Help DanceMN Thrive!

Dear Dance Community:

In this time of warming temperatures and spring upon us, we at DanceMN wish to express our deep and sincere appreciation for YOU, the stalwart dance community!

DanceMN wouldn’t exist without the ongoing support from our dance community. The opportunities that each of you create and publicize in our weekly newsletter and calendar enrich our vibrant dance scene. Your commitment to dance and sharing with us allows us to engage with artists and to sustain our organization. Working together, you help us to fulfill our vision statement:

All are connected to dance in Minnesota.

Thank you for being creative forces and change agents in our neighborhoods, communities, and beyond. Here’s to continuing meaningful contributions to the fabric of our shared existence!

In this moment of growth, emergence and change, we ask for your financial help. Please DONATE to support our work at DanceMN through June 30. We need your dollars to sustain our ongoing work to help connect dance opportunities with dancers and enthusiasts.

DanceMN’s ongoing work includes connecting communities through the weekly e-newsletter, promoting opportunities to engage with dance experiences through a non-curated platform, maintaining and updating the website, and developing our social media presence.

We THANK YOU in advance for your generous contributions. Your financial support will enable DanceMN to continue on the path of vitality and connection for Minnesota dance so that all of our work can be experienced.

Warmly,

DanceMN’s Steering Committee
Ashley Chin-Mark
Rahila Naomi Stadem Coats
Joanne Gordon
Sarah LaRose-Holland
Jim Lieberthal
Alys Ayumi Ogura
Eve Schulte
Arneshia Williams

DanceMN Co-Editors
Annie Carlson
Non Edwards

Collide Theatrical Apprentice Program

2023/2024 Apprentice Program, September 2023–May 2024
Collide Theatrical’s Apprentice Program provides the skills needed to pursue formal positions within the Collide company and in the world of theater dance.

Selected apprentice dancers will take technique class with the company 3–5 days a week, have an opportunity to perform in a Collide show, and participate in an apprentice showcase at the end of the year.

The technical classes include a variety of styles rooted in ballet and jazz, but also including tap, acting for dance, and hip hop. Apprentice dancers will also have an opportunity to participate in monthly master classes with Broadway touring dance captains and industry professionals.

This is a tuition-based program.
Scholarships are available for underrepresented artists.
Enrollment is competitive and audition-based.

We are now accepting video submissions
In your video, please include around 3 minutes of ballet center work including adagio, pirouettes, and grand allegro, and 3-4 minutes of jazz highlighting technique and acting abilities. Please also submit a head shot and resume, if you have one.

In-person auditions tonight: May 31, 7:00-8:30pm.

For more information, please contact Grace at grace@collidetheatrical.org.

Choreograph for Ballet Co.Laboratory

Apply to be Ballet Co.Laboratory’s 2024 Emerging Choreographer!

Ballet Co.Laboratory believes in the development of the whole dancer and works to invest in artists’ professional growth. Each season, through our Laboratory II: Emerging Choreographer Program, one choreographer is hired through this program to create a new, full-length, staged ballet production which is performed by the upper-level students at The School of Ballet Co.Laboratory, ages 11-20.

Choreographers applying to this program are encouraged to think critically about how ballet can continue to evolve in becoming more inclusive and forward-thinking. Rather than create a piece that is simply based on movement, artists are asked to create a production with a storyline that sparks the imagination and challenges the audiences’ perception of what ballet is. Choreographers are encouraged to expand upon the classic narrative by rethinking the characters, adding characters, or even reimagining the characters’ paths. 

All applicants must live in Minnesota, have had formal ballet training, and consider themselves to be an emerging choreographer.

Deadline is tomorrow, June 1!

Collide Theatrical Company Auditions

Collide Theatrical Dance Company is seeking technically trained professional dancers with excellent acting skills for 23-week contracts and Guest Artist positions in our 2023-2024 Performance Season.

Auditions will take place:
Thursday, June 1 at 10:00am
The studio will be open at 9:30 to warm up.
Please bring a resume and head shot, as well as jazz shoes, ballet shoes, and heels.
Callbacks will happen the same day. Please plan to stay for 2 hours.
Register

Collide Theatrical Dance Company is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are based on individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, marital status, political affiliation, status with respect to public assistance or veteran status, or other status protected by law.

Audition for Alternative Motion Project

AMP is looking for dynamic and expressive movers for projects as part of our upcoming 2023-24 season. We are seeking passionate, authentic, and curious movers who want to work collaboratively, immerse and challenge themselves with a wide range of material, and continue their artistic development through working with a variety of artists. If this is you, come Move BIG with AMP!

Ideal candidates to join our community of artists should have a strong sense of your individual/unique movement point of view and possess an inquisitive and investigative nature rooted in community-building. All genders, races, and ethnicities are welcome and encouraged to audition.

