tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47448915035552803512024-03-13T23:45:21.806-05:00Minnesota MistWritings about politics and culture • by Gary PetersonGary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.comBlogger246125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-60676243819348059272015-10-17T20:45:00.000-05:002015-10-22T13:36:48.956-05:00Sälam Ethiopia<b style="font-size: small;">Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><i>Nearly
two weeks have passed since I returned from a 10 day journey to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
and the Crossing Boundaries Festival & Conference with members of the
Ananya Dance Theatre (ADT). The festival and conference were organized by the
Ethiopian Theatre Professionals Association, Addis Ababa University College of
Performing & Visual Arts, and Sundance Institute East Africa Theater
Program Alumni. This is my travelogue.</i><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><b>8am, Monday, September 21, Frankfurt:</b> On layover here via Chicago, en route to Jeddah and Addis Ababa – 12 more hours. We left Minneapolis-St. Paul at 11:20am, Sunday. ADT received the invitation to Crossing Boundaries nearly two years ago. Just three weeks ago, we learned that the U.S. State Department would sponsor our journey. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X701MGAqv48/ViLpwBNlYDI/AAAAAAAAAow/AgpDXCFD3d4/s1600/Addis%2Bfrom%2BMount%2BEntoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X701MGAqv48/ViLpwBNlYDI/AAAAAAAAAow/AgpDXCFD3d4/s640/Addis%2Bfrom%2BMount%2BEntoto.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from Mount Entoto • James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Within days of that news, I learned that a friend would walk El
Camino de Santiago across northern Spain (her journey is now underway). I wept
while reading of her plans, as the possibility of that trek has rested in
my soul since seeing Martin Sheen's film "The Way" several years ago.
I follow Karen's walk from her daily Facebook posts, and just watched a
documentary during the flight here about six other people's Camino.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Two days ago, Glenn, a dance administrator friend in San
Francisco, posted video of a sermon by an Episcopal priest at Grace Cathedral
who related the journey of his first sojourn at the Burning Man festival in the
Nevada desert.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">My life with dance these past 35 years has combined politics,
the spiritual, commerce, and creative expression. I view dancers and
choreographers as priests and priestesses, working in their temples to touch on
aspects of the sacred and the divine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Each of the four dance companies I have managed has been progressively
like the peeling of a flower, fruit, or vegetable to get at the essence of the
universe's energy and truth. This journey to Ethiopia is part of the peeling,
as we bring our performance offering of "Roktim: Nurture Incarnadine"
and prepare to immerse in the works of other artists from other realms.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SW0V0gZ2ilo/ViLpuTRAVhI/AAAAAAAAAok/ccoWpndtOHg/s1600/company%2Bwithambassador.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SW0V0gZ2ilo/ViLpuTRAVhI/AAAAAAAAAok/ccoWpndtOHg/s640/company%2Bwithambassador.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U.S. Ambassador Patricia Haslach and members of Ananya Dance Theatre, <br />
Hilton Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, September 24, 2015 • U.S. Embassy Ethiopia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><b>11:55pm, Monday, September 21, Addis Ababa:</b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We arrived at 8:40pm, five minutes ahead of
Lufthansa's schedule. The visa line at Bole International Airport seemed long
but was not. Members of the U.S. Embassy staff and organizers of Crossing
Boundaries met us with flowers, warm greetings, and transport to the Washington
Hotel. We held a whirlwind planning and organization meeting in the hotel
lobby.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">We will be at the American embassy tomorrow morning, meeting
with women from the Yellow Movement group, an initiative by women at Addis
Ababa University (AAU) to speak up for women’s and girls’ rights. It was
started two and half years ago to campaign for better protection of women from gender-based
violence. In the afternoon, we will be with dancers and others at AAU.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Festival organizers tell us there will be an audience of 1,200
for Friday's "Roktim" performance at the Ethiopian National Theatre.
With that many people, we cannot present the first act of “Roktim” outside the
theater, or in its lobby, as we did at the world premiere at The O'Shaughnessy
just three days ago. We will have to “take it inside” the theater where acts
two through four will be staged more traditionally.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">These were the first air flights ever for one member of our traveling
party, a dancer who is now a seasoned traveler. At breakfast in the Frankfurt
airport this morning, an international business traveler joined our group for
conversation; before leaving, he paid for everyone's breakfast, invited the
company to perform in Toronto, and donated a 500 Euro note to our
coffers! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fan45AuCsqg/ViLp4tYRqeI/AAAAAAAAApQ/OgREQqAPTKk/s1600/James%2BGary%2BLucy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fan45AuCsqg/ViLp4tYRqeI/AAAAAAAAApQ/OgREQqAPTKk/s640/James%2BGary%2BLucy.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Davies & Gary Peterson with "Lucy"<br />
Ethiopian National Museum, September 26, 2015 • Ayu Shashe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><b>6:15am Wednesday, September 23, Addis Ababa:</b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At different times we have referred to
visiting Ethiopia as “returning to the Mother Country.” Our path through the
city yesterday morning took us past the Ethiopian National Museum, holding the
3.5 million year old remains of Lucy, the mother of us all. There may not be
time this trip to visit the museum, but we now know where it is. We also passed
the sprawling grounds of the Menelik Palace, former home of Ethiopia's emperors,
and the AAU campus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">At the U.S. Embassy yesterday, we engaged in three hours of
conversation and movement dialogue with 14 women, all law students from AAU.
These 14 are part of a core group of 20-30 members of the Yellow Movement, AAU
students who meet weekly and hold weekly public activities on campus to raise
awareness of, and to change attitudes and behaviors that result in violence
against women. Like artists and others who labor in the unsung shadows, they
often find little external support for their efforts, and some of our
conversation focused on the value and power of individual efforts to change the
world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">A year ago, ADT unveiled its new website after a year of planning
and development. The value and power of that effort was on display as we called
up text, photos, and videos over the Internet to facilitate our discussion. Many
constraints on women's roles in the world are rooted in issues related to
sexuality, and candid conversation covered those, including the need to lift
one's internal constraints. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h3mYU2kV9lg/ViLp5UlwMbI/AAAAAAAAApg/XyPAlwa0Dac/s1600/learned%2Bgary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h3mYU2kV9lg/ViLp5UlwMbI/AAAAAAAAApg/XyPAlwa0Dac/s400/learned%2Bgary.jpg" width="323" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learned Dees, Cultural Affairs Officer,<br />
U.S. Embassy, and Gary Peterson<br />
Hilton Hotel, Addis Ababa • James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Talk about the search to find one's voice led to an exercise
that included mass screaming at top pitch within the safety of the group. This unexpected
noise prompted two embassy staffers to enter the conference room for closer
observation. The following discussion illuminated the difficulties of exploring
and finding the limits and full power of one's personal voice and how that is
reflected in our bodies. Yet another movement exercise illustrated the ways we can
influence – and be influenced by – others in our daily observations.
Conversation continued for more than an hour more over lunch, hosted by the
Embassy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Without being political in relating it, one of Hillary Clinton's
legacies as secretary of state was embedding into the U.S. foreign policy
establishment a central awareness and conscious promotion of women's rights and
issues around the world, in whatever forms might be appropriate by time and
locale.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">The embassy employs 1,200 people. Photos are not permitted of
the exterior or interior, and all visitors’ electronics must be checked at the
first of several security checkpoints in the compound.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4PXO_msL6tI/ViLp9dUzj4I/AAAAAAAAAp4/Mr8CBmoqcsM/s1600/Opening%2BCeremonies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4PXO_msL6tI/ViLp9dUzj4I/AAAAAAAAAp4/Mr8CBmoqcsM/s640/Opening%2BCeremonies.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ananya Dance Theatre at Crossing Boundaries opening ceremonies<br />
National Theatre, Addis Ababa, September 24, 2015 • Crossing Boundaries Ethiopia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Tuesday afternoon, we proceeded to 2-1/2 hours of meet-up with representatives of Ethiopian dance ensembles, including the Destino Dance Company, established to help underprivileged young people develop their potential through dance. After rounds of verbal introductions and movement sharing, each group learned two movement phrases of the other and put them together into a four-minute dance.</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Jet lag began to hit as evening arrived, and we took crash time
before meeting to discuss how we would master today the logistics of the two
spaces where we will perform: the embassy's reception for the local and
international community, and the keynote performance at Crossing Boundaries
Festival. Dancers crowded into and were rehearsing, standing "in
place," in one of our hotel rooms at 10pm last night.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">This morning, we will meet with graduate students in theater at
AAU, followed by visits to take the measure of the two performance sites. Later
in the afternoon, Ananya Chatterjea, ADT’s artistic director, will return to
the American embassy for an hour-long interactive interview on Facebook.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Addis Ababa is home to about 4.5 million of the country's 96
million people. In altitude, it is third highest capital city in the world at
~7,500 feet. The city is built in a mountainous valley. Construction activity is
everywhere. Today is a Muslim holiday, but the country is predominantly
orthodox Christian. In fact, for Christian religious reasons, the national
calendar was changed recently and the current year is 2008. About 2% of the
population attends college. I have been told that college is free.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ubl7fDrkjbM/ViLp9U-grnI/AAAAAAAAAp0/NxwIOWxADoo/s1600/National%2BLobby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ubl7fDrkjbM/ViLp9U-grnI/AAAAAAAAAp0/NxwIOWxADoo/s400/National%2BLobby.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lobby of Ethiopian National Theatre, Addis Ababa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><b>1:15am, Thursday, September 24, Addis Ababa:</b> This is a photo of the lobby of the Ethiopian
National Theatre where we will perform on Friday evening. It was originally
known as the Haile Selassie I Theater when it opened in 1955 for the silver
jubilee of the reign of The Conquering Lion of The Tribe of Judah, His Imperial
Majesty Haile Selassie I, King of Kings, Elect of God. Legend traces Selassie's
lineage to Makeda, Queen of Sheba, whose affair with King Solomon produced the
founder of the Solomonic Dynasty. They don't make emperors any more, nor
theaters that look like this!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Earlier in the day, Wednesday, we conducted a workshop with
faculty and students from the graduate theater program at AAU’s Cultural Arts
Center, located on the grounds of one of Selassie's former palaces, which he
donated to the university. Also on the grounds is the J. F. Kennedy Memorial
Library for which Robert Kennedy laid the corner stone and Rose Kennedy
attended the opening.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cd71JAFmctg/ViLqDPcc1FI/AAAAAAAAAqM/HAFnLCiRbVc/s1600/selassie%2Bthrone%2Bat%2Btheater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cd71JAFmctg/ViLqDPcc1FI/AAAAAAAAAqM/HAFnLCiRbVc/s320/selassie%2Bthrone%2Bat%2Btheater.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Haile Selassie's throne at<br />
Ethiopian National Theatre</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Selassie was an internationalist, and Ethiopia was a charter
member of the United Nations. His long and storied life provides food for much
reading.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Access to university education is by national exam. University
education is free. In addition, the government provides ~$16,000 to each
student over the course of four years. This must be repaid after graduation. Amharic
is Ethiopia's main language. English is used mainly at university levels. The
government is encouraging more use of English at elementary school levels.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Wednesday afternoon, we visited the Hilton Hotel for a spacing
rehearsal and sound check in the ballroom where we will perform Thursday
evening at a U.S. Embassy reception.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Later, we got in 45 minutes of street market shopping while Chatterjea
and dancer Hui Wilcox answered questions with local residents on Facebook.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Tomorrow (this) morning starts early. The van arrives at 8:30 to
take us to our rehearsal at the National Theater for Friday evening's performance.
The dancers rehearsed in our hotel ballroom until 11pm tonight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xX6ltF-tz1c/ViLqAM8vhEI/AAAAAAAAAqA/CkPS5DYpn1A/s1600/post%2Bperformance%2Bjoy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xX6ltF-tz1c/ViLqAM8vhEI/AAAAAAAAAqA/CkPS5DYpn1A/s400/post%2Bperformance%2Bjoy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-performance joy at Totot Traditional Restaurant<br />
Addis Ababa, September 25, 2015 • Andrea Reynolds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><b>2am, Friday, September 25, Addis Ababa:</b> An arduous technical
rehearsal at the National Theater from 9am to 2pm on Thursday. It is a
magnificent and resonant space, but none of us speak Amharic, and only one of
the theater’s people speaks English! Working out spacing with light and sound
cues was productive but tedious. One of the crew members let James Davies into
the emperor’s box, which Davies described as “a haunting space unused since
Haile Selassie was removed as emperor in 1974. The theater was built in 1955 to
celebrate his 25-year anniversary as emperor. His red throne remains, in
perfect condition, after all these years.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Late Thursday afternoon, ADT performed at a reception for alumni
of educational and cultural exchanges between the United States and Ethiopia,
at the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa. The reception was hosted by the U.S.
Embassy as part of a month-long series of activities celebrating 75 years of
U.S.-Ethiopia educational and cultural exchanges.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zbaAnsf-9XY/ViLp4zJHe9I/AAAAAAAAApc/00ySZ3xoO6o/s1600/james%2Bgary%2Bat%2Btotot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zbaAnsf-9XY/ViLp4zJHe9I/AAAAAAAAApc/00ySZ3xoO6o/s320/james%2Bgary%2Bat%2Btotot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Davies and Gary Peterson<br />
Totot Traditional Restaurant, Addis Ababa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">David Kennedy, the embassy’s Public Affairs Officer, introduced
Ambassador Patricia Haslach, who delivered welcoming remarks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Learned Dees, a native of Burnsville, Minnesota, and the
embassy’s Cultural Affairs Officer, introduced ADT and its 15-minute
performance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">The performance included a sung poem linking the Mississippi and
Nile rivers, and dancers circulating throughout the ballroom inviting attendees
to “Dance with us!” Many, including Ambassador Haslach, did so.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Reception attendees included Mulatu Astatke, the “godfather of
Ethiopian jazz.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Following the reception, Chatterjea and the company appeared on
stage at the opening ceremonies of the Crossing Boundaries Festival &
Conference, held at the Ethiopian National Theatre. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RC0UY3PLqkU/ViLp4TJNU0I/AAAAAAAAApM/CyXInqGQ4S8/s1600/Holy%2BTrinity%2BCathedral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RC0UY3PLqkU/ViLp4TJNU0I/AAAAAAAAApM/CyXInqGQ4S8/s640/Holy%2BTrinity%2BCathedral.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holy Trinity Cathedral, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia • James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><b>12am, Saturday, September 26, Addis Ababa:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Following four hours of focused rehearsal, ADT
presented the festival’s keynote performance, “Roktim: Nurture Incarnadine,” at
the National on Friday evening, September 25. The audience provided a standing ovation afterward. “Roktim” had received its world
premiere just a week earlier, September 19, at The O’Shaughnessy in St. Paul. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Amin Abdulkadir, Ethiopia’s Minister of Culture & Tourism,
attended the performance and hosted all festival performers and their traveling
parties afterward at a dinner at the Totot Traditional Restaurant. Artists from
11 countries vied to outdo each other in an extended dance to live music on the
restaurant’s stage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XPRBTqg1ZOk/ViLp9Fz_McI/AAAAAAAAApw/dYzW76GZjRs/s1600/Meskel%2BSquare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XPRBTqg1ZOk/ViLp9Fz_McI/AAAAAAAAApw/dYzW76GZjRs/s640/Meskel%2BSquare.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meskel Square (in one direction), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, September 27, 2015 • James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><b>11:30pm, Sunday, September 27, Addis Ababa:</b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A heavy cloud and smell of wood smoke hang
over much of Addis tonight in the aftermath of the Meskel festival bonfires all
over the city. Davies and I, with our new friend Ayu Shashe, arrived at Meskel
Square around 4pm and stood for three hours waiting for the city's main bonfire
to be lit as nearly 700,000 people assembled reverently. As dusk descended, and
a full moon rose low in a cloudless sky, a sea of candles flickered. The annual
festival hearkens to Saint Helena's efforts to find the "True Cross"
on which Christ was crucified. Orthodox Christian faith traditions hold sway
here, with adherents from about 50% of the population.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Earlier today, the three of us attended services at St.
Matthew's Anglican Church on Queen Elizabeth Street. The sermon was the most
clarifying I have ever heard about the Biblical book of Revelation. During
church coffee hour, an ex-pat from South Africa, who has lived here for 12
years, told us he has never heard of major street crime occurring here, just
the routine of pick pocketing in crowded, close quarters. That jives with a
week's worth of observations: no firearms, even among most of the military and
police units. Amazingly, we also see no road rage among a pedestrian and
vehicular population that shares the streets in a seemingly haphazard fashion.
Collectively, they have it worked out. I am not sure we Americans know how to
learn from them about working some of these things out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fzSURPA1Qfo/ViLptTL66JI/AAAAAAAAAoU/0vaj5W-JmvQ/s1600/Dancers%2Bat%2BSaint%2BChurch%2BRock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fzSURPA1Qfo/ViLptTL66JI/AAAAAAAAAoU/0vaj5W-JmvQ/s400/Dancers%2Bat%2BSaint%2BChurch%2BRock.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Members of Ananya Dance Theatre at<br />
Church of Saint Elias, Addis Ababa<br />
September 28, 2015 • Gary Peterson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Our embassy motor pool transport ended with our Friday evening
performance, and with it the projected sense of American power and privilege.
Riding around town in a van bearing an "American Embassy" emblem on
the windshield opens doors, raises security gate arms, and makes way on closed
roads. For the weekend, the Crossing Boundaries Festival provided some group
transportation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">An atmosphere of security pervades much of the city. The routine
entering of any hotel, including one's own, requires the x-raying of all bags
and passage through metal detectors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">On Saturday, the company attended conference plenary sessions at
the Goethe Institute on the AAU campus. Chatterjea participated in a roundtable
discussion, “Movement, Ideas and Bodies,” with Elizabeth Wolde Giorgis, Ph.D.,
Director of AAU’s Gebre Kristos Desta Center, and Mshaï Mwangola, Ph.D.,
Research and Communications Officer, The African Peacebuilding Network Hub (APN-Hub).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">While my colleagues were so occupied, Shashe and his friend
Hanuk accompanied Davies and me up Mount Entoto. We visited six churches
(including the Church of Saint Raquel and Church of Saint Elias), the palace of
Menelik II, the Ethiopian National Museum (where one exits the car for pat down
before driving onto the grounds and, where we visited the 3.5 million year old
remains of Lucy), and Holy Trinity Cathedral, where we prayed at the tomb of
Haile Selassie. We had lunch at the Lucy Restaurant.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8aV5aC3IYOg/ViLpuCig69I/AAAAAAAAAos/vt985dMZ2pU/s1600/Dancers%2BYellow%2BMovement%2Band%2Bstaff%2BASWAD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8aV5aC3IYOg/ViLpuCig69I/AAAAAAAAAos/vt985dMZ2pU/s640/Dancers%2BYellow%2BMovement%2Band%2Bstaff%2BASWAD.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Members of Ananya Dance Theatre, Yellow Movement, and staff of ASWAD,<br />
a shelter for women and children, Addis Ababa, September 28, 2015 • Blen Sahilu</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Saturday evening, we attended a play by The Hullegeb Israeli-Ethiopian Theater at the
National, followed by a Food Art Performance by Konjit Siyoum at the
Asni Gallery. Davies, Chatterjea, and I made a late night visit to see Mulatu
Astatke at his Ethio Jazz Village. He had attended both of our performances,
and we wanted to return the favor. The rest of our group ended the evening at
the Fendika club of dancer Melaku Belay.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Sunday brought a mix of conference and non-conference events.
