Contact: Dana Munson

612.206.3630

dmunson@thecowlescenter.org

Minneapolis, Aug. 24, 2015 – Launched in the fall of 2014, The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts’ participatory lecture and panel series,Minnesota Dance and the Ecstasies of Influences, continues with its focus on the artist’s influence as a way to begin unraveling the histories that are part of the Twin Cities dance communities. Previously, parts 1 through 4 documented local stories around contact improvisation, performance spaces, pioneering dance educators, and works in progress platforms. This season we will discuss the history of tap in the Twin Cities, performing outdoor dances in nature, dance journalism, and remounting important choreography from the past.

The first segment of the season, History of Tap Dance in the Twin Cities, will be held on September 20 inside the U.S. Bank Atrium at The Cowles Center. Speakers will include Rick Ausland, Joe Chvala, Ellen Keane, Kaleena Miller, Beth Sartor Obermeyer, Char Weiss, Cathy Wind, with special guests. In anticipation of the upcoming inaugural Twin Cities Tap Festival in October, tap artists will come together to share stories and celebrate what has made Minnesota a rhythmically diverse dance community.

This series is curated by Michèle Steinwald for The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts, in partnership with Judith Brin Ingber, choreographer and writer; Cecily Marcus, curator of the Performing Arts Archives at the University of Minnesota Libraries; Nancy Mason Hauser, videographer, and Linda Shapiro, choreographer and writer, founders of the Minnesota Dance Pioneers Oral History Project.

All lectures in the series are free, open to the public, and held inside the U.S. Bank Atrium at The Cowles Center unless otherwise noted.

About The Cowles Center

The Cowles Center for Dance & The Performing Arts is the Twin Cities’ flagship for dance in Minnesota. Centrally located in downtown Minneapolis, The Cowles Center includes the refurbished 500-seat Goodale Theater; the former Hennepin Center for the Arts, home to 20 leading dance and performing arts organizations; the state-of-the-art Target Education Studio, housing The Cowles Center’s innovative distance learning program; and the U.S. Bank Atrium. The Cowles Center is a catalyst for the creation, presentation, education, enjoyment and celebration of dance and the performing arts in the Twin Cities.

2015-16 Lecture Series

Part 5: History of Tap in the Twin Cities (in partnership with Twin Cities Tap Festival)

Sunday, September 20th from 2-4pm

Part 6: Outdoor Dances

Sunday, January 10th from 2-4pm

Part 7: Covering Dance

Sunday, April 10th from 2-4pm

Part 8: Recovering Dance

Sunday, June 12 from 2-4pm