Archive

Ballet Royale: Audition for New Pre-Professional Program

Ballet Royale is excited to announce our NEW Pre-Professional Program, for students ages 7-21. This new program is an alternative to, not a replacement of, our current training programs.

Ballet Royale’s Pre-Professional Program and Professional Division program provide a more rigorous and demanding training schedule, designed for students striving towards a professional or post-secondary dance career. Building on the ongoing success of Ballet Royale’s elite Professional Division day program, the Pre-Professional program expands these opportunities to students of all levels—not just the highest.

Visit our website for more information!

Admission and acceptance into the Pre-Professional Program is by audition only. Click HERE to register for our upcoming audition: Saturday, August 28, 2021, between 3:00-7:00pm

 

JSB Open Classes in August

You are invited to partake in advanced level open ballet class with the artists of James Sewell Ballet!

Learn more at http://www.jsballet.org/classes, where you can find class listings several weeks out.

Mondays – JSB Artist in Rotation

Tuesdays – Kerry Parker with Pat Lyles on piano

Wednesdays – Eve Schulte

Thursdays – Leah Gallas with Eric Jensen on piano

Friday – James Sewell

9:30-11:00am
Sliding scale $5-20.

Visit http://www.jsballet.org/classes to connect.

DECADANCE: Featuring Duniya Drum & Dance and Rhythmically Speaking

This year, we are eating our dessert first!

Join us for DECADANCE as we honor 10 years of dance at The Cowles Center with the decadence of desserts!

The event will feature short and sweet performances by Duniya Drum & Dance Company and Rhythmically Speaking, plus a special announcement about a new initiative to bring artists and audiences together! Help us raise $75,000 to benefit Cowles Center programming and expand our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility initiatives! We are excited to host a diverse group of arts supporters at The Cowles Center for our in-person, on-site benefit (event capacity of 250 persons), with a virtual component. No formal dress code. Be yourself!

RSVP: https://www.thecowlescenter.org/tickets/decadance

Early Bird Tickets will be on sale from August 3-September 1, 2021.

Studio Stories – this week with Lori Mercil

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 sat down with Lori Mercil to learn about her journey. 

In addition to earning a BFA in Dance from the U of MT, Lori earned summer scholarships for further study at the Martha Graham School in NYC, and Repertory Dance Theater in Salt Lake City, and has taught and/or performed ballet, jazz, modern, and creative movement in Montana, Oregon, Japan, and the Twin Cities. Locally, Lori has taught jazz, modern, ballet, hip hop, and creative movement at various locations, including Ballare Teatro, Elev8, Zenon, and Young Dance. Lori currently dances with the Christopher Watson Dance Company, and MotionArt, and has danced with Becky Heist, Hauser Dance, Karla Grotting, Link Vostok , Marciano Silva dos Santos, Marylee Hardenbergh, Off-Leash Area, and Una Setia. Lori has shown her own work at Hauser Dance, Kinetic Kitchen, Dances at the Lakes, and Solstice River, and is currently co-producer/choreographer for Global Water Dances, Minneapolis, and 16 Feet (an annual choreographers’ showcase).

Visit http://www.arena-dances.org to listen, or check it out wherever you get your podcasts!

 

Pop-Up FALL Sound Garden on West River Parkway

Dancers Leslie O’Neill, Megan Mayer, Sarah Baumert, and Erika Hansen perform their site-specific, roving, durational movement scores across a three-acre site along West River Parkway as part of composer/director JG Everest’s immersive FALL Sound Garden sound and performance installation event.

The roving movement scores will begin by 1:00pm and will come and go throughout the space until 4:00pm.

The third of four seasonal “pop-up” Sound Garden events along West River Parkway in 2021, the FALL Sound Garden features layers of site-specific dance, music, poetry, and visual art among some of the oldest trees in Minneapolis.

Sound Gardens are designed as durational, self-guided experiences intended for audience to connect more meaningfully to a particular place and the natural world. The spatial sound score and live dance and musical elements are meant to accompany the sounds and physical elements that are already there – the birds, the trees, the wind, the leaves. Audiences are encouraged to both circulate and linger at their own pace, following their own impulses for what to pay attention to.

Saturday, October 2
12:00-4:00pm
Free admission, but reservations required

Limited capacity.