Three of our party left for the airport this evening to return home. The
remaining 10 of us leave Monday evening, after the dancers travel up the mountain to sight-see, and after members of the Yellow Movement
take the company to visit the women and girls of ASWAD, a shelter for women and
child survivors of gender based violence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cx3lZJYutMU/ViL1nzKUuLI/AAAAAAAAAqs/5Xpl5Dxmxko/s1600/Hanuk%2Band%2BAyu%2BShashe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cx3lZJYutMU/ViL1nzKUuLI/AAAAAAAAAqs/5Xpl5Dxmxko/s320/Hanuk%2Band%2BAyu%2BShashe.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanuk and Ayu Shashe, National Museum<br />
Addis Ababa, September 26, 2015 • James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">In our outing to Merkel Square today, Davies, Shashe, and I parked
about a mile away and walked through back streets and alleys of town both in
daylight and in darkness. Shashe was born here and drives people all over town
every day, so there are few shortcuts and passages he does not know. It was a
great way to experience the city up close at ground level.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">I love it here and I feel sad to leave.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">We did accomplish what we came to do: represent the United
States at an international arts festival and conference with the new faces of
our state and country. We succeeded extremely well and have forged indelible
memories, embryonic relationships, and new opportunities for the future.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Sälam</span></div>
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><br /></span>
Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-17857462462378092642014-11-02T12:27:00.000-06:002015-02-03T10:43:42.117-06:00Violent death, violent life and the ties that bind<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>This commentary was published by the Star Tribune newspaper, November 3, 1992. It was originally broadcast on KFAI FM in Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 1, 1992.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">By Gary Peterson</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Whatever Earl Craig and Jayme Starkey were looking for when their paths crossed on Hennepin Av. last January, it has turned into a terrible waste of two lives. One is dead and the other has been sentenced at age 19 to 25-1/2 years in prison. I can't help but wonder how and why these things keep happening.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I wonder, too, about the Minneapolis cop who was killed. Someone shot him in the back for no reason at all. He was shot in a pizza joint on Lake St. in Minneapolis, where cops have gathered for over 25 years and where they felt safe, because it was their place. They've been out looking for the guys that did it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">While thinking about that, I remembered the summer when Joel Larson, John Chenoweth and Cord Draszt were shot. Larson and Chenoweth died. Jay Johnson pleaded guilty to all of it. The three were shot for no reason at all, and in places where gays have gathered for years. Gays felt fairly safe in those places because they were our places.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Other people get shot all the time, usually for no reason at all. I try to look for answers by listening to the stories of people I know and meet. I meet a lot of people: gay, straight, white and black. Most could never dream of pulling a trigger. At least, I hope that's true. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I wonder how it is that we manage to be so violent to each other. And there are so many other ways we violate the bonds of our humanity.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In relationships, many of us beat each other up – for no real reason either. Often, in relying on the assumed kindness of family, friends, and strangers, we find ourselves verbally assaulted in the privacy of our homes, where we work, and out on the streets. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We even assault ourselves and each other in the debate and discourse of our public life. We are told we must put up with negative political campaigns because candidates fear that they might lose something important if they don't get personal and dirty.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The dignity and civility that should inform our words and actions seems to be missing more often than not.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I regularly spend time at night walking around Fair Oaks Park near my house in Minneapolis. I use the walks as my thinking time and as my alone time. Usually, I am the only person in the park. Once in a while, I encounter another person.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I encountered a young man there one night last spring. He was black and he went out of his way to approach me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He just wanted to talk. And so we did. Actually, he did most of the talking. Turns out he was homeless and lives on the streets.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">While he was telling me his story, another young man approached. This second man, too, was black. This new person clearly did not want to talk to us, and gripped the pocket of his jacket as he sailed on by.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Did you see that?" asked my conversation partner. "He's packing a gun."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I had seen it, and I was trying to pretend to myself that I hadn't.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"I could never carry a gun around with me," my new friend said. "'Cause man, I don't need to. I've got my own weapon right here," he said, tapping his pocket. "Here, let me show you."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">About that time, I was asking myself why I was still standing there, but I didn't move. "That's all right," I told him. "I don't need to see your weapon."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"But I want to show you – here."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Out of his pocket he fished a small book. It was one of those New Testament Bibles. "This is all the weapon I need," he told me. "It gets me through a lot of stuff."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He talked about that. And he talked about what it's like living on the streets.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"You have no idea what it's like out here," he said. "It gets so tough. Sometimes, it all builds up inside, and I just don't know what to do. Man, I just don't know what to do. This might sound kinda weird, man, but can I cry on your shoulder – just for a minute? Can I cry on your shoulder?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I thought, "You've got to be kidding." But he wasn't. And he did. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I cannot tell you how humbling that was.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When we went our separate ways, I was wondering how these things happen. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Since that time, I have had two other conversations in the park with black men. One of them guessed that I was gay without my telling him, and he observed that if he had a house and family, it would be nice if we could come over to each other's place for supper. I allowed as how that would be nice.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The third guy made me promise to do a favor before I went on my way. "Dude," he told me, "I may never get myself together enough to change anything in my life. And I don't know who you are and what you can do either. But I can tell by looking at you that you've got it all over me. If, sometime, you ever get a chance to just say a word – please – we're out here. Tell them."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I've been thinking about those young black men. Black men in Minneapolis are feeling a lot of fear and anger as police search for the murderers of Officer Jerry Haaf. The cops are feeling angry and unsafe too. Some who have had less-than-ideal interactions with cops might be tempted to say, "It's about time, they deserve to feel fearful." But I don't think so. Cops are people, too. And they have their own stories.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My brother-in-law is a cop.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Five years ago, when he married my baby sister, my partner, James, and I attended the ceremony up in Fridley. It was kind of a hurried affair for James and me. After church we were driving to the airport to fly down to Washington for a gay rights march.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">While we were at the church, it came time to do the thing with family pictures. James and I had already settled the picture and other issues with his family, and I had been in three family photos taken at weddings in his hometown church. But for my people, it was a new deal, and everyone felt awkward and silent as we lined up for the photographer, with James standing across the room from us.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I felt like I should say something, but I didn't know what to say or whom to say it to. And I didn't want to mar the occasion.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It was Steve, the cop, who broke the ice and called to James to come over to our side of the room where he belonged for the photo. It was the cop who found his voice when the rest of us did not.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We might remember the big things in life better, but it's the little things that really matter.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Like the day we sat in a high school assembly back in 1968, and it was announced that a former classmate had been killed in Vietnam. I thought about him when they were dedicating the Vietnam memorial in St. Paul.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">James and I looked his name up on the Wall when we were in Washington five years ago. We had had a great time at the march and the speeches were all wonderful. And the AIDS Quilt, which was unrolled for the first time, left us wondering how this could happen and when it would end.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As the day wore on, it got cloudy and very cold, when we found his name. And as I stood crying in front of the Wall and thinking about that damn war and how much trouble it had caused, I wondered how all this could happen.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I didn't know then, and I still don't know now.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm carrying on about all this because, somehow, it all feels connected.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We're all in this mess of a life together. Sometimes, you wouldn't know it when we see or read about what awful things we say and do to each other. And I wonder how it happens, and what it all means.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And, sometimes, I just have to tell it all to a friend, and hope the friend will hear it, and hope that they'll somehow understand it and make sense of it. And hope that the telling might somehow make it better.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<i style="font-size: small;">Gary Peterson is producer and host of "Fresh Fruit," a radio program serving the Twin Cities gay community, and broadcast Thursdays, 7pm, on KFAI-FM.</i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-53142560764935238002014-08-14T14:34:00.001-05:002014-08-14T14:34:48.463-05:00"Where the trouble is" in race, class, and culture<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Today is a gorgeous, balmy day. One to be savored while reflecting about urban life, race, class, and culture.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Riding the Metro Transit Green Line from downtown Minneapolis to the University of Minnesota this morning, I sat behind two, retired white matrons from Edina. They had come downtown and were on an adventure to downtown St. Paul. </span><span style="font-size: large;">One of them observed that she once came downtown for an interesting walk around a few blocks during the farmers' market.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Perfectly pleasant folks.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As the train approached the mammoth construction of the new Vikings stadium, one wondered, "What apartment buildings are they putting up now?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Did you see that Edina has more than 6,000 apartment units?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Yes, and there was <a href="http://www.startribune.com/local/west/270622701.html">that hearing last night</a> about that place they want to build for wayward youth. I didn't go over, but I watched it on television. It started at 7pm and was still going on at 12:30am."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"One is for it and another is against it?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Pretty much."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"So, what is this thing here?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I leaned forward and told them it is the new Vikings stadium. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Well look at that. This where that is. Just huge. Thank you for telling us."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Rounding a bend a few blocks further on, both women pointed to the towers of the Cedar Riverside apartment complex. I lived there years ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Look, there. That's where all the trouble is. The Somalis."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Yes. Shootings, killings, murders. And they put them all together!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"We are really seeing a lot, and we still have a long way to go."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My stop was next. I exited, fighting tears. My heart does not want to bleed anymore. It is amazing how much insight one can gain from less than five minutes of overheard conversation. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I suppose these people have a right to shelter themselves and their world views, but I do not understand it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">These two reside in one of our most affluent suburbs. Traditionally, no more than a few apartment buildings were welcomed there, so it can be a bit of culture shock for many of them to find 6,000 in their midst.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The project they referenced which was the subject of last night's public hearing is not for "wayward" youth but "homeless" youth. There is much more than a semantic, dime's worth of difference between the two for anyone who has an interest in asking a few questions. </span><span style="font-size: large;">The reason</span><span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.beaconinterfaith.org/YouthHousing">the project</a> i</span><span style="font-size: large;">s proposed for Edina is because that's where the homeless youth are – these are their children, and there is nothing wrong with most of them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">For all its visibility and the complaints about the public cost of the Vikings stadium, one of the most expensive public projects in state history, these two individuals did now know where it was located. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">However, they definitely thought they knew "where all the trouble is."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Because they have become able to ignore the violence that happens behind closed doors and even on the streets of Edina that does not get reported. I could give voice to numerous, ugly stereotypes about Edina and the "kind" of people who live there, but life is too short. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I can imagine how their conversation probably continued as they passed through an even more diverse set of communities stretched out along the length of the Green Line, but life is too short.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I hope they had a nice lunch in St. Paul.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-73023627353744702652014-07-27T20:48:00.000-05:002014-07-27T20:48:00.367-05:00Minneapolis artists, others: Vote for Rep. Phyllis Kahn in August 12 primary election<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Minneapolis, Minnesota</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A shibboleth of politics that also applies to life, business, and love holds that “You dance with the
ones that brought you.”</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>52</o:Words>
<o:Characters>297</o:Characters>
<o:Company>Ananya Dance Theatre</o:Company>
<o:Lines>2</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>348</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kI6Zb54fMk0/U9WpgK-BDxI/AAAAAAAAAmw/DpE04GDlYco/s1600/PhyllisKahn1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kI6Zb54fMk0/U9WpgK-BDxI/AAAAAAAAAmw/DpE04GDlYco/s1600/PhyllisKahn1.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rep. Phyllis Kahn, center, with Rep. Karen Clark, left.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Minneapolis voters in
Legislative District 60B have an interesting choice in the DFL Party primary
election, August 12. Interesting, but clear. Voters – particularly artists
– should mark their ballots for Phyllis Kahn.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Kahn has organized the dance, engaged the orchestra, mailed the invitations, and beat the bushes to make sure folks attend the party. Born in Brooklyn, New York, educated at Cornell, Yale, and Harvard, and now living on Nicollet Island, she has led with intellectual vigor, political savvy, and fierce engagement on the district's major issues since her first election in 1972.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1974, during her campaign for re-election, she could be found at the campaign office of Wes Skoglund, a candidate for the Minnesota Legislature whose opponent was the former mayor, Charlie Stenvig. On one occasion, we were stuffing envelopes together when she told me "Either smoke that cigarette or put it out!" I quickly took a final drag and snuffed it out.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Kahn and Skoglund both won that year and, in 1975, she served successfully as chief author of the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act that restricted smoking in public places.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Since then, she has shepherded laws into existence to protect the environment; promote rights and opportunities for women, the dispossessed, and the marginalized; prohibit discrimination based on age and disability; establish gender equity in athletics; and much more.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">In 1983, my roommates – Larry Mathias and Jon Hove – and I hosted a canvassing event for Brian Coyle's campaign for the Minneapolis City Council from our 23rd floor apartment in the West Bank neighborhood. Kahn organized and showed up with food to feed the political foot soldiers who went door-to-door delivering campaign literature. Coyle won his first of three terms that year, becoming the council's first openly gay member.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Among other committee assignments, Kahn chairs the House Legacy Committee, providing oversight and maintaining enabling legislation for the constitutional amendment passed by Minnesota voters in 2008 to fund arts and culture, the environment and natural resources, clean water, outdoor heritage, and parks and trails.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Her support for the arts has been second to none among her legislative peers. Personally, she and her family have patronized the Walker Art Center, Weisman Museum, Mixed Blood Theater, <a href="http://www.mncitizensforthearts.org/actnow/legislatorsupport/2012-district-60/">"and many more."</a> The many more include long-standing patronage of The Southern Theater and its artists in the Seven Corners District of the West Bank neighborhood.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">In 2011, when I served as the Southern's director amid a financial meltdown resulting from years of mismanagement, some of the Southern's friends ducked for cover while others spit tacks of blame. Phyllis and Donald Kahn stood by us strongly, asking only how they could help. They responded promptly and generously, as they had before that crisis and as they have since.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KCBWZNex2Cg/U9Wq3mhbUBI/AAAAAAAAAm8/h0pid4GLdrs/s1600/PhyllisKahn2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KCBWZNex2Cg/U9Wq3mhbUBI/AAAAAAAAAm8/h0pid4GLdrs/s1600/PhyllisKahn2.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rep. Phyllis Kahn</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I do not need newcomers telling me that Phyllis Kahn is out of touch or ineffective. They simply do not know what they are talking about. Her legislative seniority alone provides more power for progressive minded people – and the issues important to them – than do all of her opponent's good intentions to hit the ground running if elected.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">There is much to like about her opponent, Mohamud Noor. A native of Somalia who arrived in Minneapolis 15 years ago, Noor set about earning a degree in computer science from Metropolitan State University and resides with his family, currently, in the Seward neighborhood. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">He serves as interim executive director of the Confederation of Somalia Community in Minnesota, located in the West Bank's Brian Coyle Community Center, and gained his first foothold in public office by appointment to fill a vacancy on the Minneapolis School Board only last December. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I do not live or have a vote in District 60B, and would welcome an opportunity to vote for Mr. Noor for another office in days to come.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">That said, the best candidate to represent the DFL Party in November's general election is Phyllis Kahn. The primary election happens Tuesday, August 12, at the polls. No-excuse-absentee-voting is happening now. People can register online or by mail. Find more information <a href="http://www.phylliskahn.com/voter-resources.html">here</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">If you live in District 60B, vote for the one who brought you: Phyllis Kahn. If you do not live there, pass the word to your friends who do.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-17793010599519606922014-01-27T15:52:00.001-06:002014-01-27T15:52:40.535-06:00Déjà vu in Twin Cities' Southwest LRT debate<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Discussion and drama surrounding the routing of the proposed Southwest Light Rail Transit line in the Twin Cities reminds me of the freeway that was proposed for Minneapolis' Hiawatha Avenue in the 1960s, the increased resistance of the south side neighborhoods to the depressed ditch in which such a freeway would have been laid out and constructed, and the emergent support for a boulevard-and-LRT alternative.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Then, as now, experts, interest groups, and politicians at the city, county, state, and federal levels had studied, run their numbers, and shaped the terms of the debate for years. It was not a strong suit of these folks back then to hear and incorporate input from the people who would be impacted most by any construction. Nor did they exhibit any propensity to imagine or consider meaningful alternatives.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">At a point in 1975, when most of the skids appeared to have been greased and the possibilities for alternatives seemed lost, the southern neighborhoods sent busloads of people to downtown Minneapolis late on a winter's night to meet with Congressman Donald Fraser in a late effort to obtain any kind of intervention on behalf of city residents. The time and place for that meeting were the only ones that bureaucrats insisted could be found for a meeting with the congressman.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Eventually, the congressional appropriation for a freeway-only option on Hiawatha was stopped or ameliorated, and additional years of study and carrying on at all levels finally resulted in completion of a boulevard-and-LRT alternative when the Hiawatha LRT line opened in 2005. At 40 years, it was possibly the most-planned project in Minnesota history. For at least 25 of those years, we were warned repeatedly that the federal funds in support of any project along the Hiawatha corridor were going to go away. They possibly did, several times.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If we need to delay the Southwest LRT line by five-to-10 more years in order to get it right, the world will not end. Nor will federal funding disappear forever and all time.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The line should be routed and run where the people are, and not where we hope they might be someday. We should build the line south from downtown on Nicollet Mall/Avenue to Lake Street, then west to Uptown, and thence southwest to Eden Prairie.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Couple this construction with the forever-taking-proposals to rid the civic landscape of the K-Mart store at Nicollet and Lake that has closed off one of our major thoroughfares since the 1970s. That would allow for the future possibility of an LRT line that continued down Nicollet and across the Minnesota River to Burnsville and Lakeville.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Alternatively, route a Southwest LRT line south to Eden Prairie from somewhere on West Lake Street. Then, if the presently proposed streetcars prove to be all that hot-n-tot, they can be used to connect the Southwest line at West Lake to the downtown portions that run on the Hiawatha, Central, and (proposed) Bottineau corridors. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We really don't need to screw up the ecosystem of the Minneapolis lakes along the presently proposed Kenilworth Corridor with either deep or shallow tunnels. Plus, the folks who live around those lakes pay some of the highest property taxes in town to Minneapolis and Hennepin County, and we need all of their money to run those units of government.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It took 40 years to change our collective group think and intellectual infrastructure about freeways and LRT. We have not devoted, and it will not take, anything near 40 years to think through the newer challenges posed by the Southwest LRT line and get them right.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-30435339134804859102013-12-08T03:19:00.000-06:002013-12-08T10:05:48.449-06:00Festivus Camelus XXXV<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Minneapolis, Minnesota</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q312QWxjRAQ/UqQ1YMcGgcI/AAAAAAAAAmU/NpF0JlATDzI/s1600/CIMG4846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="328" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q312QWxjRAQ/UqQ1YMcGgcI/AAAAAAAAAmU/NpF0JlATDzI/s640/CIMG4846.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claudia Dromedarius • Dec. 7, 2013</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial;">Such joy! </span><span style="font-family: arial;">It felt so good to see her again after our first meeting five years ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;">Her name is Claudia. She is beautiful, embodying and confirming hopes and dreams that everything is possible. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Her first visit, December 6, 2008, had delighted as much as it had startled: Neither she nor any of her relatives had attended the previous gatherings, held for 29 consecutive years on the first Saturday of December in a tony neighborhood of Minneapolis. While not prepared for it, members of the clan took her appearance on the scene in stride, feeling a brimming excitement and joy that she had finally joined them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;">She was taller and classier than some had imagined her to be, and her pouting mouth, long eyelashes, and long neck – moving with an easy grace – lent an air of affectionate assurance and captivating charisma. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">A temperature in the single digits, accompanied by wind gusts to 38 mph, turned her exhalations steamy.<br /><br /><br />Still, she stood on the front lawn for two hours in the new snow that night, greeting guests with a gentle familiarity that suggested all of them were old friends. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Camera flashes accentuated the floodlit scene as she held court with anyone seeking a record of their encounter with her celebrity. An escort stood nearby to insure safety and propriety. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Her daughter had sent regrets, having her own holiday party to attend.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IqzXJF40Fio/UqQ1ucRFpVI/AAAAAAAAAmc/AGeCO173t6Y/s1600/CIMG4842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IqzXJF40Fio/UqQ1ucRFpVI/AAAAAAAAAmc/AGeCO173t6Y/s400/CIMG4842.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary Peterson and Claudia Dromedarius</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br />Her family's dynastic name, Camelus Dromedarius, placed her among the 90% of its members with a single hump on their backs, and distinguished them from their Camelus Bactrianus cousins who carry two.<br /><br /><br />That she has joined the Camel Party festivities in person feels perfectly natural. After all, her family has provided the organizing iconography of the clan's convenings from the beginning. From two original tapestries, the founders's collection of items camelus grew to include photos, postcards, drawings, and statues small and large. In addition, there is the annual cake, sculpted in the form of a dromedary in repose, covered in colorful icing, and measuring up to three feet long.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;">Several days after Claudia's 2008 visit, I received a call from the daughter of a decades-long attendee of The Camel Party. This daughter's son had written a paper about Festivus Camelus for school. His teacher, who had never attended the party ("That's really sad!" I heard the son say in the background), had expressed skepticism and asked him to revise and re-submit the paper. The purpose of the call was to do some fact-checking about the origins of The Camel Song and whether the party had been named after the song. (Not!) The young man already had done some original research while attending that year's camel experience, and I suggested to his mother that he cite this blog </span><span style="font-family: arial;">in his references. That young man is now 16 years old. We can hold out hope for his former teacher, about whom Jesus might have said "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;">The robust rendition of The Camel Song, composed sometime around year nine, opens the last third of songs on the caroling list, while a life-sized camel puppet wends its way through the throng. New verses have been added over the years to mark milestones and reflect the changing zeitgeist. The 35th year introduced new lyrics that reflect </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The Camel Party's celebration of the change within continuity and the continuity within change:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: arial;">Yes the air is chill year 35, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">And from Claudia's nostrils steam does rise. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">But indoors it's hot and folks gyrate, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Til for babes and all the floor does shake. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's to all loved ones at Cameltide, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Both here and on the other side! *</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-usonDJZ1zlE/UqQ2ECt1qtI/AAAAAAAAAmg/ebWCgQH-5CY/s1600/CIMG4836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-usonDJZ1zlE/UqQ2ECt1qtI/AAAAAAAAAmg/ebWCgQH-5CY/s400/CIMG4836.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claudia Dromedarius • Dec. 7, 2013</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;">What started in 1979 as a non-sectarian holiday gathering of relatives and friends has evolved into an experience, a production, and a "happening" (a term for those alive in the late 1960s) that has hosted thousands of souls in ways beguiling, bemusing, and sometimes outrageous.<br /><br /><br />Colored lights. Wreaths. Garlands. Poinsettias. Potluck foodstuffs. Piles of shoes. Dancing socks. Rock 'n roll. Blues. Rhythm and blues. Chicken dances. Instrumental ensembles of piano, accordion, trombone, oboe, flute, guitar, violin. Carols, naughty and sacred. Desserts for days. Wine, water, and soda. Crowds and conversations of hundreds. Welcome and inclusion. Fashions new and old. Santa, Rasta Santa, and elves – Santa and Rasta remain the same, but the elves have grown up and started replacing themselves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Nothing lasts forever, though, and these annual trysts are guaranteed to none. For attendees constant and episodic, Festivus Camelus has noted and incorporated transitions of education, career, conception, birth, health, and death. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">It has forever marked its participants who have returned from all corners of the globe: Minnesota, Madison, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, Boston, New Haven, New York, Washington, Canada, France, Germany, and China.<br /><br /><br />Along with everything,</span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: arial;">It warms the cockles, cockles, cockles of our fiery pagan hearts,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">In the cold of icy December,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">Wild revelries remember,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">The heat of the golden sun! *</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">* From </span>The Camel Song<span style="font-style: italic;">, © 2013, Davies/Schiller</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></span>Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-28249216025500131612013-12-07T00:42:00.000-06:002013-12-07T10:23:25.054-06:00Of dogs and men<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The Friday, Dec. 6, <a href="http://www.startribune.com/local/south/234656911.html">Star Tribune newspaper reported </a>about the sentencing in Scott County District Court of one Rudolph Poppe, 71, a resident of Shakopee, Minnesota. Poppe was sentenced to 90 days in jail, with credit for 24 days served already, plus five years probation and a $500 fine.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Poppe pleaded guilty in October to one count of animal cruelty. A neighbor was reported to have seen Poppe hit his 13-year-old golden retriever over the head with a sledgehammer – allegedly 15 times – earlier this year, in order to put the aged animal out of its misery. I read the article while my own dog slept next to the radiator at my feet.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The man is barred from owning another animal for five years. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">You think?!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">At 5:40pm on Friday, I was walking on Third Avenue South from the Minneapolis Convention Center to my house, a few blocks away. The temperature was 4ºF with a windchill index in the mid-20s degrees below zero. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">At East 16th Street and Third Avenue, on the northwest corner of the Sharon Sayles Belton Bridge spanning Interstate 94, I came upon a 71-year-old man who was conscious and sitting on the curb. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The man wore neither hat nor gloves. He was attired in a thin, gray hoodie sweat shirt with a plaid-patterned shirt-type jacket over it. His light green pants were thin for summer. His hands were white with cold. He was freezing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I had not seen if he had fallen, and I could not raise him up. He was marginally coherent.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Reaching for my cell phone, I dialed 911. "You have reached Minneapolis 911," the recording said, "we will answer your call as soon as we can." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I could not believe it – I have called 911 many times over the years, mostly to report open air drug trafficking, an occasional car wreck, and random sounds of gunfire – and this was the first time I was put on hold. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">After a pause, the message repeated once or twice more before a live man's voice asked "Do you have an emergency or can I put you on hold?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Something about the call set me off and I shouted, "By all means, please put me on hold!" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He had the presence of mind to then ask "How can I help you?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"I am a pedestrian," I said, "and have come upon this man sitting on the curb in this cold." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"That's an emergency," the 911 guy said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I described what the man looked like and what he was wearing, and agreed to stay with him until help arrived. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A firehouse was located two blocks away, on the back side of the Convention Center, and a truck with four men pulled up within two minutes. Within four minutes, an ambulance from Hennepin County Medical Center also arrived on the scene. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As I continued walking the final three blocks to my house, I began to cry – and then to sob uncontrollably until after I was running water on my own cold hands inside my toasty warm house.</span><br />
