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AMP Offers Weekly Contemporary Movement Practice

Move BIG, sweat, and play in an energizing atmosphere each week! Movers will build awareness and explore expansive possibilities within their own individuality and identities. Through improvised and structured movement vocabulary, participants will be encouraged to research freedom, 3-D expansion, mobility, rigor, presence, agency in choice-making, and empowerment within each individual’s own unique body.

Led by AMP Co-Director, Joanna Lees. Knee pads recommended. Suitable for advanced/professional movers.

Curiosity, Connection, Community, Choice

Wednesdays, 10:00-11:30am
Through December 15

In-person and synchronous Zoom/virtual options.
In the newly renovated Center for Performing Arts.
Masks required unless otherwise specified.
Registration strongly encouraged for in person, but not required.
Registration is required for Zoom option. To receive the Zoom link via email, you must register no later than 30 minutes prior to class time.

Rates
Single Practice: $15
5 Practices: $70
10 Practices: $130
No one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Please email alternativemotionproject@gmail.com for low/no cost options.

Mathew Janczewski Teaches Contemporary Technique Friday Morning

Mathew Janczewski teaches modern/contemporary technique – Fridays, 9:30-11:00am, through December 17

The students and I will open up curiosity, finding internal pathways within the body and the contrast of those same pathways to promote extension of skeletal mobility beyond one’s own range. An assortment of texture, speed, density, length, force and resistance will be taught and open these skills.

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

Drop-in $17. Flexible pricing and free parking!
Pre-register at https://www.arena-dances.org/class-payment/

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.

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; is ADA compliant and has two gender-neutral changing rooms. Its large windows and garage door allow for an abundance of natural light and fresh air.

NOTE: Masks are required for all individuals. Click here for Threads’ complete safety plan.

Conveniently located in the Seward neighborhood, we offer free parking and free side street parking. We are a 5-minute walk from the Franklin Light Rail Station, and a 2-5 minute walk from 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.

Hourly Rental Rates
Extended rentals may be eligible for additional discounts on a case-by-case basis.
General Usage (for-profit, events, etc.): $22 per hour
501(c)3 / Individual Artists: $20 per hour
BIPOC / College Students: $18 per hour

Capoeira with Jim Bozic of MN Capoeira Academy at The Arena

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art that combines martial arts, dance, and culture, and provides an environment for people to develop themselves physically as well as mentally and emotionally.

Jim Bozic has been training capoeira for approximately seven years, and teaching for five – “I find the personal challenges of testing my abilities to be quite the humbling experience, but my main enjoyment from capoeira comes from the teaching aspect. Helping guide and shape my fellow students into achieving their potential comes as its own reward.”

Wednesdays, 6:30-7:30pm

Drop-in $17. Flexible pricing and free parking!

Pre-register at https://www.arena-dances.org/class-payment/

Moving Practice with Elayna Waxse – December 7 to December 21

Moving Practice is a weekly class series for professional dancers. Classes prioritize rigor, diversity of contemporary aesthetics, variety of class content, and commitment. Professional level dancers of all styles are welcome.

Tuesdays, 10:00-11:30AM at The Arena
Elayna Waxse teaches throughout December

Pre-register at https://www.arena-dances.org/class-payment/
$17 drop in. Flexible pricing and free parking!

Elayna’s 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 phrase work, somatic exercises and conversation, we will explore physical prowess, performativity, and authenticity in movement and activism. 

Elayna Waxse is originally from Overland Park, Kansas and is now based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She began her training at nine years old with Alecia Good and also at the Kansas City Ballet School under the direction of Karen P. Brown, spending her summers at the School of American Ballet in New York City.  She continued her training at the Professional Division program at Pacific Northwest Ballet School in Seattle, WA., where she regularly performed with the company. 

Professionally, Elayna has danced with Minnesota Dance Theatre, Colorado Ballet/Colorado Ballet Studio Company, Black Label Movement, BodyCartography Project, and with Cie. Ismael Ivo at ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival 2014. She was a member of TU Dance from 2012 to 2019, and was 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).

Other credits include work by George Balanchine, Glen Tetley, Loyce Houlton, Eliot Feld, Uri Sands, Dwight Rhoden, Francesca Harper, Gioconda Barbuto, Katrin Hall, Greg Dolbashian, and Stephanie Batten-Bland. Elayna is a 2019 recipient of a McKnight Fellowship in Dance. 

Generating Room Application Deadline Approaching

The Cowles Center’s Generating Room program is a six-month-long studio residency that supports three Minnesota artists and/or collectives in nurturing a work in progress through 100 hours of free rehearsal space, as well as marketing and administrative support. This program is intended for artists at any stage of their career who need time and space to develop a project or idea rooted in dance without the pressure of a completed end product.

Program proposals should leverage this opportunity to launch the project into the next steps and must involve a partnership with a distinct community or use community engagement as part of the proposal. Artists or organizations from outside of Minnesota may partner on the project, but the lead applicant must be based in Minnesota.

Competitive applications will bring a unique perspective, discussion, and engagement opportunity to the Minnesota arts community. Past Generating Room projects have included: open rehearsals, work-in-progress showings, roundtable discussions, workshop series, and film showings.

Learn more and apply: https://www.thecowlescenter.org/artist-residencies/generating-room

Dance Tenure Track position 2022-2023 – St. Olaf College

The Department of Dance at St. Olaf College invites applications for a full-time, tenure track position in Dance at the Assistant Professor level to begin August 2022.

We are looking for an innovative, versatile teacher and artist scholar with depth and breadth of experience in African/African Diasporic dance theory and practice and evidence of integrating these into their teaching and research. The candidate will mentor undergraduate students academically and artistically, as well as stage choreographic and performance works for a varied student body. MFA in Dance or Ph.D. in Dance or a related field in hand or near completion by time of appointment required.

Review of applications will begin on January 11, 2022, and will continue until the position is filled. Finalist interviews are expected in March 2022.

Applicants must submit materials online at https://stolaf.hiretouch.com/faculty-postings.

Heat Up Your December with AMP’s Winter Workshop – December 20 to December 22

Over the course of this three-day contemporary movement workshop, move BIG, sweat, and play with us while we build awareness and explore expansive possibilities within our own bodies. With improvised and structured movement vocabulary, we will research freedom, 3-D expansion, mobility, rigor, presence, agency in choice-making, and empowerment within ourself. Led by AMP Co-Director, Joanna Lees.

Suitable for professional, pre-professional, and/or intermediate/advanced movers, ages 18 and older. Knee pads recommended. This is a great way to keep moving over school or holiday breaks. Low/no cost options available. Come as you are!

In person and virtual options available. Drop in for one, two or all three days. Pre-registration highly encouraged through AMP’s website. Those who pre-register will be given priority should class size need to be limited. Current CDC guidelines for COVID-19 safety will be followed.

Monday, December 20
Tuesday, December 21
Wednesday, December 22
10:00am-12:00pm

Rates
Single day/drop in rate: $18
Two-day bundle rate: $32
Three-day bundle rate: $45

Registration and more info at alternativemotionproject.org. Email questions and inquiries to alternativemotionproject@gmail.com.

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’).

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.

Creative Space for Rent at The ARENA

Located in the heart of the LynLake neighborhood, The Arena is available to rent for your rehearsal, class, and event needs!

$20/hour for rehearsals and $25/hour for class or audition offerings. Negotiable for long-term inquiries.

Our space offers 1,305 square feet, 30’×40′ of sprung floor, Marley dance flooring, wall-length mirrors (with curtains to cover if preferred), free wifi, and a changing room.

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

To request space, please email arenadances@gmail.com