STUDIO STORIES: REMINISCING ON TWIN CITIES DANCE HISTORY

Mathew Janczewski’s inquisitive, immersive and heartfelt approach to contemporary dance reaches beyond the surface and holds the viewer in its embrace. With over 40 works in his repertoire and more than two decades of experience as a choreographer, Mathew has cultivated a highly diverse and personalized style of movement. Increasingly, his performances explore pressing social issues, providing a p...

Cheng Xiong is a local artist, teacher, and community leader. Xiong grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota and received his Bachelors of Art in Dance at the University of Minnesota. Though he began his journey as a street dancer, through his studies, he was able to broaden to different styles and professional skills. Xiong is also a Hmong dance artist/researcher who is among the first in Minnesota to fuse...

Joe Chvala (Artistic Director/Flying Foot Forum) is the founder and artistic director of the highly-acclaimed percussive dance company, the Flying Foot Forum. In addition to the Flying Foot Forum, Chvala has directed, choreographed, and been commissioned to create new works for a variety of theater and dance companies including the Guthrie Theater, the Walker Art Center, the Ordway Music Theater,...

Under the direction of Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Doma Dance Theater creates dance works for the stage and screen that explore the body as a tangible site of culture.  Doma, the Carpatho-Rusyn word for “at home,” cultivates a sense of belonging, curiosity, and exuberant self-expression for its performers and audiences. Doma’s cross-cultural approach creates powerful contemporary dance works that examin...

NERVOUS THEATRE is a nomadic theatrical collective creating ensemble-driven productions. Their work celebrates and exploits the ‘liveness’ of theatre for all its physical and communal possibilities. Founded by artistic director Connor Berkompas, NERVOUS THEATRE has been hailed as "Ambitious and Fabulous" by The San Diego Reader and recognized as "an electrifying company to keep a cl...

Dive into a world devoid of time that witnesses two people attempt to navigate their relationship while questioning their boundaries, perceptions of reality, and conflict resolution skills within the confined space of a growing cardboard set.  Nieya Amezquita is a Minnesota-based artist currently working with Threads Dance Project, Rhythmically Speaking, Elayna Waxse Movement Projects and eMartin...

Yukina Sato is a Japanese dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker whose work explores the dynamic interplay of movement, identity, and culture. Her artistic practice delves into the liminal space of hybridity, capturing the unique experiences of living between two countries and navigating overlapping cultural landscapes. Yukina has collaborated with acclaimed performing artists and companies, includi...

Marge Maddux was born on December 28, 1944 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She graduated from Oak Hills High School in 1962 following a successful stint as a baton twirler and majorette. She graduated from Denison University in Granville Ohio in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1968 with a Master of Arts degree, following her studies under Bessie Schoenberg. S...

Jennifer Glaws is an artist who makes body-based work, who believes in elevating a deep-rooted felt experience for the audience, performer, and participant with the presentation of her work. She probes the physical psychology of SPACE and EFFORT, scrutinizing these elemental contemporary dance themes to recognize human and humane connection, time, push the proscenium, and inspire inquiry. Jennifer...

Nancy J. Duncan has had an eclectic career spanning over 50 years of experience in the performing arts as a dancer, educator, producing director, manager, and arts management consultant. Nancy’s dance training started under Nevorah Adams in South Dakota and it was through Nevorah’s hosting of a summer dance residency taught by Loyce Houlton and two of her dancers, Frances Machala and David Voss, t...

Susan Delattre was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She graduated from Barnard College and earned an MFA in Dance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She continued in the academic world teaching in the University of Minnesota’s Dance Program. As a member of the Minnesota Independent Choreographer’s Alliance, she choreographed and produced dance pieces, including a solo evening and...

Justin Leaf is a Minneapolis-based ballet teacher, choreographer, and performance artist whose multifaceted career spans over two decades. A graduate of The Juilliard School with a BFA in Dance Performance, Justin’s training also includes The Kirov Academy, School of American Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. As a dancer, Justin was a company member with James Sewell Ballet and Minnesot...

Scott Killian has composed scores for Zvi Gotheiner (over 30 works), Shapiro & Smith Dance, Cherylyn Lavagnino, David Dorfman, Susan Marshall, Ralph Lemon, Bebe Miller, Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis. His works have been performed with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Limon Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, PACT Dance (South Africa), et al. Venues include The Joyce Theater, Linc...