<br />Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-61990856537605873652013-05-19T13:08:00.000-05:002013-11-18T19:20:50.091-06:00The bus to St. Paul and equality<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The advance of same-sex marriage around the globe gained major traction during the first 18 days of May, as Rhode Island became the 10th U.S. state to legislate in favor on May 2, followed by Delaware on May 7. On May 14, the National Council of Justice in Brazil voted 14-to-1 to require notaries public to register same-sex marriages. On May 18, France became the 14th country to legalize gay nuptials when its president signed earlier legislation that had been challenged in court.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In Minnesota, the state House of Representatives voted for marriage equality, 75-to-59, on May 9, followed by the state Senate, 37-to-30, on May 13.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_rjs6_bD544/UZkTuG13-VI/AAAAAAAAAls/sUsFBrSV5TA/s1600/CIMG4150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_rjs6_bD544/UZkTuG13-VI/AAAAAAAAAls/sUsFBrSV5TA/s400/CIMG4150.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Minnesota State Capitol • St. Paul • May 14, 2013</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">At 4:10pm on Tuesday, May 14, I stood on the corner of 6th Street and Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis to board an express bus to the State Capitol, 10 miles distant on the edge of downtown St. Paul. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Minnesota's governor, Mark Dayton, was scheduled to sign the new legislation at a 5pm ceremony on the Capitol steps. It will take effect August 1.</span><br />
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I was not alone. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A friend, Christopher, and one of his friends were waiting at the corner, attired in black-and-white "Marry Us" t-shirts generated by the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus. Other men and women sported various shirts from the 2012 campaign to defeat the amendment to Minnesota's constitution that would have banned gay marriage in the state. Jerry and Travis already were on the bus when we boarded.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We moved through downtown's rush hour traffic, picking up fellow travelers until packed, cheek by jowl, with no room for more. We represented a wide range of ages, with the majority clearly being part of the Millennial Generation, people born since 1980. If most of us gay baby boomers had raised kids, they would be part of this cohort: folks who generically hold the world in the palm of one hand while they reach to touch and create their experience of it with the other.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It was an excited, but relaxed, happy ride. One fellow nearby remarked that "Most of my exes will probably be there – this could get interesting." I observed that he could probably handle it unless all of them arrived together. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Rolling along the I-94 freeway shoulder, I found myself reflecting about how many years we had been riding and about all the people who had missed this bus. I included my former, 16-year-old self: that ridiculous kid trying to find and understand others like himself in the cocoon of Sutton's bar in 1968 Minneapolis.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There were the gay men and drag queens, whose grainy images may be found in documentary films about the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City, rounded up and herded into paddy wagons following police raids on gay bars. Some of those warriors still survive, but most have passed on.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There was Thomas, a Minnesotan of my acquaintance, who was fired from his job as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill when I worked there in 1971; years later, in May 1984, I read <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/06/us/body-of-missing-house-aide-is-found-in-baltimore-harbor.html">in the New York Times that his body had been fished out of Baltimore's harbor</a>. There were friends and acquaintances, like Ankha, who died by their own hands. John Chenoweth, a former Minnesota state senator, and Earl Craig, one of our civil rights activists, were murdered in 1991 and 1992, respectively, like many others over the years – and still this week on the streets of New York City.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There were, of course, the countless souls lost to AIDS, recognized at the first unfolding of the AIDS Quilt on the National Mall, October 11, 1987, and since.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">All of them returned to mind last evening as I listened to the words of Mozart's "Requiem" at St. Mark's Cathedral in Minneapolis:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Sacrifices and prayers of praise, Lord, we offer to You.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Receive them in behalf of those souls we commemorate today.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
And let them, Lord, pass from death to life,</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
which was promised to Abraham and his descendants.</blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The debate on the floor of the Minnesota House, May 9, had inspired awe. The outcome of the vote there was not certain until the roll was taken and closed. Many of the 134 members gave emotional voice to the higher angels of their natures and their callings to public service.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Senate debate last Monday also had much of that, but with half as many members as the House and the outcome certain, its speeches lasted longer and were more painful and difficult to hear. Power and privilege do not yield without a fierce fight. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">With their backs against the wall, many opponents averred that "I am not a bigot," "I am not a homophobe," and "I am not a hater" before giving voice-and-vote evidence to the contrary. Many of us listening from our workplaces and elsewhere recognized the denial and kept a running commentary with each other in Facebook chats. We have seen and heard it all before in our schools, workplaces, houses of worship, and halls of government from people who ultimately do not believe in a shared humanity.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">People with "sincerely and deeply held beliefs" insisting on their religious freedom but finding endless justification for denying it to others. Folks believing all of us should embrace the full responsibilities of citizenship and having no compunction about denying many of the rights and privileges that should accompany the responsibilities. Parents professing love and concern for "the children" but voting against the future happiness of their own children or those of their friends and relatives.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">With strokes of a pen under a sun-drenched sky on Tuesday afternoon, Governor Dayton gave all of Minnesota's citizens the freedom to marry the person they love and, as importantly, of their choice.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The signing ceremony and subsequent parade and open-air concert at downtown's Ecolab Plaza spanned five hours of joyful celebration and inaugurated a new era in all of our relationships with each other.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As James Davies, my partner of 30 years, and I broke bread with friends that evening, one of them, Mark, asked, "I may be naive, but with this done, is there anything more that we still need to do to secure equal rights for gay people?" </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Certainly, if we need to bat clean-up on the state level, there are people who will let us know what needs to be done. We have the small matter of getting 38 other states and the federal government right with God. Around the world, we must defeat the state-sanctioned thugs who squelch anything gay on the streets and in the statutes of Russia, the state-sanctioned religious objections of the United Kingdom, and the evangelical missionaries sent from the U.S. to advocate the death penalty for gay people in Nigeria and elsewhere.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Closer to home, as the aspirations of immigrant, Muslim people seek expression and realization in Minnesota, we must meet and assimilate into their world views the tenants of our civic creeds, enshrined in our constitution and laws.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One of the speakers on the Capitol Mall last Tuesday was a physician, attended by his husband-to-be and their twin children. He told of making his early rounds of the newborns at the hospital that morning. As he moved among them, he realized that they would grow up knowing from the outset all the possibilities of their hearts. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That prologue for those and all newborns is the true legacy and real revolution wrought by the bus to St. Paul. For that, all that is past can be forgiven.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-68376218428765401082013-04-14T00:28:00.000-05:002013-04-14T08:34:45.001-05:00Shaping young dance dreams in Grand Rapids, Minnesota<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">With long and productive performing careers largely behind them, ballet dancers Amy Earnest and Lance Hardin now voice their contentment to inspire and prepare new generations of dance students for the stage. Since the late summer of 2012, their base of operations has been the <a href="http://www.reifdance.org/">Reif Dance Program</a>, housed in the <a href="http://www.reifcenter.org/">Myles Reif Performing Arts Center</a>, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There, they teach and choreograph 18-20 ballet classes in a program that serves 200 students, aged three-to-adult, with a dance curriculum of 50 weekly offerings in fundamentals, ballet, jazz, modern, and tap. Though only in their 30s, the husband and wife duo have nearly three decades of teaching experience between them.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f1dd4AZ4_MU/UWo2Yqo-k5I/AAAAAAAAAk8/swgIx85B2QM/s1600/Lance.Amy.Crop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f1dd4AZ4_MU/UWo2Yqo-k5I/AAAAAAAAAk8/swgIx85B2QM/s320/Lance.Amy.Crop.JPG" width="314" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lance Hardin and Amy Earnest<br />
Ballet Co-Directors of Reif Dance, Grand Rapids, Minnesota</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Their own dance studies extend even longer. Earnest began dancing at age three in Atlanta. After studying with the School of Atlanta Ballet from age 11, she moved to Seattle at 18 to pursue professional development with the Pacific Northwest Ballet. She is certified both with the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum and as a Pilates instructor. Hardin, a native of Chicago, began his dance training at age 11 at the Ruth Page Foundation School of Dance and, later, at the Academy of Houston Ballet. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Ballet from Indiana University.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Earnest and Hardin both have performed principal roles from the Balanchine repertoire, as well as works by Paul Taylor, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, and Alonzo King, among others. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In addition to Pacific Northwest Ballet, Earnest has performed with the Tulsa Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Hartford Ballet, and Chautauqua Ballet in venues as far afield as Portugal and Hong Kong. Hardin's credits include the Milwaukee Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, North Carolina Dance Theatre, and Chautauqua Ballet. The couple met while dancing in North Carolina.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Both cite as highlights of their dance company experiences the few opportunities they had to work with choreographers – King, Duato, and Dwight Rhoden – as they created a new dance from nothing, as opposed to the more usual practice of having existing works "set" on them by repetiteurs.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qkuc8dNAbVo/UWo3euyk4rI/AAAAAAAAAlI/f0tVh5fC7Wc/s1600/Reif+Studios.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qkuc8dNAbVo/UWo3euyk4rI/AAAAAAAAAlI/f0tVh5fC7Wc/s200/Reif+Studios.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reif Dance serves 200 students<br />
aged three to adult</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Prior to moving to Minnesota, Earnest and Hardin owned and ran the Avant-Garde School of Dance in Centennial, Colorado, part of the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Grand Rapids was not unknown to them when they responded to the Reif Center's national search for a director(s) of its ballet program; both had performed there on tour in 1998, and it looked like a good opportunity to make a difference.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Situated on the banks of the Mississippi River, near its Lake Itasca headwaters, Grand Rapids is home to 10,869 residents in a county of 45,000 people and 1,000 lakes. Located 175 miles north of Minneapolis-St. Paul, 80 miles northwest of Duluth, and 100 miles south of the Canadian border, the city's largest employer is the Blandin Paper Company.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It was Myles Reif, a former general manager, plant manager, and president of Blandin, whose foresight and leadership prompted the creation of an arts center that would partner with its community; he did not live to see the January 1981 opening. Owned by Independent School District 318, the 645-seat Reif Center is operated by the Reif Arts Council. In <a href="http://www.reifcenter.org/pdf/10_11_Annual_Report_Web.pdf">fiscal 2011</a>, the Center sold nearly 25,000 tickets to patrons, 40% of whom traveled more than 25 miles to attend performances of theater, dance, music, and popular entertainments.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">David Marty, the Center's president, enjoys a national reputation as a savvy and visionary leader who knows how to effectively connect artists and audiences in meaningful ways while balancing a budget of approximately $950,000.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.reifcenter.org/dance/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Lance.jpg" rel="modal-window" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.3s; -webkit-transition-property: color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; color: #adbb42; font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17pt; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: rgb(250, 250, 250) 1px 1px 0px;"><img alt=""Co-Ballet Director, Lance Hardin"" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-570" height="180" src="http://www.reifcenter.org/dance/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Lance.jpg" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 5px 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px 5px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-left-radius: 5px 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px 5px; border-top-width: 0px; color: #4c4c4c; float: left; font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 14pt; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 30px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: none !important; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Lance" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicago native Lance Hardin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In addition to its state-of-the-art theater, the Reif Center has three spacious dance studios with sprung floors (1,200 sq. feet, 1,800 sq. feet, and 2,250 sq. feet), private dressing rooms, and a newly refurbished observation room for parents.</span><br />
<div style="font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Evidence of the dedication and investment of some of those parents in their children's artistic development can be found in the distances they drive four and five times a week: 34 miles and 45 minutes one-way from Hibbing to the east, and 69 miles and 70 minutes one-way from Bemidji to the west.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.reifcenter.org/dance/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Amy.jpg" rel="modal-window" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.3s; -webkit-transition-property: color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; color: #adbb42; font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17pt; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline; text-shadow: rgb(250, 250, 250) 1px 1px 0px;"><img alt=""Co-Ballet Director, Amy Earnest"" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-94" height="180" src="http://www.reifcenter.org/dance/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Amy.jpg" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 5px 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px 5px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-left-radius: 5px 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px 5px; border-top-width: 0px; color: #4c4c4c; float: left; font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 14pt; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 30px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: none !important; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Amy" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amy Earnest started dancing<br />
at age three in Atlanta</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hardin says the number of boys enrolled in the dance program is pushing double digits and has prompted thoughts of offering a boys class beginning in the fall. The program also is looking for three instructors, in jazz, tap, and fundamentals.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Reif Dance presents three annual productions: The Nutcracker in December, the Reif Dance Company show by advanced students in March, and the spring dance theater show in June.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In November 2011, Reif Dance named James Sewell, artistic director of the <a href="http://www.jsballet.org/">James Sewell Ballet</a> in Minneapolis, as its artistic advisor. The partnership includes regular workshops and performances in Grand Rapids by Sewell and his company, and regular visits by the Reif students to Minneapolis throughout the year.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On April 13 and 14, 2013, 39 dancers from Grand Rapids joined members of the James Sewell Ballet and the <a href="http://www.gtcys.org/">Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies</a> to perform Camille Saint-Saëns' "Carnival of the Animals" at <a href="http://www.thecowlescenter.org/">The Cowles Center for Dance</a> in Minneapolis. When the Sewell dancers take the stage at the Reif Center a week later, April 20, the Reif dancers will perform "Percussive," a new work choreographed by Hardin to music by Peter Gabriel.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For its annual spring production, the Reif Dance Program will present "The Wizard of Oz," June 7-9.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fqnkeB3cq2k/UWo6nI-RJiI/AAAAAAAAAlY/GV2Bwb5Op6I/s1600/Reif+Center.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fqnkeB3cq2k/UWo6nI-RJiI/AAAAAAAAAlY/GV2Bwb5Op6I/s320/Reif+Center.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 645-seat Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Then, rounding out their first year in Grand Rapids, Earnest and Hardin will be joined by Sewell dancers for the ballet-focused <a href="http://www.reifcenter.org/dance/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Summer-Dance-Brochure-2013.pdf">2013 Summer Dance Intensive</a>, July 29-August 17. The three-week intensive also will offer classes in contemporary styles, modern, jazz, tap, choreography, and Pilates, with a free, Summer Showcase performance on Saturday, August 17. A housing and meal package at Itasca Community College is available for out-of-town participants.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Earnest and Hardin say they enjoy the sense of community they have found in Grand Rapids, a place where they can know many people and be known for the work that they do in developing dance artists. They look forward to many days of sharing their experiences and helping to shape young dreams.</span><br />
<h5 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #adbb42; font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: rgb(250, 250, 250) 1px 1px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #adbb42; font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: none !important; vertical-align: baseline;"></strong></h5>
<h5 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #adbb42; font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: rgb(250, 250, 250) 1px 1px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #adbb42; font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: none !important; vertical-align: baseline;"></strong></h5>
Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-61785650903775493102013-03-29T23:40:00.001-05:002013-03-29T23:40:23.317-05:00Credit where due<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One has to give the Catholic church a touch of credit: for as screwed up and dysfunctional as it is with the depth of its problems around the world, it took a mere three weeks to find new leadership. On these shores, Congress can't decide whether to debate a piece of legislation after years, and most businesses can't return a phone call in less than a week, if at all. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-64768960400119723612013-03-26T08:58:00.000-05:002013-03-26T08:58:37.453-05:00Supreme Court of the United States<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Court will provide the audio recordings and transcripts of the oral arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry, scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, March 26, and United States v. Windsor, scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, March 27, on an expedited basis through the Court's Website.</span></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8L5wXVjZPnM/UVGonzyQqNI/AAAAAAAAAks/3XjLobrA7nU/s1600/541316_10151363318672393_228395526_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8L5wXVjZPnM/UVGonzyQqNI/AAAAAAAAAks/3XjLobrA7nU/s320/541316_10151363318672393_228395526_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Court will post the audio recordings and unofficial transcripts as soon as the digital files are available for uploading to the Website. The audio recordings and transcripts should be available no later than 1 p.m. on March 26 and no later than 2 p.m. on March 27.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Anyone interested in the proceedings will be able to access the recordings and transcripts directly through links on the homepage of the Court's Website. The homepage currently provides links to the orders, briefs, and other information about the cases. The Court's Website address is </span><a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">www.supremecourt.gov</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-88405687497004103012013-02-17T13:21:00.003-06:002013-02-17T13:21:57.313-06:00Seriously? Jackie Cherryhomes wants to be mayor?<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Minneapolis, Minnesota</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Jackie Cherryhomes, a former president of the Minneapolis City Council, has announced her candidacy for the mayor's office in the November 2013 city elections.</span></span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">From a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/191556691.html?refer=y">Star Tribune interview</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">: "She said in an interview that she would no longer lobby in City Hall if elected, though she said she could continue to serve nonprofits and other clients on various types of work."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Really? In what warped universe does that make any sense?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Beyond that dubious promise of conflicted actions to come, one must wonder about her desire to keep businesses in the city and bring jobs downtown. As council president, she presided over the development of Block E on Hennepin Avenue, an ill-advised project that sits <a href="http://www.minnpost.com/cityscape/2012/10/what-do-block-e-thinking-outside-cubicle">nearly as vacant today</a> as it did before Minneapolis threw away $39 million to support its building.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Cherryhomes should quit the race now, while she is ahead.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-63750269977279489002012-12-20T23:35:00.000-06:002012-12-20T23:35:21.033-06:00Homeless for a holiday or any day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zg7wPf14PoA/UNPynHmfGtI/AAAAAAAAAkM/Ae_PpurQVsU/s1600/314951_2302724520894_804865356_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zg7wPf14PoA/UNPynHmfGtI/AAAAAAAAAkM/Ae_PpurQVsU/s320/314951_2302724520894_804865356_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A homeless man asleep outside Seattle's First Presbyterian<br />
Church, 7th Avenue and Madison Street, Oct. 15, 2011.<br />
