Bloomington Ice Garden Vestibule Mural Design Request for Qualifications

Mural Design for Bloomington Ice Garden

The City of Bloomington invites experienced public artists/teams to submit qualifications for the design of a unique mural for the Bloomington Ice Garden (BIG). The mural design will be printed and installed on the wall by another vendor. The renovation of BIG presents an opportunity to enhance the space through the creation of a mural in the vestibule. This mural will serve as a welcoming, vibrant focal point, celebrating the rich history and strong sense of community associated with BIG and its users.

Applicants are welcome from the state of Minnesota. The total budget for this project is $8,000 for the purposes of providing a digital artistic design that can be used by a City-selected vendor to wrap the vestibule wall.

Application are due by Friday, March 14 at 11:00pm CST. Questions must be submitted by March 7 at 5:00pm CST to placemaking@bloomingtonmn.gov.

More information is available on our website.

Ballet Co.Laboratory Trainee Auditions

Advanced-level students, ages 15-22, have the opportunity to study alongside the Company as Trainees of Ballet Co.Laboratory. Trainees are advanced students who also study four times a week during the day with the Company in class and rehearsal. Trainees are fully enrolled in the Performing Arts Division at Ballet Co.Laboratory. Trainees participate in all season productions and outreach performances.

Auditions for Ballet Co.Laboratory’s Trainee Program occur annually. Dancers may select to audition in person or via video audition.

More information and application details can be found here.

Young Dance Celebrates 15 Years of the All Abilities Dancing Initiative

Experience the transformative power of movement in Disabled Environments, Able Bodies and Minds, a performance celebrating 15 years of Young Dance’s All Abilities Dancing Initiative. 

Directed by Gretchen Pick and Gabriel Rodreick, this performance features an ensemble of dancers, ages 14-55, with and without disabilities, pushing the boundaries of a collective dance experience. The program includes a retrospective of impactful works from the past 15 years and premieres three new dances that explore the experience of living with a disability and finding new possibilities through movement, relationship, and language.

Friday, March 21 at 7:00pm
Saturday, March 22 at 7:00pm — ASL Interpretation Provided
Sunday, March 23 at 2:00pm — Audio Description Provided
On the Andy Boss Stage at Park Square Theatre.

Tickets are on sale now!
$15 General Admission
$10 Students (3-18) and Seniors (65+)

Concerto Dance Presents: Seasons

Concerto Dance returns to The Southern Theater for Seasons, featuring modern and jazz dance works driven by musicality and virtuosity that aim to uplift the human spirit.

The program includes a new premiere by national visiting guest artist, Bill Wade, and several new modern and jazz dance works by Artistic Director, Jolene Konkel. New works include the full-length premiere of Seasons Suite, set to Vivaldi’s recomposed Four Seasons, and a preview of new jazz dance work, Tradition, performed to a jazz arrangement of selections from the Fiddler on the Roof score.

Featuring: Hannah Albers, Hunter Batterson, Malia Craft, Allison Durham, Timothy Herian, Doug Hooker, Sara Karimi, Shannon Mulcahy, Jake Nehrbass, and Nate Stevens.

Friday and Saturday, March 21-22 at 7:30pm
Sunday, March 23 at 2:30pm

Tickets on sale now!
Adults: $30 +fees
Students and Seniors: $25 +fees

The Living Body: Impulse, Action, and Play Retreat and Workshop

Virginia Twins Performance Group invites you to participate in a residential weekend workshop focused on improvisational movement, embodied awareness, and building trust with others. Our workshop takes place over two and a half days of scheduled programming. We will share a variety of exercises that are designed to cultivate attunement towards impulse and the experience of being inside a living body.

This retreat takes place at Big Raven Farm in the heart of Southern Minnesota’s driftless region. It includes full housing and amenities, meals, a ten-acre landscape, and the opportunity to step away from daily routines to practice building skills for living an active and engaged life.

This is a workshop for performers and non-performers alike and does not require any previous experience. It is designed to be amenable to all age groups and levels of ability.

Space is limited, so reserve your spot early!

Ninth Annual CANDY BOX Dance Festival

The CANDY BOX Dance Festival is a week-long dynamic sampling of featured performances, masterclasses, and in-progress showings, hosted by ARENA DANCES and presented April 21-26 at The Southern Theater. The CANDY BOX Dance Festival features both emerging and established choreographers, Happy Hour work-in-progress performances, and master class offerings. Tickets on sale now!

