Shaping young dance dreams in Grand Rapids, Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota


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 Reif Dance Program, housed in the Myles Reif Performing Arts Center, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.


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.

Lance Hardin and Amy Earnest
Ballet Co-Directors of Reif Dance, Grand Rapids, Minnesota

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.


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. 


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.


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.

Reif Dance serves 200 students
aged three to adult

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. 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.


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.


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 fiscal 2011, 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.


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.

Chicago native Lance Hardin

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.

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.

Amy Earnest started dancing
at age three in Atlanta

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.


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.


In November 2011, Reif Dance named James Sewell, artistic director of the James Sewell Ballet 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.


On April 13 and 14, 2013, 39 dancers from Grand Rapids joined members of the James Sewell Ballet and the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies to perform Camille Saint-Saëns' "Carnival of the Animals" at The Cowles Center for Dance 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.


For its annual spring production, the Reif Dance Program will present "The Wizard of Oz," June 7-9.

The 645-seat Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota

Then, rounding out their first year in Grand Rapids, Earnest and Hardin will be joined by Sewell dancers for the ballet-focused 2013 Summer Dance Intensive, 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.


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.

Works of Edgar Allan Poe animate James Sewell Ballet's fall performances, Oct. 26-Nov. 4

Minneapolis, Minnesota


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.” James Sewell Ballet will present the new work as part of a dance macabre-themed fall program at The Cowles Center for Dance in Minneapolis, Oct. 26-Nov. 4.

James Sewell Ballet • Oct. 26-Nov. 4 • Photo Erik Saulitis

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. 

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.”

The fall program also will include the classical “Giselle Pas De Deux,” and the revival of Sewell's “Grave Matters” (2011). Kathy Staszak designed costumes and Kevin A. Jones designed lighting for the program.

“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.

Tickets are available on-line at thecowlescenter.org, and by phone at 612.206.3600.


James Sewell Ballet's fall season follows on its performance, Oct. 12, at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts in St. George, Utah.


Updated: Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, 08:37am: The company's fall program also will be presented at Edson Auditorium, 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.

Behind the scenes of the Sewell Ballet's "Opus 131"

Minneapolis, Minnesota


Beethoven completed his Quartet for Strings No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Opus 131, in 1826, the year before his death. That he was deaf when he composed the 40-minute work remains reason for amazement, even – and especially – in the jaded, show-it-to-me culture of our present century.


I recall the first time I heard the work.

"Opus 131" • Cory Goei & Leah Gallas

Following the conclusion of a performing arts conference and showcase in Chicago, I was driving across Wisconsin to Minneapolis on a Sunday afternoon in September 1995 with three members of the James Sewell Ballet. We had stopped earlier at the resort town of Wisconsin Dells, primarily just to say we had done so. 


James Sewell was going to begin choreographing a new ballet set to Opus 131 the next day. None of us had heard the music, so Sewell played it over the van's sound system as we drifted along I-94 toward the Minnesota border and into setting sun. The seven movements, each with a distinct feeling, are played through without pause.


Created for six dancers at its 1995 premiere at The O'Shaughnessy in St. Paul, "Opus 131" featured three partnered pairings by Anna Laghezza and Sewell, Sally Rousse and Christian Burns, and Penelope Freeh and Joel Klausler.


When reprised during the 2002-03 season, Sewell expanded the work to four pairings: Freeh and Matthew Keefe, Rousse and Sewell, Peggy Seipp and Benjamin Johnson, and Julia Welsh and Justin Leaf. JSB's touring schedule was extensive that year, and "Opus 131" saw action on stages throughout the country. 


One of those stages, a college in New England, would be followed by a Sunday matinee at Brooklyn College in New York City. It would be the company's first gig in the city since performing at Hunter College in Manhattan in March 2001.


In Minneapolis on Friday, April 11, 2003, it occurred to me that it would be fun to make the scene in Brooklyn, and I told my administrative colleagues that I would go if fares were under $200. Through the wonders of online booking, I found a round-trip to LaGuardia for $184, and arrived at the hotel in Brooklyn 30 minutes before the company drove in the next afternoon.