Photo Gary Peterson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Nationwide, workers aged 18 to 24 have the highest unemployment rate of all adults and constitute a significant part of the country's homeless population. Susan Saulny reported from Seattle about this invisible problem in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/us/since-recession-more-young-americans-are-homeless.html?smid=FB-nytimes&WT.mc_id=US-E-FB-SM-LIN-ARM-121912-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click&_r=0">The New York Times, Dec. 18</a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In Minnesota, 13,100 people are homeless on any given night. Of these, the <a href="http://www.mnhomelesscoalition.org/homes-for-al/stats/">Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless</a> reports that 2,500 are unaccompanied youth, a number that has increased 46% since 2006.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The <a href="http://www.porticocollaborative.org/">Portico Interfaith Housing Collaborative</a> started life 12 years ago as a ministry of the <a href="http://www.plymouth.org/">Plymouth Congregational Church</a>, 1900 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, inspired by members who viewed and mused about a vacant nursing home across the street as they left services every Sunday. Today, Portico is a coalition of 50 congregations that serves 735 residents in multiple facilities with a commitment to end homelessness in the Twin Cities.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One of those facilities, Nicollet Square, opened in December 2010 on the former site of Werness Funeral Home. The new, three-story brick building at 3710 Nicollet Avenue houses young people in studio apartments on the upper two floors, while much of the ground floor is rented by the <a href="http://www.butterbakerycafe.com/Site/Welcome.html">Butter Bakery Cafe</a>, <a href="https://www.rise.org/pathways">Rise, Inc.</a>, and <a href="http://www.lfchiro.com/">Life Force Chiropractic</a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Half of Nicollet Square's 42 units are dedicated to the long-term homeless, defined as those who have either been on the street for more than one year or have been without a place to stay four times in three years. The remaining units are designed to prevent homelessness among those who are emerging from and aging out of foster care, and are referred by county agencies.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kdoBGWvwwDg/UNPw_yseHaI/AAAAAAAAAjo/lXoZdJ2Blag/s1600/CIMG4053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kdoBGWvwwDg/UNPw_yseHaI/AAAAAAAAAjo/lXoZdJ2Blag/s400/CIMG4053.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nicollet Square, housing for homeless youth in South Minneapolis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I joined members of the <a href="http://www.wellsfound.org/">Wells Foundation</a> board of directors when they visited Nicollet Square last weekend to receive an overview and tour of the project for which they have provided financial support. We gathered initially in the large, ground-floor community room, just inside the 24-hour front desk.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The community room includes a combined kitchenette and television lounge, with large, west-facing windows looking out on a patio, backyard, and alley. A few paces away are small offices for <a href="http://www.youthlinkmn.org/">YouthLink</a>, <a href="http://www.hired.org/">Hired</a>, the building's manager,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.commonbond.org/">CommonBond Housing</a>, a work-out room, and a 24-hour computer lab for residents.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">People between the ages of 18 and 21 are eligible to take up residence at Nicollet Square, and can remain until they feel ready to move on. Each individual signs a lease and pays rent on his or her studio apartment. Rent charges start at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">$205 per month upon move in; this rises to $305 in the third year and $405 in the fourth. CommonBond maintains a 24-hour front desk. Residents have keys to their individual units.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Nearly all residents are employed. Within two weeks of moving in, Hired matches them with a "work-fast" internship. These internships are privately subsidized for three months at a level of $1,700. YouthLink provides needed services on a voluntary basis, ranging from therapy to help writing resumes to securing birth certificates and social security cards.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6y77t-0nrGM/UNPyJtd3FKI/AAAAAAAAAj0/rO6gt-8ZYFE/s1600/CIMG4050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="397" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6y77t-0nrGM/UNPyJtd3FKI/AAAAAAAAAj0/rO6gt-8ZYFE/s400/CIMG4050.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Home is..." plaque outside Nicollet Square, 37th and Nicollet, Minneapolis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Our tour was led by Lee Blons, executive director, Lee Mauk, board member, and Marlys Weyandt, fund development coordinator. Weyandt explained how, on the streets, a backpack serves as a young person's "home." She displayed the contents of a typical backpack, which includes books or textbooks, used for escape or to complete their educations while homeless; unhealthy packaged foods; photos, even to maintain a connection to a lost or negative relationship; a library card which provides a rare but great sense of community; clothes; and sometimes a bus pass.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Nic's Closet, located on the third floor, provides residents with a range of donated items, including dishes, flatware, photo frames, towels, blankets, brooms, kitchen bags, soap, etc. The second and third levels also hold coin-operated laundry facilities, small lounges, and hallway reading libraries.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Because young men have trouble asking for help, most youth housing has more women residents. The ratio at Nicollet Square, however, is split evenly. Half of new residents have not graduated from high school.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Some statistics:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">25% of homeless adults became homeless as children;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">45% of homeless youth have been physically or sexually abused;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">57% of homeless youth spend at least one day a month without food;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">70% of homeless youth were in foster care or other settings before becoming homeless;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">22% of those in foster care become homeless in their first year on their own;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">42% of those in foster care become homeless at some point in their lives.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">All on-site service providers at Nicollet Square act as adult role models for healthy relationships, and provide safety, structure, a safety net, a support network, accountability, and confidence.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Nicollet Square was launched with $350,000 of capital provided by members of the Plymouth Congregational and <a href="http://www.ewestminster.org/">Westminster Presbyterian</a> churches, and built for $9 million, including federal stimulus funds for shovel-ready projects.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Portico must raise $30,000 per month for ongoing support and operations of Nicollet Square. The monthly cost includes its contracts with Hired, YouthLink, CommonBond, and the work-fast internships. People interested in being helpful can call </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.porticocollaborative.org/">Portico</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> at 651.789.6260. </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-72457982348140404962012-11-07T08:58:00.000-06:002012-11-07T08:58:39.553-06:00"Minnesota, hats off to thee!"<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vxW-idQcbZc/UJp2pLlQAyI/AAAAAAAAAis/JVqZSrhxTa4/s1600/482934_4270001461414_1782735582_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vxW-idQcbZc/UJp2pLlQAyI/AAAAAAAAAis/JVqZSrhxTa4/s640/482934_4270001461414_1782735582_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THANK YOU, MINNESOTA!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-45032208855934651332012-11-05T21:56:00.000-06:002012-11-05T21:56:32.567-06:00It's showtime! "Vote No x 2 Minnesota"<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z6BSMiND2bE/UJiJ32Xn5oI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/MDSVCsevA18/s1600/21106_10151095115520069_1039906207_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z6BSMiND2bE/UJiJ32Xn5oI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/MDSVCsevA18/s640/21106_10151095115520069_1039906207_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">November 6, 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-19587771119838405572012-11-04T11:39:00.000-06:002013-12-07T10:00:25.750-06:00Meaning, madness, and the magic of Zenon Dance Company<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"> • </span><span class="Apple-style-span">© 2012 Gary Peterson</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><i>"We must lift the sail and catch the winds of destiny wherever they may blow. To put meaning in one's life may end in madness, but life without meaning is the curse of restlessness and vague desire – it is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid."</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i> –Edgar Lee Masters, </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i><a href="http://spoonriveranthology.net/spoon/river/">Spoon River Anthology</a></i></span></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<i><br /></i>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This credo, from the epitaph of George Gray, one of many dead characters in "Spoon River Anthology," the 1915 classic by Edgar Lee Masters, has guided my life and outlook for more than 40 years. One might apply it also to the journey of the <a href="http://www.zenondance.org/">Zenon Dance Company and School</a> over the years, and to that of many people who were part of its early crucible. The company will inaugurate its 30th anniversary season with performances at <a href="http://www.thecowlescenter.org/">The Cowles Center for Dance</a>, Nov. 16-25, 2012.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To be present at the creation of an endeavor, as I was from 1981 to 1991, provided unique opportunities to participate and observe. My initial encounters with Zenon and its predecessor, Ozone Dance School, were those of observer. The observation led to years of participation as dance student and managing director. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Tripping on Zs: Ozone, Rezone, Just Jazz</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S1WiJg4xiws/UJSup5DmQjI/AAAAAAAAAc4/9dz5Ygh684I/s1600/00000008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S1WiJg4xiws/UJSup5DmQjI/AAAAAAAAAc4/9dz5Ygh684I/s320/00000008.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary Peterson • 1989 • Lobby of the "Queen Mary"<br />
Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When I attended modern dance classes at the University of Minnesota in 1982 and 1983, we were assigned to review live performances in the community. In the 1980s, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board sponsored free, alfresco performances at the <a href="http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=4&parkid=265">Nicollet Island Amphitheater</a>. It was there that I first encountered the <a href="http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/paa073.xml">New Dance Ensemble</a>, founded in 1981 by Leigh Dillard and Linda Shapiro, and the Rezone Dancers (modern choreography) and the Just Jazz Dancers, led by Linda Z. Andrews; the latter two were pre-professional companies of the Ozone Dance School.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">These three ensembles were the hot new things in dance those days, and I began attending their performances outside of class. For Ozone, these included packed-to-the-rafters studio performances held in the school's space on the fourth floor of the Wyman Building, 400 First Avenue North, in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Loop,_Minneapolis">Minneapolis Warehouse District</a>. Kathleen Maloney, the managing director and one of two staff people, sold tickets from her metal cash box in the first floor lobby.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Three things lent these groups a compelling essence. First, their research and development "departments" were in high gear, trying out local and national choreographers right and left, nurturing all and lifting up the best. Second, they were doing the same in the training of their dancers. Third, each ensemble was in the process of becoming, and they put on the best shows possible. If those were not reasons enough, 'the women were strong and the men good looking,' as <a href="http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/">Garrison Keillor</a> might say. There are few other realms where our culture provides imagery of strong women and gentle men at work as equals. There are many worse reasons to like dance.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">While I always delighted in watching the New Dance Ensemble and sent it regular donation checks, to my eye its dancers moved with a cooler reserve while the Ozone folks had the edge in passion, and in my heart, even though they sometimes shared personnel.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Along with the designs of choreographers, dancers are both the manufacturers and the second, requisite element of the discipline's artistic products ("the stuff of which it is made"). Both the design and its execution can be either brilliant or flawed. Timing and the technical acumen, personalities, and cohesion of all involved – including the audience – can affect the final output. That may sound amazingly soulless, but <a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2006/07/new-orleand-coda-and-capo.html">"acts of creation are acts of faith."</a> Dancers are the most intelligent people on the planet, and I often liken them to priests and priestesses, working in their temples of studio and stage to touch on aspects of the sacred and the divine. When they make the connections, nothing else matters.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">From 1979 to 1983, the Rezone Dancers and Just Jazz Dancers were scholarship performing companies in Ozone's school. Of 44 students who progressed through the program, just over half went on to dance professionally with other concert dance companies and musical theaters. Ozone's total subsidy of the scholarship students over those four years was nearly $65,000. Its studios were in use 12 of every 24 hours. Classes met in the mornings, at midday, in evenings, and on weekends. When classes were not happening, many independent choreographers and dancers used the space for rehearsals.</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>First dance classes</b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My first dance classes were not with the University or Ozone, but with <a href="http://www.patrickscully.org/">Patrick Scully</a>. The first class met, from fall 1981 until spring 1982, at 626 Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. There, Scully, with the help of his roommate, James Davies, and others had constructed a studio on the street side of the third floor, above the Best Steak House and the former Hollywood School of Beauty; they lived in a loft setting at the back. A group of their friends, mostly artists, lived on the second floor.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I had attended one of Scully's performances, "A Personal Goodbye," presented at the <a href="http://www.mixedblood.com/">Mixed Blood Theatre</a> in the spring of 1981, shortly after moving to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar-Riverside,_Minneapolis">West Bank</a> neighborhood. The flyers that advertised the performance were designed to catch the eye, featuring a stylized, rear-view nude photo of Scully. It was not a case of false advertising, as was made clear at the venue, located a block from where I lived. Davies provided live piano accompaniment to Scully's solo dancing. As a dutiful audience member, I signed up for the mailing list in the lobby. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IcJB5hRVM08/UJVPUT4IZbI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/enEDW_4TYbA/s1600/00000004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IcJB5hRVM08/UJVPUT4IZbI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/enEDW_4TYbA/s320/00000004.JPG" width="274" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda Z. Andrews • 1989 • Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When I received a mailed flyer announcing formation of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_improvisation">Contact Improvisation</a> ("CI") dance class that Scully would teach a few months later, its Wednesday night meeting time proved to be the perfect leavening to my schedule of full-time work and full-time class and study. While Minneapolis had been the scene of a dynamic CI milieu in the late 1970s, it was all new to me. When, after several months, Scully informed our motley group of about 10 men that classes would end because he would be traveling, <a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/02/all-campus-stage-and-all-its-men-and.html">I added modern dance classes for credit to my course load at the University</a>. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Dance had lived in the University's Department of Education for 60 years; in 1981-82, students garnered 1,847 credit hours. In the spring of 1983, 325 of us were enrolled in classes when Kenneth Keller, the University's president, moved to eliminate dance from the curriculum because of its lack of impact and tightening finances. This prompted <a href="http://www1.umn.edu/urelate/m/Summer99/dancing.html">Nadine Jette, the sole, full-time faculty member devoted to dance</a>, to rally the community and build the movement that eventually added dance to the <a href="http://dance.umn.edu/">Department of Theatre Arts within the College of Liberal Arts</a>. A fundraising effort followed at the Minnesota Legislature and elsewhere that resulted in construction of the <a href="https://theatre.umn.edu/about/facilities/barbara">Barbara Barker Center for Dance</a> on the West Bank campus in Minneapolis.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As part of that campaign, I wrote to Keller, Apr. 29, telling him of my intent to pursue an MA in dance therapy if my plans for graduate work in psychology did not pan out. I told him that, instead of eliminating dance classes, he should make them an elective for every student's core curriculum. I also invited him to join us in class on a Tuesday or Thursday morning. I never heard from him, but the collective we won that battle and the overall war when the Barker Center opened 16 years later, in 1999.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My motivation for joining the campaign to save dance at the University was more than chaste altruism. I would have fought anyone for the opportunity to share classes with Daniel, the other male student. Stated simply: he was beautiful. There is nothing wrong with such motivation in the search for honesty, meaning, or beauty in art and life.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After leaving the University, I attended modern classes with Erika Thorne and Joan Sloss, and a jazz class at the old MacPhail Center for the Arts. For several weeks in the fall of 1983, Scully re-convened the men from the earlier CI class to create and perform "Warsaw," a work set to "Warszawa" by David Bowie and Brian Eno. We performed on a December weekend at Jeff Sandeen's studio in the building that now houses Sex World on Washington Avenue North in Minneapolis.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>The emergence of Zenon</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">At the prompting of their dancers, the pre-professional Rezone and Just Jazz dance companies of Ozone merged to form the professional Zenon Dance Company in 1983. Debut performances were presented on the sixth floor of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hennepin_Center_for_the_Arts">Hennepin Center for the Arts</a>, 528 Hennepin Avenue, in downtown Minneapolis, Apr. 6-9.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Andrews later said she had felt reluctant and ambivalent about taking the step to professional status because she knew how difficult it would be to build and maintain a professional company. After knowing her in that time and working with her for five years, however, I came to believe that she wanted it at least as much as her dancers.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0hiyTFQ1nAI/UJVSB9GI76I/AAAAAAAAAdg/7cJSY5ty2hM/s1600/00000013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0hiyTFQ1nAI/UJVSB9GI76I/AAAAAAAAAdg/7cJSY5ty2hM/s320/00000013.JPG" width="279" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of Zenon's entry stairs at 324 • Note how ceiling<br />
insulation offsets the up-scale live plant!<br />
Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As I noted in <a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/05/zenon-dance-company-stands-tall-with.html">a review</a> of a spring 2012 Zenon performance, </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">the new, professional company was viewed by many as an impertinent upstart, and its debut program offered what most observers at the time, and for some years afterward, considered to be an improbable and unworkable mix of modern and jazz dance choreography. The opening bill featured works by Hannah Kahn, Charlie Vernon, Lewis Whitlock, Linda Shapiro, Wil Swanson, Lynn Simonson, and Anne Gunderson.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The notion that dancers could cross-train to perform many styles of modern dance, as well as jazz dance, was considered to be something of a joke by many local and national gatekeepers who served on the staffs and granting panels of service organizations, foundations, government agencies, and the media. It took many performance seasons and grant-making rounds to convince them to open their minds, trust their eyes, and lend their support.</span></blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Andrews and her company also had ambition and a dogged pursuit of artistic excellence in their eyes, something that did not sit well with many in the community. Still doesn't. The water that we drink makes Minnesotans somewhat schizophrenic. We want to be known to outsiders as world class in all our endeavors, but we smack down those among us who aspire to be more than just good enough. If one wants to pursue an uppity calling, s/he must go elsewhere, and we rarely forgive those who do. We also can be very hard and unwelcoming to newcomers from elsewhere.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Some back story</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Early in 1984, I was accepted into the MA clinical track of the <a href="http://sbs.mnsu.edu/clinicalpsychology/">Department of Psychology at Mankato State University</a> beginning in the fall. In the spring, Davies and I traveled by Greyhound bus from Minneapolis to Mankato for a day of separate exploring of the campus and community where we would live for two years. After Scully's dance class ended in the spring of 1982, Davies and I had lost touch. We re-met at the Gay Pride Festival in Loring Park in June 1983, and had been keeping company since.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When we met at day's end to catch the bus back to Minneapolis, I observed that I had encountered one negative vibe after another all day in conversations with everyone on campus, and was not sure that spending two years there would be a wise or productive course. Davies' experience on his rounds had been similar and, after a week's reflection, I declined the program's offer. I continued with my work as a legal assistant and office manager at a Minneapolis law firm.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A new life phase began when Davies and I moved in together in November 1984. In January 1985, I overcame the intimidation I felt on two fronts, first when I accepted Claude Peck's invitation to join him as co-host of his weekly <a href="http://kfai.org/freshfruit">Fresh Fruit</a> program on <a href="http://kfai.org/">KFAI</a> radio (a collaboration serving the gay community that lasted for nearly eight years), and second when I enrolled in jazz classes at the Zenon Dance School.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>The Ordway opens</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That January also was notable for the opening of the <a href="http://ordway.org/">Ordway Music Theatre</a>, the cultural jewel in the crown of downtown St. Paul, situated across the street from the Landmark Center and Rice Park. The venue offered a 10-day festival of opening performances on its main and studio stages. The Ordway was a sensation, and news of it dominated headlines and front pages of Twin Cities newspapers for days.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Leontyne Price, the Metropolitan Opera soprano, and pianist David Garvey held court in the 1,900-seat Main Hall under the aegis of The Schubert Club, for the grand opening, Tuesday, Jan. 8. Simultaneously, the Great North American History Theatre and the Mixed Blood Theatre Company displayed their wares in the 315-seat Studio Theatre next door. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />The next evening, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra presented an all-Mozart program in the Main Hall, and the Studio Theatre hosted the first of several dance programs. That night's line-up included the <a href="http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/paa047.xml">Minnesota Dance Theatre</a> and the works of four modern choreographers curated by the <a href="http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/paa064.xml">Minnesota Independent Choreographers' Alliance</a> (MICA): Diane Elliot, Rob Esposito, Georgia Stephens, and Patrick Scully. To mark the occasion, Scully programmed "Warsaw" with its original cast, including Davies and me, plus seven new men.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In his review for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, Roy Close – the long-time critic, and later arts administrator and <a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2009/10/ever-too-late-for-chance-of-lifetime.html">playwright</a>, known for being always incisive and often underwhelmed – observed that, although "the orchestra did not play as well as it might have," the Ordway "passed with flying colors." My performing debut was not reviewed.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LpcsSb4llXY/UJVT3BpF1dI/AAAAAAAAAdo/ndeyX59Kbhg/s1600/00000016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LpcsSb4llXY/UJVT3BpF1dI/AAAAAAAAAdo/ndeyX59Kbhg/s320/00000016.JPG" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zenon's entry at 324 • Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That weekend's showcases included shared evenings by the <a href="http://www.ethnicdancetheatre.com/">Ethnic Dance Theatre</a> and <a href="http://www.zorongo.org/">Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre</a> on Friday, and the New Dance Ensemble and Zenon Dance Company on Saturday. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Ordway's opening churned the presentation possibilities for Twin Cities dance makers. Summer programming continued on Nicollet Island in Minneapolis, and was joined by "Summer Dance '85" – followed a year later by "Summer Dance '86" – a presenting vehicle developed by MICA for the Ordway's Studio Theatre and its Drake Rehearsal Room.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Participating companies in the Ordway's first summer programming in July included the <a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/05/minnesota-dance-family-reunion-and.html">Nancy Hauser Dance Company</a>, New Dance Ensemble, Minnesota Jazz Dance Company, Zenon Dance Company, and others. As my friends and I walked along Washington Street after one of the performances, fireworks lit the sky above the theater and the Mississippi River, prompting Vaike Radamus to liken the evening to the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Buenos Aires where she had lived years earlier.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Also that summer, Scully and Poonie Dodson presented a two-person program titled "Doppelgänger," June 6-8, that included a sequel to "Warsaw." Held at the St. Stephen's School Gymnasium, two blocks from my house, the performances foreshadowed what would become <a href="http://www.patrickscabaret.org/">Patrick's Cabaret</a> as it emerged over that year at the same location. In October, the Minnesota Dance Theatre performed at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Minneapolis.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The first of many fall performances by Zenon Dance Company at the Ordway's Studio Theatre took place Dec. 5-8. Having spent the year attending jazz, modern, and ballet classes for four to seven days a week, I was enlisted into service as a stagehand.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">MICA changed its name to the Minnesota Dance Alliance (MDA) in 1986 under the leadership of Bonnie Brooks, its executive director from November 1985 to 1988. Parenthetically, after leaving Minnesota, Brooks served on the staff of the <a href="http://www.nea.gov/">National Endowment for the Arts</a> (NEA) and, later, became president and executive director of <a href="http://www.danceusa.org/">Dance/USA</a>. In the latter role, she found herself on the front lines of the Congressional culture wars that sought to destroy the NEA, and that included the controversy attending a work by the performance artist Ron Athey at Patrick's Cabaret.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>O'Shaughnessy Dance Series</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Almost from its opening in 1970 on the campus of St. Catherine University, in a residential neighborhood of St. Paul, the 1,700-seat <a href="http://theoshaughnessy.com/">O'Shaughnessy Auditorium</a> had become a performing home for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, and The Schubert Club. When, in 1984, the Ordway's pending arrival meant those organizations would decamp to the new venue downtown, O'Shaughnessy's manager, Karen LeBon, began to consider programming alternatives.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As recounted in a MICA newsletter, a market research study by Brad Morrison of Arts Development Associates recommended looking at dance. In response, LeBon contacted Judith Mirus, Brooks' predecessor at MICA. Mirus, in turn, put LeBon in touch with DancePak, an informal group of companies that met monthly to discuss common problems. Its six members included the Ethnic Dance Theatre, Minnesota Dance Theatre, Minnesota Jazz Dance Company, Nancy Hauser Dance Company, New Dance Ensemble, and Zenon Dance Company. It was originally organized by Andrews and Zenon in April 1983 to discuss the use of a potential cooperative dance theater.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M-w4WVbOTi4/UJWOPan1szI/AAAAAAAAAeA/o00u1vINups/s1600/keith1989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M-w4WVbOTi4/UJWOPan1szI/AAAAAAAAAeA/o00u1vINups/s320/keith1989.jpg" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keith Thompson at 324 • 1989<br />
Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Discussions in 1984 and 1985 led to plans for a six company series for at least two years. Susan Federbusch was hired as project manager of the O'Shaughnessy Dance Series and coordinated the merging of the companies' mailing lists for joint marketing. MICA provided production support for the series. Financial support was provided by the Northwest Area Foundation, Saint Paul Foundation, I.A. O'Shaughnessy Foundation, and Deluxe Checkprinters Foundation. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The first series of performances, in 1986, spanned the months of March to May. I reviewed all of them for Fresh Fruit on KFAI and, when I could, attended rehearsals as well as performances.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The O'Shaughnessy Dance Series represented the first time that a distribution and marketing system for dance products was put in place on a large scale in the Twin Cities. Like the processes of creation and production of dance, those of its presentation have inherent flaws from a free market perspective. The object is not the maximizing of shareholder value, but of consumer value. (Please save your arguments about the intrinsic value of the arts for another time.) Most dance producers and presenters, including those operating to the highest standards, cannot generate the volume of sales needed for sustainability. Getting and keeping sufficient financing into all parts of the system is the eternal conundrum and challenge.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Initially, O'Shaughnessy's series secured financing from corporate and foundation sources to cover most of its facility and production overhead, and to guarantee a fee to the participating companies. In 1986, each of six companies received $3,000 for three performances, plus 75% of the amount by which the box office revenue exceeded $6,000. The guarantee for 1987 was $3,500.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Then, as now, $3,000 was a nice hunk of change. It did not, however, begin to compensate the companies for all of their costs of creation and production. The Minnesota Dance Theatre, for example, found the gap between costs and income too great to permit its participation in 1987, and it was replaced in the line-up by the Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In 1988, O'Shaughnessy presented seven companies: Ballet Harren, Ethnic Dance Theatre, Maria Cheng Dance Company, Nancy Hauser Dance Company, New Dance Ensemble, Zenon Dance Company, and Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre. In 1989, the series included four companies: Ethnic Dance Theatre, New Dance Ensemble, Zenon Dance Company, and Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Change and crisis at Zenon</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In part, the Ozone/Zenon school had benefited from the disco craze and the residual interest in dance generated by release of the film "Saturday Night Fever" in 1977. A cohort of young people flocked to classes to improve their dance floor technique, sex appeal, and overall fitness. As this group moved along in life, however, the school felt a slow tightening in the tuition that fueled it. Simultaneously, the Warehouse District was being gentrified and rents at the Wyman Building were increasing. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">According to its annual report, income for Zenon's fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 1985, totaled $112,959. Performances brought in $10,153, donations $25,489, and tuition $71,246. Rentals and workshops, including one in Limon technique with Laura Glenn, accounted for the rest. To realize efficiencies, Zenon and New Dance Ensemble shared some of the costs of daily, advanced ballet classes for both companies during the winter and spring of 1985.</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To secure its survival, Zenon moved its studios in May 1985 across downtown to 324 Fifth Avene South. The two-story building was 80-some years old and had been built as a carriage house, a place where horses and their wagons were lodged and stored. In the late 1970s, as Scully recalled, the building had been home to the Contactworks Dance Studio, Palace Theater, and other artists. Zenon's cash reserves and a substantial amount of sweat equity were expended to make part of the second floor marginally suitable with two studios for classes and rehearsals. To accomplish the move, Zenon cancelled its spring performances. This reduced its income and temporarily dampened its visibility in the marketplace.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This facility offered some new amenities: natural lighting from windows to the street (which, facing south, became blindingly hot in the summer sun absent air conditioning), resilient wood floors (whose cracks between the boards allowed exhaust fumes to migrate from the parking garage below), showers, and a student lounge area. Heat was provided by large space heaters suspended from the ceilings; these were turned on only as needed, and on the coldest days of winter the office staff wore coats, hats, and gloves.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Over the next four years, the roof above the main studio began regularly to leak like a sieve, either from thawing snow in the spring or any time it rained in the summer. To deal with this, a series of large plastic bags was hung from the ceiling. To these were attached garden hoses that looped across the space to drain water through open windows to the sidewalk below. On a couple occasions, a hose clogged and a bag broke delivering its contents to the dance floor, through the cracks, and onto the cars parked downstairs.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In 1984-85, the school served a population primarily of avocational adults, and operated with a teaching staff of 15-25 accompanists and instructors, many of them performers in the dance company. Approximately 250 students attended multiple classes per week on a session basis. Each quarterly session realized 400-600 students on a single class basis. Overall, approximately 300-500 different individuals came through the doors weekly.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lVhmhb5DGR8/UJWPZYa2Q5I/AAAAAAAAAeI/WW37TAL9sAQ/s1600/00000019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lVhmhb5DGR8/UJWPZYa2Q5I/AAAAAAAAAeI/WW37TAL9sAQ/s400/00000019.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">324 Fifth Avenue South, Minneapolis • Zenon's home 1985-1989<br />
