Two guys from St. Paul, singing dragons in Minneapolis, and a phoenix by the Cedar River

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Erik and Joe in Toronto

Apollo's Journey, the blogged story of Joe and Erik, two guys from St. Paul, Minnesota, began on June 7, 2011. Since then, the journey has taken them to the East Coast of the United States, north into Canada, west to the Pacific, and then south through Mexico and their present stop in Guatemala. You can subscribe here to follow their journey, stories, and photos through North and South America. 


It's the Year of the Dragon, and one of the most imaginative productions of the season is selling out 15 performances at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. "The Dragons Are Singing Tonight," created by TigerLion Arts, is the story of an ordinary boy, a magical girl, and a nasty, nasty dragon. 

Selling out 15 performances

The work is based on the dragon poems of Jack Prelutsky, U.S. Children's Poet Laureate, and brought to life with an original score by composer Laurie MacGregor, who spent part of her childhood in Wayzata, Minnesota. 


The collaborative production, directed by Markell Kiefer, features actor Isabella Dawis and 30 singers from the Minnesota Boychoir, three aerialists from Circus Juventas, and puppets large and small from Puppet Farm Arts.  


The show runs through February 12. Call for tickets (if any can be had): 612.343.3390.


Following performances at the Southern, more than 1,000 students in the Minneapolis and Robbinsdale school districts will participate in residency activities related to the production.


When the Cedar River crested at its highest flood level in history on June 13, 2008, its soggy destruction impacted 14% of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Its victims included the Legion Arts/CSPS Hall, located near the river in the city's New Bohemia neighborhood. 

The Cedar River flooded 14% of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in June 2008

Built by Czech immigrants in 1891, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the CSPS Hall had been the nerve center of a lively arts scene since 1991. In fact, the building had always been a multidisciplinary and multicultural center of activity long before the terms were invented, and before Legion Arts, led by John Herbert and Mel Andringa, dedicated the space to the creation and presentation of contemporary art.


Following an $8 million re-build, the CSPS Hall was re-opened in August 2011, representing a robust resurgence against daunting odds. 


On February 2, 2012, more pieces of the comeback fell into place with the announcement of three new commercial tenants that will occupy the building's ground floor: StudioU Photography, the Brewed Awakenings Coffeehouse, and New Bo Books. Rent from these tenants will help support the building's overhead.


Herbert, Legion Arts' executive director, and a frequent visitor to Twin Cities performance venues, was quoted by the Cedar Rapids Gazette as saying "We've gone from being a pretty small arts organization and a tenants [sic] ourselves to a pretty small arts organization that owns the building, so we've gone to quite a bit more responsibility."


Stop by to say 'hello' and take in a show whenever you are in the neighborhood. Or, plan a special trip with Cedar Rapids and Legion Arts as your destination!

"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.