-registration preferred but not necessary at https://www.arena-dances.org/the-arena/
Drop in rate is $17 with flexible pricing and free parking!

Through her dance training, Brittany has been involved with the GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® for over 20 years. Originally trained in GYROTONIC® methodology by master trainer Magali Messiac, Brittany earned her teaching credentials through master trainers Juergen Bamberger and Leda Franklin. All of her mentors were original students of the creator Juliu Horvath. Brittany is certified in GYROKINESIS® as well as the GYROTONIC® Level 2 work, on the Jumping Stretch Board and Leg Extension Unit specialized equipment, the dancer application work, and the therapeutic pelvic girdle, psoas, and fascial body courses. Brittany focuses on natural energetic connections and having fun through exercise.

Threads Dance Nexus Renting Now

Threads Dance Nexus – A Space to Connect and Create

The Threads Dance Nexus is a brand new community hub that not only provides a home for Threads Dance Project, but also strengthens the social fabric of our Minneapolis community through the connective power of dance.

Our 1,480 square foot space has:

  • A professional-grade speaker sound system
  • Sprung floors, barres, and mirrors
  • ADA compliant, two gender-neutral changing rooms
  • Large windows and garage door allowing for an abundance of natural light and fresh air

Conveniently located in the Seward neighborhood, we offer free parking and free side street parking. We are a five-minute walk from the Franklin Light Rail Station, and a 2-5 minute walk from the nearest bus stops (lines 2, 9, 22, 67).

To request space, please email nexusrentals@threadsdance.org. A nonrefundable deposit equal to one hour at the renter’s base rate is due to secure space.

NOTE: Masks are required for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status. Click here for Threads’ complete safety plan.

Ananya Dance Theatre’s Shawngrām Institute Ongoing Classes

Find rhythm, groundedness, and flow with dance classes at Ananya Dance Theatre’s Institute for Performance & Social Justice.

Intro to Yorchhā
Sunday, 3:00-4:00pm CT with Parisha Rajbhandari
Envision justice through rhythmic footwork, flowing torso, and sustained breath in Intro to Yorchhā. Each class begins with a warm-up followed by foundational Yorchhā exercises and a fun choreographed phrase.

Wednesday Water Dances
Wednesday, 9:30-11:00am CT with Kealoha Ferreira
A weekly dedication to the vitality and life force of Water. In class we will offer breath, dance, meditation, story, song, and reflection. Each class will take shape a little differently, staying responsive to the ongoing movements protecting the value and longevity of water world-wide. Facilitated by Kealoha Ferreira, an Ananya Dance Theatre Artist, Wednesday Water Dances will begin with grounding movement, flow into dedicated time for personal practice/research/reflection, and close with collective sharing. All who are committed to deepening their relationship with water are welcome to participate.

Advanced Yorchhā
Friday, 6:00-7:00pm CT with Kealoha Ferreira
Dive into the nuance and complexity of Yorchhā. Advanced Yorchhā is designed to challenge and hone experienced movers through strength training, technique refinement, and intricate choreography. Previous Yorchhā experience is encouraged.

Yorchhā is Ananya Dance Theatre’s trade-marked contemporary technique that intersects principles of vinyasa yoga, classical Indian dance form Odishi (from the eastern Indian state of Odisha) and martial art form Chhau (also from Odisha).

Students attending in-person classes must provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination and must wear face masks during class. No exceptions.

ARENA DANCES’ Studio Stories – CANDY BOX Special with Ayumi Shafer

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 we continue our special CANDY BOX Dance Festival edition hearing from Happy Hour artist Ayumi Shafer.

Ayumi Shafer is an educator, choreographer, dancer, and co-founder of DanceBARN Collective. In 2013, she relocated from Oregon after she earned her MFA in Dance at the University of Oregon. Passionate about dance and education, she completed her thesis research on the idea of play and creativity being effectively integrated into a curriculum in dance in higher education. Prior to her arrival at the UO, Ayumi extensively trained in modern dance in the city of San Francisco, and earned a BA in Dance from San Francisco State University.

Tune in this Thursday, March 17 at 12:00pm to hear what Ayumi Shafer is sharing as part of the 6th Annual CANDY BOX Dance Festival happening May 2-7 at the Southern Theater.

Available on our website or wherever you get your podcasts!

Zenon Dance School – Spring Youth Session Open for Registration

We are excited to announce that Zenon’s Spring Youth Session is officially open for registration! The Spring Session will run from March 28-June 5 with both in-person and online classes.

Youth Ballet for ages 7-10 with Sarah Bartlett – Online
Saturdays, 10:15-10:50am

Creative Movement for ages 3-4 with Kendall Kramer – In Person
Sundays, 10:15-10:50am

Creative Movement for ages 5-6 with Margaret Ogas – In Person
Sundays, 10:15-10:50am

Youth Ballet for ages 7-10 with Kendall Kramer – In Person
11:00-11:45am

Youth Modern for ages 10-14 with Kendall Kramer – In Person
12:00-12:45pm

Register today!