Entry to stairs at lower left, below "Z" • Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In many realms of commerce, including those of dance classes and performances, location figures into consumers' buying decisions. All of us are creatures of habit, and geographic changes that impact our patterns of behavior may be unwelcome and often cannot be accommodated. Whenever one's address changes, there are those who will follow one anywhere, those who will stop by once in a while, and those who will drop one altogether. Developing new customers at the new location takes time. This is what happened with the relocation of Zenon Dance School later in 1985 and early in 1986.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When Maloney left in 1985 to take a position with the St. Paul YWCA, Beth Hennessy was promoted from school director to managing director, and a new school director was hired. Maloney's subsequent career in arts administration has included stints as managing director of Intermedia Arts, director of the Minnesota Alliance for Arts in Education, interim program manager at the Minnesota State Arts Board, and initiator of the New Bohemian Arts Cooperative.</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Zenon had several positives going for it. It had received a $15,000 Excellence in the Arts award from the McKnight Foundation, and a consultancy with the Foundation for the Extension and Development of the American Professional Theater (FEDAPT). It enjoyed regular and generally positive reviews from Close at the St. Paul newspaper and from Mike Steele at the Minneapolis Star and Tribune. In addition to the Ordway, it performed at Macalester College, Normandale Community College, and the St. Anthony Main Jazz Festival. The repertoire contained new and existing works by Donald Byrd, Madeline Dean, Diane Elliott, Larry Hayden, Marvette Knight, Linda Shapiro, Wil Swanson, and Lewis Whitlock. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Amid clouds of financial gloom gathering around Zenon early in 1986, I had supper a couple times in February and April with Keith Thompson, a dancer and jazz instructor to whom I give the credit for my taking up a career in arts administration. We went to Oliver's restaurant on Lyndale Avenue, a short walk from where we both lived, so we could give business to a dancer and ballet instructor who moonlighted there as a waitron. At our April 4 meal, Thompson plaintively told me that lower enrollment and dire finances had required laying off the school director. Further, that Andrews had told the board of directors she had no reserve left to handle administrative matters after the growth and stress of the previous eight years. Something was going to give, and dancers worried that the organization might fold.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I had put thoughts about graduate school in psychology behind me, but remained ambivalent about applying to law school. After 13 years as a legal assistant, however, it was time for some kind of change in my career. I had marveled at the perennial struggles of the partners in the law firm where I worked and their unending efforts to keep their small business afloat financially. They were highly competent and successful, but there was never any rest. They might pay employees on Friday, but two weeks later we wanted money again. I had wondered if I could weather the vicissitudes of entrepreneurial enterprise and, as Thompson and I talked, a light bulb turned on: It was time to find out. I was spending $1,100 a year on dance classes. I called Andrews two days later and offered to work for 10 months for $8,000 plus free classes; my savings would supplement.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We finalized those terms at a meeting on Friday, April 18. Hennessy and I would be co-managers. I would start on August 18, after returning from a six-week trip with Davies to England, France, Italy, India, and Hong Kong. The whole thing was crazy, but as I wrote to a correspondent, "Life is short, and there are more important things to it than money."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">With more bravado than brains, I told my mentors at the law firm that I was "going to take this dance company to New York."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>A few good men</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">When the dancers returned to work in August, we started the new season with a burst of enthusiasm accompanied by a couple of demoralizing wrinkles. In mid-August, one of the male dancers took a job with a company in Boston, requiring a fast scramble to hold replacement auditions in time for the fall performances in October.</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">At the same time, we discovered that the VCR used by the company to review and learn dances from videotapes had gone missing. When there is no extra money in the till, one does not run down to the electronics store for a replacement. Circumstances suggested that it was an inside job by a student in the school. We put out the word that there would not be consequences, but we did want the VCR back. I received a call a couple days later from a man acting as intermediary for another, who returned it from his apartment.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lWBmAjE2ABg/UJWQvb_Jw0I/AAAAAAAAAeQ/WYhZpS4cGLc/s1600/00000014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lWBmAjE2ABg/UJWQvb_Jw0I/AAAAAAAAAeQ/WYhZpS4cGLc/s320/00000014.JPG" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Registration and lobby at 324 • Dancers's lounge<br />
behind partition with posters • Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Finding and retaining male dancers to staff an ensemble, let alone those with artistic competence, posed a recurring conundrum for Zenon as it did for companies everywhere. As I discovered from experience, the mere presence of a man with two unbroken legs can inspire absurd displays of desperation and hope. In March 1986, I missed several ballet classes at Zenon while traveling for my job.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">On the road, I arranged to attend class at a professional school. I called ahead for the schedule of beginning levels and arrived an hour early. The staffer at the desk went bananas when I walked in, exclaiming they did not have more than a handful of men and only a few more boys in the place, and certainly no one from another state. She could not quiz me fast enough about what level I was at and how it compared to their system. [How would I know?] She 'just knew' that I might want to join the class being taught by their only male instructor, then underway. Before I could say anything, she called him out. He was friendly and sweating as he introduced himself and said he would be pleased for me to join, but I was 15 minutes late and would not be able to warm up. He suggested I take another class down the hall which was just beginning.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">As I walked into that room, the instructor fell all over herself to welcome me and carried on that whatever level I was at I should stand at the back and just follow along. There were 25 women, age about 16, two in their 20s, and one in her 30s. All wore toe shoes for what was an advanced class. I did some, and tried all, of the barre work, and when the center work began I staggered around until the hour was up.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">When I got to the class I had originally wanted, they had completed pliés and tendues, so I joined in on ron de jombs. When we finished, the instructor said, "You have all done it wrong, let's go on." After we did degajes, she said, "You have all done it wrong, let's go on." So it went for the whole time. After three hours in the place, no one asked for payment. I did not return on future trips, but was grateful to have had the experience.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Knowing one's own</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Zenon's weekly school offerings that fall included nine levels of jazz, eight of ballet, and six of modern – 35 classes in all. The marketing vehicle of choice was a quarterly schedule printed on two sides of an 11" x 17" page and folded in fourths. Schedules, and postcards noticing company performances, were distributed via bulk mailings to the people on the mailing list.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Unlike many arts organizations then and, amazingly, still today, Zenon kept track of its class and performance attendees with a zeal approaching the religious that remains totally necessary regardless of the tedium involved. If an artistic entity does not know who its past customers are, then it may as well invite strangers on the street to buy a ticket or make a donation; the resulting return of near zero will be the same.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In 1986, Zenon's list of 10,000 names and addresses was maintained on Scriptomatic master cards. These 3" x 10" cards had a shaved space at the top end to type names and addresses. They were filed alphabetically and maintained at the school's check-in/registration desk. When it came time to issue a mailing, one packed a lunch, picked up cartons of freshly printed matter from the print shop, and proceeded with the Scriptomatic cards to the Shingle Creek Park Building on the northern city limits of Minneapolis. There, one ran cards and printed matter through a "manually operated addressing machine" for the better part of a day. Once addressed, everything was returned to the studio to be re-sorted and packaged by zip code before transport to the post office. Depending on the press of other business, the whole process could involve part time efforts by a dozen people over a week's time. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7FaajliMcTI/UJWShNSCHPI/AAAAAAAAAeY/P-KBTXLk-Q4/s1600/00000003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7FaajliMcTI/UJWShNSCHPI/AAAAAAAAAeY/P-KBTXLk-Q4/s320/00000003.JPG" width="193" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danny Buraczeski at 324 • 1989<br />
Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As archaic as the process was, it worked. However, Shingle Creek was going to stop offering its Scriptomatic service at the end of the year, and it was time for Zenon's process to modernize. A friend of mine offered the use of the computer in her office located in downtown St. Paul on nights and weekends when she was not present. On that basis, I manually entered the data for 6,050 constituents at odd times between September and late November; I finished the remaining 4,000 by early January 1987. Once addresses were in the system, labels could be printed in zip code order, eliminating the need to re-sort. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Four times during each of the next four years, I pulled an overnight shift in St. Paul to update additions, deletions, and corrections for the mailing list and print sets of labels for upcoming needs. Labels printed out at the rate of 1,000 each 32 minutes, requiring five to six hours for the entire list.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I marvel at the artists, executive directors, fundraisers, and marketers who pride themselves on knowing their business and yet abhor anything to do with the minutia of mailing list maintenance. They believe it is beneath them and that all of it can be painlessly and accurately automated and outsourced. They deceive themselves. One gains a deep, intuitive feel for one's constituents by following their changes of address and patterns of attendance and donations. People affiliate with artistic enterprises in large part because they are seeking some kind of relationship. They are not dumb, and can gauge from the impersonality of one's communications how much their relationship and business are valued. The handwritten notes I received from Dillard and Shapiro at New Dance Ensemble kept me sending donation checks even after I was subsidizing my work for Zenon. As Jesus said, "I know my own, and my own know me."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Making art, raising money</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">For the dancers, the season's first activity was an appearance at "Carnaval '86 The Year of the Arts." This ranked with the funkier things we did to gain exposure and cultivate friends. The event was a fundraiser for United Arts, a federated effort that redistributed money to select arts organizations. The New Dance Ensemble had been a recipient of generous allocations, and we hoped to join the roster. Our participation had been arranged by a Zenon board member, and included the dancers' arriving at the party by descending the lobby escalator of the Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Company in St. Paul attired in skin tight costumes from a jazz dance work. In spite of this and subsequent overtures, Zenon never secured an invitation to United Arts' big table. This was a source of recurring disappointment at the time, but the lack of inclusion, in retrospect, probably made us stronger.</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The fall performances at the Ordway Studio Theatre, Oct. 23-26, seemed to arrive and depart quickly, with a program of choreography by Lynn Simonson, Hannah Kahn, Wil Swanson, and Marvette Knight.</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Sometime that fall, a grant application for funding of three choreographic residencies during the year was not approved. This promised to seriously derail our creative capacity and ability to move forward in the succeeding 12-18 months. Fortunately, after some cultivation, Andrews was able to secure a one-time gift of $25,000 from an individual donor. This made possible a stellar lineup of commissions from Lynn Simonson, Danny Buraczeski, and Bebe Miller in the first half of 1987.</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">In December, we mailed a 6,050-piece fund appeal letter signed by Kate Orandi and Ted A. Ferrara, board members and co-chairs of the annual drive, along with a brochure promoting "Adopt A Dancer." The mailing violated every tenet of successful, direct mail fundraising: it used labels, bulk mail indicia, form letter, and no personal signature or handwritten note. In addition, it was all about us and our great work, and said little about the potential donor and the good work s/he could accomplish. (We learned about these deficiencies in the years ahead.) We did not expect to raise significant sums and were not disappointed. The mailing did serve the purpose of letting folks know we were alive and fighting.</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Early in January 1987, our updated budget projections provided early warning that we could end the fiscal year on Aug. 31 with a deficit of $23,000 if we were not vigilant. In the doing, we ended within a couple hundred dollars of balancing our budget of $156,000. Getting from January to August was no small journey, and certainly not a straight line. God lives in the details. One can have all the hoity-toity visions and grandiose plans in the world, but the tedium of mundane management carries the day: wheedling, winnowing, and whittling everywhere. We never issued checks not covered by funds in the bank. However, there were many Friday paydays when I was keenly aware of who was out of town and would not pick up checks before Monday or Tuesday; their checks either stayed in my desk drawer or did not get written until I could deposit the weekend's tuition receipts on Monday morning. </span></b></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n__-7nxiQ-Y/UJWUx6ajfUI/AAAAAAAAAeg/5nXgfIthgTQ/s1600/00000017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n__-7nxiQ-Y/UJWUx6ajfUI/AAAAAAAAAeg/5nXgfIthgTQ/s400/00000017.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Studio 2, with a view, at 324 • 1989 • "Natural lighting from windows to the <br />
street (which, facing south, became blindingly hot in the summer sun <br />
absent air conditioning)." Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">In the first half of 1987, we retained most of our preexisting corporate and foundation donors, picked up the 3M Foundation and The Gannett Foundation for the first time, and received what we interpreted as positive responses, with no checks, from others.</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Our office infrastructure was rustic by today's standards. Two phone lines served all incoming and outgoing calls for the company and school, employees and students. Hennessy and I shared a single, IBM Selectric typewriter and planned our projects based on priority. All class registration and bookkeeping was handled with pencil and paper, as was all budgeting. The nearest copying place was three blocks away in the Midland Square Building at Fourth Street and Second Avenue, so we used "carbon-sets" to make multiple copies of typed documents. The nearest post office was on Fourth Avenue, down the alley by a block, on the first floor of the Grain Exchange Building.</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In an effort to generate buzz and public relations momentum, we issued the most blockbuster press release we could muster, four pages, on Jan. 26: "Student Performances, Jacob's Pillow Auditions, Spring Classes, New Commissions, and O'Shaughnessy Dance Series Coalesce Into a Spring Festival of Dance for Zenon Dance Company and School."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To prepare for the out-of-town company and roll out a better looking "carpet," Andrews insisted that we order up a "marley" for the main studio, something that would cover the cracks between the boards and prevent splinters. Marley is a generic word for vinyl-type floor coverings that provide smooth, slip-resistant surfaces. It can be ordered in widths of five or six feet and cut to length. To cover an area 30' x 36' cost about $4,500, none of it in our budget. In terms of dancer and student goodwill, however, its value was priceless after its installation on Mar. 8.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We also spiffed-up the look of the spring class schedule. Previously, each new schedule was laid out with cut-and-paste pieces of earlier, typewritten information that did nothing to enhance our branding. We learned that the print shops near the University of Minnesota campus had new contraptions called MacIntosh computers. One could rent them by the hour and create printed documents with different type font sizes and styles. This we did. The pasted-up schedule still looked like crap, but new and improved. People noticed and liked the difference because they can tell when one is trying to write a coherent narrative with proper grammar, spelling, and format. God lives in the details, and therein lies salvation in the public marketplace.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I was told that the dancers always welcomed visits by Simonson, whose holistic jazz technique provided an oasis of calm focus. As director of the Jazz Project at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts, she brought the artistic director, Liz Thompson, to assist with auditions for the 1987 summer program. We had 60 dancers turn out to audition, comparable to the numbers they had seen in Chicago. Simonson stayed on for a few days afterward to teach class and set a short new work for the upcoming performances at O'Shaughnessy.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">March was a busy month for all of us and, apparently, frustrating for me. Andrews talked to Stephen Petronio, a New York choreographer who was working at the Walker Art Center, about creating for Zenon. Buraczeski arrived to begin a two-week residency on Mar. 24. That same day, I wrote to a friend, "Fundraising is absolutely the pits. I would rather prostitute myself on the street corner. ... Petronio told Linda he pays his dancers in New York not at all, and Buraczeski was taken aback at how much we are trying to pay [$75 a week] because it's a lot more than he pays his dancers. It's just crazy."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Buraczeski formed "JAZZDANCE: The Danny Buraczeski Dance Company" in New York in 1979, and had developed a reputation as the country's leading choreographer of classical jazz. He and his partner, Les Johnson, stayed with Davies and me during part of the residency, the first of several times we were guests in each others' homes in Minneapolis and New York.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On Monday, April 6, I arrived for a 3pm meeting at the offices of the Bush Foundation in St. Paul, hoping to start a conversation that would succeed in securing a grant. Little did I know that it would take countless additional conversations, managing of two more dance companies, and 10 more years before I would succeed. When I did, it would be the first time the Foundation had made a grant to a dance producing company in Minnesota. I relate this to offer a ray of hope to other fundraisers; as the Foundation's staff and its consultants told me many times over the years, "Don't be discouraged!"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Buraczeski returned to town on Thursday, Apr. 23, for what was to have been our dress rehearsal at O'Shaughnessy. Instead, it was a day from hell. The costumes, all 10 of them, for his new dance, "Tanguedia," did not fit the dancers and had to be returned for immediate repairs. A dancer's 11th-hour injury required shifting personnel in the other works on the program and teaching all of "Tanguedia" from scratch to an apprentice. There never was a technical run-through.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Many free-market advocates chide artists and their organizations for not understanding the bottom line. Au contraire, we most certainly do. A colleague summed it up succinctly at a Dance/USA meeting several years ago: "The 8pm curtain is the ultimate bottom line, and we meet it time after time." So did Zenon on Apr. 24.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">At the St. Paul newspaper, Close gave us a preview article on the 23rd, followed by Joan Timmis' review, "Zenon puts its spring energy into jazz dance," on the 26th. Steele's review, "Buraczeski's work for Zenon is a dazzler," followed in the Minneapolis newspaper on the 27th.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Moments of grace</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">To survive, season to season, whatever excess of toil and stress permeates a struggling arts organization, requires occasional leavening, if only for a moment. Behavioral psychologists call it a variable reinforcement schedule, when we receive just enough unexpected taste of a good thing to keep us foraging for more. All of us at Zenon enjoyed several days of such grace in late April and early May of 1987 when Buraczeski's new work was performed at O'Shaughnessy and Miller arrived for a three-week commissioning residency. I wrote to a dancer friend on May 4:</span></span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r7Pv8yr9wnA/UJWXqOL7D4I/AAAAAAAAAe4/ONAL8G_27jg/s1600/00000009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r7Pv8yr9wnA/UJWXqOL7D4I/AAAAAAAAAe4/ONAL8G_27jg/s320/00000009.JPG" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda Z. Andrews and Danny Buraczeski at 324 • 1989<br />
Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Bebe arrived today and started to work. You should have seen the expressions on everyone's faces as they filed out of the studio for a break after the first 55 minutes – it's going to be a long three weeks! Bebe is very nice. And her movement seems to be quite powerful. Everyone is already talking about the December concert where the piece will be premiered, and what a hell of a show it will be to do Bebe's dance and Danny's new dance on the same program.</span> ...</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Danny's "Tanguedia" was superb. You have never seen a Zenon performance like the three put on at O'Shaughnessy last weekend. ... Sunday was a very emotional concert to watch – the audience started hooting and hollering and cheering from the opening curtain until after the last fadeout. Every segment, trio, duet, and solo...was applauded, plus a standing ovation at the end.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Linda has invited Danny to move here and (possibly?) merge the two companies. Such an event, if it ever happens, is a way off, but not out of the realm of possibility. Danny has responded favorably, initially.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The residency with Buraczeski had been something of a mutual love fest, as evidenced by his handwritten letter of May 9 thanking all of the dancers: Denise Armstead, Mary Harding, Deirdre Howard, Shawn McConneloug, Colleen Tague, Keith Thompson, Jane Shockley, Jonathan Urla, Christine Maginnis, Luc Bal. The letter ended with the words "I'm in love!"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Game on!</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">My 10 months' commitment ended in mid-June, and I would be off for the summer. I was inclined to not return. I was still thinking about law school, and had started to think about graduate work in journalism. Davies and I checked out the journalism program at the University of California's Berkeley campus while visiting San Francisco in August.</span></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X0JlS5217bk/UJWaTV5cYaI/AAAAAAAAAfU/v7n6MVys-SM/s1600/00000012_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X0JlS5217bk/UJWaTV5cYaI/AAAAAAAAAfU/v7n6MVys-SM/s320/00000012_2.JPG" width="201" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary Peterson • Oct. 10, 1987 • Fridley MN<br />
Next day: Washington, D.C.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Hennessy's resignation notice on June 17 contributed to my ambivalence. In spite of the year's artistic successes, getting the business right was like dealing with a Gordian Knot. In the spring, the board of directors had started to examine and prepare for entering the charitable gaming business in suburban bowling alleys and bars to produce another revenue stream. As I wrote to a friend, "Everyone is counting on this to bail the organization out. ... It's a mess. I have never seen the like of it."</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The company performed at Nicollet Island on June 19. The board of directors held its annual planning retreat on June 27. Andrews and I had occasional conversations about the future. However, it was a triple-barreled press release from our friends across downtown on July 30 that energized my competitive juices and sealed my decision to try another year: "Julie Buzard Named Executive Director of New Dance Ensemble"; "New Dance Ensemble Receives $24,100 in Funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board"; "New Dance Ensemble Selected to be Part of Young Audiences Roster for 1987-88." Our town was proud of these world traveling artists who had performed in Paris in March, and would appear on the <a href="http://www.northrop.umn.edu/events/northrop-dance">Northrop Dance Series</a> in November, but this was too much.</span></b></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Game on, girlfriend!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The exceedingly hot and humid weather that hung over much of the United States in August 1987 prompted the installation of ceiling fans in the studios. Along with that month's heat, a series of severe storms ruptured a sewer line that required digging up 5th Avenue South outside 324. Classes continued for a week without bathrooms and running water.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Things moved quickly in the fall. As Hennessy moved on to a successful tenure leading the <a href="http://tapestryfolkdance.org/">Tapestry Folkdance Center</a> in Minneapolis, we conducted interviews for an office position and hired Carole Olson, who began work on Sept. 24. The company performed at the Benedicta Art Center in St. Joseph, Minnesota, Oct. 1. Davies and I attended the National March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights, Oct. 11, and I brought back sound actualities for the Fresh Fruit broadcast on Oct. 15.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Zenon Dance Company played the Phipps Center for the Performing Arts in Hudson, Wisconsin, on Oct. 17, the same day that the Minnesota Twins played the first of seven games against the St. Louis Cardinals in a drive that won their first World Series Championship. If we had performed anywhere in Minnesota that day, no one would have attended.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aCFfPWbuL5g/UJWc9MQERDI/AAAAAAAAAfk/Raxv9TndvfI/s1600/00000015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="383" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aCFfPWbuL5g/UJWc9MQERDI/AAAAAAAAAfk/Raxv9TndvfI/s400/00000015.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christine Maginnis and Jonathan Urla: poster dancers for 5th anniversary season<br />
December 4-6, 1987</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Our annual fund appeal drew its theme, "Pushing the Boundaries of Twin Cities Dance," from our commissions of new choreography. We mailed it earlier than usual, Nov. 6, to help drive interest in Miller's new work, "This Room Has No Windows, And I Can't Find You Anywhere," that would premiere at the renamed McKnight Theatre at the Ordway, Dec. 4-13. It would be the first time we presented over two weekends. James Sheeley, our advocate on the Ordway's programming staff, convinced us that we could build our audience draw with two performances on the first weekend and three on the second. He was right. He and his colleague, Mike Brand, helped make it happen.</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The media, and our momentum from the spring program, also helped. To mark Zenon's fifth anniversary, Close assigned Donald J. Hutera to write a preview article, "The High Voltage Energy of Zenon," for the St. Paul newspaper. Hutera also placed an article about Miller in the Dec. 3 issue of Vinyl Arts. In Minneapolis, Steele weighed in with a more generic "Events will mark big moments in dance."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The afternoon dress rehearsal, Dec. 3, ran long and provided me with nerve-wracking moments. I was late catching the first of two buses from downtown St. Paul to KFAI's broadcast studios in south Minneapolis. Hugely embarrassed, I rushed into the waiting room 20 minutes late (the previous programmer had stayed over) to greet my Fresh Fruit interview guests: state Senator Allan Spear, state Representative Karen Clark, Minneapolis Council Member Brian Coyle, Civil Rights Commission Director Emma Hixson, and civil rights Commissioner Tim Cole.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Miller's "This Room" was a hit with audiences, and the review headlines were over the top: "Zenon dancers meet new challenge" (Timmis, St. Paul) and "Ebullience, commitment shine through in Zenon's best concert ever" (Steele, Minneapolis).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Late in December, word circulated that Minnesota's governor, Rudy Perpich, would support placing a line-item in the state's general fund budget to finance the <a href="http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/paa047.xml">NorthWest Ballet</a>, based in Minneapolis. Perpich spent much time during his terms in office flying around the country scouting for opportunities that would produce jobs in Minnesota. One of his initiatives resulted in the building of the <a href="http://www.mallofamerica.com/">Mall of America</a> in Bloomington, a project that has produced untold millions of tourist visits from around the globe and hundreds of millions in tax receipts. However, his proposal to support the NorthWest Ballet, while well intended, was outrageous.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Zenon was not the only dance company struggling to pay its bills. After one too many financial crises of its own, the board of directors at the Minnesota Dance Theatre fired its artistic director and founder, Loyce Houlton, and then started merger discussions with the <a href="http://www.pnb.org/">Pacific Northwest Ballet</a> in Seattle. The merging of dance companies in different cities had become somewhat fashionable in an attempt to achieve operational efficiencies. Supposedly, Perpich had seen one of the stellar productions for which the Seattle company was famous under the direction of Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, and offered enthusiastic gubernatorial support to create something like it in Minnesota.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Unfortunately for the governor and NorthWest Ballet, we did not do things that way in Minnesota. We still don't. Years before, the collective we had formed the <a href="http://www.mncitizensforthearts.org/">Minnesota Citizens for the Arts</a> ("MCA"), a statewide membership and lobbying organization. MCA convinced the Minnesota Legislature to create the <a href="http://www.arts.state.mn.us/">Minnesota State Arts Board</a> and the 11 Regional Arts Councils to re-grant appropriations made from the general fund. No one, including the Guthrie Theater and the Minnesota Orchestra, got a line-item appropriation.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To his credit, in 1985, Perpich had proposed and steered through the legislature creation of a public high school for the arts; it would open in 1989, and is known today as the <a href="http://www.mcae.k12.mn.us/">Perpich Center for Arts Education</a>. Thus, his proposal for special funding of one dance company had to be taken seriously. I wrote to him, Jan. 6, taking his idea to task, with carbon-set copies mailed to half the world, including Cynthia Mayeda, director of the Dayton Hudson Foundation, and Brooks at the MDA. The proposal withered away quietly, and the NorthWest Ballet hired Ted Kivitt, long-time director of the combined Milwaukee Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet, as the new leader of its school and company – one that had no local dancers.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It was in this milieu that Andrews, Buraczeski, and I started flirting with and pursuing our own version of a two-city merger of dance companies.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Gambling with pull-tabs</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">During the 1980s, charitable gambling in Minnesota increased exponentially, with sales of pull-tabs overtaking bingo as the most popular form. By 1988, the state's <a href="http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/gambhist.pdf">Charitable Gambling Control Board</a> licensed 3,400+ organizations with gross receipts of $700 million. Licenses had to be renewed annually and, in Minneapolis, required city council approval. Zenon Dance Company held a pull-tab license from early-1988 through April 1991 for booth space we rented in The Little Wagon Bar and Restaurant, located next to our studios. We offered three games for sale at the same time, usually for $1 per ticket.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Assuming that an average $1 game might have 1,800 tickets and that all were sold, gross receipts would be $1,800. Prizes averaged 80%, or $1,440. Of the remaining $360, the state tax was 10%, or $36, and the city tax was 3%, or $10.80. The remaining $313.20 represented gross profit, of which 40%, or $125.80 could be spent on expenses, primarily game purchases, booth space rental, and payroll for pull-tab sellers. In theory, one had $187.40 remaining that could be designated by our board of directors for charitable purposes. The theory worked if all tickets sold. Quite often, however, the luck of the draw favored purchasers with early payouts of the highest prizes; when this happened, they stopped buying and the "dead" game had to be pulled with its unsold tickets.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xZPJPwtSqE/UJWcH9-R9hI/AAAAAAAAAfc/qMpkkRKMAsY/s1600/00000001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xZPJPwtSqE/UJWcH9-R9hI/AAAAAAAAAfc/qMpkkRKMAsY/s400/00000001.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Little Wagon, 4th Street and 5th Avenue South, Minneapolis • 1989<br />