The Parker Quartet

Sunday, April 13, was Palm Sunday, and the staff at Brooklyn College had no expectations of filling even half of the 2,500 seats in Whitman Hall. I arrived at the theater in the morning with Kevin Jones, the production manager, and Matthew Keefe, who served the dual role of dancer and wardrobe master. My job was to not interfere, pace, and hold court in the lobby when the audience arrived.


For a while, it seemed as though there would be no audience. In addition to being Palm Sunday, it was one of those bright and romantically languid Sundays that only New York City can muster, and the streets of Brooklyn were bereft of movement. Finally, as though a faucet was turned on, people arrived from nowhere to take their seats. 


The performance began, and I watched from the back of the theater where I could pace with my usual thoughts, hoping that the performance went well, that the audience had an engaging time, and that terrorists or some other mayhem did not disrupt the scene. 


My blood pressure shot up as a series of episodic camera flashes appeared from the audience, not far from the stage. Cameras are never allowed in live performances out of consideration for other audience members and to protect performer safety and intellectual property interests. The nature and length of the music and dance, however, meant that trying to confiscate a camera would be more disruptive than the flashes, and I seethed in silence.


At intermission, while stationed near the lobby exits looking for a wayward camera, a college press officer walked up and asked if I was with JSB and could I identify photos of the dancers for Anna Kisselgoff, the senior dance writer for the New York Times. In our brief, pleasant exchange of business, she noted – a bit archly, I thought – that our public relations game had left something to be desired for this performance.


Neither we nor the college had thought of trying to schedule a photo call for the press given that we had a single performance, and I was thunderstruck by the thought that Kisselgoff had brought a photographer "all the way to Brooklyn" on Palm Sunday. I also was glad that we had taken pains to make our program notes look as respectable as possible. 


Back in Minneapolis, two mornings later, I received an early call from the mother of a JSB dancer who told me I would never believe that day's New York Times. She was right.


Across the top, front page of the arts section, and under the headline "Balletic Sonnets, Surprises Included," was a full-color photo of the JSB dancers taking a curtain call in Brooklyn for "Opus 131."


In her review, Kisselgoff wrote,

Someone needs to give the James Sewell Ballet from Minneapolis and Mr. Sewell's always imaginative, often exquisite ballets a full season in New York. In the meantime, thanks go to the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts for presenting Mr. Sewell's chamber troupe with three New York premieres at Brooklyn College's Whitman Hall on Sunday afternoon.

Mr. Sewell is one of American ballet's best choreographers, albeit one who composes sonnets rather than epics. This lack of pretension can make his work look deceptively gentle, but it is not modest. Grounded in a neoclassical style that is exploited in different ways, his choreography brims with surprises in movement invention.

This rich texture was obvious on Sunday in ''Opus 131,'' a fanciful, plotless ballet set to Beethoven.

Quite simply, reviews do not get much better than that. Most artists, let alone dancers, will never get their names and photos splashed across a page of the New York Times.


It is no longer my job to pace at the back of theaters during JSB performances. Instead, I sit calmly and expectantly in the audience, as I did last Friday at The Cowles Center for the latest iteration of "Opus 131," this time for seven dancers: Nicky Coelho, Leah Gallas, Cory Goei, Chris Hannon, Nic Lincoln, Sally Rousse, and Eve Schulte.


This go-round has its own special excitement. For the first time, the dancers are performing to live music, provided by The Parker Quartet, an exquisite ensemble of passionate talent whose members include Daniel Chong, violin, Karen Kim, violin, Jessica Bodner, viola, and Kee-Hyun Kim, cello. 

 
You can catch them at 8pm, April 20-21, and 2pm, April 22. Call 612.206.3600 for ticketing.


Gary Peterson served as executive director of James Sewell Ballet from 1995 to 2008.

Coming attractions in Twin Cities dance

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Twin Cities dance and performance notes for November

Minneapolis, Minnesota


For a 27th consecutive year, Zenon Dance Company will present a fall season of dance in the Twin Cities. New and existing work will be displayed over two weekends, Nov. 19-29, at the Ritz Theater in Minneapolis.


In his first commission for Zenon, New York dancemaker Sydney Skybetter provides one of the program's three premieres, "The Laws of Falling Bodies," a modern work for the full-company set to music by Jonny Greenwood.


