DanceMN News

Collide Theatrical Dance Company presents its first dance musical with an original score—

SKOL! plays at the Southern Theater March 23–April 9, 2023.

When a mysterious illness befalls a Viking clan, a young woman is called to fulfill her destiny as a great warrior leader in a battle for the cure with the Christian army. Inspired by the Norse gods, her journey tests the boundaries of her faith, shakes the ground of the relationships with the men dearest in her life, and causes her to question the definition of female strength.

Inspired by recent evidence of the grave of a female Viking holding the accoutrements and injury marks of a prestigious warrior, a discovery that cast a new light on gender roles in Scandinavian history. Collide explores this fascinating story with an original pop rock/rap score composed by Twin Cities musician Mike Michel (The Orange Goodness), with lyrics by vocalists Rush Benson (Ordway) and Katie Gearty (Dakota Jazz Club).

Created by Collide Artistic Director, Regina Peluso; the production stars Renee Guittar and Jarod Boltjes.

Click for tickets or call 651-395-7903.
Group rates available.

Contempo Physical Dance presents the premiere of LAVADEIRAS, a full-length work choreographed by Marciano Silva dos Santos inspired by the Afro-Brazilian washerwomen of Brazil. With original music composition by Divan Gattamorta, who utilizes audio by documentarian Edileuza Penha de Souza, this work is inspired by the music and dance that has been passed down for centuries. Their history begins with slave women who earned money for their masters by washing clothes in the rivers. While doing so they sang and danced to keep their spirits joyful despite hard work. These women held on to enough profits to eventually free themselves and their families.

Our world is filled with uncertainty and hardship. More than ever, we need to come together and be unified and the washerwomen inspire this, making it undeniable that we need music, dance and human connection.

Featuring Dancers: Melissa Clark, Suzette Gilreath, Tumelo Khupe, Ryan-Olivia Lundy, Mary Mailand Schlichting and Monica Merino.

Friday, March 24 at 7:30pm
Saturday, March 25 at 7:30pm

This performance runs approximately 55 minutes.
Tickets: $5-$15 available through The O’Shaughnessy ticket office in person, by calling 651-690-6700 or at oshag.stkate.edu.

Serenade
Of Mice and Men
The Times Are Racing

The Joffrey Ballet returns to Northrop with a dynamic program of three works: Serenade—the first ballet George Balanchine created in America in 1934, an electric “sneaker ballet” from Tony Award winner Justin Peck, and the Northrop Centennial Commission Of Mice and Men adapted by choreographer Cathy Marston. This new take on John Steinbeck’s tender tale of friendship, perseverance, and sacrifice features an original score by 14-time Academy Award nominee, Thomas Newman (The Shawshank Redemption, Skyfall, Finding Nemo), played live by Northrop’s Ballet Orchestra.

March 25 at 7:00pm
March 26 at 7:00pm

March 25 at 9:30pm
Tickets: $55 (A $20 donation is included in your ticket price.)

Celebrate with the dancers of Joffrey Ballet after their performance! Join us for the ENCORE: Joffrey Ballet Cast Party, an insider event including drinks, live music, and delicious bites while meeting the dancers—plus remarks from The Joffrey Ballet’s MBE Artistic Director, Ashley Wheater.

These celebratory fundraising events support Northrop Centennial Commissions to create new dance works, elevate artists, and bring extraordinary presentations to our stage. You can be part of ensuring that artists’ creative works will be seen by audiences and youth in our community for years to come.

In this decade, leading up to Northrop’s 100-year anniversary in 2029, the Northrop Centennial Commissions project helps create new dance works to ensure that there will be amazing performances far into the future.

With your support, Northrop’s Centennial Commissions program provides:

• The creation and presentation of exquisite new works.
• Opportunities for students, youth, and communities to experience transformative arts.
• Connections through art that will be shared for generations.
• Arts programming for youth arts and education programs.
• A deeper understanding and insight into art, self-expression, and communication through discussions with artists, inspiring the community and young people.

Come join the fun with Young Dance by building and playing miniature golf! 

On Saturday, March 25, everyone is invited to build their own miniature golf hole for Young Dance’s unique, one-day-only miniature golf course. We will gather and build at 

Lake Monster Brewing Company from 1:00–4:00pm.
Participants can sign up to build and design the course as an individual or bring a group of friends. 

