James Sewell, whose ballet company will perform next season at the renovated Cowles Center in downtown Minneapolis. / Star Tribune photo by Tom Wallace
After all the years of waiting, the Cowles Center finally opens in September, and practically every dance troupe in the Twin Cities will be performing there, as the just-released list below shows.
The lineup represents an instant centralizing of dance, which in recent years has been staged at a variety of Twin Cities venues, including The O'Shaughnessy, the Southern, the Lab and the Ritz.
Scanning the schedule, we see very few of the larger Twin Cities-based companies NOT scheduled for one or in some cases two performance series at the Cowles Center in 2011-12. Only Ballet of the Dolls, with its home at the Ritz in northeast Minneapolis, is staying put.
While many shows in the 505-seat theater are scheduled for one weekend, larger troupes such as Zenon, Minnesota Dance Theater and James Sewell Ballet are booked for two weekends.
Also noteworthy: The season is given almost entirely to local troupes. Also, the only non-dance event on the entire schedule is Cantus, the male singing group.
The Cowles Center launches a new website for information and ticketing on May 16. See below for the complete schedule.
FULL SCHEDULE:
The Cowles Center for Dance and Performing Arts 2011/12 Season