Mary Ann Bradley and Greg Waletski will dance "Here, now that you are gone," a new jazz duet by Judith James Ries, a Minneapolis-based protégé of jazz master Danny Buraczeski. The duet is set to music by Charlie Byrd, Toots Thielemans, and Stéphane Grappelli.

Emilie Plauché Flink, co-artistic director of Black Label Movement in Minneapolis, offers a new, untitled solo set to cello music composed by Michelle Kinney and recorded by the ensemble Jello Slave. Tamara Ober and Bradley will perform the work on alternate weekends.


The program also will include two revivals. "Not From Texas," a light and entertaining hoedown by Megan McClellan and Brian Sostek set to music by Lyle Lovett, and "Booba (Doll)," an Andrea Miller work to Balkan Beat Box.


The Ritz Theater is located at 345 - 13th Avenue NE, Minneapolis. Performances: Nov. 19-21 and 27-28 at 8pm, Nov. 22 and 29 at 7pm. For tickets call: 612.436.1129.

• • • • •

Led by directors Uri Sands and Toni Pierce-Sands, TU Dance will open its sixth season with three performances of four contemporary works, Nov. 20-22, at The O'Shaughnessy in St. Paul. The program will feature the first full staging since 1992 of "Dance With Army Blankets," a work commissioned from Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith by the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble.


Uri Sands will offer up two premieres: "Sense(ability) Sketch III - Earth" and an untitled duet for himself and Marciano Silva dos Santos. An earlier work, "Tones of Adney," inspired by the shifting states of a Minnesota lake, will round out the bill.


The O'Shaughnessy is located on the campus of St. Catherine's University, Cleveland and Randolph Aves., St. Paul. Performances: Nov. 20-21 at 8pm and Nov. 22 at 2pm. For tickets call 651.690.6700.

• • • • •

The Walker Art Center's annual Choreographers' Evening, curated by Olive Bieringa and Otto Ramstad, will take place in Minneapolis at the Walker's McGuire Theater, Saturday, Nov. 28 at 7pm and 9:30pm. Follow the link for the program line-up. For tickets call 612.375.7600 or online at walkerart.org/tickets.

• • • • •

In something of a family affair, the Lakeville City Ballet will present its annual, full-length production of "The Nutcracker" on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 28-29, at the Lakeville South High School Theater.

Artistic Director Denise Vogt provides the choreography for the production that includes spouse Rick Vogt (returning from dance retirement) in the role of Drosselmeyer, daughter Tianna, and son Anthony in the role of the Nutcracker.

In addition to students from the Ballet Royale Minnesota academy, guest artists will include Leah Gallas and Ricardo Graziano from the Tulsa Ballet (Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier) and Eve Schulte and Nicolas Lincoln from the James Sewell Ballet (Snow Queen and King).


The Lakeville South High School Theater is located at 21135 Jacquard Avenue, Lakeville, east of I-35 on Highway 70. Performances: Nov. 28 at 2pm and 6pm, and Nov. 29 at 1:30pm. Tickets available at the door, or in advance online at www.lakeville-rapconnect.com (click the "Programs" tab).

• • • • •

After 10+ years of planning and fundraising, ground will be broken for construction of the Minnesota Shubert Center in Minneapolis, Thursday, Nov. 19. The public is invited for remarks and the groundbreaking ceremony in the parking lot between the Hennepin Center for the Arts and the Shubert Theater, 528 Hennepin Ave., 12:30pm-1:15pm. A reception will follow in the Hennepin Center, 1:15pm-2:30pm. RSVP for the reception to 612.465.0231.

• • • • •

One of the largest dance floors in Minnesota, the historic Withrow Ballroom & Event Center will re-open late this month in Hugo/Stillwater, under the ownership of Paul Bergman. The 15,000 sq ft facility, established in 1928, has been shut down for a year. The opening weekend entertainment will include the Rockin' Hollywoods (50s dancing music), Friday, Nov. 27, 8:30pm-12:30am; Raggs featuring Todd Olson on lead vocals/sax/flute (classic rock-n-roll), Saturday, Nov. 28, 8pm-Midnight; and the acoustic slide guitar duo of the Dough Bros: Paul Mayasich and Andy Dee (country, blues, R and B, rockabilly, rock-n-roll), Sunday, Nov. 29, 3pm-7pm.