Featured Artists Performances – April 24-26, 7:30pm and Saturday, 2:00pm pay-as-able matinee 
Doma Dance Theater
Flying Foot Forum
Cheng “Technica” Xiong
Featured Artists Tickets

Happy Hour Artists Showings – April 21-25, 5:30pm
Monday – Eva Mohn
Tuesday – Shannon Hummel of Cora Dance
Wednesday – Yukina Sato
Thursday – Nieya Amezquita and Kaitlyn Hawkins
Friday – Nervous Theatre
Happy Hour Tickets

Master Classes April 21-25, 4:00pm
Monday – Alexandra Bodnarchuk of Doma Dance Theater
Tuesday – Shannon Hummel of Cora Dance
Wednesday – Joe Chvala of Flying Foot Forum
Thursday – Cheng “Technica” Xiong
Friday – Connor Berkompas of NERVOUS THEATRE
Master Classes Tickets

A very special thanks to our sponsors: Sher Demeter, and City of Minneapolis Arts and Cultural Affairs Department – Cultural District Arts Fund Initiative

TU Dance Celebrates 20 Years at The O’Shaughnessy

Join us in the spring of 2025 as TU Dance celebrates its 20th anniversary and marks this significant milestone by featuring the works of prominent and renowned African American choreographers that have been supportive and connected to TU Dance since its inception.

Works will include Alvin Ailey’s Witness, an excerpt from Ronald K. Brown’s Four Corners, Alonzo King’s MA (duet from Who Dressed You Like A Foreigner?), and an excerpt from Camille A. Brown’s New Second Line and Yusha-Marie Sorzano’s recently premiered work This World Anew, commissioned as part of the Edges of Ailey exhibition at the Whitney Museum. TU Dance is deeply honored to share works by makers that have contributed so richly to the American dance landscape through their multidimensional perspectives while voicing the shared human experience, which has been core to our own twenty-year history.

Thursday, April 24 at 10:30am – Educational Performance
Friday, April 25 at 7:30pm
Saturday, April 26 at 7:30pm

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

ORACLE

Experience the Myth and Majesty of Ancient Greece as critically acclaimed Vox Medusa, in collaboration with Infiammati FireCircus, ignites the stage this May with ORACLEa mesmerizing fusion of mythology, dance, and fire.

May 16-18 and 29-31 at 8:00pm
Set against the enchanting backdrop of Caponi Art Park’s Theater in the Woods.

Embark on a journey into the heart of mythos and step back in time to ancient Greece as a pilgrim seeking divine guidance from the fabled Oracle. Witness the epic battle between the god Apollo and the Earth Mother Gaea for control of the sacred Delphi Temple—a struggle that threatens the Oracle’s legacy as a rare and powerful female figure in a male-dominated pantheon. This epic tale, told from the Oracle’s perspective, follows her courageous fight to preserve her power, her legacy, and her role as a symbol of feminine strength.

ORACLE is an awe-inspiring theatrical experience, blending haunting electronic music, riveting contemporary dance, electrifying breakdance, soul-stirring choral arrangements, vibrant light design, and heart-pounding fire performance. Every moment unfolds under a canopy of lush trees in the majestic Theater in the Woods stage, transporting audiences to a realm where nature, myth, and art collide.

Sunday Open Ballet

Open Ballet class is for every body! Come join the fun!

Sundays, 1:30-3:00pm

A ballet teacher with 35+ years of experience teaching all levels and ages, Lisa’s welcoming ballet classes naturally guide students in refining their alignment, balance, and technique while also discovering the value and importance of the use of weight in their dancing. Coupled with individual attention, feedback, and humor, students experience expansion and growth in body and mind – and experience joy in the process.

Students are encouraged to expect success and mistakes. Only when we allow ourselves to take chances and risk failure can we grow to our full potential. Every student is special, different, important, appreciated, encouraged, respected, unique, invited, and welcome. Come play and see for yourself!

Drop-in: Income-based sliding scale of $17-$22.
Pre-pay via Venmo @Lisa-Erickson-121 or with exact cash.

Erin Thompson Teaches Advanced Contemporary Classes in Person and on Zoom

Erin’s advanced-level contemporary dance 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.

Thursdays, 9:30-11:00am

Registration is open through Zenon’s MindBody portal.
See you soon!