Minneapolis / St. Paul Blog

This weekend there are several notable winter solstice parties, performances, and events around town. The 414 Soundbar (414 3rd Ave. N., Minneapolis) will host one of the more promising ones.

When I first read dance writer Camille LeFevre's recent article on mnartists.org entitled "2008 Sage Awards (More Insidery Than Ever)," about the SAGE Awards, I was tempted to view it as simply a personal commentary on the dance community from someone who has been documenting it for many years. After further consideration, however, I feel compelled to write a response. The following is my own viewpoint; I do not represent the SAGE Awards administrators or panelists.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have served on the SAGE panel for the past two years and just rotated off. I provided the introduction at the recent awards program and helped create the marketing campaign. I also received $250 as an honorarium for serving on the panel. Membership on the panel is confidential during service although I'll admit, regrettably, that I've let my affiliation slip to some, including to Camille. Finally, I have engaged in many conversations with Camille over the years as fellow dance writers. It's a healthy, spirited, private discourse among colleagues. I'd like to make public this particular topic, however, in the spirit of respectful professional dialogue, because Camille has made some strong allegations in her article and seems to be inviting discussion.

Momentum: New Dance Works
Southern Theater
July 24-26
Thurs.-Sat. at 8pm
Post-show discussion each Friday
Review by Caroline Palmer

The Momentum: New Dance Works series co-presented by the Walker Art Center and the Southern Theater continues this week with choreographers Anna Marie Shogren and Eddie Oroyan sharing the bill. These artists have different approaches but both share a keen sense of timing, showcased well this weekend.

Shogren’s “La Brea” (nee “I’m a Jerk” or “Upstairs Bathroom”) sneaks up on you. It begins with Katie Rose McLaughlin in a cloak a lá the Grim Reaper or a druid in kneepads. She stutter-steps in the half-light, but soon she gets a groove on and Natalie Bogira joins in for a light run in place. The silence returns and McLaughlin is left staring, each eye made up with a black X. She’s still moving imperceptibly, mouthing words. This is where Shogren establishes her singular approach – long, semi-awkward moments of stillness or seemingly innocuous movements, like later when Bogira balances on two mattresses, dreamily biting a nail. Often the work seems more like an installation – time takes on a different quality here and no one’s in a rush to resolve anything.

Momentum: New Dance Works
Southern Theater
July 17-19 and July 24-26
Thurs.-Sat. at 8pm
Post-show discussion each Friday
Review by Caroline Palmer

It’s been a difficult week at the Southern Theater and probably few have felt the fallout of Jeff Bartlett’s sudden removal as artistic director more than Chris Schlicting, Maia Maiden and Ellena Schoop who share the bill this week in the Momentum: New Dance Works series, a co-production with the Walker Art Center – and had expected Bartlett to run the show. Schlicting expressed as much in a short “curtain speech.” He stood at the bottom of the aisle and calmly addressed the audience (which included several Southern board members), calling Bartlett “a dear friend” and adding, “A relationship with the Southern is a relationship with Jeff.” The week had been challenging, he concluded, and dedicated the evening to Bartlett.

By Caroline Palmer

The summer is never a quiet time for the arts community but it seems like the activity behind the scenes these days is just as dramatic as anything happening on stage or in the galleries. Theatre de la Jeune Lune announced it is going dark. Longtime Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program curator Stewart Turnquist abruptly resigned from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

And now Southern Theater Artistic Director Jeff Bartlett, on staff for over 30 years, is "technically on leave," according to board chair G. Bryan Fleming in a Star Tribune story on Wednesday. It appears that Bartlett may be out, completing a cycle of board and leadership changes over the past two years. The parties have assumed the usual legal positions, refusing to discuss the reason for Bartlett’s removal.

Dances at the Lake
Lake Harriet Rose Garden, July 11
Review by Caroline Palmer
Photos by James Tran

Friday evening in the Rose Garden by Lake Harriet was a study in contrasts. About 50 or so people sat on the lawn in front of a marked off area by the stump of a recently removed shade tree. As children tumbled in the grass, dancers warmed up in preparation for the seventh annual “Dances at the Lake 2008” presented by the Christopher Watson Dance Company (CWDC).