Born in Chicago, Wendy began dancing with nuns who taught from ballet records.  Her vast experiences in dance crossed the country from UCLA to Colorado College to NYU and landed her in Minnesota where she taught at Carleton College and served as a Roster Artist for the Minnesota State Arts Board, teaching in hundreds of schools across the state. Always a fighter and an advocate for a better tomorr...

Sarah McCullough (she/her) is a Minneapolis-based movement enthusiast, freelance performer, yoga practitioner/teacher, and educator in contemporary forms. Originally from Virginia, she attended James Madison University as a Madison Achievement Scholar, and earned her BA in Dance and Mathematics. As a student, she performed works by Doug Varone, Netta Yerushalmy, Christopher K. Morgan, Rubén Gracia...

Ruby Josephine Smith is a contemporary dance artist, choreographer, and founder of new company Ruby Josephine Dance Theater (RJDT). She is passionate about movement as a form of emotional expression, story-telling, and language. This passion was molded from having two artist parents, getting involved in both theater  and contemporary dance in her early years, and by her unconventional dance traini...

Brenna Mosser (she/her) is a dance artist based in Minneapolis, MN. She seeks to illuminate the awe in her surroundings by sculpting falls, stumbles, and asymmetries gracefully. She spent two years in the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa, where she faced the reality of climate change and has since dedicated her work to dissect and digest this crisis with her community. She earned her bache...

Elayna Waxse (she/they) is a St. Paul-based choreographer, dance educator, and performer who prioritizes emotional attunement, identity and risk taking in their work. They facilitate an environment of empathy, compassion and witnessing in which artists feel empowered to bring their full social and cultural identity to the work. Elayna has been commissioned by Minnesota Dance Theatre, University of...

Javan Mngrezzo(he/him) is a dance creator, instructor, and performer – in that order. He relocated to Minnesota in 2021 by way of Portland, OR. Oregon was his second home state, after CA, where he graduated from Western Oregon University in three years, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science in Dance and Sociology. As a creator: past credits include AMEZ Dance, James Sewell Ballet, and Minnes...

Lily Conforti is a performer, choreographer, and dance teacher from the Twin Cities. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with degrees in dance and physiology in May 2021. She is interested in articulation of movement with music, and creating multimedia dance works that are new and exciting for audience members. Lily is the founder and choreographer for Corpus Dance Works. She started th...

Nieya Amezquita is a Minnesota-based professional dancer working with Threads Dance Project and Rhythmically Speaking. She has also performed works with Concerto Dance, Alexandra Bodnarchuk Dance Projects and many others. Nieya earned a BFA in Dance from the University of Georgia. There she had the opportunity to perform nationally and internationally with founding company CADE:NCE before studying...

Alexandra Bodnarchuk is a Carpatho-Rusyn American choreographer and cultural activist based in Minneapolis, MN. As the Artistic Director and choreographer for Doma Dance Theater, Bodnarchuk creates original works for the stage and screen that draw together her ethnic heritage with contemporary movement practices. Centering the body as a tangible site of culture, Bodnarchuk explores questions of se...

Cheng Xiong is a local Hmong dance artist, choreographer, teacher, and community leader. Xiong was born in a refugee camp in Thailand, sponsored by family in the United States, and moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. Xiong started picking up Hip Hop dance, particularly Break(dance)ing, through family and friends. With his journey as a street dancer, he continued his studies in dance at the University of...

Born and raised in Minneapolis Minnesota, Jake is a teacher and performing artist in the Twin Cities. Having danced since the age of three, and being trained in tap dance, ballroom dance, jazz dance, modern dance, as well as having an interest in physical therapy and yoga, Jake graduated from St. Olaf College with a BFA in Dance and Exercise Science. Alongside being a company member of Black Label...

Julie Kerr-Berry retired in 2023 after 35 years at Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSUM). In 2020, she became chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance. Throughout her tenure, she helped to build multiple degrees in Dance. Julie is Editor Emerita of the Journal of Dance Education. Her scholarly publications focus on the intersections of dance, race, and history specific to whiteness. Rec...