Site of Zenon's charitable gambling empire • Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As I recall, we realized our highest net profit in the first year of operation, totaling about $23,000. This meant that approximately $230,000 of cash sales transactions flowed through the till. Our board used the operation to subsidize Zenon Dance School's scholarship program under the "education" purpose allowed by the state.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The operation was labor intensive, and required a designated gambling manager to supervise all purchases, expenditures, and personnel. Receipts and prize payouts for each game had to be reconciled, deposits taken to the bank, and monthly reports filed with the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Initially, Olson served as gambling manager. When she moved to the East Coast in the spring of 1988, one of our board members assumed the duties, which, over time, found their way to me.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In general, our pull-tab booth was staffed for the lunch trade, 11am to 3pm, and again from 4pm to whenever sales tapered off in the evening. We had a regular cadre of lunch and after work customers, the bulk of whom were employees of the Star Tribune newspaper, located a block distant, and the lawyers and court workers who had patronized the Wagon for years.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>The case for modern dance</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In forming Zenon Dance Company, Andrews was committed to developing and maintaining a repertoire of both modern and jazz works. Planet Earth had no dearth of modern choreographers, but the number of jazz masters was small, and none had the engaging depth of a Buraczeski. The success of his work with Zenon in April 1987 had prompted Andrews to invite him to join the company as resident jazz choreographer. That he reacted positively to the idea left room for further thought and discussion.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We had a few more thoughts. The ideas and styles of the choreographers that Zenon and New Dance Ensemble had brought to the Twin Cities through their commissions had gained the notice of audiences and hometown artists. We began to see how having someone of Buraczeski's stature in the community could serve as both anchor and magnet to stimulate and raise the level of choreography across the board. In so doing, modern dance might emerge from its also-ran status in the competition with ballet and other artistic disciplines for visibility, audiences, and resources. Our puzzle was how to make it happen.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GfHrCVxemGw/UJWgfQ_eIsI/AAAAAAAAAgE/kt2p-zPYjdQ/s1600/00000007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GfHrCVxemGw/UJWgfQ_eIsI/AAAAAAAAAgE/kt2p-zPYjdQ/s400/00000007.JPG" width="373" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda Z. Andrews and Danny Buraczeski at 324 • May 1989<br />
Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As summer morphed into fall in 1987, we needed to check-in with Cynthia Gehrig, president of the <a href="http://www.jeromefdn.org/">Jerome Foundation</a>, relative to our application for financial support. As we prepared to meet, Andrews told me she was going to ask Gehrig for advice. "I think – hope – she can help us figure this out." As I recall, our conversation with Gehrig covered many details about Zenon and the Twin Cities dance community. She responded with alert interest to the notion of Buraczeski moving to Minnesota, and mentioned that the <a href="http://www.nwaf.org/Home.aspx">Northwest Area Foundation</a> ("NWAF") had a relatively new program intended to build leadership and capacity that might offer the kind of assistance we needed. I believe at that same meeting that Gehrig also floated the idea that Jerome might consider how it could participate if NWAF expressed an interest. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Jerome was located on the sixth floor in the west wing of the First National Bank Building in downtown St. Paul. NWAF was on the 10th floor. Gehrig suggested we stop up to introduce ourselves and our ideas to Karl Stauber, a program officer. She called ahead to tell him we were coming. Andrews and I had not anticipated receiving so much helpful advice so quickly. As we climbed four flights of fire stairs we remarked to each other how amazing it would be if something actually came of all this.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Long story short: Stauber described the intentions, parameters, and mechanics of NWAF's program, and said his directors would be willing to consider a proposal for three years of support at about $75,000 a year. Subsequently, Gehrig told us that if NWAF ended up making a grant, her directors at Jerome would entertain a proposal to support the outside choreography for three years at $25,000 a year. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Zenon's board of directors began crafting a three-year plan on Saturday morning, Nov. 21. This was followed by evening meetings on Tuesday, Dec. 19, and Monday, Feb. 1. With the dancers and students on hiatus, Andrews and I spent several planning hours together on New Year's Eve day. These were only some of many conversations and meetings in, and between, Minneapolis and New York over the next six months.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Davies and I visited New York, Jan. 23-26, 1988, to attend performances by JAZZDANCE at the 470-seat <a href="http://www.joyce.org/">Joyce Theater</a>, located on Eighth Avenue in Chelsea. In eight performances over six days, the company sold 92% of capacity. In her <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/21/arts/dance-jazzdance-troupe-with-danny-buraczeski.html">review for The New York Times, Jan. 21</a>, Anna Kisselgoff wrote that "Buraczeski has hit the jackpot with the new choreography" his company was presenting. The woman did not lie!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Both Mark Dendy and Charles Wright from New York were in residence at Zenon during February. Buraczeski came in, Mar. 6-13, to conduct "A Music and Choreography Workshop for Minnesota Choreographers" and to create "Impending Bloom" for our spring performances at O'Shaughnessy. He, Andrews, and I met on the 13th before he left town. Stauber and I met, Mar. 28, to make sure our developing plans were in sync with his program's expectations.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Zenon performed in the O'Shaughnessy Dance Series, Apr. 14-16. I updated Dale Schatzlein at the Northrop Dance Series about our plans, Apr. 20. Andrews and I met at the New French Cafe in Minneapolis, Apr. 22. The company performed at the Guthrie Theater with the Moore by Four jazz singers, Apr. 23, in a benefit for the Emergency Food Shelf Networks organized by Lowell Pickett, one of our board members and the proprietor of <a href="http://dakotacooks.com/">The Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant</a>.</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Andrews and I went to New York, Friday-Sunday, Apr. 29-May 1, to meet for the first time with Buraczeski's management team, Lisa Booth and Deirdre Valente, of Lisa Booth Management, Inc. (LBMI). In working with him over a period of years, their collective efforts had been indispensable in gaining the fame and artistic success he enjoyed. There were questions to talk through about how we might continue marketing the all jazz programming that had been built for JAZZDANCE within Zenon's mixed-repertoire identity, whether and how fast there might be any touring demand for a mixed-rep, and how to balance it all out. While we were in town, Buraczeski took us to hear Sarah Vaughan at the <a href="http://www.bluenote.net/newyork/index.shtml">Blue Note Jazz Club</a> in lower Manhattan. Vaughan received the Jazz Masters' Award from the NEA the following year.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I submitted our proposals to NWAF and Jerome in May.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ynn4vUBUtXQ/UJWiST9hJzI/AAAAAAAAAgM/VlWLj00ySdk/s1600/00000002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ynn4vUBUtXQ/UJWiST9hJzI/AAAAAAAAAgM/VlWLj00ySdk/s400/00000002.JPG" width="343" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary Peterson, office at 324 with window to the reception area • 1989<br />
"On the coldest days of winter the office staff wore coats, hats,<br />
and gloves." Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After Olson's departure in the spring, Andrews and I tag-teamed the running of the company and school with the assistance of a core group of work-study students. Throughout the summer, we met with potential board members. One of them, on June 2, was a young attorney named Mary Pawlenty. She and her husband, Tim, also an attorney, were looking to build their professional networks and nascent law practices through service on boards of directors and other activities.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When it was slated for demolition, I spent two days inside the Sheraton-Ritz Hotel at Fourth Street and the Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis, using a screw driver and pliers to rescue 18 mirrors from their installations above the bathroom sinks. Their size, 3' x 5', was perfect for lining the walls of the new Studio 3 that we were rehabbing and bringing into service at 324. One of the dancers installed the mirrors in the studio and sanded the floor before fall classes began. The hotel was demolished later in the year.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On Friday, Aug. 5, we met Catherine Jordan for lunch at Faegre's in the Warehouse District. Jordan was a consultant for the NWAF, helping conduct its due diligence on our grant application. These site visits, as they are called, are intended to allow for a degree of informal candor. I remember Jordan telling us that one of the out-of-state people with whom she had spoken remarked that our project would be challenging, but that if anyone could make it work Andrews and Buraczeski could.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Privately, Andrews and I felt we really needed this quantum leap to keep the company moving forward.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Moving on up</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The call came later in September. Stauber told me that the directors of the Northwest Area Foundation had had a lengthy and spirited discussion about our application. "They are dubious about your chances for success," he said, "but they want you to try, and have authorized a grant of $225,000 over three years." At the time, it was one of the largest grants NWAF had ever made to an arts organization.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In the weeks before receiving this news, I had spent some hours pacing and smoking in the alley behind the studios, wondering if we really were ready to take this on. It was during those pacings that I developed a Q-and-A test for myself: Question – "What's the worst thing that can happen here?" Answer – "It won't work and 'they' will put my name in the newspaper and call me incompetent." Question – "If that happened, could you live with it?" Answer – "Yes." Conclusion – "Then anything short of that is a gift, and you can deal."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The last quarter of 1988 was a memorable blur. Buraczeski's JAZZDANCE company came to town to perform at the Ordway, Oct. 7-9, with a special guest appearance by the Zenon company. As I watched the panoply of his choreography cross the stage from my seat in the McKnight Theater, I could not believe that all of this was coming to Minnesota. We had nothing like it! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We hosted residencies with Doug Varone, Hannah Kahn, and Erin Thompson between Oct. 10 and Nov. 8. We held a Halloween costume party and sock hop, Oct. 28, that included a sit-up contest to raise money! The Jerome directors authorized a grant of $75,000 over three years in November, after we had finalized a contract between Zenon and Buraczeski.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Early in October, Mary Jo Peloquin lightened our door, offering to volunteer in any way she could. She had taken a class with Andrews during the Ozone days at the Wyman Building, and had been impressed by the feeling of welcome and inclusion. Peloquin had graduated with a BFA degree in dance from Temple University in Philadelphia, and was working at a small law firm. She quickly proved so competent and reliable that when Andrews and I met on Dec. 13, we decided we wanted to keep her until the grant period started the following September. When Peloquin and I met on Dec. 15, she was agreeable to working on a part-time, hourly basis with us for more than eight months.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6C-qM0vWiJo/UJWjskAvNHI/AAAAAAAAAgU/M5omnNmLKuc/s1600/00000018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="443" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6C-qM0vWiJo/UJWjskAvNHI/AAAAAAAAAgU/M5omnNmLKuc/s640/00000018.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danny Buraczeski leads a last dance rehearsal at 324's Studio 1 • May 1989 • Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Zenon Dance Company presented two weekends of performances at the Ordway, Dec. 2-11, offering a program that included choreography by Keith Young, Linda Shapiro, Mark Dendy, and Laurie De Vito.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Zenon and JAZZDANCE issued a joint, three-page press release, Feb. 15, 1989. We announced the two foundation grants; that Buraczeski would move to Minnesota and join Zenon in September as co-artistic director and resident jazz choreographer; we would produce two seasons in the Twin Cities annually at the Ordway with a mix of modern and jazz choreography; and we would perform as Jazzdance by Danny Buraczeski for engagements desiring an all-jazz program.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The grants provided us with the means to increase our budget from $223,000 in fiscal 1989, to a projected $498,000 in 1990. The new budget included increased pay for the dancers, although still far from approaching a "living wage." The NWAF award was neither a flat grant nor a matching grant; it operated on an incentive basis: as we secured receipts and pledges for set percentages of our projected budgets throughout each year, the foundation would release a portion of its grant funds. JAZZDANCE had generated $100,000 in tour bookings in 1989, and we reasonably assumed that interest in its programming would continue, even if at a reduced level. Also, JAZZDANCE had secured grants from the NEA and the New York State Council on the Arts to support a season at the Joyce. Booth and Valente were instrumental in facilitating our successful application to split a week of programming in December between Jazzdance and Zenon Dance.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There was another positive development, one we had not planned. When the Minnesota Dance Theatre/NorthWest Ballet went out of business early in 1989, five floors of space with seven free-span dance studios came on the market at the Hennepin Center for the Arts. Built as a Masonic temple, the building had been renovated for use by dance and other arts organizations in 1979. Through its lease, the ballet had maintained control over who could sublease space, and Zenon with its school was not welcome. That changed when we arrived on Mar. 24 to stake a claim on the fourth floor, which was configured for use as a school, with a large lobby, registration desk, two large studios, changing rooms with showers, storage area, and offices. The building had heat, air conditioning, a new roof, and decent dance floors.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Owing to a complicated system of metering utilities, the building's management was not able to determine the cost of operating the component parts. We were more or less asked to name our price. We offered to pay combined monthly rent and utilities of $500 for June, July, and August, and agreed to a long-term lease, beginning Sept. 1, with tight caps on rent and utility escalation. Andrews raged that the terms – combined annual rent and utilities of just over $2/square foot for 7,500 square feet – were highway robbery. I argued that we weren't the ones being held up.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Moving days always are fraught with tedium and drama. We managed all of the move from 324 to the Hennepin Center in one long day – I returned the rented truck after midnight. The one-way streets of downtown were perfect for making circular runs. Peloquin, Davies, Andrews, and I spent several hours maneuvering 18 mirrors from the Sheraton Ritz down the long staircase so we did not impale ourselves on broken shards of glass; there were no casualties of mirrors or people.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">JAZZDANCE presented its farewell performance at the <a href="http://www.theriversidechurchny.org/events/?theatre">Theater of the Riverside Church</a> in New York, the scene of many of its earlier performances. Zenon's new board president, Susan Ladwig, and I attended the Apr. 2 festivities. Zenon Dance Company performed in its last O'Shaughnessy Dance Series, May 4-6. When Zenon Dance School opened for business at the Hennepin Center, June 5, we had less than $500 in the bank, but it felt like trading in an outboard motor boat for the Queen Mary.</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>To the moon and back</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The fall of 1989 was a period of furiously focused and frenzied activity. To prepare for an evening "Informance" and gala fundraiser in our new space, Sept. 14, the dancers and artistic directors worked on the dancing program by day. With paint donated by Valspar, all of us turned the battle-ship gray of the walls to white by night. Peloquin and I pulled an all-nighter, Sept. 13, to apply two coats of paint to the main studio; we took turns climbing down to move the two-story scaffolding around the room. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Three modern and five jazz dances had to be pulled together or created for the December performances in St. Paul and New York. Ellen Jacobs, New York's premiere dance publicist, came to town, Oct. 30-31, to get a feel for this old/new company with two names.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L2A0U_UANE4/UJYKJlgklsI/AAAAAAAAAgw/yRcWwq8j23M/s1600/00000011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L2A0U_UANE4/UJYKJlgklsI/AAAAAAAAAgw/yRcWwq8j23M/s400/00000011.JPG" width="323" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary Peterson in Zenon office at Hennepin Center • 1989<br />
"Sign the mailing list. You never know where it will lead."<br />
Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Just because we had been given a boat-load of grant money did not mean we had any cash to spend. The costs of performing in New York, then and now, should cause Twin Cities artists to count their blessings in their business dealings with any of the venues at their disposal here. To rent the Joyce for a week cost something on the order of $15,000 at the time, and had to be paid in-full weeks in advance; that was in addition to the security deposit. Publicity and advertising also had to be fronted to the tune of $20,000.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As we wrestled with how to pay for airfares, my partner, James Davies, offered up a new-fangled piece of unsolicited mail he had received from the University of Arizona where he obtained his MA degree. It was a blank check on which one could enter any amount up to $5,000. Even our board members had no idea if this thing was legitimate, but we took his loan, deposited the check, and flew everyone to New York. About 10 days after each engagement ends, the Joyce issues a settlement accounting and a check for the net proceeds of the box office sales. In mid-December, we received approximately $65,000 and could pay our bills and loans.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">At the Ordway, Sheeley and his colleagues provided us with sterling production and marketing assistance to present three different programs: Jazzdance and Zenon Dance alternating on Dec. 1 and 2, and a hybrid of the two on Dec. 15-17. Drawing on my memory, we garnered an audience of 1,250 for the five performances, 79% of capacity. Those were the kinds of numbers we were hoping to achieve.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Jazzdance by Danny Buraczeski presented an ambitious evening of work at the Joyce, Tuesday, Dec. 5. Words cannot capture the excitement felt in the theater as Andre Shoals advanced elegantly downstage to open "Blue on the Moon," set to music by Sidney Bechet. Writing in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/07/arts/review-dance-bending-ballet-to-the-shapes-of-jazz.html">Times, Dec. 7</a>, Jennifer Dunning said "Mr. Buraczeski has two new winners with 'Blue on the Moon' and 'Monkish.'" She also liked the new "Ancestral Voices" and "Merry Go Round," just not as much, and loved the revival of "Lost Life: Four Scenes From the Life of Art Pepper."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Jack Anderson, in his <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/10/arts/review-dance-zenon-in-work-by-4-choreographers.html">review published Dec. 10</a>, also liked the "spirited" new "Blue on the Moon" and "Monkish" that were part of the Zenon Dance program. "Zenon looked particularly effective," he wrote, "in Bebe Miller's 'This Room Has No Windows, and I Can't Find You Anywhere,'" and thought it overpowered Wil Swanson's "Aubade." His review also offered suggestions for how Stephanie Skura might improve "The Fantasy World of Bernard Herrmann."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After the rush of activity in the fall, life at Zenon tried to find a new normal within the new structure and space. Classes took place. Choreography was created. We kept trying to raise money. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In the spring, Bill T. Jones took over our studios and premises for a few days to prepare for the premiere of "The Promised Land," the last section of his epic work, "The Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin." It was a mammoth project, commissioned jointly by the Northrop Dance Series and the Walker Art Center, and involved most of the town's dancers, more than 40 in all, in addition to the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Randy Warshaw, a former dancer with the Trisha Brown Dance Company, stayed with Davies and me when he arrived in the spring to set "Event Horizon" for the May Ordway performances. The work had premiered in New York in January as part of the Joyce's "Manmade" series. His Randy Warshaw Dance Company was on LBMI's roster of artists. Immediately after the Ordway show, Jazzdance by Danny Buraczeski undertook a 10-day tour of Switzerland, part of the Steps Dance Festival. I spent a few days in New York, making calls on potential funders.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UA2CV7QEZSI/UJYLH5GUfQI/AAAAAAAAAg4/7JK-Z3iqo78/s1600/00000006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UA2CV7QEZSI/UJYLH5GUfQI/AAAAAAAAAg4/7JK-Z3iqo78/s320/00000006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda Z. Andrews and Danny Buraczeski • 1989<br />
Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One of the exciting and challenging aspects of our merged enterprise was to develop a working model for how two very bright, creative, and strong individuals could find their way working together. On August 2, Ladwig and I traveled to Washington for orientation into the NEA's Advancement Program, arriving amid the news that Saddam Hussein's Iraqi troops were invading Kuwait. We had applied for Advancement the previous fall at the suggestion of Booth and Valente. The program offered management and planning advice and technical assistance, and required extensive, organization-wide planning meetings over time. Master and committee schedules were circulated to the board of directors, Aug. 14.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Within a month, our assigned consultant had sprung the funds we needed to purchase the first computer for Zenon's office and, among other needed projects, Peloquin began bringing the mailing list in-house. As she worked with the capabilities of the new computer, we were able to sort data and gain new insights. Statistically, we finally determined that 1,200 different people attended Zenon Dance School annually, with no double-counting. More important, we discovered that we served two very distinct audiences. Of all the constituents in our database, only 26% of those who were students ever attended concert performances, and only 20% of those who attended performances ever attended classes. The concept of segmentation is routine today, but was novel to us then.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We always had assumed that a reason why Zenon Dance Company enjoyed larger audiences than those of other companies was because "everyone in the school" attended performances. We felt a touch of disappointment when we realized that students might prefer learning dance over watching it. This kind of information has power, however. One can find printing and postage savings in a budget, for example, by eliminating those who attend concerts from promotional material about classes, and by omitting most of the students from mailings about performances. Neither will harm enrollment or attendance. Our findings also held implied support for another conclusion: the vitality and quality of choreography and dancing both had much to do with attracting audiences. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Crafting the organization's workplan and budget of $343,000 for fiscal 1991 during August proved particularly challenging for all of us. Our vision for the three years of our enterprise had made assumptions about how we wanted our world to change, how the world worked, and how we would get there. When God lives in the details, a couple atoms of difference can alter the manifestation of the universe. In retrospect we were moving too fast, trying to accomplish too much by more than doubling in size over three years. One critical line item of our budget was underfunded: time in the realm of fundraising. We had made, and continued to make, great strides in broadening the membership of the board of directors. We left no stone unturned trying to introduce ourselves to potential donors. Effective fundraising, however, relies on strong relationships, and those only develop and deepen over time with engagements that seek to match interests with opportunities and possibilities. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Like a gathering storm, a little shortfall here, added to another there, soon requires compromises and departures from plans. Inevitably, tensions rise. The dynamic becomes wearing and wearying. Left unchecked, the magic wanes and the meaning becomes madness.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I was ready for some new magic when Susana di Palma arrived for a ballet class early in January 1991. It had been a while since we had seen each other, and we did the shorthand catch-up that we all do. "It's very exciting!" she said. "Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre has just received a grant from the Dayton Hudson Foundation to hire its first administrator. It's only part-time. Do you know anyone?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I started working with Zorongo on May 1.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Epilogue</b></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-if-5aQb_Zew/UJYLdZbZikI/AAAAAAAAAhA/2EYxq9F2Vws/s1600/00000010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-if-5aQb_Zew/UJYLdZbZikI/AAAAAAAAAhA/2EYxq9F2Vws/s320/00000010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danny Buraczeski and Gary Peterson at Hennepin Center<br />
1989 • Photo James Davies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Buraczeski decided during the Advancement planning to not renew his contract with Zenon after 1992. This was a legitimate outcome of everything we had tried to do, and our initial plans had extended only for three years. He stayed in Minnesota and went on to create much of his best work ever, expressed by a renewed Jazzdance company that filled its roster with graduates of the University of Minnesota's Dance Program. In 1999, the Star Tribune newspaper honored him as its <a href="http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=11477696">Artist of the Year</a>. He has served as professor of dance at <a href="http://www.smu.edu/Meadows/AreasOfStudy/Dance/Faculty">Southern Methodist University</a> since 2005. Davies and I saw him last when all of us were visiting Seattle in October 2011.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LVp5cdXbVko/UJYL5-lUyKI/AAAAAAAAAhI/BcQY3Bi_QtM/s1600/308738_2430723600791_199119251_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LVp5cdXbVko/UJYL5-lUyKI/AAAAAAAAAhI/BcQY3Bi_QtM/s320/308738_2430723600791_199119251_n.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda Z. Andrews • Zenon Fall Opening<br />
November 2011 • Photo Gary Peterson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Andrews opted to keep Zenon's school, company, and commissioning projects going. She continues to lead, teach, curate, and present additional generations of dancers and choreographers. As I noted in a review of a spring 2012 performance, "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over time, dancers and dance companies, like athletes and sports teams, experience seasons of triumph and loss. For one who discovered the idea of Zenon before its debut performances in 1983, the company has danced through periods difficult to watch. Not so in recent years." Andrews and I<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"> meet up every 14-18 months to dish the dirt and solve everyone else's problems.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qz4Qc-LdLYc/UJYMTWl7CyI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/I1NPKkwoGyc/s1600/Keith.Thompson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qz4Qc-LdLYc/UJYMTWl7CyI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/I1NPKkwoGyc/s320/Keith.Thompson.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keith Thompson • 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keith Thompson danced with the <a href="http://www.trishabrowncompany.org/">Trisha Brown Dance Company</a> from 1992 to 2001 (in addition to Thompson, that company at one time included three other alums of Zenon and New Dance Ensemble). Since completing his MFA degree in dance at Bennington College, he has served as assistant professor at the <a href="http://nb.rutgers.edu/academics/mason-gross-school-arts">Mason Gross School of the Arts, the arts conservatory of Rutgers University</a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I have continued to have adventures in all directions on the time-space continuum, and placed the bulk of my records about Zenon at the <a href="http://discover.lib.umn.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=umfa;cc=umfa;rgn=main;view=text;didno=scrbt281">University of Minnesota Libraries</a> in 2004. I remind people to sign the mailing list. You never know where it will lead.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Only recently have I gained an appreciation of Zenon's value to those on the other end of the commissioning pipeline. Joanie Smith, artistic director of <a href="http://www.shapiroandsmithdance.org/">Shapiro and Smith Dance</a>, lived and worked in New York during the 1980s before coming to work at the University of Minnesota in 1992. </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"This was a mecca throughout the 1980s and 90s," Smith said. "Zenon and New Dance Ensemble are the reason for the strong New York City/Minneapolis connection. All of us choreographers in New York were extremely jealous when we heard that someone had been commissioned by Zenon. Its 'cred' was good: there were good dancers, high production values, you were treated well, and your work was respected after you left. It was rare for that generation of choreographers to do work and get paid. One might start work on one's company in New York, take it to Minnesota to finish, and then bring it back. Zenon put Minneapolis totally on the map and made it the destination of choice."</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Thirty years on, I still believe that my fellow citizens should make dance one of the regular electives of their core curriculum in life. They can do that this month by making a Zenon Dance Company performance their own personal destination of choice. Two programs over two weekends will present choreography by Mariusz Olszewski, Netta Yerushalmy, Luciana Achugar, Daniel Charon, Johannes Wieland, and Danny Buraczeski.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0KyzIy2fOOA/UJYMxaGxCEI/AAAAAAAAAhY/Bkcq9Ak4toM/s1600/Zenon-Elegant+Echoes+by+Danny+Buraczeski-Photo+by+Timothy+Boatman-Dancer+Tamara+Ober-resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0KyzIy2fOOA/UJYMxaGxCEI/AAAAAAAAAhY/Bkcq9Ak4toM/s400/Zenon-Elegant+Echoes+by+Danny+Buraczeski-Photo+by+Timothy+Boatman-Dancer+Tamara+Ober-resized.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zenon Dance Company • "Elegant Echoes" (2007)<br />
