Dancing
Ian Alexy – “Move Like Water” (Dance Version)
The new music video from Ian Alexy features a dance performance by Annika Danielson.
Video Archive: Bridge Dancing in 1994
Before the Doris Ressl Dance Ensemble launched the annual Dances on the Lakewalk series, its original site-specific event was set at the Aerial Lift Bridge. About 1,000 people gathered on Aug. 19 and 20, 1994, to view “Bridge Dancing,” a 23-minute piece created by Twin Cities choreographer Marylee Hardenbergh. The music was simulcast by KUMD-FM 103.3, now known as WDSE-FM “The North.” (more…)
Sadkin – “Saints of Catalina”
The new video for Sadkin‘s “Saints of Catalina” is a collaborative endeavor helmed by Henriette Blade, who conscripted a group of Duluth artists from a myriad of arts disciplines — actors, visual artists, ballet dancers and, of course, members of the band.
With this small legion of creators she directed, edited and produced a concept video loosely based on the classic dance performance and film Ballet of the Red Shoes, swathing it loosely to the song’s lyrics, which deal with unseen consciousness, the human experience and a struggling social morality all-but begging for a guiding light.
Explore Wisconsinbly w/ Mary Mack: Woodland Dance Troupe
Comedian Mary Mack chats with Becky Taylor, creator of the Woodland Dance Troupe in Hayward.
Emily Haavik – “Do You Think You Protect Me?”
Last year a small team of women in Duluth and Minneapolis, each from a different artistic discipline, received funding from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council to produce a multimedia piece drawing attention to the lack of safety for women and the need for accountability from men. The result is “Do You Think You Protect Me,” an original dance music video. (more…)
Video Archive: Tamburitzans in Lake Nebagamon
The Tamburitzans, the longest-running multicultural song and dance company in the United States, has rehearsed in Lake Nebagamon for its national tour since 1947. Mary Ellen Miller had the story for KBJR-TV in 1978 when the Tammies invaded the Lake Nebagamon Village Auditorium. (more…)
Video: Grace Holden dances with Lizzo on SNL
The second song by Minneapolis-based pop star Lizzo on Saturday Night Live, “Good as Hell,” featured Grace Holden of Duluth/Bemidji. Among the four dancers on the floor, she is third from the left in the opening minute, before the rotation.
The Definition of Love
Mikaela Sarran, public health education intern at the University of Minnesota Duluth, created this dance piece for the I Love You Institute. Her rhythm is kept by collaborators who answer the question, “How do you describe love?” (more…)
Video: Logan Moniot dances it up in the Greysolon Ballroom
Dancer Logan Moniot is featured in this video shot in Duluth’s Greysolon Ballroom by Jasper Meddock Productions. The song is “Bruises,” by Lewis Capaldi.
Duluth Dolls: Danie Jimenez
In this video produced by Illy Killy, Danie Jimenez of Duluth Dolls Burlesque & Cabaret performs during FeMN Fest 2018.
Duluth Dolls: Miss Tallulah Creant
In this video produced by Illy Killy, Miss Tallulah Creant of Duluth Dolls Burlesque & Cabaret performs at the Red Herring Lounge during last summer’s Super Big Block Party.
Selective Focus: Amber Burns
Amber Burns is a true advocate for the arts. She has worked as a dancer, choreographer, painter, teacher and is now Artistic Director of the Duluth Playhouse Family Theatre. This week she talks about her love of many types of expression, and how she builds the work of other people as well as the many disciplines of her own.
AB: When I think about my medium I more like to think about what I love to create, which is visual movement, whether it is through my choreography, directing, through sculpture or on a canvas. Sometimes my medium is paint and sometimes it is physical bodies. I am a dancer, actor, director, choreographer, and visual artist. When I was just three years old I started dancing at a studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota and when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I said, “I already am a dancer!” As I got older I developed passions for many other things, including drawing and painting. When it was time to pick a career and go to college I decided to b become an art teacher, and graduated from UMD in 2011 with a BFA in Art Education, all the while I was still dancing and teaching dance classes. At UMD I also received a minor in dance, and this is where I was introduced to the theater world.
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Selective Focus: Erin Tope
We kick off 2019 with a profile of dancer and choreographer Erin Tope, who as her stage persona Miss Tallulah Creant, keeps busy with the Duluth Dolls and other burlesque groups, is a member of the band Red Mountain, teaches, and works to make dance of all kinds more accessible to audiences and those interested in participating.
I am a dancer, choreographer, performer, and dance teacher. My mother was a dancer and dance teacher so she put me in creative movement classes at age three. By age six, I was in ballet at Minnesota School of Ballet here in Duluth. While at Minnesota Ballet I also studied Jazz and Modern dance. At age eight I started figure skating with Duluth Figure Skating Club and continued to competitively skate until age 16, when I was accepted into Perpich Center for Arts Education. There I finished my junior and senior year of high school in their Dance Department, studying Modern Dance, Ballet, Dance Composition and Dance History extensively. I moved back to Duluth after graduating and began Performing with Over The Top dance company, with a focus on Latin Ballroom Dance, mainly Salsa. With that group I was lucky enough to attend and perform at Chicago International Salsa Congress as well as learn the inner workings of producing shows. I learned most of my production, technical, and backstage lessons in those days and that has definitely shaped who I am and what I am capable of today. After the Director of Over The Top Dance moved to Minneapolis in 2011, I started dancing with Grace Holden and through her got connected with Rebecca Katz Harwood at UMD.
