Archive: Performances and Events

Contempo Physical Dance returns to The O’Shaughnessy with their third international choreography residency, featuring a world premiere by the 2022 McKnight International Choreographer, Mário Nascimento, Artistic Director of Corpo de Dança do Amazonas in Manaus, Brazil.

November 18 at 7:30pm
November 19 at 7:30pm
$5-$29

The Walker’s annual dance showcase celebrates a half century of works by Minnesota choreographers, offering an exciting glimpse into a vibrant and diverse community. For the 50th anniversary of Choreographers’ Evening, guest curators Alanna Morris and Judith Howard offer a program of works that honor and recognize the rich histories, vital contributions, and power of today’s movement innovators.

Featured choreographers for this year’s program are Aloe AoLiu, Romeo Cannady, Colin Edwards and Canaan Mattson, Elizabeth Flinsch, Averie Mitchell-Brown, Alys Ayumi Ogura, Kayla Schiltgen, Kristin Van Loon and J. H. Shuǐ Xiān, and Laurie Van Wieren. Join us for a remarkable evening highlighting the strength and exuberance of Minnesota dance.

St. Paul Ballet created a special edition for our return to the stage last year, the Best of The Nutcracker! Join us December 2-3 at The O’Shaughnessy for sprinkles of seasonal magic and joy that will bring cheer to the whole family. Best of The Nutcracker will feature crowd favorites by Lirena Branitski including the Kingdom of the Snow, as well as Spanish, Russian, and Waltz of Flowers from the Kingdom of Sweets along with excerpts from the Party Scene, guest appearances by CAAM Chinese Dance Theater and talented musicians from St. Paul Ballet who perform regularly in Minnesota.

This intimate jewel of a concert is lovingly designed for the audience as we all return to the theater. The performance is under 90 minutes including intermission and is a perfect way to introduce the whole family to the power and beauty of dance. This year tickets are Pay As You Can.

So, make time for joy this season!

December 2 at 7:00pm
December 3 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm

Introducing The Snow Queen!

Travel to magical lands through this sparkling holiday production that will warm you from the inside out. From the screen to the stage, Ballet Co.Laboratory’s original 2020 ballet made for film will be transformed for the theater with newly expanded scenes and choreography.

Join us December 2-4, 2022 at The Cowles Center for Dance & Performing Arts as we follow Gerda, a little girl filled with moxie on a quest to rescue her brother, whose heart has been frozen by an icy fragment from the Snow Queen’s enchanted mirror.

Tickets are available here: https://bit.ly/BCLSnowQueen

The beloved holiday classic with a Minnesota twist returns to Ames Center this December! This year A Minnesota Nutcracker is more Minnesotan than ever, with a number of new costumes and choreography portraying iconic Minnesota characters and landscapes. The result is a fresh, vibrant, and monumentally Minnesota take on the beloved holiday classic. 

Deemed one of the 12 essential holiday events by MPR, A Minnesota Nutcracker is delightful entertainment for the whole family! 

Thursday, December 8 at 10:15am – sensory-relaxed show
Friday, December 9 at 7:00pm
Saturday, December 10 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm
Sunday, December 11 at 1:00pm and 4:30pm

Tickets: Ames Center Box Office or Ticketmaster.com

About Twin Cities Ballet: Twin Cities Ballet of Minnesota (TCB) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional ballet company located in the South Metro. TCB’s mission is to connect and enrich communities by making ballet approachable, relatable, and fun, through professional and original productions and educational outreach. TCB creates original full-length story ballets as well as more abstract and contemporary works. TCB is also the first ballet company in Minnesota to develop and present Sensory Relaxed performances for families and those with sensory sensitivities, making the art of ballet accessible for many who might not otherwise be able to do so.

These activities are made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Ballet Minnesota’s thirty-fourth annual The Classic Nutcracker returns to the O’Shaughnessy! Come celebrate this annual family holiday tradition this December 16-18!

For novices to the ballet, this holiday story begins on Christmas Eve. We join a young girl, Clara, her mischievous brother, Fritz, and their family hosting a Christmas party. A latecomer to the party is Clara’s mysterious godfather Drosselmeyer. He presents her with a marvelous gift, a nutcracker doll. As Clara goes to sleep that night, we are transported into her dream of the Rat King fighting the Nutcracker and his army of toy soldiers. The Nutcracker Prince escorts Clara through an enchanted snow-covered forest and on to his Kingdom of the Sweets where Clara accepts the throne from the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Enjoy the return of this classic holiday favorite!

December 16 at 7:00pm
December 17 at 2:00pm
December 18 at 2:00pm
Price: $5-45

Brazilian choreographer Lia Rodrigues’s Companhia de Danças performs with visceral physicality through scenes of dominance and submission, exuberance and apathy, joy and pain. Firmly rooted and conceived in the favela of Maré in Rio de Janeiro, this intoxicating work takes a stand against racism and social segregation. The performance depicts a transformation moving from celebration to uprising, building with energy and fury into an hour-long arc of choreographic catharsis.

October 28 and October 29 at 8:00pm

This performance contains nudity and simulated violence.

Related Event:
Lia Rodrigues Dance Workshop: Discovering New Movement Language
October 27, 5:00pm
Free

Alternative Motion Project returns to the Southern Theater for a dynamic and captivating evening of newly commissioned works performed by AMP’s talented company of movers. Each distinct world premiere explores the multi-faceted concept of identity, reflecting the unique perspectives of each artist that threads the eclectic evening together. Don’t miss it!

New Works
Body Watani – Leila and Noelle Awadallah
Nieya Amezquita
Alexandra Bodnarchuk
Rachel Lieberman

Repertory Work
split – Joanna Lees, Artistic and Executive Director

Master classes taught by each choreographer will also be offered as part of ViewPoints ’22. More information coming soon.

Performances
Friday, October 28 – 7:30pm
Saturday, October 29 – 7:30pm
Sunday, October 30 – 2:00pm – Pay What You Can; Post-Show Q&A

Tickets
General Admission – $20 in advance; $25 at the door
Senior – $18 in advance; $22 at the door
Students/Children under 12 – $18 in advance and at the door
Online remote viewing options will also be available. More information coming soon.

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.

Photo Credits: Bill Cameron

Twin Cities Ballet is excited to announce the premiere of Journeys as part of Week One of the Cowles Center’s new Fall Forward Festival! Also performing in Week One are Rhythmically Speaking and Duniya Drum & Dance Ensemble.

Journeys, an all-new abstract ballet, brings to life the music’s moods, forms and expression: from playful and lively, to soulful and reflective, to uplifting and invigorating. It debunks many of ballet’s preconceived stereotypes of elitism, gender roles and formality, by using the hallmarks of ballet – pointe, partnering, intricate footwork, athleticism, control, and musicality – in entertaining, creative, and accessible ways.

Join us for Week One, and check out all four weeks of the festival, too!

Price: $30

PC: Galen Higgins

Wear your best costume and come celebrate the famous Thriller dance!

Threads Dance Project announces that it will be one of the thousands of groups, novice and professional, participating in this year’s Thrill the World event. Thrill the World is a yearly happening that has grown to worldwide recognition by teaching and performing Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance. We will be teaching the dance at the event and then at exactly 5:00pm will join fellow dancers causing a “Thrill” across the globe.

This is a fundraising event that will benefit Threads Dance Project. The event will take place at our home studio, the Threads Dance Nexus. We have a costume contest planned for adults and youth along with goodies and bites from a local food truck. Please consider joining us in this fun holiday event in person or through your donated monetary gift. We hope to see you there!