St. Paul Ballet – Welcome Spring! 2023 Annual Showcase
Approximate run time is 90 minutes with a fifteen minute intermission. Welcome Spring! Celebrates the rich emotion and exuberance of St. Paul Ballet’s student dancers. Audiences will ride the surging emotions of the music together with the dancers in this perfect blend of classics and original work created specifically for them.The annual showcase highlights the talent in the School, from young students beginning their training to advanced students on the verge of professional dance careers. The younger dancers explore movement inspired by famous artwork with choreography by teaching artists, Christina Onusko, Alejandra Iannone, Aloe Lui, Jennifer Mack, Hannah Pierce, and Siri Drontle with musician John Banks and lighting by Kevin Jones.Performances by the upper-level dancers feature premieres by Penelope Freeh and Sean Scantlebary and timeless excerpts from the fantasy worlds of Le Corsaire and Don Quixote staged by Helen Hatch. Penelope Freeh, a McKnight Artist, creates along with the dancers to develop their own voices during her year-long composition classes. Sean Scantlebary is a performer and choreographer. He danced with Eliot Feld in New York for ten years. Helen Hatch has had a busy year producing and performing in work for her own company, Hatch Dance as well as teaching year-round for St. Paul Ballet. She is fresh off a retrospective celebrating five years of her choreographic works at the Cowles Center.We invite you to join us for the annual spring performances and be introduced to the highly skilled dancers of the future. Nothing matches the boundless passion of young talent in live theater. Don’t miss this!
DNA – in the Frey Theater
This performance runs approx. 60 minutes with no intermission. DNA is a one-act play being directed, performed, and designed by the St. Kate’s students of Dew Drop Drama Company, produced in collaboration with The O’Shaughnessy. The script, written by Dennis Kelly, starts when Mark and Jan who, in “just having a laugh”, cause Adam to fall by the grille and go missing – and they think he’s dead. The teens and their friends struggle with what to do, when Phil, an otherwise quiet and emotionless guy, devises a complicated plan to throw the police and public off their scent. However, their plan goes awry, and they accidentally frame an innocent mailman for the crime. The further they go to cover up their actions, the greater the strain on the group. The friends struggle over what’s more important: self preservation or truth and justice? The tone of the show mixes dark comedy and drama, and it includes strong language, mature themes (described and dramatized violence, described sexual harassment, drug use) and potential mild blood. DNA is appropriate for older audiences, roughly teen through adult.
Out on a Limb Dance Theater Company – The Tails and Tales of Dr. Dolittle
Approximate run time is 80 minutes with an additional 15 minute intermission.The Tails and Tales of Dr. Dolittle is a fun and touching tribute to one of literature’s most beloved characters. Once a famous doctor who gives up on treating humans when he doubts his ability to cure the sick, he finds new purpose for his talent when he discovers that it is possible to communicate with the animals in their unique languages. His unique skill is celebrated by many, thought to be crazy by some, but in the end, he learns that if he remains disconnected from humans, humans will in turn become disconnected from each other resulting in a sad future indeed. The importance of connectivity becomes the major thread that weaves our story together.
Out on a Limb Dance Theater Company – The Tails and Tales of Dr. Dolittle
Approximate run time is 80 minutes with an additional 15 minute intermission.The Tails and Tales of Dr. Dolittle is a fun and touching tribute to one of literature’s most beloved characters. Once a famous doctor who gives up on treating humans when he doubts his ability to cure the sick, he finds new purpose for his talent when he discovers that it is possible to communicate with the animals in their unique languages. His unique skill is celebrated by many, thought to be crazy by some, but in the end, he learns that if he remains disconnected from humans, humans will in turn become disconnected from each other resulting in a sad future indeed. The importance of connectivity becomes the major thread that weaves our story together.
Lavadeiras – in the Frey Theater
This performance runs approx. 55 minutes with no intermission. Contempo Physical Dance presents the premiere of “Lavadeiras,” a new full-length work choreographed by Marciano Silva dos Santos inspired by the Afro-Brazilian washerwomen of Brazil. With original music composition by Divan Gattamorta who utilizes audio by documentarian Edileuza Penha de Souza, this work is inspired by the music and dance that has been passed down for centuries. Their history begins with slave women who earned money for their masters by washing clothes in the rivers. While doing so they sang and danced to keep their spirits joyful despite hard work. These women held on to enough profits to eventually free themselves and their families. Our world is filled with uncertainty and hardship. More than ever, we need to come together and be unified and the washerwomen inspire this, making it undeniable that we need music, dance and human connection.
Lavadeiras – in the Frey Theater
This performance runs approx. 55 minutes with no intermission. Contempo Physical Dance presents the premiere of “Lavadeiras,” a new full-length work choreographed by Marciano Silva dos Santos inspired by the Afro-Brazilian washerwomen of Brazil. With original music composition by Divan Gattamorta who utilizes audio by documentarian Edileuza Penha de Souza, this work is inspired by the music and dance that has been passed down for centuries. Their history begins with slave women who earned money for their masters by washing clothes in the rivers. While doing so they sang and danced to keep their spirits joyful despite hard work. These women held on to enough profits to eventually free themselves and their families. Our world is filled with uncertainty and hardship. More than ever, we need to come together and be unified and the washerwomen inspire this, making it undeniable that we need music, dance and human connection.
THURSDAY PM Minnesota State High School One Act Play Festival
Please Note: Tickets are $15 for admission to the morning program and may be purchased online, or at the O’Shaughnessy ticket office or over the phone at 651.690.6700. Daily wristbands are available in person, at the door only, for $19 and grant access for both the morning and afternoon session.The MSHSL State One Act Play Festival brings together the champions from each geographical region to showcase one act plays from high schools around the state.
FRIDAY PM Minnesota State High School One Act Play Festival
Please Note: Tickets are $15 for admission to the morning program and may be purchased online, or at the O’Shaughnessy ticket office or over the phone at 651.690.6700. Daily wristbands are available in person, at the door only, for $19 and grant access for both the morning and afternoon session.The MSHSL State One Act Play Festival brings together the champions from each geographical region to showcase one act plays from high schools around the state.
THURSDAY AM Minnesota State High School One Act Play Festival
Please Note: Tickets are $15 for admission to the morning program and may be purchased online, or at the O’Shaughnessy ticket office or over the phone at 651.690.6700. Daily wristbands are available in person, at the door only, for $19 and grant access for both the morning and afternoon session.The MSHSL State One Act Play Festival brings together the champions from each geographical region to showcase one act plays from high schools around the state.
FRIDAY AM Minnesota State High School One Act Play Festival
Please Note: Tickets are $15 for admission to the morning program and may be purchased online, or at the O’Shaughnessy ticket office or over the phone at 651.690.6700. Daily wristbands are available in person, at the door only, for $19 and grant access for both the morning and afternoon session.The MSHSL State One Act Play Festival brings together the champions from each geographical region to showcase one act plays from high schools around the state.