The Withrow Ballroom is located at 12169 Keystone Avenue North, Hugo, just northwest of Stillwater, Minnesota. Tickets are available at the door or by calling 651.439.5123.

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James Sewell Ballet's 2009-2010 Minnesota season opens Oct. 22

Saturday morning Zen

St. Paul, Minnesota


James Sewell, a choreographer friend, wrote several years ago that he loves "to watch how musicians move when they play. They perform an expressive dance." He would have enjoyed watching the four energetic members of the Enso String Quartet.


Violinists Maureen Nelson and John Marcus, violist Melissa Reardon, and cellist Richard Belcher moved in the groove this morning when they performed Mendelssohn's String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor. Their efforts did not disappoint the audience of 100 in The Music Room at the SPCO Center in downtown St. Paul. The occasion was a free, 9am concert to help celebrate the 50th birthday of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.


Marcus employed the greatest amount of footwork, and his dynamic eyebrows are a match for those of Reardon who seemed to have the most engaged facial expressions. Nelson had the most articulated and commanding upper torso, and one would not want to mess with her stiletto heels. Constrained by his cello, Belcher poured great energy into his fingerings.


Inspired by Beethoven, Mendelssohn provided the romantic raw material – composed at age 18! – with which the quartet delivered a rich and passionate finished product. There was no way to discern that they had just learned the piece this week. It was a great 20 minutes to be alive!


In one of the SPCO's fine traditions, new music also was included on the program. The composer, violist, and arranger Ljova (Lev Zhurbin), born in Moscow in 1978, hails from an artistic family. His father, Alexander Zhurbin, is a Russian composer for film and musical theater, and his mother, Irena Ginzburg, is a poet, writer, and journalist. Ljova originally scored "Bagel on the Malecón" and "Ori's Fearful Symmetry" for five violas. Here, they were arranged for string quartet, both embodying a klezmer air.


The Enso String Quartet, formed in 1999 when the four principals were at Yale University, is serving in the SPCO's Young Artists Program. Collectively, its members have several degrees from Yale, the Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, the New England Conservatory of Music, the University of Canterbury, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.


The ensemble's name, enso, is derived from the Japanese Zen painting of the circle which represents many things: perfection and imperfection, the moment of chaos that is creation, the emptiness of the void, the endless circle of life, and the fullness of the spirit.


Against a clear sky outside the SPCO Center, the sun shone brightly on the ice sculptures in Rice Park, created for the St. Paul Winter Carnival. "Fountain of Unicorns," by Chris Swarbrich and Greg Smotzer, took first place in the ice carving competition. Photos here.


Enso String Quartet photo by David Mehr (l-r): Richard Belcher, Melissa Reardon, John Marcus, Maureen Nelson.

Writers to share

Minneapolis, Minnesota


Allow me to introduce four writers – Brittany Fridenstine-Keefe, Penelope Freeh, David Frum, and Nicholas Nash – whose words I find valuable for various reasons. Collectively, their thoughts fit within the mission of Minnesota Mist: Writings about dance, the arts, politics, and culture. Links to their blog sites are listed in the left-hand column of this blog, under "My Favorite Places on the Web."


Brittany Fridenstine-Keefe pens and posts Empowering Thoughts for Dancers. She also chairs the Dancer Council of Dance/USA, the national service organization for nonprofit dance in America. Currently, she performs as a member of the American Repertory Ballet in New Jersey, and appeared last summer in a solo program in Germany and Italy. I have known Brittany and her husband, Matthew Keefe, for several years; both danced with James Sewell Ballet during my tenure as its executive director. Born in Idaho, Brittany grew up in Seattle where she studied dance at the School of the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Her performance credits include Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Ballet Memphis, and Minnesota Dance Theatre. Brittany has developed a dance therapy program for children with special needs and is certified in the GYROTONICS® exercise system.


Penelope Freeh has written Thoughts on Dance for three years, since January 2006. A native of Ohio, Penny started her dance studies at the Dayton Ballet before moving to New York City where she danced with several companies. She came to Minnesota in 1994 to join James Sewell Ballet, where she continues to perform and serves as artistic associate. As a choreographer, her work has been produced by the James Sewell Ballet, Minnesota Orchestra, Walker Art Center / Southern Theater, Weisman Art Museum, and Ballet Builders. Penny is the monthly dance writer for TC METRO magazine; she wrote a feature column for Dance Magazine in May 2008.