Choreography Danny Buraczeski<br />
Photo Timothy Boatman</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b>Zenon Dance Company Dancers, 1985 – 1991:</b><br />
Valerie Alpert; Linda Z. Andrews; Denise Armstead; Luc Bal; Blanka Brichta; Danny Buraczeski; Ann Chiodi; William Gordon; David Grey; Mark Haase; Mary Harding; Deirdre Howard; Les Johnson; Heidi Kalweit; Mark Kane; Kimo James Kimura; Kevin Kortan; Krista Langberg; Shawn McConneloug; Bruce McGill; Christine McGinnis; Wayne Roddy; Stephen Rueff; Christopher Ryan; Andre Shoals; Jane Shockley; Linda Stoen; Colleen Tague; Erin Thompson; Keith Thompson; Jonathan Urla; Gregory Waletski; Gregg White; Catherine Young.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<b>Zenon Dance Company Choreographers, 1985 – 1991:</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Diane Aldis; Danny Buraczeski; Donald Byrd; Madeline Dean; Mark Dendy; Laurie De Vito; Derek Dragotis; Anne Gunderson; Joel Hall; Larry Hayden; Bill T. Jones; Hannah Kahn; Marvette Knight; Alan Lindblad; Victoria Marks; Bebe Miller; Jennifer Sargent; Linda Shapiro; Lynn Simonson; Stephanie Skura; Wil Swanson; Doug Varone; Charlie Vernon; Randy Warshaw; Lewis Whitlock; Charles Wright; Dwight Yoakum; Keith Young.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<b>Zenon Dance Company Board of Directors Members, 1985 – 1991:</b><br />
Linda Z. Andrews; Mary J. Atmore; Wendy W. Barth; Claudia K. Brewington; Rodney A. Brown; Daniel J. Buraczeski; Jon G. Danskin; Donna R. Edelstein; E. John Evans; James W. Farmer; Ted A. Ferrara; Douglas L. Forsberg; Laura H. Gilbert; Beth L. Hennessy; Michael Hudson; Linda M. Hustad; Patricia Wakefield Kingston; Susan J. Ladwig; Donald C. Lane; Mark D. Lee; Trevor F. Lewis II; L. Kelley Lindquist; Rita A. McConnell Mattaini; David M. McQuoid; James A. Morlan; Diane Fridley Norman; Kate Orandi; Mary E. Pawlenty; Gary P. Peterson; Cindy A. Pickard; Lowell F. Pickett; Robert E. Rose; Monica J. Ryan; Barbara M. Schuler; Margaret Shulman; Amy Silvermann; George M. Stuart; Patricia A. Timpane.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b><br /></b>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><b>Related Articles:</b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aUY_MtGF480/UJYQTpHR8vI/AAAAAAAAAh0/AAQ-ujED9ws/s1600/486710_4135393336469_1128143803_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="343" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aUY_MtGF480/UJYQTpHR8vI/AAAAAAAAAh0/AAQ-ujED9ws/s400/486710_4135393336469_1128143803_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary Peterson • September 2012 • "Make dance a regular elective<br />
of your core curriculum in life."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.dancemagazine.com/issues/January-2012/An-allweather-scene">An All-Weather Scene: Dance is Thriving in Minneapolis and St. Paul</a>, by Linda Shapiro, Dance Magazine, January 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/programs/wordofmouth/statearts/dance.shtml">State of the Arts: Dance</a>, by Chris Roberts, Minnesota Public Radio, January 18, 2002</li>
<li><a href="http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/blog/john-munger/my-world-zenon-dance-companys-2009-fall-season">This is my world: On Zenon Dance Company's 2009 fall season</a>, by John Munger, Twin Cities Daily Planet, December 3, 2009</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/05/zenon-dance-company-stands-tall-with.html">Zenon Dance Company stands tall with brilliant program for its 29th spring season</a>, by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, May 5, 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/02/all-campus-stage-and-all-its-men-and.html">All the campus a stage, and all its men and women merely players of many parts</a>, by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, February 7, 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2010/09/6th-minnesota-sage-awards-for-dance.html">6th Minnesota SAGE Awards for Dance: Special Citation</a>, by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, September 22, 2010</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/05/minnesota-dance-family-reunion-and.html">A Minnesota dance family reunion and legacy</a>, by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, May 13, 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/03/ole-viva-flamenco-y-viva-zorro.html">Olé! Viva flamenco y viva Zorro!</a> by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, March 14, 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2009/09/review-zorongo-flamenco-dance-theatre.html">Review: Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre at the Ritz</a>, by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, September 27, 2009</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2009/08/if-youre-not-for-profit-then-what-are.html">If you're not for profit, then what are you for?</a> by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, August 24, 2009</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/02/contempo-physical-dance-standing.html">Contempo Physical Dance: Standing ovation, sold-out house greet newest Twin Cities dance company</a>, by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, February 4, 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/08/ananya-dance-theatre-opens-twin-cities.html">Ananya Dance Theatre opens Twin Cities dance season with new "Moreechika," will also perform in Philadelphia</a>, by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, August 19, 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/04/behind-scenes-of-sewell-ballets-opus.html">Behind the scenes of the Sewell Ballet's "Opus 131,"</a> by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, April 18, 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/09/apres-le-deluge-sunshine-on-minnesota.html">Apres le deluge: Sunshine on Minnesota Ballet's new season</a>, by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, September 5, 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/09/les-petites-choses-program-arenas.html">"Les Petites Choses" program: ARENA's dancers acquit themselves admirably, Cowles' production folks not so much</a>, by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, September 25, 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/10/from-duluth-to-twin-cities-minnesotas.html">From Duluth to Twin Cities, Minnesota's dancers have tales to tell</a>, by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, October 5, 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/06/journey-to-beach-with-stan-hill-and-his.html">A journey to a beach with Stan Hill and his chorus of gay men</a>, by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, June 23, 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/02/why-does-my-ticket-state-8pm.html">Why does my ticket state "8pm"?</a> by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, February 21, 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-cowles-center-makes-move-toward_19.html">The Cowles Center makes move toward ticketing fee sanity</a>, by Gary Peterson, Minnesota Mist, September 19, 2012</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div>
<!--EndFragment-->
</div>
Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-20154055549839777042012-10-18T09:41:00.000-05:002012-10-18T09:41:12.363-05:00God votes 'no' in Minnesota: The religious case for marriage freedom and equality<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This documentary, from longtime Twin Cities journalist Matt Peiken, highlights the religious left and the fight for marriage freedom and equality in Minnesota. Peiken spent nearly a year interviewing faith leaders across a spectrum of beliefs, along with scholars, politicians, and everyday people – all discussing how their views of religious texts and traditions support marriage among any two consenting adults.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: monospace, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HM4C5IOg6H0?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: monospace, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: monospace, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-8838664270749456042012-10-05T18:59:00.000-05:002012-10-06T08:34:17.297-05:00From Duluth to Twin Cities, Minnesota's dancers have tales to tell<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A small, partial survey of Minnesota's dance events during October makes clear that the state takes a back seat to no one when upholding its position as pillar of culture and civilization. Here are some of the many productions available from north to south this month.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-41XATiAvRnQ/UG8IwVAP5OI/AAAAAAAAAa4/h5BHIxmtuts/s1600/326416_283091991716395_2099855919_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-41XATiAvRnQ/UG8IwVAP5OI/AAAAAAAAAa4/h5BHIxmtuts/s320/326416_283091991716395_2099855919_o.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">University of Minnesota Duluth • Oct. 6</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A residency by the <a href="http://stuartpimsler.com/">Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater</a> at the University of Minnesota Duluth will culminate in a public performance at the Cesar Pelli-designed <a href="http://www.d.umn.edu/maps/WMH/info.html">Weber Music Hall</a>, 7:30pm, Saturday, Oct. 6. The Minneapolis-based company, which bills itself as "theater for the heart and mind," will display its modern dance range and sensibility in solo, duet, and group works drawn from its repertoire.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The SPDT program will include "Tales From the Book of Longing," conceived and directed by Stuart Pimsler and Suzanne Costello. Inspired by the poetry of Leonard Cohen, it received its premiere at the Guthrie Theater three years ago this month. Also on tap: "Islands," Pimsler's solo created in 1987 for the Contemporary Dance Theatre of Cincinnati, "The Men From the Boys," a duet from 1988, and "Word Game," a solo choreographed in 1968 by mentor Daniel Nagrin.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Weber Music Hall is located at 1151 University Drive. Tickets, <a href="https://www.tickets.umn.edu/UMDSFA/Online">online</a>, are $10 adults, $5 students, and free for UMD students. The Duluth News Tribune listed the performance as a "best bet" for the weekend in a <a href="http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/245397">preview</a> article.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Another company from Minneapolis, <a href="http://www.blacklabelmovement.com/">Black Label Movement</a>, has been conducting residency activities in Duluth since early September, working with <a href="http://www.zeitgeistarts.com/">Zeitgeist Arts</a> and Stacie Luten's Dance Center. The company's evening-length "Wreck" will be performed in The Machine Shop of the <a href="http://clydeironworks.com/">Clyde Iron Works</a>, 7:30pm, Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 9-10. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vX5ptDeifwY/UG8yykf99BI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/z7Xk2OLH3o4/s1600/466568_10150784183211168_1518072767_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vX5ptDeifwY/UG8yykf99BI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/z7Xk2OLH3o4/s400/466568_10150784183211168_1518072767_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Wreck" • Clyde Iron Works, Duluth • Oct. 9-10 • Photo William Cameron</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Choreographed by Carl Flink, a 2012 McKnight Artist Fellow, with original music by Mary Ellen Childs, "Wreck" was performed for the first time in January 2008 at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. Flink, whose father was a crewman on a Great Lakes ore boat in the 1950s, has set the work "inside the last watertight compartment of a recently sunk ore boat resting on the bottom of Lake Superior." An ensemble of five musicians will perform with the dancers.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Clyde Iron Works is located at 2920 West Michigan. Tickets are $10 adults, $5 students. Reserve them by sending an email to blacklabelmovement@gmail.com.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Catalyst Series at <a href="http://www.intermediaarts.org/">Intermedia Arts</a> in Minneapolis will present the work of three women whose choreography has been commissioned in the past by the Momentum Series of the Walker Art Center and Southern Theater: Maia Maiden, Ellena Schoop, and <a href="http://www.mnartists.org/Cathy_Wright">Cathy Wright</a>. Inspired by the Maya Angelou poem "Phenomenal Woman," the program, "This Was Meant for Women's Bodies," will take the stage at 8pm, Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 11-14.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HpWAlMojF40/UG9agscI9BI/AAAAAAAAAbo/uN7CzjfGByc/s1600/cwright4web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HpWAlMojF40/UG9agscI9BI/AAAAAAAAAbo/uN7CzjfGByc/s400/cwright4web.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cathy Wright • Intermedia Arts • Oct. 11-14 • <a href="http://www.crystalliepa.com/">Photo Crystal Liepa</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Wright's work also has been performed at the Bloomington Center for the Arts, Bryant-Lake Bowl, Patrick's Cabaret, the Walker Art Center's Choreographer's Evening, and the Minnesota Fringe Festival. I saw it for <a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2009/03/review-renovate-choreographers-evening.html">the first time in 2009</a> at the Ritz Theater's Renovate Choreographer's Evening. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Next week, Wright will unveil three new dances: "Catherine Binds Wite Angels," a performance art piece with angel wings, chardonnay, acrylic painting, and song; "Accepting Mother's Nature, part 1," displaying her gothic aesthetic in response to questions posed by Maiden's work about body as culture; and "Encompassed," a dance and film on media perpetuation of the female body, created and performed with Maiden.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Intermedia Arts is located at 2822 Lyndale Avenue South. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door; available <a href="http://www.intermediaarts.org/">online</a> or by phone at 612.871.4444.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The <a href="http://www.mndance.org/">Minnesota Dance Theatre</a> will present the second weekend of its fall performances at <a href="http://www.thecowlescenter.org/">The Cowles Center for Dance</a> in Minneapolis, Friday through Sunday, Oct. 12-14. Based on a classic Grimm's fairy tale, the program, "The Enchantment: 12 Dancing Princesses," features choreography by Lise Houlton. Music by Leos Janácek and Tim Linker will be performed by a strings and piano quintet. The Cowles Center is located at 516 Hennepin Avenue. Tickets are $26-$30, $20 students; available <a href="http://www.thecowlescenter.org/">online</a> or by phone at 612.206.3600.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9hDm3JuepuU/UG9pZDLbVaI/AAAAAAAAAcA/bSEvUWAI_cA/s1600/281713_10150328657213594_2066653_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9hDm3JuepuU/UG9pZDLbVaI/AAAAAAAAAcA/bSEvUWAI_cA/s200/281713_10150328657213594_2066653_n.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ritz Theater • Oct. 18-28</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The <a href="http://www.ritzdolls.com/">Ballet of the Dolls</a> will present "The Peruvian Nightingale," a re-telling of a Hans Christian Andersen tale about learning the difference between real love and infatuation, Oct. 18-28, at the Ritz Theater. The Ritz is located at 345 - 13th Avenue NE in Minneapolis. Tickets available <a href="http://www.ritzdolls.com/tickets">online</a> or by phone at 612.436.1129.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In Duluth, the <a href="http://minnesotaballet.org/">Minnesota Ballet</a> will reprise its <a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/09/apres-le-deluge-sunshine-on-minnesota.html">2011 production of "Dracula,"</a> at 7pm, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 19-20, at the <a href="http://decc.org/">Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center</a>. The work "follows the grand tradition of Bram Stoker's Gothic tale of compulsion, suspense, seduction, and love." </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c3HOjUYddos/UG9sSb85YgI/AAAAAAAAAcY/tzCv3dMBqfw/s1600/296703_10150372430651941_887407403_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c3HOjUYddos/UG9sSb85YgI/AAAAAAAAAcY/tzCv3dMBqfw/s320/296703_10150372430651941_887407403_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Dracula" • Duluth • Oct. 19-20 • Photo Jeff Frey and Associates</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The DECC is located at 350 Harbor Drive. Tickets are $10-$42. In a "Blood Drive for Dracula," one can donate blood to the <a href="http://www.mbc.org/">Memorial Blood Centers</a> and receive a voucher for buy-one, get-one free tickets. Call the Minnesota Ballet for more information, 218.529.3742.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Works of Edgar Allan Poe will animate <a href="http://minnesotamist.blogspot.com/2012/10/works-of-edgar-allan-poe-animate-james.html">James Sewell Ballet's fall performances</a> at The Cowles Center in Minneapolis, Oct. 26-Nov. 4. The fall program also will be presented at <a href="http://www.morris.umn.edu/newsevents/view.php?itemID=12324">the University of Minnesota Morris, Oct. 19</a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For other performance offerings, check out <a href="http://www.dancemn.org/">DanceMN</a>, <a href="http://oshaughnessy.stkate.edu/">The O'Shaughnessy</a>, <a href="http://www.ordway.org/">Ordway</a>, <a href="http://walkerart.org/">Walker Art Center</a>,<a href="http://www.northrop.umn.edu/"> Northrop Dance Series</a>, <a href="http://www.southerntheater.org/">Southern Theater</a>, <a href="http://www.redeyetheater.org/">Red Eye Theater</a>, and <a href="http://www.thelabtheater.org/">The Lab Theater</a>, among many others. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Updated Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, 08:33am.</span><br />
<div>
<div>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0.8ex; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 1ex;">
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-87351569644771015842012-10-04T20:55:00.000-05:002012-10-06T08:44:05.126-05:00Works of Edgar Allan Poe animate James Sewell Ballet's fall performances, Oct. 26-Nov. 4<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The poetry and short stories of Edgar Allan Poe, a literary icon of American Romanticism, provide the grist for James Sewell’s choreographic mill and his company's new ballet, “Takes On Poe.” <a href="http://www.jsballet.org/">James Sewell Ballet</a> will present the new work as part of a dance macabre-themed fall
program at <a href="http://www.thecowlescenter.org/">The Cowles Center for Dance</a> in Minneapolis, Oct. 26-Nov. 4.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BSy-G8E7nc0/UG49iwbrcmI/AAAAAAAAAaY/cakFf9RHCsc/s1600/JSB_Strobe_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BSy-G8E7nc0/UG49iwbrcmI/AAAAAAAAAaY/cakFf9RHCsc/s400/JSB_Strobe_2.jpg" width="356" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Sewell Ballet • Oct. 26-Nov. 4 • Photo Erik Saulitis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For "Takes On Poe," Sewell draws animation from Poe’s poems “The Raven,” “Annabel Lee,”
and “The Bells,” and the short stories “The Tell Tale Heart” and “The Cask of
Amontillado,” all published in the 1840s. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Born in
Boston in 1809, Poe grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and gained renown as author,
poet, editor, and literary critic before his death in Baltimore in 1849. He has
been tagged as the “inventor of the modern detective story.”</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The fall
program also will include the classical “Giselle Pas De Deux,” and the revival of Sewell's “Grave
Matters” (2011). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p>Kathy Staszak designed costumes and Kevin A. Jones designed lighting for the program.</o:p></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">“An Autumn
Scare,” a 60-minute matinee for families, Saturday, Oct. 27,
will feature excerpts from the fall program and a costume parade across the
stage for young audience members “as they are or will
be” for Halloween. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Tickets
are available on-line at
<a href="http://thecowlescenter.org/">thecowlescenter.org</a>, and by phone at 612.206.3600.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">James Sewell Ballet's fall season follows on its performance, Oct. 12, at the <a href="http://www.tuachan.org/">Tuacahn Center for the Arts</a> in St. George, Utah.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Updated: Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, 08:37am: The company's fall program also <a href="http://www.morris.umn.edu/newsevents/view.php?itemID=12324">will be presented at Edson Auditorium</a>, University of Minnesota Morris, 7:30pm, Friday, Oct. 19. For tickets call 320.589.6077. A ballet master class, free and open to the public, will be offered in the Humanities Fine Arts building, Thursday, Oct. 18, 4pm-5:30pm.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-50353216830879673572012-10-01T22:33:00.000-05:002012-10-02T06:49:19.552-05:0048% of applicants receive grants for 2013 activities from Metropolitan Regional Arts Council<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.mrac.org/grants/pdf/MRAC-logo-(color)2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="http://www.mrac.org/grants/pdf/MRAC-logo-(color)2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span id="goog_783140344"></span><span id="goog_783140345"></span>Public funding for small arts organizations in the Twin Cities took a giant leap in 2010 when <a href="http://www.legacy.leg.mn/funds/arts-cultural-heritage-fund">Arts and Cultural Heritage Funds</a> became available after voters amended Minnesota's constitution to tax themselves for the arts and other purposes. Requests for 2013 arts funding continue to outpace available dollars, however, at least in one program administered by the <a href="http://www.mrac.org/">Metropolitan Regional Arts Council</a>. Overall in 2012, half of the organizations applying for all programs received grants.</span></b></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Jeff Prauer, MRAC's executive director, reported in the agency's October newsletter that the board of directors approved 56 grants in September for the first round of the 2013 Arts Activities Support grant program. Those grants totaled $544,706, or an average of $9,726 each. According to Prauer, another 60 applications in that program round could not be funded. </span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The $544,706, Prauer continued, "is just 18% of MRAC's total grants budget for the fiscal year. But it is also almost $50,000 more than MRAC awarded in BOTH rounds of the same program in fiscal year 2009, the last year before Arts and Cultural Heritage Funds became available."</span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jaj6JNdzmFM/UGpfqmIQWgI/AAAAAAAAAaA/Etay5M6IQYc/s1600/legacy_logo_rgb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jaj6JNdzmFM/UGpfqmIQWgI/AAAAAAAAAaA/Etay5M6IQYc/s320/legacy_logo_rgb.jpg" width="166" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There is no grant allocation formula among artistic disciplines. In a competitive process, review panels are convened to discuss applications in open meetings and make recommendations to the board of directors. Regular readers of Minnesota Mist will be interested to know that eight dance producing organizations received $79,500, or 14.6%, of September's Arts Activities grants. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">MRAC is one of 11 regional arts councils in Minnesota; it serves the seven counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington. MRAC receives its funding from three sources: an appropriation by the Minnesota Legislature from the state's general fund; the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund approved by voters; and designated funds from the <a href="http://www.mcknight.org/">McKnight Foundation</a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">According to MRAC's website, it received 840 grant applications from organizations in fiscal 2012 and awarded 419 grants totaling $2,738,936. It received 366 applications from individual artists to the Next Step Fund, supported by McKnight, and awarded 32 grants totaling $155,900. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
Updated October 2, 2012, 06:46am.</div>
Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-62428736085456218962012-09-25T10:23:00.000-05:002012-09-25T10:23:21.271-05:00"Les Petites Choses" program: ARENA's dancers acquit themselves admirably; Cowles' production folks not so much<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Last week, the Twin Cities hosted three dozen curators and presenters of dance hailing from domestic and international venues. These visitors attended showcase performances presented over five days by 50 contemporary dance makers and organizations based in this community. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jZFVBDG07Xw/UGHDDn_xmyI/AAAAAAAAAWw/YNXsuwxe0U8/s1600/250226_10152137681810574_324706464_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jZFVBDG07Xw/UGHDDn_xmyI/AAAAAAAAAWw/YNXsuwxe0U8/s320/250226_10152137681810574_324706464_n.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One of those visitors, from New York City, works at bringing presenters from European venues to the U.S. to expose them to new or updated perspectives about the currents in dance on these shores. We spoke following three showcase presentations at the University of Minnesota's Barbara Barker Center for Dance on Friday afternoon.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">She observed that many of the conceptual modern dance works she had viewed during two days here – works based in Western styles and traditions and created by different choreographers – shared a distinct and apparently hermetic sameness. "I want to ask them," she said, "what it is you think you are trying to communicate to me?" She added that it would be nice to send choreographers on the road across the country for a year just for the sake of their exposure to and challenge by other choreography.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I concurred with her comments about the similarities and, without conclusion, we speculated about the reasons for this seeming lack of diversity, and attributed some of it to the influence of the University of Minnesota's Dance Program and the many dancers and choreographers it has trained to common purposes and loosed upon the community over the years. The visitor also wondered if the strong, close-knit dynamics of the old Minnesota Independent Choreographers Alliance might yet retain influence among dance makers and pick-up companies in the Twin Cities.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That conversation bore vestiges of another I had two weeks earlier with an accomplished, longtime choreographer and dance instructor. How, I asked, would she describe to a neophyte the differences between modern dance and jazz dance? Between modern and ballet? Between modern and post-modern? </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dJzZhmZurwc/UGHDVK-MX-I/AAAAAAAAAW4/ceO1o7SJ_ec/s1600/250132_10152162337040574_101333419_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="507" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dJzZhmZurwc/UGHDVK-MX-I/AAAAAAAAAW4/ceO1o7SJ_ec/s640/250132_10152162337040574_101333419_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Huddle" • Jacob Melczer, Gabriel Anderson, John Beasant, Timmy Wagner •<br />
Dan Norman Photography</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Interestingly, none of her proffered descriptions cited splayed fingers, pointed feet, legs turned out or in, bent knees, or any other physical manifestations that would suggest visual images that one could use to make comparisons. It occurred to me as we talked that if the collective we have difficulty describing what we do by what it looks like, then we probably aren't communicating all that well, verbally or through movement, about our esoteric choreographic intents.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Whether or not they can explain why, most dance makers think they want and need an audience. Those who do not care if their work can be described want their audience to make of it whatever they will. Then, when audience members make little or nothing of it and return rarely, if at all, there is genuine perplexity about why. Sometimes, dance makers even blame the audience. I have mused about this for years.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My musings received fresh life following a recent visit to the <a href="http://www.artsmia.org/">Minneapolis Institute of Arts</a> for its "Rembrandt in America" exhibit. The galleries were jammed elbow-to-elbow with an age, gender, and ethnic diversity that would do any outreach worker proud. People moved in an improvised dance more engrossing than many I have seen on stage. More than 105,000 tickets were issued during the run. Exhibit hours were extended for weeks on end. How many dance venues can claim such demand for an entire season let alone one show?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Were all 105,000 attendees experts about art, Dutch painting, and Rembrandt in particular? Did they know on arrival that some of these works were pretty good copies made by students? Assume that they were expert. Why then were so many led around by docents or by self-guided headphone tours? Why did so few fail to read the placard information on the walls? If the information, in whatever form, detracted from the quality of their experience, then why did they avail themselves of it? Did having the information make them unhappy, unappreciative, and less likely to return in the future?</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QDvgH1_Rq9Y/UGHEubeRXNI/AAAAAAAAAXA/TlZ7wAYK_aI/s1600/196462_10152162339430574_978542114_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QDvgH1_Rq9Y/UGHEubeRXNI/AAAAAAAAAXA/TlZ7wAYK_aI/s640/196462_10152162339430574_978542114_n.jpg" width="433" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ARENA Dances • "These Yellow Sands" • Dan Norman Photography</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The concept of differentiation, and the notion of describing, explaining, and analyzing it, is not foreign to Mathew Janczewski, a graduate who bounded out of the University of Minnesota to dance with the companies of Shapiro and Smith Dance and Danny Buraczeski's Jazzdance before-and-while founding <a href="http://www.arena-dances.org/">ARENA Dances</a> as a vehicle for his own modern dance choreography. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For 17 years, Janczewski has given account of himself and garnered invitations to teach and choreograph for colleges, universities, and other dance companies, commissions to create new works, and resources to create a body of work with – of late – a relatively consistent ensemble of dancers, most of them alums of the University of Minnesota or St. Olaf College. He has assembled a small but effective board of directors and a roster of nearly 70 individual annual donors.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">His artist statement acknowledges a responsibility to his audience: "A central challenge in contemporary dance is the degree to which it has become rarefied and dislocated from the culture in which it exists. ... I am deeply concerned with making my work relevant to the public that I am addressing." One can laud his awareness and commitment while considering the degree of his success in meeting that challenge as he developed a signature movement style. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Janczewski always has used the big, broad and dramatic gesture to convey a range of abstract narratives and evoke honest, heart-on his-sleeve emotions. For example, if you are not seeing dancers move with contained torsos in bold, full-throated and circular patterns with high energy in the air and on the floor, with a straight leg extended every 10 seconds, and vertical leaps – often of trios that pop-stop for milliseconds at the top – every 30 seconds, you might question whether you are viewing ARENA Dances.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In a welcome evolution in recent years, he has added texture to his vocabulary and phrasing with smaller, more layered and nuanced movements. This evolution was evident in the program presented at the <a href="http://www.thecowlescenter.org/">Cowles Center for Dance</a> in Minneapolis this past weekend, where Saturday's performance began five minutes late, following a three minute delay and two minutes of announcements.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For all five dances, Pearl Rea designed lighting and Sonya Berlovitz designed costumes.