Performances and Events

The CANDY BOX Dance Festival is a week-long dynamic sampling of featured performances, master classes, and in-progress showings, hosted by ARENA DANCES and presented April 23-26 at The Southern Theater. The CANDY BOX Dance Festival features both emerging and established choreographers, Happy Hour work-in-progress performances, and master class offerings. Tickets are on sale now with prices from $10-$27.

Featured Artists Performances: April 24-26, 7:30pm and April 26, 2:00pm
Doma Dance Theater
Flying Foot Forum
Cheng “Technica” Xiong
Featured Artists Tickets; Saturday’s matinee is pay-as-able.

Happy Hour Artists Showings: April 23-25, 5:30pm
Wednesday – Yukina Sato
Thursday – Nieya Amezquita and Kaitlyn Hawkins
Friday – Nervous Theatre
Happy Hour Tickets

Master Classes: April 23-25, 4:00pm
Wednesday – Joe Chvala of Flying Foot Forum
Thursday – Cheng “Technica” Xiong
Friday – Connor Berkompas of NERVOUS THEATRE
Master Class Tickets

A very special thanks to our sponsors: Sher Demeter and City of Minneapolis Arts and Cultural Affairs Department – Cultural District Arts Fund Initiative.

Join us in the spring of 2025 as TU Dance celebrates its 20th anniversary and marks this significant milestone by featuring the works of prominent and renowned African American choreographers who have been supportive and connected to TU Dance since its inception.

Works will include Alvin Ailey’s Witness, an excerpt from Ronald K. Brown’s Four Corners, Alonzo King’s MA (duet from Who Dressed You Like A Foreigner?), and an excerpt from Camille A. Brown’s New Second Line and Yusha-Marie Sorzano’s recently premiered work This World Anew, commissioned as part of the Edges of Ailey exhibition at the Whitney Museum. TU Dance is deeply honored to share works by makers that have contributed so richly to the American dance landscape through their multidimensional perspectives while voicing the shared human experience, which has been core to our own twenty-year history.

Thursday, April 24 at 10:30am – Educational Performance
Friday, April 25 at 7:30pm
Saturday, April 26 at 7:30pm

Tickets can be purchased online or by contacting The O’Shaughnessy Ticket Office at 651-690-6700.

Barátok Belly Dance Company proudly presents the 3rd Annual Festival of Friends Show and Artisan Market! Join us for an evening of exceptional entertainment: music, dance, comedy, and danger all in one show. You won’t want to miss some of Minnesota’s top performing groups showcasing their talents all on one stage at the beautiful LUSH Lounge and Theater in Northeast Minneapolis.

Hosted by Barátok Belly Dance Company featuring The Naughty Bawdy Brigade, The Dregs and Kazimir The Hungry.

Saturday, April 26 at 7:00pm — doors open at 6:00pm

The Twin Cities Flamenco Collective presents a vibrant show, Feria de Abril, featuring performances by Twin Cities talents and a lively Sevillanas dance party. Experience the passion and energy of flamenco music and dance in this engaging celebration of Andalusian culture. All are invited to join in festive Flamenco attire and learn Sevillanas dance!

April 27 at 5:00pm
At Icehouse MPLS
Tickets: $15 in advance (+taxes/fees), $22 day of show (+taxes)

Peformers: Anda Flamenco, Bobby “El Eléctrico,” Jeff Lambert, La Amistad, La Bárbara, Sachiko “La Chayí” Flamenco Dance School, Twin Cities Flamenco Collective, Zorongo Flamenco Student Performance Company, and more.

The Twin Cities Flamenco Collective is a dynamic group of Flamenco artists dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich art of flamenco in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. Through performances, education, and community outreach, the collective brings the passion, rhythm, and soul of flamenco to diverse audiences and participants. Comprising skilled dancers and musicians, the members and their guests collaborate to create vibrant and authentic flamenco experiences. Their mission is to foster appreciation for this art and culture from Andalusia, Spain, while building a supportive local community for flamenco artists and aficionados alike. For more information, visit our Facebook.

Get ready to dance, compete, and win big at GIDO 2025!

Sunday, April 27, 1:00–5:00pm
Mall of America, Huntington Bank Rotunda

Calling all dancers! Whether you’re a seasoned performer or someone who just loves to move, The Great Indian Dance Off (GIDO) is back and bigger than ever—and you could walk away with up to $3,000 in prize money!

What’s GIDO?
Hosted by South Asian Arts and Theater House (SAATH), GIDO is a high-energy, bracket-style dance competition where teams battle it out in rapid-fire, 30-second rounds. Any dance style is welcome—just make sure it’s set to an Indian song!

Why You Should Join:
$3,000+ in prizes!
1st Place: $1,500
2nd Place: $1,000
3rd Place: $500
Two Audience Favorites: $250 each

Register your team today!
Teams can include up to 5 members.
Open to all ages, genders, ethnicities, and dance styles.
Only $25 per team to register (financial waivers available).

Questions? Email us at info@saathmn.org.

Share with your friends! Bring your squad, bring the heat, and bust out those dance moves! Rally your pals and become their biggest cheerleader at the epic dance-off!