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Selective Focus: Laura Goodman and Karen Owsley Nease
On Oct. 19 and 20, Laura Goodman’s sensuous and powerful new ballet, “Curl, Uncurl and…” will be performed as part of the Minnesota Ballet’s fall performance, The Rite of Spring and Other Dances. Basing her choreography on the wave paintings of Karen Owsley Nease, Laura explores the elemental and generative forces depicted in Karen’s artwork. Karen’s paintings will be projected as the back drop during the performance.
On Friday, Oct. 26, 6 p.m., at Joseph Nease Gallery, Laura and Karen will present an artist’s talk discussing their work during a mini-exhibition of the paintings that were included in the performance. “Elemental Forces and Other Work” is the mini-exhibition of Karen’s paintings and will be on display from Oct. 19-27.
What was the origin of your collaboration?
Karen: Over dinner last year, Laura and I were discussing our respective work as artists, particularly her experience as a professional dancer and choreographer, which led me to suggest how cool it would be to have her “interpret” my wave paintings into motion.
Laura: Growing up in Duluth, Lake Superior has been a place for reflection and awe. It has been a backdrop that I have missed when living elsewhere. I first saw Karen’s wave paintings at her show “As Above, So Below” at the University of Wisconsin, Superior in 2017. The idea of choreographing a piece based on her paintings was exciting to me, and so I worked to find a way to do that. After a few conversations and studio visits with Karen, I approached Robert Gardner at the Minnesota Ballet. With his support of the project I applied and was awarded an Arrowhead Regional Arts Council (ARAC) Career Development grant. (more…)
Selective Focus: Naomi Christenson
Naomi Christenson dances, paints, designs and more. On July 13th and 14th, she’s dancing in Dances on the Lakewalk in Lake Place Park at 7 pm, an event organized by Doris Acosta of Freshwater Dance Collective. This week in Selective Focus, she tells about the event, and how her visual art and dancing abilities work together.
I work in a variety of mediums, from painting to fabric design to dancing. At the moment, I’m all about tap dancing! I’m not 100% clear how I first knew I wanted to tap, but I suspect it had something to do with watching someone else do it and thinking “That looks SO fun, I want to do it too!”. I’ve taken all kinds of technique classes in tap over the years, but only in the last few years have I worked on my own choreography in it. I think the more you create in any art form, the more you’re able to see your unique voice and style develop. I would say my tap style is playful and rhythmic. (more…)
Duluth dances the “Nelken” line
Responding to a worldwide call by the Pina Bausch Foundation, dancers from Duluth made a short video based on Bausch’s “Four Seasons” choreography from the 1982 piece Nelken. With just a few distinct gestures, the dancers describe the four seasons — spring, summer, autumn and winter. (more…)
Selective Focus: Brianna Hall
The Duluth Playhouse production of Cabaret opened at the Underground this week and runs through August 19th. For this installment of Selective Focus, we hear from Cabaret Choreographer Brianna Hall.
I am a dance artist and choreographer. For my current project Cabaret, I created jazz dance. Although this is my first time choreographing a full musical, I made my choreographic debut in musical theater with “The Wells Fargo Wagon” for my high school show choir. In college I earned a B.A. in dance where I studied modern dance performance and composition. To the uninitiated, imagine modern as a lot of artful running & falling followed by rolling around on the floor. (more…)
Reflectivore – “Ticonderoga” (Live at Homegrown 2017)
“Ticonderoga” is the opening track of Washburn-based Reflectivore‘s self-titled debut album. The band has worked with director by Kjell Kvanbeck of True Norse Films on several videos. The latest uses footage from a live performance at the Red Herring Lounge during the Homegrown Music Festival. It’s the band and director’s “introduction to the live show being a multimedia/multidisciplinary performance.”
A Spring Dance on the Pier in Duluth
Dancer Logan Moniot of Lake Nebagamon is featured in this new music video shot by Jasper Meddock Productions. The song is “Die Trying” by Michl. In the video, Moniot dances along the lighthouse pier in Duluth as if it’s not even cold out.
Latin Dance in Duluth
My girlfriend is new to Duluth and loves to dance. Are there any places that offer Latin Dance lessons or Latin Dance nights? Your suggestions are appreciated!
Behind the scenes at Sheila’s belly dance class
Students warm up their hips and arms, and stretch out their bodies to get ready for belly dancing.
This past Tuesday night women gathered in the Lotus Center to practice one of their passions, belly dancing. The Lotus Center is on the second floor of Global Village on West Superior Street.
The event began with instructor Sheila Matthews leading the women in a warm up to get their hips moving and muscles stretched. Mathews then practiced the basic moves with them, both with and without music. She then had the girls run through a couple of routines that she had choreographed to music. The event ended with a cool down in which every one could practice whatever they wanted to a Shakira song. (more…)
Behind the scenes at Salsa Night
Instructor Katie Kero demonstrates to the group the basic step of salsa.
When many people think of Valentine’s Day they think of a box of chocolates, flowers, dinner and maybe a movie. However, some people choose to do other things around the community such as learn to salsa.
Avalon Educational Institute located on W. Superior Street hosted Valentine’s Day salsa night.
“It might make one person’s Valentine’s Day and that is worth it,” said Executive Director and founder of the institute, Justin Markus. (more…)
Evening with the Stars?
Hey did anyone ever go to WDIO’s Evening with the Stars in the past couple years? I think the first year was in Greysolon and then it got so big that they moved it to the DECC. It was kind of a spin off of the ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. I haven’t heard an announcement about it this year. Last year it was held on Oct. 18.
I guess all good things come to an end. Sigh. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, the event had a big band as well as some other local musicians, with lots of great dancing, a fun night of dressing up, free food, and vendors to check out and play games, etc. My wife and I really enjoyed attending it. We’re sad to see that it doesn’t seem to exist this year.
Looking for dancers
I’m mustering a group of 12 or more dancers for a New-England Contra workshop on Tuesday evenings in March.