This year, we will be building with the theme of Chocolate Factory. 

Materials like cardboard, pieces of gutter, tubes, wood, pallets, nails, screws, tape, and more will be provided, or you can bring your own supplies. Skilled construction workers will be in attendance to help make your Oompa Loompa and golden ticket building dreams come true. 

Once the course is complete, golfing will open at 4:00pm.  

Free to build, then pick your price to play! All proceeds go to Young Dance.

Sponsored by:
Ace Hardware Store Bloomington Ave Minneapolis,  The Arc Minnesota, Home Depot store #2806, No Mythic Robotics, Spire Bank, Upstream Arts, and the Young Dance Board of Directors.

Marketing oneself whether it be for promoting an upcoming show, weekly workshops or just yourself as an artist is not an easy feat. Let’s come together to discuss tips and strategies with one another. Questions that will be addressed will include: How do you market your shows, classes and/or yourself as an artist? How can you make sure you’re reaching your target audience? How can we expand to a new audience? How do you control the tone in which you try to communicate? What are the tips and tricks around social media?

The voices, language, and bodies of Chilean artists—native Mapuche singer and composer Elisa Avendaño Curaqueo, and contemporary flamenco dancer Natalia García-Huidobro—weave together in a ceremony revealing their own stories—two lives that reflect Chile’s history and the search for its future.

The work was sparked by the events that were detonated after the murder of Camilo Catrillanca, a Mapuche former student activist and farmer. Touching on questions of identity and destiny, people and nature, the “female being,” and the balance of power—the work transcends conventional ideas of theater, dance, and activism. Conceived and directed by internationally renowned Samoan artist Lemi Ponifasio, a champion of both the avant-garde and indigenous people.

March 31 at 8:00pm
April 1 at 8:00pm
April 2 at 8:00pm

Kitchen Dances is a dancing history exploring how women’s power of choice and agency over their own lives have evolved throughout various time periods and cultures. Witness the metamorphosis of the heart of the home from a place of duty to an experimental playground of possibilities. Dance styles featured in this production include contemporary ballet, flamenco, and modern as the Company of Ballet Co.Laboratory performs in collaboration with guest dance artists from around the Twin Cities.

Choreographer: Claire Davison.

Performers: The Company Dancers of Ballet Co.Laboratory with guest artists Nieya Amezquita, MonaLisa Berman, Susana di Palma, and Juliana Johnson.

Tickets:
Adults: $40
Seniors: $35
Children/Students: $30
Groups (10+ tickets to the same performance): $30

Friday, March 31, 2023 at 7:00pm
Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 7:00pm
Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 2:00pm

Join Twin Cities Ballet for TCB’s Choreographic Voices, featuring the premiere of pieces by our very own TCB company dancers, Garland Borowski and Tyler Piwowarczyk, and performances by TCB trainees and advanced student dancers.

Come and support our dancers! We ask for a suggested donation of $10 to help support this performance. Gifts of any amount are always appreciated, and all proceeds go back to Twin Cities Ballet.

TCB’s Choreographic Voices will take place in the Dance Cube at Ballet Royale on April 1 at 7:30pm. More information on our website!

Floorwork: a communal conversation and shared meal.

Every first Saturday! Floorwork was developed to hold conversations, knowledge-sharing, and supportive space for dance artists and people who like to move.

The next Floorwork is:
Saturday, April 1
3:00-5:00pm
RSVP by Thursday, March 30.

This April Floorwork will focus on artist residencies – conversation assisted by April Sellers of April Sellers Dance Collective and Liz Engelmen of Tofte Lake Center.  Conversation will be held over a communal meal – bring your own dish to share in our potluck! ARENA DANCES will supply beverages, plates, napkins, and utensils.

Founded in 2017 by Choreographer and Dancer Helen Hatch, contemporary dance company Hatch Dance celebrates its first five years with vibrant performances showcasing the company’s collaborative spirit and expansive range.

Along with repertory favorites, this celebration features the world-premiere of Notjustmoreidlechatter, a new duet for Dylan Wald and Elle Macy, Principal Dancers of Pacific Northwest Ballet, showcasing technical virtuosity and emotional vulnerability from two of ballet’s brightest stars.

