Studios for Rent at Hopkins Dance Company

Three beautiful studios available for hourly, short or long term rental in Hopkins, Minnesota.

Studio 1: 17’x42′
Studio 2: 16’x28′
Studio 3: 29’x60′

Sound system and wi-fi available.

Studio Stories: Reminiscing on Twin Cities Dance with Stephanie Fellner

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 hear from Stephanie Fellner.

Stephanie performed for Myron Johnson’s Ballet of the Dolls for 25 years creating several rolls with the company. As a staple in the community she has performed for several independent choreographers and companies.

Tune in this Thursday, January 27 at 12:00pm to hear Stephanie’s studio story.

Available on our website or wherever you get your podcasts!

McKnight Fellowships for Dancer and Choreographers Applications are Open – Deadline

The application for McKnight Fellowships in Dance and Choreography is now open. The final deadline is Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at 3:00pm CST. Please plan to prepare and submit your application early.

The intent of this program is to recognize and support mid-career dance artists living and working in Minnesota, who demonstrate a sustained level of accomplishment, commitment, and artistic excellence.

We will offer two free online webinars about the application materials and process: February 16 at 7:00pm and February 18 at 12:00pm. See separate entry in this newsletter with instructions on how to register.

For Fellowship Program guidelines and more information:
McKnight Fellowships for Dancers – http://www.mcknightdancechoreo.org/dancer-guidelines
McKnight Fellowship for Choreographers – http://www.mcknightdancechoreo.org/choreographer-guidelines

Dana Kassel, Program Director
McKnight Fellowships: McKFell@theCowlesCenter.org

MFA in Dance at Minnesota State University, Mankato

The Department of Theatre and Dance at Minnesota State University, Mankato is now accepting applications for the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Dance Graduate Program for Fall 2022. This three-year program includes tracks in performance and choreography and offers teaching opportunities, as well as graduate assistantships. The program offers applicants an opportunity to choreograph and perform in annual dance concerts and theatrical productions in beautiful venues including the newly renovated 450-seat Ted Paul Theatre, the intimate Andreas black box theatre, and multiple dance studios.

Graduate Students in the MFA Dance Program will have the opportunity to attend the annual American College Dance Association conference in the spring. Guest artists are invited into the program annually for performances of residencies. Students are supported by 13 faculty and staff members in the department with specialties including choreography, dance performance, history, lighting, costuming, musical theatre, directing, scenic design and public relations.

Priority deadline: April 1, 2022. Priority consideration will be given to applications received by this date.

For information or to apply, email Daniel Stark.

Paul Taylor Dance Company Open Rehearsal and Artist Q&A

Experience a rare glimpse into the studios of Paul Taylor Dance Company during an online, behind-the-scenes preview of a new work by Peter Chu.

Enjoy the first look into this Northrop Centennial Commission which will include exclusive footage of rehearsal as well as a live Q&A with choreographer Peter Chu and Paul Taylor Dance Company Artistic Director, Michael Novak.

Registration for the event is free, with donations encouraged for the Northrop Centennial Commissions program. Streaming on-demand through February 19.

Dance Theatre of Harlem

The 18-member, multi-ethnic company performs a forward-thinking repertoire that includes treasured classics, neoclassical works, and innovative contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture.

This program includes the Northrop co-commission Higher Ground, with choreography by Robert Garland and music by Stevie Wonder, Balamouk choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa with music by Les Yeux Noirs, and Passage choreographed by Claudia Schreier with a commissioned score by Jessie Montgomery.

Dancing Upstairs – Then and Now

Back in the HeyDays of Block E, Patrick Scully had a loft in the very heart of Minneapolis – on Hennepin Avenue, above the Best Steak House, next door to Shinders’ on 7th. Some of his dancer friends/colleagues joined him in presenting a show called Dancing Upstairs. These friends are again joining together to share a show, hence Dancing Upstairs – Then and Now.

The performance will happen online. Tickets are $15.

Featuring
Terri Kruzan, from Atlanta, GA
Wendy Morris, from Minneapolis
Wendy Oliver, from Providence RI
Patrick Scully, from Minneapolis

Each artist will show work from the original show, and new work created for this show. Patrick Scully will be the MC.

https://www.patrickscully.org

TCB’s Choreographic Voices – Free In-Studio Performance

Twin Cities Ballet artists are excited to present new works on January 29 at 7:30pm as part of TCB’s Choreographic Voices at the Dance Cube performance space at Ballet Royale Minnesota in Lakeville. The evening will showcase new choreography by Michaela Borowski, Garland Borowski, and Natalie Rossi, as well as classical variations performed by Twin Cities Ballet company dancers and a sneak preview of our upcoming full-length production, Pink Floyd’s The Wall: A Rock Ballet.