I have been aware of David Frum since his days as a special assistant and economics speechwriter to President George W. Bush in 2001-2002. During last fall's campaign, some members of the conservative movement branded him as a traitor and persona non grata for questioning the credentials of Sarah Palin and her fitness to serve as president. I wrote to David on Nov. 14, following his appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC:

For a few brief moments last evening, you and Rachel Maddow had very human and real conversation. You and I are not fellow travelers, politically, but I appreciated your quoting of Gandhi and planting a seed with Rachel – whose style I mostly enjoy – regardless of whatever combination of things motivated you. Thanks for making the appearance.

He replied to thank me, and I have since followed his writing. Regardless of the party in power, we need a strong, loyal opposition, one that is reasoned, principled, and civil. David's voice provides that on the new website he edits, NewMajority,com. The site is dedicated to the reform and renewal of the Republican Party and the conservative movement. I do not vouch for the other writers he features, nor do I share his objective of a new majority of the right, but he provides an intellectually honest discourse with his own words.


Born in Toronto, David earned BA and MA degrees from Yale and a law degree from Harvard, and became a naturalized U. S. citizen in 2007. He is a resident at the American Enterprise Institute, the author of six books, and a regular commentator on American Public Media's "Marketplace." Like me, he is a fan of Abraham Lincoln and American Civil War history. His wife, the author Danielle Crittenden, is a contributor to the HuffingtonPost.com. Here is an example of David's viewpoint from a recent post:

Today's Republican Party is an unhealthy and unhappy organization. ...Parties do not rebuild by shutting out their members – or engaging in tough guy talk when asked basic and obvious questions about past promises. They rebuild with transparency, responsiveness and competence. Let's have some, please.

I have known Nicholas Nash for many years through my work in Minnesota's arts community, and always have regarded him as what "they" used to call a "true gentleman and scholar." Like me, he has had more than one Scottish terrier in his life and household, and that is just the beginning of the good character traits of this self-described teacher, school administrator, professor, public radio program director and broadcaster, entrepreneur, and theater aficionado.


Educated at Harvard, Nick carries the title Le Grand Fromage at The Nash Company where his largest selling products include nose flutes and conducting batons. He is a man of character, conviction, and subtlety who maintains several blogs, including Hobbling Through The Zeitgeist, Islay The Scotty, and Thoughts While Shaving. Here is a sample of this Renaissance man's prose:

You should be willing to discover our own contemporary artists and composers with enough oomph so that whether their time comes now or not for another century and a half, they might believe that their commitment to their art will always have value.

"Mass" and "Missa Brevis" on Minnesota stages

Minneapolis, Minnesota


In the new year, Minnesota stages will feature two major musical works rooted in the liturgy of the Mass and themes about war. The Minnesota Orchestra will present Mass, A Theater Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers, at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, Jan. 22-23. Composed by Leonard Bernstein, the work received its first performance at the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Missa Brevis will take the stage of the Northrop Dance Series, Mar. 19. This modern dance classic, choreographed by José Limón, will feature members of the New York-based Limón Dance Company.


Read my Oct. 3 preview of both productions here.

Preview: Mass in times of war

Minneapolis, Minnesota


Minnesota audiences will be able to experience major musical works rooted in the liturgy of the Mass at least twice during the 2008-2009 performance season.


The more ambitious production will be that of the Minnesota Orchestra when it presents Mass, A Theater Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers, at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, Jan. 22-23. Composed by Leonard Bernstein at the request of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the work received its first performance at the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D. C., Sept. 8, 1971. Its antiwar theme contributed to a climate of controversy around its premiere. I followed news reports and gossip about the gala opening; although I resided in Washington at the time, my finances permitted entrance to the JFK Center only for free public tours.


Music Director Osmo Vanska will conduct the Minnesota performances which will feature 250 performers, including Raymond Ayers, baritone, as the celebrant, along with members of the Minnesota Chorale, Minnesota Boychoir, and James Sewell Ballet.


