Reminiscing on Twin Cities Dance History
Stories are among our most potent tools. We need to unearth old stories that live in a place and begin to create new ones. We are story makers, not just story tellers. All stories are connected, new ones woven from threads of the old. (Paraphrased – Robin Wall Kimmerer)
Join ARENA DANCES every Thursday lunch break for new podcasts, hosted by Artistic Director Mathew Janczewski. This series will share the histories of notable Twin Cities dance artists and the evolution of the industry’s landscape through time. Each week will feature a new guest of honor, sharing their story and impact on this gem of an arts town.
— Our special guests this week is Kaleena Miller —
To listen to previous episodes, click HERE!
More about today’s special guest –
Kaleena Miller makes sound-focused dance and installation work, rooted in tap dance technique and deep listening modalities. Named one of DANCE Magazine’s 25 to Watch, she has received a McKnight Fellowship for Dance and a Sage People’s Choice Award, and has presented work at the Walker Art Center, Icehouse, First Avenue, Jazz Central and the Southern Theater in Minneapolis, as well as at Arts on Site, Center for Performance Research and Symphony Space in New York. Previously, she co-founded and co-directed Twin Cities Tap with Brenna Brelie, which produced the acclaimed Twin Cities Tap Festival from 2015-2021, and an additional project in partnership with the McKnight International Choreographer Fellowship in 2023. She also directed KMD2, a making-driven pre-professional ensemble for high school and college-aged dancers, from 2018-2023. Kaleena has a BFA in Dance from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, a Deep Listening certification from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and will graduate this summer with an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Photos Galen Higgins
Missed last week’s episode? You can find all our previous interviews by clicking here!