ARENA Dances

Mathew Janczewski seems to be feeling as light as lilac-scented spring air these days, and so it’s a natural time to premiere “Pop,” his latest effort for Arena Dances, performing this weekend at The Lab in Minneapolis. It’s a work focused on the joy of movement — specifically the sassy, sexy, funky kind — and his cast of 14 dancers show they are in the groove. -Review by Erik Saulitis, for the Star Tribune

Closing out ARENA Dances’ 13th Season in the Twin Cities, the company will perform POP at The LAB Theater (formerly the Guthrie Lab) May 14 – 17th, 2009 in the warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. POP begins with the 2003 Fringe Festival favorite, resonance, which creates surreal, sculptural movements against the background of Bjork’s innovative musical landscapes. The Star Tribune described resonance as: “music by Bjork that came close to transcendent. Intensely physical and abstract, and not altogether “nice,” the work was so rigorous it almost seemed metaphysical.” – Camille LeFevre

ARENA will close the show with the debut of the new work, POP, a collaboration combining dance and live music spun by DJ Alexander East of Minneapolis. The piece is pure fun, combining the music of DJ Alexander East with the dancers’ natural movements and instincts as the beats unfold. For this work, Artistic Director Mathew Janczewski is simply celebrating the joy of moving through space and the talents of the dancer’s abilities. “In creating this work, I wanted to bring out the dance party vibe that people have when they go out to a club. It’s all about how the music moves you and the intrinsic fun of music and dance.” The work will also be ARENA’s largest cast to date with a total of fourteen dancers; seven company members and seven company apprentices. Janczewski’s interest in having more dancers is to fulfill the music, but also begin to find and train new dancers to enter into the company.

The evening of dance will include the collaborative work of lighting designer Jeff Bartlett and costume design by Angie Vo.

Community Outreach: The matinee held on Friday May 15th will include a work created as part of the Minnesota Shubert Center’s Choreography Residency Partnership with 7th graders form the FAIR School in Crystal, MN, and will be attended by the rest of the middle school as well as by the Mainstreet High School of Performing Arts, Perpich Center for the Arts, and the Great River Montessori Grade School; approximately 200 students attending. The matinee will conclude with a question and answer session as well as dance classes taught at all schools.

“…ARENA Dances vividly reminds us what a versatile, intelligent and profoundly talented choreographer thrives in our midst.” – Camille LeFevre, Star Tribune

Listen to music samples used in “Pop”