Owing to the work's scope and the expense of its production, Mass is performed rarely by professional orchestras. However, as 2008 marks the 90th anniversary of Bernstein's birth, Mass will be the centerpiece of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's current season with performances in Baltimore (Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Oct. 16-18), New York (Carnegie Hall, Oct. 24; United Palace Theater, Oct. 25), and Washington D. C. (JFK Center, Oct. 26).


Missa Brevis, a production on a smaller scale, will take the stage of the Northrop Dance Series, Mar. 19. This modern dance classic, choreographed by José Limón, is a 40-minute work for 22 dancers. It will feature members of the New York-based Limón Dance Company joined by eight students from the University of Minnesota's Dance Program. The Oratorio Society of Minnesota will perform the score by Zoltán Kodály.


As one of America's modern dance pioneers, Limón's force and presence as a dancer did much to establish a role for men in dance. Born in Mexico in 1908, he arrived in New York City in 1928 and soon began studies with Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. He founded The Jose Limón Dance Company in 1946, with Humphrey serving as artistic director until her death 12 years later. Limón also began teaching at The Juilliard School in 1951. His own death, from prostate cancer, came in 1972.


Limón's choreography has been noted for its dramatic expression, technical mastery, and its expansive, nuanced movement. Many of his works are considered classics of modern dance and continue to be studied and performed widely by students and professionals.


When the Limón Company toured Europe in 1957, sponsored by the U. S. State Department, Limón was impressed by his first-hand witness, particularly in Poland, to the widespread devastation, efforts to re-build, and the indomitable human spirit that marked the post-war era.


According to company program notes, the experience inspired him to create Missa Brevis as a memento to the cities destroyed during World War II and to the human qualities that compel the spirit to rise and survive after near destruction. The dance received its first performance at the Juilliard Dance Theater in New York, Apr. 11, 1958. Deborah Jowitt, the long-time dance writer and critic for The Village Voice, was an original cast member.


The music, Missa Brevis in Tempore Belli – "Short Mass in Time of War" – was completed by the Hungarian composer Kodály during the Siege of Budapest in the winter of 1944-1945, when he extended his original scoring for solo organ to include mixed chorus.


The University of Minnesota's Dance Program sponsors annual residencies by dance professionals to benefit its BA and BFA students. Underwritten by the Cowles Guest Artist Program, more than 120 people over the years have shared their knowledge and expertise with students as creators and repetiteurs of new and existing works.


Sarah Stackhouse, one of this year's five visiting artists, set Missa Brevis on 22 students in a residency that ended with an open rehearsal this week at the University's Barbara Barker Center for Dance. Stackhouse danced with the Limón company from 1958 to 1969, and has served on the faculties of The Juilliard School, the American Dance Festival, and the SUNY-Purchase Conservatory of Dance.


Introducing the open rehearsal, Carl Flink, chair, Department of Theatre Arts & Dance, said that Missa Brevis fills the "classic" slot in this year's repertoire of the University Dance Theatre. Flink, who danced with the Limón Company from 1992 to 1998, noted that the men and women are cast in a traditional structure, something that is rarely done at the university anymore.


In remarks, Stackhouse related that the objective for artists in the 1920s and 1930s was not necessarily great choreography but dealing with social movement issues. Although Missa Brevis follows the order of the Catholic Mass and Limón saw the work as his prayer for peace, it is not a religious piece, she said. "Although raised in Catholicism, he was what might be called a religious atheist."


At rise, 21 dancers stand clumped and motionless at center stage, hands joined. A male dancer, the outsider, stands downstage right. The group greets the music of the Kyrie with a gentle plié and tendu accompanied by a shifting of weight and opening to second position. At its end, the work returns to this same grouping and movement with the final "Amen."


Some of the imagery for the dance was unconventional, if not controversial, for 1958. A trio of women in the Sanctus section represented the Trinity, and a woman offered herself as the sacrifice for crucifixion in another. The latter, Stackhouse explained, represented Limón's mother who died while birthing her 12th child.


As a classic, Missa Brevis is great choreography that deals with social issues. It would be a good primer for those wanting to understand the antecedents of vocabulary, phrasing, patterns, and structures of contemporary dance in 2008. Flink observed that this dance uses time and space in a way that lacks the frenetic energy and tempo of life and dance today. Stackhouse agreed, noting the work's generosity, allowing the viewer to enter in, its use of space and time allowing for metaphor.