Learn More

Young Dance Seeks Teaching Artists for 2021-2022 Session

Young Dance is seeking teachers, assistants, and substitutes for 2021-22 and beyond. Teachers with experience in the following styles are encouraged to apply: Hip Hop, Afro-Modern, Modern/Contemporary Technique, Ballet, Percussive Dance, and Creative Movement.

Founded in 1987, we believe young people are artists with something important to say and that working across differences is a benefit to all. Our mission is to transform lives through movement. We are an inclusive community where creativity flourishes and healthy risk-taking is encouraged. Our classes are open to everyone of all levels and abilities. Participants enjoy our collaborative and student-led approach to dance education. Our curriculum emphasizes technique, improvisation, and choreography through the elements of dance: Body, Action, Space, Time, and Energy. Dancers develop skills in observing, participating, and reflecting in a safe and supportive environment that values a commitment to self, to the group, and to lifelong learning.

Pay rate is $45/hour for lead teaching, $22.50/hour for assisting.

Covid-19 vaccination required.

Contact Anat Shinar, anat@youngdance.org, with a resume and brief introduction.

Coordi™ Class

Engage in fun physical brain teasers to hone your balance, coordination, and brain health. This movement-based virtual class is open to all abilities — no dance experience necessary. It’s a work out for both brain and body!

Wednesdays, 10:00AM CT – lower impact

Classes are led by James Sewell, are one hour in length, and are geared toward adult participation.

Sliding scale, $5-20.

Visit https://jsballet.org/coordi/ to connect.

Twin Cities Ballet Announces 2021-2022 Season Performances

Twin Cities Ballet is thrilled to announce a season of in-person performances, featuring exciting premieres, the return of some of our most popular ballets, and, as always, fantastic dancing and storytelling. You won’t want to miss it!

Highlights of the Season:

Dracula – This world premiere is part of a mixed bill performance at Ames Center in Burnsville on October 27-28. Dracula will have an original libretto based on the classic novel, with an original musical score composed for this production by Minnesota composer Simon Sperl. This performance will also feature RED, a ballet based on The Handmaid’s Tale, and a new work choreographed by TCB company dancer Micah Chermak. 

A Minnesota Nutcracker – TCB’s beloved holiday classic with a Minnesota twist returns to Ames Center on December 10–12, and will include the launch of its new sensory-relaxed performance series, the first of its kind in Minnesota. These performances are designed to be more accessible for persons with sensory sensitivities and families with young children. In addition, TCB’s one-hour Mini-Nutcracker at Lakeville Area Arts Center on November 30 is a perfect way to introduce children and families to this holiday delight!

TCB’s Choreographic Voices – TCB artists will explore the creative process and present experimental and new works on January 28-29 at the Dance Cube performance space at Ballet Royale Minnesota in Lakeville. 

Pink Floyd’s The Wall: A Rock Ballet – Back by popular demand, TCB will be performing its smash-hit original rock ballet at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul March 11–13, with live music from popular local band Momentary Lapse of Floyd.

Giselle – The season will conclude with the beautiful ballet classic,Giselle, at Ames Center in Burnsville on May 6–8. This will be the Twin Cities Ballet company premiere of one of the most popular and enduring ballet favorites.

Studio Stories interviews E.E. Balcos this Thursday

Stories are among our most potent tools. We need to unearth old stories that live in a place and begin to create new ones. We are story makers, not just storytellers. All stories are connected, new ones woven from the threads of the old.  – Robin Wall Kimmerer, paraphrased

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 sat down with E.E. Balcos to learn about his journey. 

E.E. Balcos is a  Filipino-American and is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He began formal training with modern dance pioneer Hanya Holm while also engaging in the practice of contact improvisation. A successful performer and choreographer for over 35 years, he danced with numerous independent Minneapolis choreographers, as well as works by numerous nationally recognized choreographers and dance artists. E.E. was the Artistic Director and choreographer for his company E.E.MOTION from 2007-2013. This year (2021), he will be performing a new solo, Tales from the Wizard, choreographed by Bill Evans. His current endeavors apply somatic approaches to choreography, dance performance, interdisciplinary collaborations, physical resilience, and teaching.

Visit http://www.arena-dances.org to listen, or check it out wherever you get your podcasts!

 

Erin Thompson Teaches Advanced Contemporary Classes In Person

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

NOTE – Classes will be in person and on Zoom!

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

Zenon Dance School