MINNESOTA DANCE THEATRE ANNOUNCES 2007-2008 SEASON ON HENNEPIN AVENUE

Minnesota Dance Theatre (MDT), with over 40 years of tradition as the Twin Cities ballet company with an international repertoire, announces its 2007-2008 season on Hennepin Avenue at the Pantages and State Theatre, featuring dance that dares.  "We are privileged this season to explore a demanding and dazzling range of work spanning from as early as 1930 to that as yet un-birthed.  Getting into the hearts and minds of a variety of creative forces in the dance world continues to be our adventure."  -Lise Houlton, Artistic Director
 

Playin' at the Pantages

October 26– 28, 2007
The Pantages Theatre; 710 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis

MDT opens the season October 26 - 28, 2007 at the Pantages Theatre in downtown Minneapolis with a variety of repertory, featuring 293.6, Boccherini Dances, A Stair Dance, Façade, and the revival of a piece formerly known as Portrait Project.  This season, we revisit two ballets by MDT founder, Loyce Houlton: 293.6, to Anton Webern's 5 Movements for String Orchestra Op. 5, inspired by the July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the moon, and her more classical Boccherini Dances, created almost two decades later. 

In 1947 before she became “"Mrs. Houlton",” she was a renegade dance gypsy in New York City, running between classes of George Balanchine on the west side and Martha Graham on the east.  Inspired by the visionary dance energies of that era, it is significant for us to explore her challenging work. Eliot Feld's A Stair Dance was created in memory of the tap dancer, Gregory Hines, and ranges from the subtly sexy to the athletically ambitious, set to the music of composer, Steve Reich.  Façade, by Sir Frederick Ashton, is a sophisticated and witty piece of theatre to Sir William Walton's tongue-in-cheek score that captured the riotous mood of the 1920's. 

In 2001, Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith collaborated to create Portrait Project based on 3 former MDT dancers who had divergent paths.  We are now bringing their richly sensitive and timeless portrait of three dancers back to the stage. 

Season and single tickets are available now
 

Loyce Houlton’s Nutcracker Fantasy

December 20– 24, 2007
Special school performance December 20, 2007
The State Theatre; 805 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis

Minnesota's most treasured holiday event,” Loyce Houlton's Nutcracker Fantasy, goes on tour to the College of St. Benedict December 15 and returns to the State Theatre December 20-24 with two additional performances this year, including a Christmas Eve matinee for more opportunities to make this timeless treasure a holiday tradition.

While Nutcrackers abound at the holiday time, we are proud of our locally-produced, full-length, classical Nutcracker featuring a symphony orchestra conducted by Philip Brunelle, lavish costumes and sets and our resident company of dancers and MDT dance students based on the popular Nutcracker story, with ”beautifully crafted” choreography by Loyce Houlton.

This holiday event holds the distinction of being the longest running arts event in Minnesota history, having reached its 43rd year in 2004. Lise Houlton will direct the production which will feature over 70 dancers. More...

Season and single tickets are available now 

Orpheus and Euridice

April 18-20 & 25-27, 2008

Friday, Saturday 8 pm - Sunday 2 pm
The Pantages Theatre; 710 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis

Completing the 2007-2008 season, MDT returns to the Pantages Theatre April 18–20 and 25-27, 2008 with Nautilus MusicTheater for a production of Orpheus and Euridice, a modern-day adaptation of the classic Greek myth. Composed and written by Obie award-winning Ricky Ian Gordon (Grapes of Wrath), Orpheus and Euridice is choreographed by Cynthia Gutierrez-Garner, MDT’s first choreographer-in-residence from 2000-2002. It will be performed by soprano Norah Long, clarinetist Pat O’Keefe, pianist Mindy Eschedor, and MDT Company dancers.

Of the handful of young theatrical composers often designated as heirs to the musical legacy of Stephen Sondheim, one of the most talented is Ricky Ian Gordon. Gordon has been praised for the lyrical quality of his music and for bridging the worlds of theater and art song. In February 2007, Gordon's opera, The Grapes of Wrath, premiered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Season and single tickets are available now