Alternative Motion Project serves as a catalyst to empower and connect individuals and communities through the art of contemporary dance. AMP presents accessible, compelling, and collaborative dance experiences through performance and education programs. To interact with and learn more about the AMP community, we encourage you to attend (either in part or fully) AMPLIFIED 2023 – AMP’s Summer Workshop, June 5-8. More on AMPLIFIED.

Movers selected as company members will be independent contractors. Stipends will be contracted based on the amount of time and involvement within each project and performance. Benefits also include free weekly movement practice, when offered.

Audition
Friday, June 9
10:00am-1:00pm
At Zenon Dance School
RSVP/Registration by June 8 is appreciated and highly encouraged.

Bring with you:
Your general schedule/availability.
Knee pads are also recommended.

Priority will be given to in person auditions. If you are unable to attend, you may submit a video through the RSVP/Registration form. Video submissions must be received by 11:59pm on June 8 to be considered.

Direct questions to alternativemotionproject@gmail.com.

Off-Leash Area Call for Proposals for Next Off-Kilter Cabaret

Off-Leash Area announces an artist call for proposals for the second Off-Kilter Cabaret “Inside Outside Inside-Out”.

Off-Leash Area’s Off-Kilter community program highlights and supports artists with disabilities in creating original performance work. The second Off-Kilter Cabaret is an evening-length cabaret-style production comprised of 5 to 7 acts in any performing art form curated by the Off-Kilter Leadership Team – leaders in the disability community, two-thirds of whom are themselves persons with disabilities.

Performances will be held November 17-19 at the TEK Box at the Cowles Center for Performing Arts in downtown Minneapolis, a fully accessible black box theater with a floor-level stage. The event will include accessibility accommodations including ASL interpreting, captioning, and audio description.

The CFP opens June 1, and artists with disabilities are asked to submit proposals by the deadline of July 14 of a 5-10-minute original performance on the theme of “Inside Outside Inside-Out”. Off-Leash Area co-artistic director Jennifer Ilse says, “We want to prompt artists to propose risky, rebellious, and thought-provoking performances, informed by their own experience of being included or excluded, feeling within or outside of oneself, or even just discombobulated.”

The Off-Kilter Advisory Team includes writer and storyteller Amy Salloway, arts accessibility consultant Jon Skaalen, national touring musician Gabriel Rodreick, and Sam Jasmine, host of the Disability and Progress program on KFAI. Off-Leash Area is excited to be partnering again with Young Dance, whose mission is, “transforming lives through movement.”

Any questions or want more information? Visit our website, email us at offleash@offleasharea.org, or call us at 612-724-7372.

Administrative Assistant – Off-Leash Area

Experience
– Minimum of 2 years general office experience
– Office software experience, with these or similar software and platforms:
FilemakerPro database, Mailchimp email platform, Quickbooks, Weebly/Wix or other 2nd party web platform, Microsoft Word, and Excel
– Familiarity with social networking sites and their use in marketing
– Experience with writing for marketing
– Experience with grant writing a plus though not necessary.

Working Profile
Ability to organize and prioritize responsibilities, strong creative writing and business communication skills, create and follow a calendar of responsibilities, manage details, communicate clearly and directly, and work professionally in an informal atmosphere with a flexible schedule. Will work with supervision from the Artistic Directors.

Hours and Pay
The Administrative Assistant will work an average of 5-6 hours per week. Hours are flexible. Minimum pay starting at $18/hour. The Administrative Assistant will be working mainly in the home office of the Artistic Directors of the company (owners of a friendly dog), with some off-site work possible.

Tasks and Responsibilities
– Data Maintenance – update information in FileMakerPro
– Marketing – create and send monthly e-newsletters and email blasts for productions and events, press releases, working with the Artistic Directors on writing the copy
– Update and maintain social networking sites (FaceBook, Twitter, mnartists.org, etc)
– Update website
– Financial – track donations, enter cash disbursements and receipts in Quickbooks
– Support the organization with other administrative tasks as needed
– Attend bi-monthly board meetings and take minutes

Floorwork: Conversations and Knowledge Sharing Potluck

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, June 3
12:00-2:00pm – new time
RSVP by Thursday, June 1

This June Floorwork will focus on the question, “How do we improve our creative practice with thoughtful and critical feedback?” – conversation assisted by Arwen Wilder of Hijack. 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.

The SOTA Movement – Minnesota’s Street Dance Festival

The SOTA Movement – Minnesota’s Street Dance Festival

3 days and over 100 artists. Minnesota, national, and international!

Come join us for The SOTA Movement where artists, creators and supporters come together to celebrate dance, connections and culture. For more information and to reserve your tickets, go to www.sotamove.com!