This event is a thank you to our audience for their support over the last two years and in celebration of TCB’s return to in-person performances. Free admission with a suggested donation of $10, or as you are inclined. 

Evening in Roma, choreographed by Natalie Rossi, is inspired by a yearning for travel after recent years of quarantine and restrictions. The piece, in four sections, delves into the lives of different people; some reconnecting, some forgiving, some fun and frivolous, but all lighthearted and set to beautiful, whimsical music by Dean Martin, Aurelio Fierro, and Claudio Villa.

Garland Borowski’s work, Nimrod, is a comedic piece that offers a different viewpoint of the classical dancer. Inspired by stories, teachers, and personal experience, Garland has created a duet that displays some of the daily shenanigans of ballet dancers. Choreographed to music by Edward Elgar, this lighthearted pas de deux is something for all to enjoy and laugh about.

La Vida Breve–The Brief Life or Life Is Short, choreographed by Michaela Borowski, is set to music from the opera La Vida Breve by Manuel de Falla. Against a background of music full of energy, joy, and spice, Borowski seeks to showcase her dancers’ strengths while playing with the interpretation of the music, drawing on the strong musical themes and variation of intensity and tempo. 

Join Twin Cities Ballet in this evening of celebration: the return of a live audience and the gift of dance!

Ashwini Ramaswamy and Kevork Mourad: Invisible Cities Work in Progress Talk

Presented as part of The Great Northern
Monday, January 31, 7:00pm. Doors at 6:00pm.
$5, tickets required.
All ages

The Parkway Theater requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test result taken within 72 hours prior for entry to all events. Masks are required when not eating or drinking.

“[Ashwini Ramaswamy] weaves together, both fearfully and joyfully, the human and the divine. There is a continual flow of energy coursing through her limbs.” —The New York Times

“The wonderful phenomena of [Calvino’s] Invisible Cities are seen as through some unfolding nuclear kaleidoscope” – The New York Times Book Review

Choreographer/dancer Ashwini Ramaswamy’s Invisible Cities’ reinterprets Italo Calvino’s metaphysical/philosophical novel through interwoven cultural perspectives, with interactive projections created by internationally renowned artist Kevork Mourad. This work-in-progress conversation, moderated by MCAD President Sanjit Sethi, will delve into the process of adapting a multifaceted, layered work of literature (set to premiere during The Great Northern 2023 with copresenting partners The Cowles Center and Northrop) collaboratively, with an inspired collective of artists from diverse disciplines and backgrounds.

About the work:
As a South Indian artist, Ramaswamy draws from the myths and culture of her homeland to resurrect her relationship with the past and reprocess that past into the present. Her work is aimed at second and third generation immigrants longing to make connections between the ancestral and the current. Working with groups of dancers of four diverse dance backgrounds (Bharatanatyam led by Ramaswamy, Gaga technique led by Berit Ahlgren, Contemporary/African Diasporic led by Alanna Morris-Van Tassel, and Breaking led by Joseph Tran), Ramaswamy builds upon a choreographic methodology she began in 2019’s Let the Crows Come (named ‘Best of the Year’ in the Star Tribune, City Pages, and MinnPost).

Invisible Cities extends beyond the kinetic realm with live, interactive projections created by internationally renowned artist Kevork Mourad, a longtime admirer of Calvino’s book. Both haunting and hopeful, ethereal and full of depth, Mourad’s visual architectures provide a dynamic and unpredictable dimension to the artists’ examination of the way the built environment and human life interact.

Black Light a re:Search performance by Alanna Morris and Collaborators

Black Light is a multi-year collaborative performance directed by Minnesota-based dancer-choreographer, Alanna Morris (formerly Morris-Van Tassel, City Pages’ Artist of the Year, Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch,” and 2021 McKnight Choreographer Fellow).

This work explores birth, creation, death, and life transitions while honoring noble ancestry. It ventures into the nobility of black-ness; the divinity of feminine creative energy; and the harnessing of sensual expression. Black Light a re:Search performance is a natural world-inspired expression of interwoven local and global identities.

This event will be captioned, with other accessibility services available upon request.

Please note:  This work contains frontal nudity and may not be suitable for persons under the age of 16.