STUDIO STORIES: REMINISCING ON TWIN CITIES DANCE HISTORY

Rosy Simas is a transdisciplinary artist who historically has presented work as a choreographer.  Simas is Haudenosaunee, enrolled Seneca, Heron Clan. “The culture, history, and identity stored in my body is the underpinning of all my artwork. Creating is a spiritual act for me, rooted in nature, formed through my link to my ancestors and the land of which we are made.”  Simas’ projects merge deco...

Erin Thompson's performance career began as a member of the Minnesota Dance Theatre in 1970. She was with that company for ten years, performing in such venues as Northrop Auditorium, O'Shaughnessy Auditorium and the The State Theater in the Twin Cities, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts and in Spoleto, Italy. She danced for a year in Montreal with jazz choreographer Pe...

Danny Buraczeski, is Professor Emeritus of Dance at Southern Methodist  University. At SMU, he taught classic jazz dance technique, composition and choreography. A classic jazz stylist for over three decades, his work has traced a clear and deep investigation of jazz, its sources and its ongoing evolution. After a career on Broadway appearing in such musicals as MAME with Angela Lansbury and THE A...

Since 2000, Morgan Thorson has generated a body of work that investigates the conventions of western concert dance through interdisciplinary collaboration. Engaged in critical dialogue with the form, and inspired by a topic, physical process or point of view, her work honors the body as a complex means of expression as it relates to the site in which it is situated. For Morgan, dancing provides co...

I am Kenna-Camara Cottman, also known as Mx. Kenna, I am living my best life as an educator creating affirming spaces for Black children to thrive.  I have been on my path of becoming a master educator for over 25 years.  I currently teach at Bright Water Montessori School, TU Dance Center, and Voice of Culture Drum and Dance.  I have done the work to be in my body, and I have the privilege of dan...

Caroline Palmer is a freelance arts writer. She began writing in New York City at Paper Magazine and also contributed to American Theater and Movement Research Journal. After moving to Minnesota she contributed to City Pages and Star Tribune for several years before starting work on book about the history of dance in the Twin Cities. She has also written a blog, Big Dance Town.