Auditions for entry into the University of Minnesota's BA and BFA programs in dance will be held at the Barbara Barker Center for Dance, 500 - 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis, Dec. 6 & Feb. 7. Information: 612.624.5060 or dance.umn.edu.

The University Dance Theatre will perform at the Whiting Proscenium Theatre, Rarig Center, Minneapolis West Bank Campus, Feb. 6-8. 612.624.2345 or www.theatre.umn.edu.

The Limón Dance Company and UDT will perform at Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis East Bank Campus, Mar. 19. 612.624.2345.

New York news at the weekend

New York, New York


Last night's James Sewell Ballet performance was one for the books. From beginning to end, one could hear a pin drop in the audience, so rapt was the attention. To my eye and ear, it was the best performance so far, and it was a gift to be among the spectators. Schoenberg even sounded like real music to me.


The usual physical pains aside, everyone remains in good health and spirits.


We continue to wait for the NY Times to retract the reviewer's statement that Emily lip-synched her song in "Opera Moves." The waiting has hung like a cloud in everyone's mind.


B (formerly with Ballet Arts Minnesota) was down from Boston Ballet and taught company class before Friday night's show. We also have seen many former JSB dancers, plus many friends and colleagues of long-standing.


One of many benefits of performing at the Joyce Theater is the infrequent opportunity to work with an organization that has determined what it takes to do things right, and then secures the capital to make it happen. Unlike so many of the venues with which we deal, this one expects excellence of itself and its people in every department. It is simply refreshing to deal with folks who do not accept mediocrity as good enough.


Except for rains that finally visited us all day on Friday, the weather this week has been great -- with this weekend the most glorious of all!


Did you know that a modest asking price for a modest 650 sq. foot studio apartment anywhere in Manhattan is $425,000?


From Minnesota we have seen W, H, F, and G, and (via Dusseldorf) M and M. Members of dancers' families have come in from Minnesota and Maryland.


We have 7th and 8th performances today, and will be home tomorrow.


See you in St. Paul next weekend! (Bring friends.)

At the Joyce Theater with James Sewell Ballet

New York, New York


After two glorious New York fall days of sunshine, light warm breezes, and only a few clouds, it seems we may enjoy today some of the rain and dark clouds that the midwest has had since the weekend.


Everyone is healthy and well. We arrived in Manhattan about 11pm Sunday night. Monday was taken up with technical load-in and spacing rehearsal, followed by a dancers' worklight rehearsal from 5-7pm.


Kevin Jones could teach lighting design and efficient theatrical and dance production. He is so well organized. The crew here had lights placed, color installed, lights focused, and cues run without dancers before 2pm on Monday. Quite an accomplishment compared to some of the disorganized companies we hear about.


Yesterday's dress rehearsal worked out all of the sound, light, and movement bugs.


The photo shoot progressed well with a number of movements and poses from the three ballets on the program. This photo call drew only three photogs, down from past years, and a sign of the changing times in the print press business -- plus, it's a very busy week in New York for dance and other things.


Our publicists, Ellen Jacobs Associates, are on the ball. From Paris (where she was several days last week) to Chicago (Monday this week) to New York, no one does it better than Ellen, in spite of all the changes in the p.r. business. JSB has worked with her since 2001, in spite of the journalistic changes, on the premise that you dance with those what brung ya.


Last night's opening house of 326 received the performance with lots of enthusiasm. We papered last night and tonight, after which we should be rolling for the rest of the run. I might add some papering for the Sunday matinee to maintain the audience energy level.


Former JSB dancers, M & B, took the train in from New Jersey and joined us briefly afterward. C, formerly of Jazzdance by Danny Buraczeski and now a professor in Pennsylvania, also made the scene.


Life at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (www.gts.edu) is relatively quiet, save for the morning jack-hammers for street construction outside. We do not lack for spiritual opportunities: morning and evening prayer daily at 8am and 5:30pm, plus mid-day sacramental services.


I understand we will get the A-List, with photo, in City Pages next Wednesday for our O'Shaughnessy season in St. Paul.