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0AvTkecdvY4/UGHFjGEr_yI/AAAAAAAAAXI/Kf9Tg4TBtUc/s1600/HuddleRoll001_rt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0AvTkecdvY4/UGHFjGEr_yI/AAAAAAAAAXI/Kf9Tg4TBtUc/s400/HuddleRoll001_rt.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Huddle" • Jacob Melczer & Timmy Wagner • Armour Photography</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Huddle," a 17-minute dance that received its premiere in 2009, opens upon four men, Gabriel Anderson, John Beasant III, Jacob Melczer, and Timmy Wagner, distributed across the stage, barefoot and otherwise attired in variations of business office drag. Three of them occupy their individual real estate, four feet square, outlined by 2"x4" lengths of lumber. In short order, they add their lumber to an edifice of 2"x4"s, stacked 11 high up-stage-right, that becomes their island fort, tree house, man cave, and the locus of their bonding. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The dance, accompanied by music of Radiohead and 65daysof static, follows these men-children as they sort out who is part of the group, and on what terms, at any given moment. Melczer and Wagner, both second season members of ARENA, carried most of the duet work.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4744891503555280351#editor/target=post;postID=6242873608545621896" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The late-arriving couple that was seated at the right side of the orchestra a few minutes into the work would not have caused a distracting commotion had they been held outside for 15 additional minutes.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Judged House," first presented in 1995 and danced with music by the British composer Michael Nyman, begins with dancers down on the floor, and they stay or return there for much of the 11-minute piece. One imagines that their movements while on the floor, if viewed from above, would look like they were dancing upright and on their feet. Whether standing or not, Renee Starr and Sarah Steichen, both in their third season with ARENA, repeatedly pushed against each other in a rivalry that, to my eye, never resolved who wins.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There is a segment of total silence during "Judged House" when the music stops. A possibly very important man – whether lost audience member or clueless theater employee – chose that moment to noisily enter the house through a door not normally used by the public on the left side of the orchestra. After looking around, he exited at the back with accompanying noise. So far as one knows, he was not an armed and psychotic graduate student.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xOGAduFLFv4/UGHGJsA8izI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/7MR4gZvwU9Q/s1600/384325_10151436389352926_1988759333_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xOGAduFLFv4/UGHGJsA8izI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/7MR4gZvwU9Q/s640/384325_10151436389352926_1988759333_n.jpg" width="560" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Les Petites Choses" • Susie Bracken • Dan Norman Photography</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Audience members who spoke French, seated somewhere in front of me, chuckled as the curtain rose on "Les Petites Choses," the new, centerpiece work of the evening. As something of a protagonist, Susie Bracken, dancing with ARENA again after eight years in Los Angeles, cut a captivating figure in lime green bra, green tights, green heeled shoes, formal blue gloves, and canary yellow plastic bags. Music by Clint Mansell, Fridge, and (primarily) Katerine provided a club sensibility for a nicely detailed romp by Melczer, Starr, Steichen, and Wagner, replete with vacuous facial expressions. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">More than most of Janczewski's dancers over the years, Bracken infuses her own personality fully into his choreography. In this, she has competition from Wagner who also finds the fusion; as the man in front of me said, "He looks good in this work." The last segment of "Les Petites Choses," dominated by Bracken in turquoise skirt and short red jersey, ends on a soft high, reflecting the liquid, languid air of an adagio, danced to cello and violin.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Quelle petite pierre précieuse!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As one result of Janczewski's diligence over the years, the National Dance Project, managed by the New England Foundation for the Arts, has awarded ARENA Dances a production grant worth thousands of dollars to create "The Main Street Project," a major dance that will premiere in the fall of 2014. For this concert, Janczewski presented a very brief teaser to whet the audience's appetite. Wagner performed solo next to a pile of crumpled paper while our attention was drawn to three students who voiced statements to the camera in a video produced by Cully Gallagher.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For the program closer, "These Yellow Sands," set to music again by Nyman, Janczewski re-worked a 2001 commission from the Walker Art Center's Momentum Dance Works series. The dancers, Anderson, Beasant, Melczer, Starr, Steichen, and Wagner, acquitted themselves admirably in what was largely a pure movement work.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QCgjHvg7Vrs/UGHKAecWa1I/AAAAAAAAAXo/f8xbh-D_ZX4/s1600/242599_10150190213396512_2416979_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QCgjHvg7Vrs/UGHKAecWa1I/AAAAAAAAAXo/f8xbh-D_ZX4/s640/242599_10150190213396512_2416979_o.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mathew Janczewski, artistic director • ARENA Dances</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The same cannot be said for the Cowles Center's production crew. About 60 seconds into "Yellow Sands," a large square projection of solid blue color with the words "Power Off" flashed on the back curtain above the dancers. This technical glitch from the preceding video was inexcusable. It marred the final work and wrecked one's impression of the entire evening. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One might ignore it as an isolated mess-up. However, not six months ago, the retrospective video that was part of the 25th anniversary performances of Shapiro and Smith Dance did not play on cue on opening night. Artistic Director Joanie Smith had to exit the stage to sort out with the crew what presumably had been covered in the dress rehearsal. Another isolated mess-up? Possibly.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Cowles Center, continuing its opening shakedown cruise into a second season, was intended to avoid these kinds of junior high school AV club screw-ups. What is concerning is that these incidents may reflect a culture of indifference on the part of the theater's production personnel.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">According to a contemporaneous account by a dancer, just before five members of the <a href="http://www.zenondance.org/">Zenon Dance Company</a> took the stage on their opening night last spring, a member of the technical crew bluntly told them he did not like dance in general. "You watch it for a minute," he reportedly said, "and you kind of 'get it,' and then it's just boring. So you can move like that. So what?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">How inspiring and supportive. Clearly, the dude is making what he will of the dance work that he sees and that pays his bills. But.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Our town is small. People talk. If we are to believe just a portion of what we hear, then that comment and the attitude behind it has been voiced on several unguarded occasions by Cowles production personnel. Before a reputation for technical indifference and mediocrity becomes cemented at this new venue, such comments and attitudes need to be kicked in the backside. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Most performers and outside technical people who must rely on the goodwill of these inside folks are reluctant to speak up. Here then, for them, is a message to the Cowles Center production staff: </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You are compensated more per hour and per annum than most of the performers on your stage. They are the reason for your employment. Their work is more than just a job; it is their calling and their cause, and it must be yours also. This community did not spend 12 years and $50 million building this facility so that your cavalier attitudes and negligent behaviors could drag down an art form that is raising itself up.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you cannot get behind that program with enthusiasm, and initiate your learning about what you don't know, then get the hell out of Dodge. Otherwise, the folks at the Ritz, Southern, Red Eye, and O'Shaughnessy venues will happily take those boring, bothersome dance artists off your hands, and the ticket buyers and donors that come with them.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<!--EndFragment-->
Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-7076625849504896212012-09-19T15:12:00.000-05:002012-09-20T07:37:40.128-05:00The Cowles Center makes move toward ticketing fee sanity<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Minneapolis, Minnesota</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Applause is in order for the Cowles Center for Dance and its decision to roll its ticketing fees "into the price of the ticket when we advertise events." The venue announced the decision in an email to its performing artists from Andrea Tonsfeldt, marketing communications manager.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xDi9bGqe0Oc/UFolQeio12I/AAAAAAAAAWc/hUFzOTApuP8/s1600/321565_2188794512715_659694679_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xDi9bGqe0Oc/UFolQeio12I/AAAAAAAAAWc/hUFzOTApuP8/s320/321565_2188794512715_659694679_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"We will make note that the price includes all fees," Tonsfeldt wrote. "We feel this will cause less confusion and frustration by customers and allow for a more streamlined and positive experience."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Currently, the ticketing fees are explained on the Cowles Center website this way:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In an effort to be as transparent about pricing as possible, The Cowles Center separates it's [sic] ticketing fees from the cost of each ticket. Ticket prices for each performance are set by the presenting company. The $4 per ticket fee covers two things: $2 paid to the Vendini ticketing system and $2 for the maintenance of The Goodale Theater.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Tonsfeldt noted in her message that it will take a bit of transition time to change the website and get all of the advertising on the same page.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">According to her email, the change is based on feedback from a survey and from comments received over the past weekend, which featured performances by Vocaldente, an a capella ensemble from Germany.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Customers should welcome the change.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When one buys groceries, there is no "convenience fee" tacked on to the bill of sale either to cover the cost of the cashier or the maintenance of the store. Nor, when purchasing tickets for live events, are there itemized charges for "performers," "light bulbs," etc. So, what elevates ticketing costs to such high status?</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For reasons lost in the mists of time, it has become standard procedure to list ticket charges as add-ons, separate from and over-and-above the list price printed on a ticket. One suspects the practice originated either as an Orwellian way to raise prices and cover a cost center without seeming to raise them, or because producers and presenters of events recognized the ticketing charges as the highway robbery that they are and sought to diffuse their responsibility for them. Either way, consumers are rarely stupid about pricing.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Rather than put up a fight in the marketplace against the purveyors of ticketing services themselves, venues outsourced their frustration and assumed helplessness onto their customers. That works until the customers fight back. Apparently, the Cowles Center experienced enough of that last weekend to prompt the change.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Having one price for admission is the ultimate transparency. I don't care what it includes. If the ticket is $30, I will pay. If I get a discount for being young, old, a frequent purchaser, or any other reason, that's great. Just don't tell me that "Oh, by the way, you need to pay us for the convenience of selling you a ticket – and, at some venues (not the Cowles), for taking your order."</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And please don't tell me you need a "facility fee" for the rainy day fund when your roof goes bad. Hit me up with a reasoned request for a free-will donation and I will take it into consideration.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Cowles Center had the chance to get this right when it opened a year ago, but for reasons lost in the mists of time did not. As Tonsfeldt noted, "We tried to be transparent last year with customers by NOT including the fees but we have found it didn't work that way."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Better late than never. Other venues?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Updated 12:49am CDT, Sept. 20, 2012.</span></i></div>
</div>
Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-81996835513436037052012-09-05T11:31:00.000-05:002012-09-05T11:31:16.581-05:00Apres le deluge: Sunshine on Minnesota Ballet's new season<b>Duluth, Minnesota</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In spite of <a href="http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/235627">$100,000 in damage</a> visited upon its sets and backdrops by torrential flash flooding, June 19-20, the intrepid <a href="http://minnesotaballet.org/">Minnesota Ballet</a> has begun preparing its 2012-2013 performance season.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lQQeyS5P8Ww/UEd6eJrnZ2I/AAAAAAAAAWE/mUq1GTOfKoI/s1600/CIMG3619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="322" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lQQeyS5P8Ww/UEd6eJrnZ2I/AAAAAAAAAWE/mUq1GTOfKoI/s400/CIMG3619.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Minnesota Ballet's "Dracula" • DECC, Duluth • Oct. 19-20</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Donning costumes from last year's well-received, premiere production of "Dracula," six of the company's dozen dancers traveled by float along Tower Street in Superior, Wisconsin, Sept. 2, as part of the <a href="http://www.dspride.com/">Duluth-Superior Pride</a> parade. Their sun-drenched outing promoted the return of <a href="http://minnesotaballet.org/performance-list/fall-show">"Dracula"</a> for their season opener at the <a href="http://www.decc.org/">DECC Entertainment and Convention Center</a>, Oct. 19-20.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In the week leading to Labor Day weekend, the dancers worked with the choreographer <a href="http://penelopefreeh.com/Site/About.html">Penelope Freeh</a>, who traveled from Minneapolis to set a new dance on them. The Ballet will unveil that work, along with new creations by the dancers, at evenings of <a href="http://minnesotaballet.org/performance-list/special-performances/dances-and-desserts/">"Dances and Desserts"</a> at the Board of Trade Building, Sept. 20-21.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Freeh, who has had a long association with the <a href="http://jsballet.org/">James Sewell Ballet</a>, will present performances of her work at the <a href="http://www.southerntheater.org/penelope-freeh">Southern Theater</a> in Minneapolis, Sept. 28-30, with the composer <a href="http://www.jocelynhagen.com/Hagen_resume_2010.pdf">Jocelyn Hagen</a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Minnesota Ballet, led by Artistic Director <a href="http://minnesotaballet.org/company/artistic-staff">Robert Gardner</a> since 2007, will offer free sample classes for its school, 10am-1:30pm, Saturday, Sept. 8. Children, teens, and adults are welcome to check out classes in creative movement, ballet, jazz, tap, and modern at 506 West Michigan Street, Duluth.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Dancers in photo l-r: Marco Clemente, Emily Neale, Alana Gergerich, Megan Wolfson,Reinhard von Rabenau, Michael Agudelo</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-62469224629620599192012-08-22T10:30:00.000-05:002012-08-22T10:30:34.803-05:00Bold or not, memories linger from summer stagings<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There may be merit to <a href="http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/stageandarts/165662826.html?refer=y">Bryan Bevell's contention</a> that Twin Cities theater lacks boldness. The critics Graydon Royce and Rohan Preston probably make <a href="http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/stageandarts/166473856.html?refer=y">valid points</a> that the Minnesota Fringe Festival needs shaking up. Whatever. While I attended few live performances this summer, a handful of scenes and impressions, bold or not, linger against a competitive backdrop of urban parks, lakes, Orchestra Hall construction, and a hapless baseball team.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zfy09kUJxUM/UDQNY7PMjgI/AAAAAAAAAVU/mAXYc7Dj2e0/s1600/6576_101133632204_5500088_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zfy09kUJxUM/UDQNY7PMjgI/AAAAAAAAAVU/mAXYc7Dj2e0/s320/6576_101133632204_5500088_n.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Devin Carey and Denise Armstead<br />
"The Three Bonnies" • Burnsville PAC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The proscenium stage of the <a href="http://www.burnsvillepac.org/">Burnsville Performing Arts Center </a>hosted "The Three Bonnies" in a one-night stand, June 8. The work fulfilled a six-year labor of love conceived and choreographed by Denise Armstead and performed in seven movements by her company, DAdance. The ensemble included Devin Carey, Gerry Girouard, Cade Holmseth, Sharon Picasso, Kelly Radermacher, and Armstead. Infused with music of Bonnie Raitt, the Dirty Three, and a sound design by Brian McDonald, the "Bonnies" examined the dynamics and intricacies of human relationships through the lenses of people's relationships with horses and those of horses with each other. Armstead knows horses from her work at Shadow Creek Farms in Forest Lake, Minnesota. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OJOhHncKD5o/UDRV47G_KeI/AAAAAAAAAVo/HVg4HWQiEqI/s1600/Noah+Crane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OJOhHncKD5o/UDRV47G_KeI/AAAAAAAAAVo/HVg4HWQiEqI/s320/Noah+Crane.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Noah Bremer and Crane Adams • "Basic North"<br />
Southern Theater • Photo Bill Cameron</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Beautiful horses and their equally lovely handlers featured prominently in a massive film projection that filled the height and width of the proscenium. While many Minnesota choreographers have employed visual media in their productions, few, if any, have so successfully integrated themes, narrative, and movement into a series of vignettes alternating among film, live movement, and both together. Armstead appears to have taken the time and spent the money needed to get the film's production values right. So successful were the projections, however, that they often overpowered and drowned out the imagery and choreography of the dancers performing downstage. In pre-performance remarks, Armstead dedicated the evening to the late film producer Robert Hammel whose collaboration had been instrumental to the project, an intellectual and poetic effort throughout.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vDM6VJN4xzk/UDRWn8ifOAI/AAAAAAAAAVw/DbH4-3gsAiY/s1600/Skylar+Katelyn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vDM6VJN4xzk/UDRWn8ifOAI/AAAAAAAAAVw/DbH4-3gsAiY/s320/Skylar+Katelyn.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skyler Nowinski and Katelyn Skelley<br />
"Basic North" • Southern Theater<br />
Photo Bill Cameron</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One of the most achingly beautiful moments of the summer occurred inside the <a href="http://www.southerntheater.org/">Southern Theater</a>, June 17. Time suspended during Noah Bremer's halting, haunting rendition of Jack Lawrence's tune, "Somewhere Beyond the Sea," accompanied by Crane Adams on ukelele. The moment happened in "Basic North: A performance in three directions," produced by <a href="http://www.liveactionset.org/">Live Action Set</a> and presented over two weeks. The work simultaneously featured three, interwoven and abstract narratives, each with its own director.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The holistic production roster included directors Dario Tangelson, Emily King and Ryan Underbakke, and Bremer; performers Adams, Bremer, Joanna Harmon, Skyler Nowinski, Tyler Olsen, and Katelyn Skelley; collaborators Anna Reichert, Megan Odell, and Eva Mohn; stage manager Ben Gansky; technical director Lindsay Woolward; lighting designer William Harmon; costume designer Mandi Johnson; and production assistant Anna Hickey.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A free, work-in-progress presentation in the <a href="http://www.jsballet.org/tekbox.cfm">James Sewell Ballet Tek Box</a>, June 29, was remarkable both for the amount of full nudity of the six cast members over an hour's time – very un-Minnesotan – and for how unremarkable was its overall effect. In general, we could use more of the matter-of-fact attitude expressed by Ben Johnson in his welcoming remarks: "If you're going to be offended, please leave now." The performance of "Bon Appétit! (Hedonism part 2)," represented the culmination of a three-week residency by the Paris-based choreographer <a href="http://www.lahaltegarderie.com/">Johan Amselem</a>, the first McKnight International Fellow selected by <a href="http://www.northrop.umn.edu/mcknight/international/johan-amselem">Northrop Concerts and Lectures</a> as part of its dance fellowship program. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><div style="line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a1.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/37/fa5f74c0e55c46fea67ece2c675cc21f/l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://a1.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/37/fa5f74c0e55c46fea67ece2c675cc21f/l.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johan Amselem<br />
2012 McKnight International Fellow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Amselem worked with dancers Rachel Freeburg, Erika Hansen, Melanie Verna, Ryan Dean, Dustin Haug, and Zachary Teska; video artist Kevin Obsatz; DJ Shannon Blowtorch; and dramaturgs Morgan Thorson and Karen Sherman.<br />
<br style="line-height: 1.25em;" />
<br />
From Northrop's website: "His work is sharp and full of joy, rituals, flesh, and spirituality, along with emotions, pleasure, and greed."<br />
<br />
<br />
From Amselem's program note, addressed to the performers as much as the audience: "We're still going on exploring the dark side of pleasure. It will be particularly about the pleasure to consume and be consumed. I think of the piece like a recipe that principal ingredients will be your wonderful bodies. As I was thinking on a twisted pleasure that nobody should understand, I came to cannibalism. So we'll work on generating into the audience the desire to eat you. Kevin will increase the hunger with the video. It will also be about promiscuity, bodies against bodies, desire and fear, excesses-we'll be on a burning dance floor stove. And for that I count on Shannon's powerful music and personality live on stage."<br />
<br />
<br />
"Bon Appetit!" was all of that, but could have benefited from judicious editing and a more cohesive and compelling dramatic arc.<br />
<br />
<br />
A fascinating, cheek by jowl performance has been occurring at the <a href="http://www.artsmia.org/">Minneapolis Institute of Arts</a> since the opening of its current exhibition, <a href="http://www.artsmia.org/rembrandt-america">"Rembrandt in America,"</a> June 24. The exhibit is the largest selection of paintings by the 17th century Dutch master and his students ever assembled in the United States. To meet audience demand, the hours have been extended for the balance of the run, ending Sept. 16.<br />
<br />
<br />
The exhibit aside, it is worth the admission to witness the audience's rapt attention as its members move through the galleries. It occurred to me that if the Rembrandt exhibit was your average dance concert, there would be no headset narration, no live docents, nor placards on gallery walls. Most dance creators seem to want their work to speak for itself without context, explanation, or interpretation. Given such an approach, they must believe there are worthwhile upsides in their smaller, less diverse, more select audiences.<br />
<br /></div>
</span>Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4744891503555280351.post-6671008800061522412012-08-19T20:55:00.000-05:002012-09-07T16:10:37.996-05:00Ananya Dance Theatre opens Twin Cities dance season with new "Moreechika," will also perform in Philadelphia<b>Minneapolis, Minnesota</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ananyadancetheatre.org/">Ananya Dance Theatre</a> will open the Twin Cities' fall dance season with four performances of "Moreechika: Season of Mirage" at the <a href="http://www.southerntheater.org/">Southern Theater</a>, Sept. 6-9.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TL9dKLWU6NU/UDF8_oqMHXI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/gaFqLKPz2Xw/s1600/334973_10151163629224766_247229164_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TL9dKLWU6NU/UDF8_oqMHXI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/gaFqLKPz2Xw/s400/334973_10151163629224766_247229164_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sherie Apungu and Ananya Chatterjea • "Moreechika: Season of Mirage"<br />
National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago<br />
Photo: Maria Nunes Photography © 2012 • www.marianunes.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Choreographed by Ananya Chatterjea to an original score by the composer <a href="http://www.gregschutte.com/">Greg Schutte</a> of St. Paul, "Moreechika" received its world premiere, July 27, at the National Academy for the Performing Arts in <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&oe=UTF-8&q=Port+of+Spain,+Trinidad&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x8c3607de174bc349:0xdddef653160d4285,Port+of+Spain,+Trinidad+and+Tobago&gl=us&ei=7G0xUKHmBcqgywGYsYGYBg&ved=0CCMQ8gEwAQ">Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago</a>, as part of the <a href="http://makedathomasinstitute.tumblr.com/post/21189521482/lets-dance-new-waves-2012">New Waves! 2012 Festival</a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The theme of the evening-length work is oil and the environmental, cultural,
and human costs of its extraction around the world, particularly its impact on women in
global communities of color.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://coldmountaincollective.com/2012/08/07/the-collective-annie-katsura-rollins/">Annie Katsura Rollins</a> designed the costumes and giant shadow puppets used in "Moreechika." <a href="http://minnesotaplaylist.com/magazine/author/mike-wangen">Mike Wangen</a> designed the stage lighting. The work runs 85 minutes without intermission.</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Moreechika" is the third in a four-part, multi-year investigation into systemic violence, trauma, resistance, and empowerment. The quartet employs the thematic elements of mud ("Kshoy!/Decay!" 2010), gold ("Tushaanal: Fires of Dry Grass" 2011), oil ("Moreechika: Season of Mirage" 2012), and water ("Mohona: Estuaries of Desire" 2013).</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CVDR69NFHvo/UDGEUOLfRAI/AAAAAAAAAUs/gmcdOY9uyKE/s1600/258428_10151163629759766_1104472750_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CVDR69NFHvo/UDGEUOLfRAI/AAAAAAAAAUs/gmcdOY9uyKE/s400/258428_10151163629759766_1104472750_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chitra Vairavan and Sherie Apungu • "Moreechika"<br />
National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago<br />
Photo: Maria Nunes Photography © 2012 • www.marianunes.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Following the Minneapolis performances, the troupe will present "Moreechika" at <a href="http://www.temple.edu/boyer/events/directions-parking/conwell-dance-theater.asp">The Conwell Dance Theater</a> in Philadelphia, Oct. 5-6, as part of a residency sponsored by <a href="http://www.temple.edu/boyer/about/index.asp">The Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University</a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Chatterjea and her company members drew their creative inspiration from several sources, including the struggles of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a Nigerian activist.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Saro-Wiwa," Chatterjea said, "addressed the injustices done by <a href="http://wiwavshell.org/">Shell Oil</a> to the Ogoni people and the destruction of their land and ecosystem, for which he was<a href="http://www.cleanthenigerdelta.org/index.php/whowaskensarowiwa"> tried and hanged by a military tribunal</a>."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The perspectives and struggles of the <a href="http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Oil_watch/Colombias_Oil_War.html">U'wa community</a> of Colombia also informed the work.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"This community is stunned by the excessive consumption of oil by our world," Chatterjea said. "They think of oil as ruiria, blood of the earth, which must be respected as part of the natural world."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Chatterjea also drew inspiration from the responses of the indigenous <a href="http://www.chevroninecuador.com/2010/05/indigenous-kichwa-leader-guillermo.html">Kichwa women of Ecuador to Chevron Oil</a>, and from the current struggle in North America against the <a href="http://www.foe.org/projects/climate-and-energy/tar-sands/keystone-xl-pipeline">Keystone XL Pipeline</a> through Native American lands.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_F2kvxJTzWs/UDGPVN_ynSI/AAAAAAAAAVA/vOLaH7lm2gQ/s1600/ADT_Trinidad6_Maria_Nunes.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_F2kvxJTzWs/UDGPVN_ynSI/AAAAAAAAAVA/vOLaH7lm2gQ/s400/ADT_Trinidad6_Maria_Nunes.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Moreechika" • Ananya Dance Theatre • Port of Spain, Trinidad, July 2012<br />
Southern Theater, Minneapolis, Sept. 6-9, 2012<br />
Conwell Dance Theater, Philadelphia, Oct. 5-6, 2012<br />
Photo: Maria Nunes Photography © 2012 • www.marianunes.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ananya Dance Theatre is a company of women artists of color working at the intersection of social justice and artistic excellence to tell the stories of ordinary lives and extraordinary dreams with an emotional intensity and physical prowess that draws upon the company's choreographic aesthetic and technique.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Chatterjea's aesthetic integrates the sculptural sensuality, powerful footwork, and emotional articulation of <a href="http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/nritya/odissi.html">Odissi</a>, a classical Indian dance form, with the pure lines and breath release of yoga and the bodily awareness of energy from the martial art of <a href="http://www.narthaki.com/chhau/chhau.htm">Chhau</a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Chatterjea, a recipient of a 2011 <a href="http://www.gf.org/about-the-foundation/the-fellowship/">Guggenheim Fellowship</a> for Choreography and a 2012 <a href="http://www.mcknight.org/arts/fellowships.aspx">McKnight Artist Fellowship</a> for choreography, serves as a professor and Director of Dance in the <a href="https://theatre.umn.edu/dance">Department of Theatre Arts and Dance at the University of Minnesota</a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Minneapolis performances of "Moreechika" are scheduled for Thu. and Sun., Sept. 6 and 9, at 7:30pm, and Fri. and Sat., Sept. 7 and 8, at 8pm. The Southern Theater is located in the Seven Corners District of Minneapolis at 1420 Washington Avenue South. General admission tickets are available through TicketWorks at 612.343.3390, or online at ticketworks.com.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Philadelphia performances are scheduled for Fri. and Sat., Oct. 5 and 6, at 7:30pm. The Conwell Dance Theater is located at 1801 North Broad Street. General admission tickets are available by calling 215.204.1122.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">More articles about "Moreechika":</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.metromag.com/article/oily-world-we-live">"The Oily World We Live In,"</a> Brittany Trevick, metromag.com</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/arts/visual-arts/ananya-dance-theatre-moreechika-season-mirage-preview#.UBLqXqt9Jf0.facebook">"Ananya Dance Theatre takes on our oil dependence,"</a> Sheila Regan, TCDailyPlanet.net</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.tt/entertainment/2012-07-27/new-wave-dance">"A new wave of dance,"</a> Aba A. Luke, Guardian.co.tt</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/stageandarts/168919586.html?refer=y&refer=y">"New Ananya dance mixes anger and joy,"</a> Caroline Palmer, Star Tribune</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<i>Gary Peterson serves as chair, board of directors, of Ananya Dance Theatre.</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Gary Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00386240132017224163noreply@blogger.com0