Sunday, April 2 performance includes Pay As You Are!

TERRANEA: hakawati of the sea is a dance performance searching for memories inside diasporic bodies to reflect on notions of home while simultaneously asking, “what does the water of the Mediterranean Sea remember?”

In blurring researched realities and mythology-making, TERRANEA examines Palestinian experiences of occupation, refugee crisis (of land and sea), and politics around movement and nation within this body of water; only to depart into dream. A sea spirit, Terranea, emerges as mother for those lost in waves — welcoming souls of migrants into a fluid and mythical shared space, world-making endeavors towards imagining a collective home.

Conceptualized and choreographed by Leila Awadallah in collaboration with Noelle Awadallah and the Body Watani Dance Project artists joining them: Nakita Kirchner, Sharitah Nalule, Emma Marlar and Erica Jo Vibar Sherwood. Original music by Renée Copeland featuring Amal Kaawash singing Palestinian / Levantine folk songs, percussion and more by PJ Roduta and oud by Clarissa Bitar.

We are seeking a publicist to help us promote this exciting performance event.
Please contact Mariel Schneider at mgr@lcpdance.com for more information.

Madison, WI-based contemporary dance company, Li Chaio-Ping Dance, presents Here Lies the Truth at the Red Eye Theater in April 2023. This hour-long multidisciplinary dance theater work is a collaboration among choreographer Li Chiao-Ping, visual artist Douglas Rosenberg, sound designer/composer Tim Russell, dramaturg Cláudia Tatinge Nascimento, and lighting designer John Frautschy.

Here Lies the Truth is an original performance featuring dancers of color on social inequity and the lies embedded in racial stereotypes. Here Lies the Truth has been presented at the Overture in Madison, the Asia Pacific Dance Festival in Honolulu, and at CounterPulse in San Francisco.

AMP presents ELEVEN, an engaging evening that embodies and offers a wide range of physical perspectives within contemporary dance.

Experience four dynamic new works that explore the relationship between human and machine, the connections between the body and enjoyment, the storytelling in music and movement, and the imaginative universes within dream states and black holes. Join us for our 11th season!

New works by:
Khary Jackson
Brianna Rae Johnson
Zoë Koenig, Company Member
Joanna Lees with Dameun Strange, Sound

​Friday, April 14 – 7:30pm
Saturday, April 15 – 7:30pm
Sunday, April 16 – 2:00pm*

*The April 16 show includes a Pay As You Are option, Post-Show Q&A, and ASL Interpretation (Greg Waletski, Interpreter).

Tickets:
General Admission – $20 in advance, $25 at the door
Senior – $18 in advance, $22 at the door
Student/Children under 12 – $18 in advance and at the door

Pre-Opening Night Happy Hour and Mingle Event:
Friday, April 14 only!
6:30-7:00pm
The Southern Theater Upstairs Lobby
$40 in advance, $45 at the door
Price includes ticket to ELEVEN on April 14, one beverage, and first access to the theater (learn more).

Master classes will also be held and taught by the show’s choreographers from April 14-16.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Photo: Bill Cameron

ARENA DANCES presents the seventh annual CANDY BOX Dance Festival, Minnesota’s only dance festival with a dynamic sampling of great dance artists featuring performances, master classes, and public showings wrapped all in one week. This year’s festival features the work of local Twin Cities artists Berit Ahlgren of HoneyWorks and Megan Mayer, with a warm welcome to Chicago-based artist J’Sun Howard with a National Performance Network co-commission to headline.

CANDY BOX Dance Festival is a unique celebration of dance, packed with a wonderful assortment of various renowned choreographers, accomplished dancers, and fresh movement styles all perfectly packed into one sweet week. It is an opportunity for diverse emerging and established artists to share the performance stage, with the addition of selected artists leading intimate workshops to offer a welcoming space for communal movement education, and in doing so gathering a range of tastes for varied audiences.

Get your tickets!

Featured Artist Performances
Thursday, April 27 at 7:30pm
Friday, April 28 at 7:30pm
Saturday, April 29 at 7:30pm
Saturday, April 29 at 2:00pm – Pay-As-Able pricing option available, at the door only

Tickets:
Purchase before April 23: $21; $18 student/senior
After April 23: $25 online and at the door; $18 student/senior discount with inquiry.