Witness the artistry and dedication of the dance faculty, guest artists, and students through original choreography and the culmination of an entire semester’s worth of work. Multiple dance styles will be presented that range from contemporary dance to urban dance.

Performances
Thursday, May 1 at 7:30pm
Friday, May 2 at 7:30pm
Saturday, May 3 at 2:00pm

Threads Dance Project proudly continues its tradition of amplifying new choreographic voices with Tapestries 9.0, a program highlighting emerging choreographers. This year’s production features original works by Colin Edwards, Rachel Lieberman, and Hannah MacKenzie-Margulies, alongside repertory by Artistic Director Karen L. Charles.

The program includes excerpts from Let America Be America, Charles’ powerful work inspired by the chant “Make America Great Again” and the reality that America has never been great for everyone. Through spoken word and dance vignettes, the piece highlights the joys and struggles of “the America that is” and “the America that could be.”

About the Tapestries 9.0 selected works:

• Colin Edwards explores the manifestation of unity and the circadian rhythms of sisterhood, revealing the ebb and flow of connection through the contrasts of night and day.
• Rachel Lieberman is trying to make sense of time. Collaging text, textile, movement memories, griefs, and missing pieces, she is asking everybody: how did I get here, and where are we?
• Hannah MacKenzie-Margulies indulges in millennial nostalgia, reflecting on memories that refuse to fade and futures that failed to materialize, set to a soundtrack of high school anthems resuscitated from home-burned CDs.

Friday, May 2 at 7:30pm
Saturday, May 3 at 7:30pm
Sunday, May 4 at 2:00pm
Tickets: $30 for General Admission, $25 for Seniors, and $22 for Students

We invite you to witness the Young Dance company explore Inner Connectivity, Outer Expressivity, a concept drawn from the work of Rudolf Laban and Irmgard Bartenieff, onstage May 9-11 at Luminary Arts Center.

This collection of dance works explores the vital link between our inner world—thoughts and feelings—and physical expression. By cultivating this inner harmony, we unlock greater ease and authenticity in communicating ourselves to the world.

The performance features work by guest choreographers Lainey Lee, Gretchen Pick, Judee Shuǐ Xiān, and Laurie Van Wieren. Dancers from Young Dance’s All Abilities Dancing 2, Breaking 2, Hip Hop 2, Modern 4, and Choreography classes will also present work on this program.

Performances:
Friday, May 9 at 7:00pm — audio described
Saturday, May 10 at 7:00pm — ASL interpreted
Sunday, May 11 at 5:00pm

The Young Dance company is a group of passionate dancers committed to exploring themselves and their world through dance. Dancers ages 7-18 work with professional artists to investigate and collaborate on choreography related to the year’s theme and present their work in a high-quality, innovative performance.

ORACLE is an awe-inspiring outdoor theatrical experience transporting audiences to a realm where nature, myth, and art collide. Experience the myth and majesty of Ancient Greece as critically acclaimed Vox Medusa, in collaboration with Infiammati FireCircus, ignites the stage this May with ORACLE! This mesmerizing fusion of mythology, dance, music, theatre and fire performance is set against the enchanting backdrop of Caponi Art Park’s Theater in the Woods.

ORACLE is a stunning outdoor theatrical experience, blending haunting electronic music, riveting contemporary dance, electrifying breakdance, soul-stirring choral arrangements, vibrant light design, and heart-pounding fire performance. This outdoor spectacle revives the ancient traditions of the Oracle of Delphi through six spellbinding performances, created by a stunningly talented 28-member ensemble​, where every moment unfolds under a canopy of lush trees.

Rediscover the Oracle’s tale through a modern lens, as ORACLE reimagines the story of Delphi’s High Priestess on the fateful day Apollo lays siege to her temple. The Oracle’s voice, once a channel of wisdom and prophecy from Mother Earth (Gaea), is challenged by Apollo’s ambition. This epic tale, told from the Oracle’s perspective, follows her courageous fight to preserve her power, her legacy, and her role as a symbol of feminine strength.

Do you have a burning question for the Oracle? Your questions may be drawn by the Oracle and included in the show! Audience members may also create an offering of what they wish to let go of. These offerings will be burned by the Priestesses during the performance.

For 30 years Vox Medusa continues to find an endless well of inspiration from feminist mythology, in both muse of creativity and mission to bring awareness to domestic violence and assault. All survivors of Domestic Violence and or Assault  and those who have benefited from Minnesota women’s shelters, please contact Vox Medusa at voxmedusadance@gmail.com for a VIP experience at ORACLE.

ORACLE is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Keane is excited to present Dancing Through Difficult Times (Signatures), a National Tap Dance Day celebration, on Sunday, May 25 from 2:00-5:00pm. Our mission is to elevate the art of American Tap Dance.

All Keane classes have the option to perform. Costumes are at the artful whim of the instructor and will be sent to you prior to the event.

This show is free to the public. Food and beverages available for purchase at the Dock & Paddle dining area. Raffle tickets for dancer swag available in the coming week and helps fund our outreach program.

Workshops Saturday, May 24 and Sunday, May 25 with Acia Gray, Aleksandr Ostanin, and Jensen Freedman.