Happy Hour Artists
Monday-Friday, 5:30-6:30pm
Monday, April 24 – Nic Lincoln
Tuesday, April 25 – Cheng Xiong and Javan Mngrezzo
Wednesday, April 26 – Shane Larson and Rachel Lieberman
Thursday, April 27 – Laurie Van Wieren
Friday, April 28 – Lily Conforti

Tickets: $12 per show or $25 for five-show package.
Walk-ins welcome. Cash/check/card accepted at the door.
All Happy Hour ticket income and Happy Hour donations go directly to the artists.

Master Classes
Monday-Friday, 4:00-5:15. See our post under Workshops!

More information!

Katha Dance Theatre is proud to present a classic Kathak dance work in the vein of those performed for kings and emperors in 18th century India. Kathak E-motion embodies the grandiosity and opulence of Hindu and Islamic royal courts while also exemplifying the art form’s integral expression of emotions, known as Abhinya. Using Kathak’s complex rhythms, intricate footwork, graceful movements, pirouettes, and gestural storytelling, Kathak E-motion epitomizes the form in breathtaking style.

Featuring live music and a guest dance performance by world-renowned artists Kousic Sen, Chandrachur Bhattacharjee, Pankaj Mishra, Pooja Goswami Pavan, Anirban Bhattacharyya, and Souvik Chakraborty. Choreography by Rita Mustaphi.

Kathak E-motion
Friday, April 28 at 7:00pm
Satuday, April 28 at 7:00pm
Sunday, April 30 at 2:00pm
At Park Square Theatre in downtown St. Paul.

Tickets: $30 general admission.
Seniors age 62+ use code SEN for $5 off.
Active Military member use code MIL for $10 off.
Students and children under 18 use code STU for $14 off – please note that this code is only for students/children and not their parents.

A limited number of VIP tickets are available for $70! Perks include:

• front-row seats for the performance;
• an invitation to attend an informal rehearsal on April 22 at KDT’s studio, to be followed by refreshments and a meet-and-greet with the artists;
• an invitation to attend a post-show Q&A, private reception and meet-and-greet;
• and a small thank-you gift from KDT.

Photo by Suchit Nanda.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, and thanks to a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. It is also supported in part by St. Paul Cultural STAR, the McKnight Foundation, the RBC Foundation, the Archie and Bertha Walker Foundation, and the generosity of KDT’s private donors.

Experience a rare, unparalleled performance by the legendary Bharatanatyam dancer/choreographer Padma Bhushan Smt. Alarmél Valli, guru to Ragamala Dance Company’s Artistic Directors Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy since 1983. Ms. Valli is widely recognized as one of India’s greatest living masters and practitioners. Ranee and Aparna’s training with Ms. Valli has formed the foundation of their aesthetic and has been fundamental to the work of the Ragamala, now celebrating its 30th season.

Presenting an evening of diverse poems in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Telugu, Alarmél Valli’s dance is uncompromisingly classical but is, at the same time, an undeniable language of self-expression. Her work blurs the boundaries between tradition and individual talent, inheritance, and invention. A sublime evening of dance by one of the world’s greatest soloists, this is an experience not to be missed.

Saturday, May 6 at 7:30pm

The 3-Women Project will feature choreographic works from a group of three internationally renowned black female artists who will each work individually within their own creative processes while simultaneously seeking to explore and discover synergistic and unifying themes throughout the process. The project will incorporate educational opportunities and culminate in live, in-person performances in May 2023.

The choreographers include Stephanie Batten Bland, Alanna Morris, and Yusha-Marie Sorzano. TU Dance seeks to create artistic space for these three dynamic and award-winning dance artists to share their distinctly strong voices in choreographic work and their deep investment and investigations into their own artistic practice and identity as black women. TU Dance looks forward to engaging with our community to share and celebrate the perspectives of these three women through this exciting and ambitious project.

May 12 and 13, 2023 at 7:30pm (CST)
Ticket price: $35, discounts for students and seniors.

Tickets can be purchased online here or contact The O’Shaughnessy Ticket Office at 651-690-6700.